Day 15 Birches in the Days of the Virus

.6 mi. windy, temps in the teens, 5 inches snow cover. After getting my vaccine, I walked at Scarborough Downs, the old race track. It was silent. So turned my attention to Birches and Alders. I think they have different seed head form. I am not sure the specifics on what a catkin is.

Catkin-bearing plants include many trees or shrubs such as birch, willow, hickory, sweet chestnut, and sweetfern (Comptonia).

In many of these plants, only the male flowers form catkins, and the female flowers are single (hazel, oak), a cone (alder), or other types (mulberry). In other plants (such as poplar), both male and female flowers are borne in catkins. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catkin

Therefore the technical name for a female flower of an alder is cone.

Posted on February 11, 2021 10:47 PM by mainebirder