The Red Maple is red all over. The tree has red twigs, buds, flowers, and fall leaves. The Red Maple is a pretty tree. It fills so many roles such as shade, specimen, autumn accent, or on a wet site. It’s easy to establish, grows rapidly and produces brightly colored flowers and fruit, and fall […]
trees & shrubs
Studying Twigs: A Winter Nature Journal Activity
Draw the twigs of the six most common deciduous trees as a winter nature journal activity.
Studying Buds: A Winter Nature Journal Activity
Buds can be used to identify a tree or tree species. The color of the bud scales, the number of buds, where the buds are located, and their position are key. These little tightly closed bundles will burst and grow when the weather warms and the growing season gets underway. Even in winter, you can study […]
Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana L.)
Common name: Eastern Red Cedar Scientific name: Juniperus virginiana L. Family: Cypress Family (Cupressaceae). Native floristic province: Eastern woodlands Native range: The distribution of red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) spans the U.S. east of the Rockies. The species also occurs in Oregon in the west. The southern red cedar (var. silicicola) occurs only in the southeastern […]
Why Trees Shed Leaves in the Fall
We humans think we understand why trees shed leaves in the fall. As the leaves stops making chlorophyll, the tree seals off the old leaf and then essentially “cuts” it loose from the tree as it no longer needs it. Not only is the production of chlorophyll stopping and leaves dropping, but another process is […]