My daughter and I have been walking most December days on a farm in Kearneysville, located in the easternmost county of West Virginia, it is only about 65 miles from Washington, D.C. There is a lovely little brook that gurgles through our favorite corner of the hay field. We have been walking here almost every day with our dogs, alert for nature while chatting. So, of course, we are not finding anything that is afraid of dogs or people. But there are lots of seeds and leaves that are harbingers of spring.
Between the empty wheat fields there are tree breaks with native plants and some nonnative invasive plants. Along the riparian borders of the Opequon Creek there are wild plants and trees. Occasionally the Creek floods the lower areas of the agricultural fields, making a satisfactory environment for plants that like wet feet.
We were pleased to find bladdernut seed cases crackling in the wind a few days ago. I had never seen a bladdernut tree (Staphylea trifolia) before. But the seed cases gave away its identity. Each case is divided into 3 sections, hence the Latin name trifolia. The Seed cases are 2 to 5 inches in size, but the little seeds inside are only ⅛ inch in size, round, brown and hard. They would never be visible once the “bladder” has spilled them onto the ground.
The trees are like tall bushes, barely tree-like, and grow about 30 feet from the edge of the brook. The seeds are hard and dense and fall to the ground. With no leverage mechanism, they cannot sail in the wind, and are not flung out into space. The seeds don’t look very interesting as a food source, so I would be surprised if birds or animals pick them up and disperse them. These seeds seem designed to form a thicket of bladdernut trees growing together under their parent trees. This doesn’t seem very helpful for dispersal. Do you think that these nuts wait for a spring flood that will wash them downstream as a means of distribution? What are the advantages of this kind of dispersal? What do you think?
We also found black walnuts (Juglans nigra) underfoot. Like little golf balls, they kept tripping us up, making walking a little arduous. Obviously most of those on the ground were not selected to be eaten by squirrels. The black outside coatings are black and soft, but the inside nuts are very rough and extremely hard. These must offer quite a challenge to any animal trying to reach the soft nut meat inside.
On the ground by our path along the hedgerow we found green osage oranges, sometimes called hedge apples (Maclura pomifera). I have seen these sold in stores to be stored with woolen clothes as a deterrent to moths. I don’t know whether it works. But if it does, they are healthier than moth balls. Has anyone ever used them to keep moths out of wool?
The osage orange tree was planted by early farmers, because the wood is dense and hard, useful for making axe handles and fence posts. The tree itself is not pretty and only grows about 50 feet tall. It is not native in this area, but has been dispersed here by farmers to use for making tools and fences.
Lastly we found magnolia seed cases (Magnolia grandiflora) lying on the ground near the house. Little red seeds poke out from the complicated seed pod. My tree reference does not list Southern Magnolia as being native in this area. But like the osage orange, people dispersed the tree because they liked the magnificent evergreen tree and planted it in front of libraries and houses. The leaves are large and leather-like, creating a welcome green color during the grey winter.
What are you finding on your walks? Has snow covered your ground? As long as there is no snow to cover the trees’ bounty, there will be little treasures to find on the ground. Send a picture! We’d love to see what you find.
