Be a Botanist in Spring
Bloodroots
Sanguinaria Canadensis
(Photo by Loretta Kuse)
Plants
Think like a botanist. What kinds of plants do you want to observe? (Wildflowers, trees, shrubs, mosses, ferns, fungi, etc.)
What questions would you like to ask?
If you walked the trails in another season, think back to what you saw or did. Which observations might be the same or different in spring?
Use a camera and a notebook to keep a record of what you see and learn. Close up photos of plants are especially helpful in identifying likenesses and differences.
Be sure to DATE journal entries. When do plants begin to bud, bloom or go to seed? What plants could you expect to see at certain times in spring? How and when are they affected by other plants and animals? (Spring ephemeras that need to bloom when sunlight can reach them while the trees still do not have leaves to shade them, plants that flower when insects have emerged to pollinate them, plants that emerge at a time when insectsÕ larvae need them as host plants, the effect of frost and temperature, etc.) Dated journal entries can help citizen scientists record the interrelationships among different living things.
Habitats
What kinds of habitats exist along the trail that would be suitable for certain kinds of plants? (Soil conditions, temperature, moisture, light, competition with other plants and invasive plants)
Uses of plants for habitats. (Shelter, wind break, special environments produced by one plant for the benefit of other plants)
Parts of Plants
Find new shoots that are just beginning to come through the soil. What will these new shoots become? Photograph plant parts and compare the pictures with some taken later in the season.
Compare new leaves to mature leaves. (Colors, shapes and sizes)
Find the flowers on many kinds of plants. What are the parts of the flowers?
Can you find pollen on some of the plants? How is the pollen moved from flower to flower?
If it is late spring, are there seeds beginning to form?
Wildflowers
Look at composite photos of wildflowers on this website.
Wildflowers by Family at Kuse Nature Preserve
How do the plants change through the seasons or over their lifetimes? Which ones might you see in spring? Which ones are spring ephemerals? (Plants that disappear in later seasons) What parts of the plants can be seen now?
Wildflowers in Bloom During Spring at Kuse Nature Preserve
Wildflowers in the Kuse Nature Preserve in Spring
Wildflowers in the Kuse Nature Preserve in Spring in PowerPoint format
Trees and Shrubs
Look at composite photos of trees and bushes on this website to see what they look like in spring.
Identify the trees and bushes you see.
What plants along the trail have buds on them that are an indication of ways in which they will soon change?
What is happening to branches and buds on bushes and trees in spring? Are there some that are beginning to get bigger? What color are the buds or new leaves? Which plants are deciduous and which are evergreens?
Look at the poplar trees. Note buds on the trees. They will open in spring and look like pussywillows. Are the buds getting fat? Compare those buds with those on other trees. Look at the catkins on different kinds of willows.
What kinds of flowers do you see on trees?
Find bark of various colors. (Red bark - Red Osier, White bark - White Birch, Gray, black, brown or tan bark on various bushes and trees.) How does the color and shape of bark help you identify trees and bushes? Look at the bark on composite photos of bushes and trees. Find some of the different kinds of bark. Photograph the bark. Notice how field guides describe the bark. How does the guide description compare with what you observe?
Why does some bark have holes? What animals may have made the holes? (Squirrels, woodpeckers, chipmunks, insects, etc.) Is there sap coming out of any of the holes?
Take photos of the various kinds of conifers. Learn to identify the trees by their bark, shape, and needles. Look for cones under the trees to get close up pictures.
Shake seed cones and observe the shape and size of seeds that fall out. Have some opened and has the seed flown out while the cone was still on the tree? Is there evidence that some of the seeds have been eaten?
What products are made from different trees that you see? (Lumber, fuel, food source, etc.)
At what time of year does maple sap begin to run? Why? How are maple trees tapped? Identify a sugar maple tree along the trail.
How would a forester, a farmer, a landscaper, and other users of plants look at those along the trail?
How might a botanist explain the differences between the colors you might see in spring and fall? What colors might an artist use to let a viewer feel that a picture was painted in springtime? Look for colors you are more likely to see in spring rather than fall or winter.
Use what you learned about plants on this trail to research or study the plants near your house or in your neighborhood.
Lichen, Mosses, Ferns and Fungi
Find lichen on trees and rocks. Take photos of different kinds of lichen. Compare the photos with those in a field guide and learn to name the various kinds of lichen.
On which side of trees is lichen most commonly found? Why?
How many different kinds of moss can you find? How are they alike and different? Where do they grow?
Are there ferns that have fiddleheads that are expanding? How many of these kinds of ferns can you find? (Sensitive, Bracken, Lady, Interrupted, Oak and Ostrich ferns)
Can you find old or new mushrooms growing on plants or the ground? How does the amount of moisture affect their growth?
Other Plant Information on this Website
Look at the video about Snowdrops on this website.
Look at the video about Trilliums on this website.
Look at the brief video about Trout Lilies on this website.
Look at the video about the Jack-in-the-Pulpit on this website.
Eating Wild Foods
Eating Wild Foods in PowerPoint format
Plants in the Garden
Plants in the Garden in PowerPoint format
Helping and Protecting Plants in the Garden
Helping and Protecting Plants in the Garden in PowerPoint format