Monday, April 28, 2008

Northern Hemisphere Spings to life

Spring has had a late showing in the Northern Hemisphere this year, with winter temps keeping things sleeping well into April.
In warmer areas things have are under way now, though in some parts things are only just getting started.
In Berlin, pictured below, Cherry blossoms are in full show with many deciduous plants greening well though, as you can see, some have only started budding.



In my travels I came across a unusual sight.
The tree pictured below is beginning its regrowth for the spring.
When I first saw it I thought the shapes to be a collection of nests.
Shapes like this are common in Australia after bushfires, as regrowth begins, though no fires have affected these plants and, as I saw many, must be a common and usual event for this species.





The picture below is the view from Schloss Burg.
The area is at about 400m above sea level, and the forests are still to show significant regrowth.



Its not all winter here though, as the following blooms demonstrate.



Spring is underway in the Northern Hemisphere, and I will post more as it progresses.

3 comments:

  1. Hi David

    The things in the trees are "Witches Brooms" - a genetic mutation, probably caused by insect attack on trees.

    It is these things which Nursery people use to make new "dwarf" or prostrate varieties of normally tall trees. More common on European trees than Aussie ones, for some reason. Perhaps stress caused by climate, or, as you have commented, pollution.

    Glad Joe has been following your travels (more reliably than I have, it seems).

    Cheers

    Denis

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi guys,
    Thanks for dropping by...and thanks Denis for solving my tree mystery.
    Dont worry about being late on a post Denis...The SCA need a rational voice from the wilderness...Keep up the good work.
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete

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