Month: April 2019

Spring is sprung!

If you go out into one of the many beautiful greens on campus on a sunny day, you will find many students lounging, hammocking, chatting, or playing casual games. You might even hear them comment on how much the weather has improved. I would normally disagree on the grounds that winter weather can be nice too but in all honesty it is nice to be back to sunny skies and warmer temperatures.

This change is showing in the plants that call Burlington home as well. Many of the plants that just had tiny little buds the last time I visited are starting to sprout out in order to get started on their photosynthesizing season. Some, like the grass on the greens, can’t do anything in the winter because they are covered in snow. Others, like the deciduous boxelder, don’t dare grow leaves in the winter because the snow and ice would tear them off or worse break the branches that hold them.

I found it much harder to ID partially developed buds. This is most likely a Red Oak but the points seem too elongated. Comment below with your thoughts!

A sketch of the same bud from above.
This Grass was most likely blown down the hill from the backyards with cultivated grass. There is barely any green on the ground and these plants are already crowding each other for space.

In addition to the trees that are gearing up for a big harvest of sunshine, there are lots of plant in the understory getting ready. I didn’t identify any flowers yet, but my classmates have reported the appearance of Dandelions and Colt’s-Foot at their phenology sites. Perhaps I will see these soon!