Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Of mice and tree ID

Douglas fir.

Cone with "mouse tails".

I like Douglas firs; they're the only ones whose cones have these three-pronged bracts. And the cones stay on the tree year-round. Very helpful.

Legend has it that the bracts are the hindquarters and tails of mice hiding in the cone from predators. Tiny mice. (From Trees of the Northwest)

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2 comments:

  1. Fred Schueler9:09 pm

    PSEUDOTSUGA MENZIESII

    Then if the scales
    Are tangent words
    Shielding a fibre core,
    Then love breathes
    Dragon-tongues of fire
    Past the seeds.

    FWS, Salmon Arm & Westbank, B.C., 9-10 July 1989

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susannah Anderson11:25 pm

      "Dragon tongues" Wonderful! I'll always think of them like this from now on.

      Delete

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