City of Hudsonville - Friends of the Nature Center

FRIENDS

THE

NATURE

CENTER

Spring Issue 2004

A Quarterly Publication

We’re Back!

Some of you have recently inquired about programs at the Nature Center. No, you haven’t missed any. Due to surgery this past November I have felt it not wise to be out in the woods while recovering and possibly re-injure myself.

The middle of March was my first walk in the woods since this past fall and how sweet it was. The birds were singing while going about their business, the pussy willows beginning to bloom, leeks and other spring ephemerals breaking through on what was the warmest day in months. It truly felt refreshing to be out in the woods again. As you will see in the calendar, we have a full spring line up for your enjoyment and learning.

I look forward to sharing the natural beauty and treasures of the Hudsonville area with you soon. - Craig

Species Profile

Eastern Cottonwood

Ranging from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains and north into the southern Canadian plains, the Eastern Cottonwood, Populus deltoids is a common tree in the southern half of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.

This fast growing, shade-intolerant, short-lived tree is also our fastest growing native tree. It prefers warm, humid floodplains but can also be found in moist open areas, where it’s tendency to root sucker, causes it to form dense clonal colonies. In pre-settlement times it was mainly confined to woodland edges near or along river courses in Michigan and other eastern forest states. In the mid-west or great plains, it was one of the main trees found along rivers in the prairies where it was important for firewood and horse fodder.

The Cottonwood’s average size ranges from 60-110 feet tall and 20-40 inches in diameter, with Michigan’s big tree in Wayne County at 107 feet tall and 109 inches in diameter at chest high. Roots are generally wide spreading and shallow, but may also go deeper where the water table is further from the surface.

Cottonwood can be identified by the long (½ to ¾ inch), slender, three-sided and pointed terminal buds, which tend to be resinous, shiny and yellowish-green in color. The broad leaves are nearly triangular and alternate on the stems. They are 2 to 4¾ inches long and nearly as wide with an entire or smooth base. The two sides of the leaves are lined with

20 to 25 rounded teeth that are noticeably curved inward. The leaf surface is glossy and dark green above, while pale on the under side and turns yellow in the fall. The bark on younger trees is yellowish gray, smooth and thin, becoming rough and furrowed at the base of the tree with age. On older trees the bark takes on an ashy gray color, is thick and deeply divided into straight furrows with broad flat-topped ridges.

Cottonwoods are dioecious, having separate male and female flowers on different trees. The wind-pollinated flowers appear in late April to early May, before the leaves. They are hairy bracted, densely flowered catkins, which are three to four inches long and hang from the branches. The more visible male flowers are red and are also reported to be edible. The fruit or seeds, which are light brown with a white, cotton-like covering, are dispersed in late May and early June from the catkins

of the female trees. These cotton-like seeds are the reason for the name “Cottonwood”. The effect known as “Snow in June” is from the abundant amount of these seeds released. In areas where there are many large trees, it does look as if it is snowing during the seed release.

Characteristics of the wood are a light, soft, weak, and close-graining dark wood, which is brown in color, with thick whitish sapwood. The wood has a tendency to warp easily and is therefore difficult to dry for use. Cottonwood is commonly used for paper pulp, boxes, crates, plywood, and furniture core stock. During the Lewis and Clark Expedition, this was the tree of choice for the building of dugout canoes. Trees of three feet or more in diameter were sought for this purpose. It was also the main source of firewood along the Missouri River, as it was the most common tree, which grew along the rivers in the plains. As firewood, it provided heat for the men of the expedition on many wet and cold days and nights, as well as the only source for a fire on which to cook for much of the plains portion of the journey.

A good book for trees in Michigan is Michigan Trees A Guide to the Trees of the Great Lakes Region by Burton V. Barnes and Warren H. Wagner,

Jr., published by the University of Michigan Press. Be sure to get the new updated 2004 edition. Michigan Trees by Charles Herbert Otis though out of print is available from libraries and used book dealers and is an excellent resource.

New Flowers Found

A few new species of flowers were found in the Nature Center. The first is Leadplant, which was seen shortly after planting the prairie and has not been seen for several years since. There were several blooming Leadplants found in August in the southern portion of the prairie. Also on the northern side of the prairie, blooming Wild Quinine was discovered, this is interesting not only for the unique flowers, but also because it was not in the original seed mixes for the prairie. The third species, a Coralroot orchid was found nearly blooming by a member of the White Pine Chapter of the Michigan Botanical Club while visiting. Upon returning a few days later hoping to find it in bloom, I could not locate it. So we will be watching that area this summer in hopes of finding it and positively identifying it.

If you have a computer and email and would like to receive occasional notices of special sightings, walks or programs as opportunities arise from time to time between mailings just email Craig Elston at wildflower1000@ameritech.net. Put your email address and the phrase “email list” in the body. The list will be kept confidential and only be used to alert you of items of interest as mentioned above.

Calendar of Events

Sunday, April 4, 2:00 pm
Early Spring Nature Hike

Come walk the trails looking for signs early wildflowers and the coming spring. We will focus on identifying trees and shrubs of the woods using the buds while also seeking any early spring flowers.

Sunday, April 25, 2:00 pm
Early Spring Wildflowers and Nature Hike

Come walk the trails looking for and learning about the early wildflowers of spring. A few may be blooming and many others should able to be identified.

Saturday, May 1
Spring Blooms in the Dunes

Wildflower hikes, sales, gardening lecture, bird hike, birds of prey program and bluebird box making.

Sunday, May 9, 2:00 pm
Spring Wildflowers

Come walk the trails looking for and learning about the wildflowers of spring. You learn to about and how to identify spring wildflowers. This is also a good time for early warblers migrating through.

Monday, May 10, 10:00 am
Spring Wildflowers

Monday, May 10, 6:30 pm
An Evening with the Wildflowers

Take a leisurely paced stroll through the Nature Center will enjoying the beauty of and talking about the flowers in bloom. This is a more informal walk and will not be advertised.

Sunday, May 16, 2:00 pm
Spring Wildflowers

Saturday, May 22, 8:00 am
Bird Hike

Come prepared to spend a couple of hours roaming the trails looking for migrant and summer resident birds. The warbler migration should be well underway. Bring binoculars if you have them, if not come anyway and we will share.

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