Maples

 I was out looking for a particular brown lichen that grows on trees and spotted some on a tree at the edge of Newtonmore Golf Course. At first, I thought the tree was a Sycamore but on looking more closely, the leaf and flowers were  a bit different.

The flowers start off  with petals, which then close up after pollination and form little balls.

Flowers starting to form seeds

Seeds - helicopters- forming.

The leaves have long thin points. This is the Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) and there are plenty alongside the Upper Golf Course on Golf Course Road.  It is closely related to the Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) which is also in the Acer family. The Sycamore is usually a much bigger tree. here are the leaves side by side for comparison.

Norway Maple on the left, Sycamore on the right

The flowers on the Sycamore are very different as well. Instead of stalks with one flower at the end, there are up to 100 dangling down in a bunch (panicle).

Each flower has stamens (with pollen) around the outside, and the femaie parts which will form the seeds in the centre, covered with white hairs.

It is hard to see exactly what is in the centre without a bit of magnification.  It looks as though there is a central column with 3 curls on the top, which will be the stigma (the female part that is fertilised by pollen, usually by bees in this case) and then 3 protrusions which will grow into seeds with wings.

The three-fold symmetry surprised me as I thought the helicopter seeds came in twos... But maybe there are pairs and singles?  I will have to check  later in the season to find out.

And what about that brown lichen?  Well, I did find it but I am still working on the photos so that will have to be another post!

Spring - the nice and the nasty

 Spring has definitely arrived, with blossom and  leaves on the trees and spring bulbs and dandelions flowering.  The catkins opened up to shed their pollen:

The fritillaries in my garden are just finishing:

Their name of Snake's Head lily could be a reference to the chequered pattern, or maybe the shape of the seed head:

So that is some of the "nice" - so what  about the "nasty"? 

Let me tell you about New Zealand flatworms.... I have a thriving population in my garden, which I think arrived with some horse manure a couple of years ago.  I have been fighting a war of attrition against them, going out each day and collecting them from under stones, wood or compost bags left on the ground to attract them. They are nocturnal and rest up during the day in dark wet places. Last year I kept a tally of how many I removed and it was in the hundreds.  And those are just the ones I found! It sounds a lot - it is a lot- but imagine if you were collecting slugs, you would not be surprised at those numbers. I don't think I will ever eradicate them from the garden but at least I am limiting the damage they do.  They eat earthworms. And I want to keep my earthworms and the job they do to keep the soil healthy. Darwin found them worthy of study. You can download his work here

Flatworms are not the most attractive of creatures, being slimy and reminiscent of leeches in the way they move. They are remarkably resilient being able to survive for a year without food.  They mate and produce eggs with multiple little worms inside.  Being unattractive undoubtedly influences my reaction as I am quite happy to see a blackbird or robin eat my worms. However, if the flatworms continue to multiply unchecked, they would eradicate the earthworms from my garden. So I am on the hunt!

Flatworm at rest during the day (with a cutlery fork)

Armed with an old yogurt bucket and cutlery fork, I lift up stones, wood and plastic and collect the flatworms which are underneath. They like the dark and wet and leave a sticky mucus on the ground which helps to spot them. When I have collected a batch, I kill them quickly with boiling water. They die at temperatures above 30C, which is one way to sanitise any plants in pots that you bring into the garden.

A batch of flatworms awaiting dispatch.

I recently bought a UV torch as some lichens fluoresce at a wavelength of 365nm.  It was rather a surprise to see the reaction with a flatworm which glowed turquoise:

Flatworms under UV light

And finally, if you are not too squeamish, here is a video: