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Sunday, 7 June 2020

Tree following update for 30 Days Wild

 For Tree Following this year I've selected a beautiful horse chestnut tree in one of the cemeteries on our #DailyExercise route.You can see my first blogpost about this tree here and my second is here.

Here are some photos of the tree over the past few weeks:




I recently found out that the yellow in the centre of the horse chestnut flower changes to pink after the flower has been pollinated. You can see the two different coloured flowers in the photo below. Bees can't see pink apparently, so they ignore the flowers once they change colour.

And here you can see the conkers starting to form at the bottom of the infloresence

and in fact now, some of the inflorescences are almost entirely devoid of flowers and well on the way to becoming conkers

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9 comments:

  1. eileeninmd1:48 pm

    Hello,

    Looks like a pretty spot for your walk. Love the path and flowers.
    Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week!

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  2. Casey2:38 pm

    I didnt notice that trees flowered until I was well into adulthood, sad to say. Now I've got a basswood out back that flowers profusely every 2 years or so, and I love to watch the bugs and butterflies that are attracted it.

    That flower changing after pollination is awesome to think about.

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  3. Caroline Gill4:53 pm

    What an interesting fact about bees and their vision. I often think it would be fascinating to see the world through an insect's eye. Such lovely trees, too...

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  4. R's Rue6:23 pm

    These are stunning. Thank you for sharing.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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  5. Sherrie7:46 pm

    Hi,
    I didn't know about bees not being able to see pink...interesting.
    Have a great day!

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  6. betty-NZ10:09 pm

    The things I learn! Thanks for posting about the change of color, I had no idea any trees did that!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  7. Lucy Corrander Now in Halifax!8:15 pm

    That the flowers change colour when pollinated is new to me too. It's sort of mind blowing. It's also interesting to see the little conkers forming. I'm fascinated by the way flowers turn to fruits or directly to seeds. It's easy to think they are completely separate entities rather than as one thing evolving into another.

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  8. Squirrelbasket12:15 pm

    I thought I knew horse chestnuts but that information about the colour change is amazing!
    I will look closer next time I see the flowers.
    Thank you so much for sharing :)

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  9. Hollis3:16 am

    I love the distinctive leaves of horse chestnuts. Nice photos.

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