Phenology Exercise

I am still working with the naturalist community to fully ID the plants I observed. On my walk I discovered four different plants exemplifying flower and plant phenology. First I found a plant with purple flowers growing out of ivy, which represents Flowering Phenology. Second I found a plant with no flowers, except for little buds that have not yet opened on the tips of the branches. This represents bare Flowering Phenology. Third I encountered a plant that is dormant, representing bare Plant Phenology. Fourth I discovered a plant with jagged leaves, which represents leafed out Plant Phenology. Phenology interests me as to why certain types of plants bloom/leaf out in the winter versus the spring. Seasonal and interannual variations in climate must also attribute to irregular timing of plant phenology that we are experiencing during this dry winter.

Posted on February 14, 2014 07:14 AM by kat14