Category: Pinnately Compound Leaves

Hickory

Leaves emerging on Hickory (Carya) trees looking like hands reaching out into spring.

Those leaves that emerge are pinnately compound leaves. Each leaf is made up of leaflets that are connected along both sides of the leaf stalk. The number of those leaflets varies from one Hickory species to another.

It is always a remarkable experience to see spring turn the forests to a nearly all green landscape. An experience that I thoroughly enjoy.

_______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!

Long-Bracted Tickseed Sunflower

All along the roadsides. Rich warm yellow greets the cars and trucks that pass. Long-bracted Tickseed Sunflower (Biden polylepis). It’s native to eastern and central United States and south-central Canada.

The leaves of Long-Bracted Tickseed Sunflower are quite distinctive, with sharply toothed margin, opposite and pinnately compound.

These flowers bloom from late summer to early fall. Attracting all sorts of insects — bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, skippers, beetles and more. Along with these Tickseed Sunflowers on the roadsides there are other shining yellow blooms. Other species that I’ll write about one day soon.