Cherry, Bee, Fungus, Lichen

Flowers of East Asian Cherry (Prunus serrulata).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

We have a venerable East Asian Cherry (Prunus serrulata) in our back yead.  It leafs out and flowers early each spring.  It is also the first tree in our yard to lose its leaves in the fall.  By the first week of March its branches are laden with thousands of pink flowers.  These in turn attract swarms of Honeybees (Apis mellifera) and other early pollinators.  On sunny spring days the tree is abuzz with the bees.  The tree also attracts birds throughout the year feeding on the abundance of insects there.  But other, more subtle forms of life are also in the cherry.

Video of Honeybees (Apis mellifera) visiting

East Asian Cherry in the spring.

Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Video by Diane Coggin.

A Honeybee pollinating East Asian Cherry.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) feeding amidst 
the flowers of East Asian Cherry.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

A winter storm blew through our neighborhood last week dumping two and a half inches of rain, knocking out the power for 12 hours and dropping untold numbers of sticks and branches into our yard.  One of these branches, from our East Asian Cherry, was encrusted with fungi and lichens.   

The most colorful of these fungi was Witch’s Butter (Tremella mesenterica).  This bright yellow blob was emerging from cracks in the bark.  The Witch’s Butter fungus breaks down dead wood, so this branch was dead while still attached to the tree. 

Witch's Butter (Tremella mesenterica)
emerging from the branch.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Giraffe fungus (Peniophora albobadia) is another wood decaying fungus that made a striking display on the branch.  It makes brown patches rimmed by white, much like the spots on a Giraffe (Giraffa sp). 

Giraffe Fungus (Peniophora albobadia)
growing on the branch.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

At least three different lichens were also on the branch.  Lichens are symbiotic organisms made up of a fungus and a photosynthetic alga.  A single, one-inch clump of Usnea strigosa, Beard Lichen, was on the branch.  This lichen grows about 1 inch per year, so the branch was probably dead for at least a year before it was blown from the tree in the storm. 

Beard Lichen (Usnea strigosa).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

There were several clumps of the foliose lichen Parmotrema perforatum on the branch.  This gray green lichen has a leaf-like structure with black filaments called cilia along its margins.  These cilia probably act to catch dew for the rootless lichen.

Parmotrema perforatum with cilia.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Several Common Button Lichens (Buellia erubescens) were growing on the branch.  This is a crustose lichen that grows tightly appressed to the bark of trees.  Common Button Lichens are light gray with black spore producing structures called apothecia. 

Common Button Lichen (Buellia erubescens).
Rowan County, North Carolina.  

Even in winter, when we think not nothing is happening in a tree, much is still going on.  It is a wonder that a single dead branch from a cherry tree could play host to so many different fungi.  But visual examination only scratches the surface of this diversity because most fungi are microscopic. This branch, blown from a tree by a storm, is an inspiration to look closely at the natural world.

Trumpet Creepers and Catbriers

 

Spines on the stem of Smilax sp.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Vines has been much on my mind of late.  Last month I wrote about Grape Vines, in September Kudzu, and Poison Ivy in 2020. I will continue this theme with Greenbrier (Smilax sp.) and Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) in this blog.

Smilax rotundifolia showing leaves, spines and tendrils.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Leaf of Smilax bona-nox.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

There are over 300 species of Smilax worldwide with a mainly tropical distribution, but some species are found in temperate areas.  North America has about 20 species of Greenbrier and Europe has 4. Smilax vines may be woody in older sections, but the stems are mostly green, hence the name Greenbrier.  Many species of Smilax have hooked spines on the stem giving rise to another common name, Catbrier.  I have walked through tangles of Smilax vines and come out with so many scratches that I looked like the loser in a cat fight. These spiny tangles provide small animals shelter from predators. Smilax spines and tendrils also help the vine clamber over other plants.    

Smilax auriculata with male flowers.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Female flowers of Smilax rotundifolia.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Greenbriers have separate male and female plants and their greenish-white flowers appear in spring.  The female Smilax produces dark purple or red berries that are favorites of birds.  While hiking along the southern coast of France we found Mediterranean Smilax (Smilax aspera) with brilliant red berries. Greenbriers have underground stems, the rhizomes, that contain starch and were used by Native Americans as an important food source.  The growing tips of the Smilax vines are edible too, resembling asparagus.   

Smilax rotunifolia fruits.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Mediterranean Smilax (Smilax aspera) leaves and flowers.
Cap Bear, France.

Fruits of Mediterranean Smilax
Cap Bear, France. 

Trumpet Creeper is a robust woody vine native to eastern North America.  This vine can grow up tree trunks into the forest canopy, or up cliffs or buildings to reach heights of over 30 feet. It has large compound leaves and produces brilliant orange, tubular flowers in summer.  

Leaves of Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)
growing on a wall.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Flowers of Trumpet Creeper.
Clarke County, Georgia.

Trumpet Creeper fruit.
Davidson County, North Carolina.

Ripe Trumpet Creeper fruit showing seeds.
Davidson County, North Carolina. 

Winged seeds of Trumpet Creeper.
Davidson County, North Carolina.

Trumpet Creeper flowers are an important nectar source for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris). The fruits of Trumpet Creeper are about six inches long and in the fall, they release small, winged seeds.  Trumpet Creeper is widely planted in gardens and will grow on trellises and up walls. We have a Trumpet Creeper growing next to the chimney of our house where its short roots attach the vine to the bricks. 

Trumpet Creeper growing on a cliff.
Davidson County, North Carolina.

Trumpet Creeper growing up a wall. 

Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Trumpet Creeper roots attached to a brick wall.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Greenbrier and Trumpet Creeper are important sources of food and shelter for wildlife. But beyond that, these vines are beautiful and interesting members of the floral kingdom.

Smilax sp spines.
Rowan County, North Carolina.