The record is in the rings

Each growing season in the life of a tree leaves its mark in the ring of a layer of cells formed in the trunk that conduct water and minerals from the roots to other parts of the plant.
The growth rings are visible because of differences in the density of the wood produced early in the growing season and that produced late in the season. The early wood has large cells with thin walls; late wood has smaller cells with thicker walls.
Within a given growth layer, the change from early wood to late wood is gradual but a clear change is visible where the small thick-walled cells meet the larger thin-walled cells of the next growing season.
The thickness of the yearly growth layer will vary from year to year. The amount of light, rainfall, temperature, amount of soil water and the number of frost-free days all play their part in altering the appearance of each layer. The width of the growth layer is a fairly accurate indicator of the amount of rainfall in any particular year. If conditions are good and there is ample water the growth rings are wide if water is scarce the rings are narrow.
In arid regions, such as the tundra where the growing season may be only a week or two long the growth rings are almost too close together to count. Some trees in this area may be two feet high and a hundred years old.
Each growth ring is different and a study of the rings tells the story of the area that could go back several centuries. In a year when fire ravaged a forest the event will be recorded in the charred rings. Which side of the tree received the most heat will show as a dip in the yearly rings.
The closer the rings are together the shorter the growing season. Counting the rings will give a fairly accurate time when the event occurred.
Western White Pines are very large trees, 150 feet (50 m) high and 5 feet (150cm) in diameter and will live up to 400 years. When the growth rings of these trees are studied with modern measuring devices they reveal a great deal about the yearly climate conditions on our west coast.
Information provided by growth rings of both evergreens and deciduous trees is being used to reconstruct past weather conditions and to predict future conditions. With more accurate knowledge of past climate conditions, which may go back hundreds of years, than is provided by human records which go back only a few centuries, it will be possible to determine weather patterns and cycles for rainfall and drought. This knowledge will be used to manage and allocate the resource of the future, fresh water.

Speaking of Nature
Jim Ferguson, 5313 River Road, R.R.5, Renfrew, Ontario K7V 3Z8 Phone 613-432-2738 email jamesh@nrtco.net

An exported native species

Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) was exported to Europe a short time after the first settlers arrived in North America. It was easy to grow and did not require a great deal of care and before too many years was common in English gardens.
The name margaritacea is derived from the Greek margarites, “pearl” and referes to the pearly flower heads. The flower heads can be dried and will remain in perfect condition for many years.
Pearly Everlasting is not much more than green foliage for much of the summer but it is valuable in many gardens of Europe and North America for its late summer display of white flowers. The flower heads are pearly white, about half an inch across with papery petal-like bracts around a cluster of yellow or brownish florets. There may be several florets in dense, flat-topped clusters.
The plants form a bushy mound of silvery-grey leaves, bearing upright, with the clusters of florets on top. They make excellent cut flowers either fresh or dried and present a colourful display for several weeks. In the wild they tolerate a variety of soils and can be found in wet or dry, open or often disturbed sites. Once they are established at a site they are tolerant of drought and will return to flowering when conditions permit.
The blooms are attractive to butterflies and are a favourite haunt for late or second hatching fritillaries in August or September. The plants propagate very quickly and are inclined to spread seed over a wide area. In some locals the plants are so thick that they crowd one another out of a place to grow.
In Canada the plants were added to smoking mixtures both as medicine and as a tobacco substitute. As it turned out the substitute was not a good one and smokers became ill from the so-called medicine. Native Canadians used pearly everlasting tea to treat coughs, colds and digestive upsets.
The fuzzy leaves were used as poultices for sores, burns, bruises, swellings and rheumatism. The leaves, stems and flowers were crushed mixed with animal fat and used as a balm to rub on muscles to increase strength and reduced the effects of injuries. It was sometimes chewed for protection from danger.
Pearly everlasting is a member of a plant family that represents one of the three plant communities and their progression from wet to dry, from dense shade to full sun and from north to south. Forests are not only trees. They are a total of hundreds of competing, dependent and cooperative organisms—herbs, grasses, trees, shrubs, vines and fungi each perfectly adapted for survival of its own species in its own part of the forest.
When we walk through the forest or along any trail or road we may pass several different types of habitat and in each of them we find different species. We should be careful not to disturb the habitat or remove any of its members. They grow in that area because that is where their needs are met.

Speaking of Nature
Jim Ferguson, 5313 River Road, R.R.5, Renfrew, Ontario K7V 3Z8 Phone 613-432-2738 email jamesh@nrtco.net blog address with the Canadian Forestry Association www.canadanaturally.blogspot.com

They are many and ancient

According to fossil records ferns first appeared on earth 400 million years ago. The majority of the 12,000 living species are found in the tropics but many occur in temperate zones.
Ferns are vascular plants (they have vessels that carry liquids to the various parts of the plant) that can usually be distinguished from other plants by their large feathery leaves. Immature ferns develop as a “fiddle head” which looks like the head of a fiddle and which uncoils and spreads as it grows.
The fiddleheads of our most familiar woodlands develop underground for several years. In their final season, they multiply very rapidly, pushing their coiled tops above ground. In a few weeks of growth and uncoiling they become mature fern fronds.
Young fiddleheads, when cooked, look like asparagus and are considered a great delicacy by Maritimers. Fortunately for us they have shared their love of fiddleheads with others across the country.
The stems of ferns are not as complex as the stems of other plants, and are often reduced to a creeping underground root. Although ferns do not display any secondary growth –the type of growth that results in an increase in diameter and the formation of bark and woody parts—some ferns grow very tall. Ostrich ferns which grow along many creeks can reach six or seven feet (1.5-2.0m) tall.
The leaves, known as fronds, are often finally divided into smaller leaves called pinnae; these divided leaves spread widely and therefore collect more sunlight. It is necessary for the ferns to develop this way because they grow on the forest floor where there is dense shade.
Many ferns are almost all leaf, and even in giant tree ferns, the leaf is the main feature, the “stem” being composed of a mass of overlapping leaf bases. The leaf may be bladelike or more often they are finally divided into a regular fringe of smaller leaflets.
The spores of ferns develop on the undersides of the leaves. They are usually clustered; the clusters have a brownish colour and are often mistaken for insect eggs or patches of disease (rust). In a few ferns such as the cinnamon fern only specialized leaves bear the spore sacs, however in most ferns spores develop in all mature leaves.
Some of the spore sacs develop in distinct patterns which help identify the plant. Others are formed around the edges of the leaves. Many ferns including the Christmas fern (gets its name because it stays green all winter) have groups of spore sacs that are covered with a thin scale.
As the spores mature the outside covering dries and shrivels. When the outside ring of the sacs that contain the spores dries out it snaps open sending the powder-like spores into the air. The number of spores produced by a single leaflet may be as high as 52 million. Only a few of these germinate and produce new ferns.

Speaking of Nature
Jim Ferguson, 5313 River Road, R.R.5, Renfrew, Ontario K7V 3Z8 email jamesh@nrtco.net
Many articles from this column are now on the blog at http://www.canadian.naturally.blogspot.com

Bark is a Protective Covering

Bark is the hard protective covering or rind of the trunk, stem, branches, and roots of a tree, as distinguished from the wood. The bark consists of an inner and an outer layer but only the inner layer is alive. Bark is found primarily on older trees.
Very young trees have a thin skin called cork. Cork is composed of layers of dead cells which are saturated with waterproof substances called suberin and tannis. These chemicals are commercially extracted for use in tanning leather. In some ways cork is somewhat like our own skin, which is composed of dead skin saturated with the waterproof protein keratin. Keratin is a tough, fibrous protein that is especially common in skin, claws, hair, feathers and hooves. As with the cork of young trees our skin prevents diseases from entering our bodies.
When the cork layer of a tree becomes thick is called bark. The bark of western cedars can be as much as a foot thick (30cm).
The bark of a tree is full of openings that permit air to pass freely between the outside cells and the living layers of cells beneath. The openings allow the gas exchange through even the thickest tree trunks. The layers of cells underneath the bark grow and die, becoming converted into bark in the process.
Bark is used commercially in the tanning of leather (as mentioned above), in canoe building, and in basket making and in the manufacture of clothing and shoes, food flavoring, medicine, and cork and cork products.
The Native North Americans used birch bark to cover canoes and tepees, which were sturdy, light and easy to transport. The natives of British Columbia made coats and hats from pine bark, and rain wear from elm bark.
The spice known as cinnamon has been cultivated for centuries and is a popular aromatic and flavoring ingredient in foods, soaps, and medicines. A cinnamon farmer typically strips the bark off the stems of a cinnamon tree and collects the calyx from the base of each yellowish-brown cinnamon berry Fragrant cinnamon oil results from distilling the bark and calyx, and cinnamon sticks are made from the tightly rolled and dried bark of the stems.
Common witch hazel belongs to a group of deciduous flowering shrubs that are cultivated for their fragrant, colorful, frost-resistant flowers. Although grown as an ornamental, witch hazel is also valuable for the chemicals that can be extracted from its bark, wood and leaves and used in the manufacture of coagulants, cosmetics, and liniments.
The bark of the American Basswood had many uses. Inner bark fibres were twisted into twine, string or thread and used in mat weaving, bag weaving or with birch bark for building wigwams. The inner bark of the American beech was ground into flour and used in bread making.
The inner and outer bark of many native trees were used as medicine by aboriginal peoples, early settlers and today herbalists include many in their medicinal collections. It should be kept in mind however, that many plants in our region are poisonous or harmful and may cause adverse reactions if consumed or used externally. Trial and error is not the way to find out which will sicken you and which will not.

Speaking of Nature
Jim Ferguson, 5313 River Road, R.R.5, Renfrew, Ontario K7V 3Z8 Phone 613-432-2738 email jamesh@nrtco.net

A Different Place for a Clutch of Eggs

A family living at Calabogie, Ontario was digging their new potatoes and came upon a different clutch of eggs.
The four specimens were white and about half the size of your little finger. The family thought they were turtle eggs but they were the wrong shape and the wrong size. They had a feeling that they were snake eggs.
They placed them in a margarine container with a layer of garden soil under and over them: about two inches deep, the same as in the potato hill. The eggs hatched in a few days and three little snakes about four and a half inches long and half the thickness of a pencil emerged. The fourth egg appeared to be damaged and did not hatch. The little snakelets were dark above with a green luster and whitish below with no other markings. These are the field marks of an immature Eastern Smooth Green Snake.
The adult female smooth green snake lays her eggs in July or late August. They are deposited in the soil, under boards or flat stones where the heat of the sun helps incubate them. There are usually four to six eggs, but there may be as few as three or as many as eleven.
The eggs are elongated and thin-shelled. They are well advanced in development when laid so hatching is usually complete within one or two weeks. The eggs of most Ontario snakes require from seven to nine weeks to hatch. The tiny, dark snakelets that emerge from the eggs measure about four and a half inches (11.5cm) long. They are able to fend for themselves as soon as they leave the egg.
The Eastern Smooth Green Snake is common in Ontario. It averages from 16 to 20 inches in length (40-50cm); the body is almost the same diameter for most of its length. Because of its protective colouration, it is seldom seen.
The smooth green snake received its name because the scales are smooth, of a satiny texture and keeless (without ridges). In Canada the species ranges from Prince Edward Island to Central Saskatchewan. It frequents grassy meadows and clearings where soil is moist. It is seldom seen in the open possibly because its colouration blends so well with the green vegetation.
This little snake is very beneficial to gardeners. Among its favourite foods are insects, grubs, worms, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars and earwigs. It is very fond of hairless green caterpillars that are about an inch long.
Snakes always prey on other animals, none eat plant material. They may be either egg-laying or live-bearing. The Northern Ringneck Snake, Eastern Smooth Green Snake, Eastern Hognose Snake, Blue Racer (extremely rare) and the Eastern Milk Snake are hatched from eggs. The Eastern Garter Snake, Northern Ribbon Snake, Queen Snake, Northern Water Snake, Brown Snake, Red Belly Snake and the Massasauga Rattle Snake (extremely rare) are born live.

Speaking of Nature

Jim Ferguson, 5313 River Road, R.R.5, Renfrew, Ontario K7V 3Z8 Phone 613-432-2738 email jamesh@nrtco.net

False Impression, False Name

I am regularly contacted by people disturbed with seeing a snake they describe as having the appearance and habits of a rattlesnake. While their observations are certainly true, the snake in question is most likely a milk snake. And its name is a misnomer: this reptile does not take milk from cows but does search for food in barns where cattle may be present.
The markings of the milk snake are very much like those of copperhead and coral snakes. Both are extremely venomous but live in the southern part of the United States. Since when frightened or cornered the milk snake will rapidly vibrate its tail, making a sound that could be mistaken for that of a rattlesnake, few people wait around to study it at close range. Milk snakes are not intentionally harmful but will bite if handled carelessly.
Milk snakes are brightly coloured, smooth-scaled snakes that show a wide variety of blotches and colours from one part of their range to another. The base colour is creamy to light gray. A prominent series of brown, black-bordered blotches run down the back from head to tail of the slender body. Two sets of blotches run the length of the sides. The belly is a striking black and white checkered pattern. A prominent black or brown Y or W-shaped mark on the top of the head is a key field mark. A maximum length of 132 cm (four feet) has been recorded for this species but 91 cm (three feet) is considered large in Canada.
Southern Ontario and a narrow slice of Quebec along the Ottawa River seem to be the only areas blessed with the presence of the milk snake. The snake has been recorded fewer than ten times in Algonquin Park, which is on the northern border of their range.
About 90 percent of a milk snake's diet is made up of small rodents, mice, voles, moles, bats and chipmunks. Other food items include small fish, other snakes, and also birds and their eggs.
The milk snake kills its prey by constricting it in the coils of its body much like the boa constrictor of tropical areas. It does not however, crush its victim as the boa does. When a mouse is caught the milk snake quickly and tightly coils its body around its prey. Each time the mouse breaths out the coils tighten. The final result is that the prey dies by suffocation rather than being crushed.
Female milk snakes gather in egg-laying sites early in the summer. Often several clutches of eggs will be deposited within a meter of one another. Each female will lay up to 20 elliptical eggs which take about two months to hatch. The young do not reach sexual maturity until they are three years old and have a life span of seven years.
Milk snakes are very beneficial for rodent control but they are a bit feisty and are best left alone.

A Horrible Thought, No Doubt

In terms of their ability to survive, humans come in second best. The horrible thought is that insects are far more apt to survive than we are. As we swat at never-ending swarms of fliying pests it's easy to believe that some day they may just wear us down by their relentless ability to annoy us.
We spray them, trap them and try to annihilate them in every possible way but they scatter and attack us from every angle and with more ferocity than before. In many cases we do more harm to other creatures than to the target pests: the now outlawed use of DDT is a good example.
There are more species of insects than all other classes of animals combined. What they lack in size, insects make up in sheer numbers. It has been calculated that if all the insects in the world could be weighed they would measure more than all other life on earth combined.
Because of their amazing ability to adapt to changes in the environment, it has been suggested that these meddlesome creatures could eventually inherit the earth. But why are insects so successful? It’s because of their body shape for one thing. They can adapt to whatever is required of them to fill most spaces in nature from sewage lagoons to toxic landfills to radioactive sites. There are over 650 000 insect species in the world, 88 600 in North America and each has their own specialized habitat.
While most creatures have to crawl around on the earth, insects have the ability to fly during some stage of their lifecycle (usually adult). This allows them to move to any location suitable for their lifestyle. For example, the 2100 species of termite may live anywhere in the world – from the north to south pole – where there is plant life, regardless of temperature or annual rainfall. After mating, a queen bee, wasp or ant carries with her enough fertilized eggs to begin a new colony many kilometers from her home nest. She then lays her eggs in the ground and when only when conditions are suitable, the eggs hatch and a new generation begins. By this time, the female that laid the hatching eggs may be dead for many years.
The surface of every bit of water in the world is home to some form of insect. These waterways functions as highways, trampolines, skating rinks, communication systems, and food sources for insects. Water treaders, whirligig beetles and water striders are among the thousands of insects that spend their lives on water.
When it comes to insects, are the good and the bad (and the ugly). The good: bees that produce honey and pollinate plants, moths that produce silk for clothing, lady bugs that keep gardens free of aphids. The bad: leaf miners that destroy food crops, grasshoppers that suck sap from grain stalks and earwigs that eat anything in their path.
When it comes to living in harmony, maybe we can strike a deal with the insects and learn to get along for our mutual benefit.
Photos by Clayton Rollins