What in the Woods Is That?

Play our biweekly guessing game!

Whatever draws us into the forest—be it birdwatching or logging, hiking or hunting—all of us are unified by the sense of wonder we feel in the outdoors. The forests, fields, and streams of our region are full of mystery, and if you stop and look closely, you’ll see all sorts of oddities.

Below find a picture of one such woodlands curio. Guess what it is and you’ll be eligible to win a Northern Woodlands woodpecker magnet designed by artist Liz Wahid. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner’s name, will appear when the next column is posted and in our newsletter (sign up here!).

Keep Palm and Carry On

We found this seedling in the understory of a Vermont northern hardwood forest, sprouting what look like palm leaves, as well as the dark leaf in the center. What’s going on here?

Answer

This is a basswood seedling showing normal development pattern for the species. The palmate leaves are actually cotyledons, or “seed leaves,” that helped to nourish the seedling while its first true leaf (the dark leaf in the center) developed. As noted in this post from the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society, “The cotyledons of basswoods look nothing like their adult foliage. The two cotyledons are deeply palmately divided, and carpet the forest floor in spring.”

This week’s contest winner was Seri Lowell