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!).

White Arches?

These white arches can be found on the forest floor, emerging from the soil and reentering just a couple inches away. What are they?

Answer

These are trout lily runners, the horizontal stems that allow the plant to spread vegetatively. Runners emerge from corms and the other end, called the “dropper,” re-enters the soil to grow into a new corm, which will grow into another trout lily in the future!

This week’s contest winner was Lynnwood Andrews