Fruit in the Spring

Some kinds of trees still have their fruit when spring comes around! The yellow birch is a good example. Others, such as the larch and the red pine, will have already lost their cones from the preceding year. The black spruce will keep its cones for several years, while jack pine cones may stay on the tree for 10 to 15 years.

Most of our hardwood and softwood species flower in the spring. Some species flower earlier than others. Have you ever picked pussy willow catkins? Many species bloom before their leaves open (willow, poplar, red maple, beech, and oak are examples). You might even be able to see the fruit begin to form.

Spring is also the season in which seedlings begin to grow from their seeds. In a natural forest, a seed has one chance in a million of becoming a tree. Its chances are much higher in plantations. Did you know that some trees don't need seeds to reproduce?

But spring also brings back the insects! Major epidemics of an insect called the jack pine budworm have been linked to an abundance of male flowers of the species. It appears that climatic conditions and the age of the stands are factors as well.