The Backyard Science group regularly publishes The Daily Bucket, which features observations of the world around us. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds, flowers and anything natural or unusual are worthy additions to the Bucket and its comments. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to as we try to understand the patterns that are unwinding around us.
My water irises (and psuedo irises) have all gone to seed in the last month. And odd seed pods they are. Here are some seed pods from my Louisiana water irises.
They look like green nuts. They formed on the plant last month but haven't fallen yet. Salmon Woman urges me to pull off the seed pods, otherwise they will sap the irises' energy and they may not flower next year, so I do so.
The psuedo irises (aka yellow flag) have similar, but different seed pods.
Looking at them, I assume the pods are hard coated to resist nibbling fish, and the pod would sink to the bottom after they finally fall into the water. I am wrong. The internet tells me that the pods are supposed to split open and the iris seeds then float on the water.
I wonder how the seeds survive the fish. My fish start every morning by attacking the rush flowers that dangle on the water's surface.
The iris seeds take 60-90 days to germinate, which must be why they drop so early in the season, to germinate before the Fall's coolness. I wonder if I can germinate the iris seeds myself. They seem to propagate just fine from their spreading rhizomes (roots) without any assistance.
I think now about my bolted lettuce, which also went to seed a month ago. It turned bitter and I wonder if that is the plant's defense against the deer and other critters (and humans) who would otherwise devour the plant before it reseeds itself. The reseeding lettuce must also depend on warm receptor soils and a long germination period, I figure, if it reseeds this early.
The strawberries finished fruiting a month ago. Now they are growing aggressively, dominating their area, crowding out competitors. Is this their time to gather strength for the lean months ahead?
I wonder what other bugs and critters might be dependent on the timing of the lettuce and irises and their early reseeding scheme. I see tiny flies and bees patronizing their flowers. Who eats those seeds, or preys on, or lives on the reseeding plants? Who will be disrupted if plants like these start reseeding earlier in the year?
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"Spotlight on Green News & Views" will be posted every Saturday and Wednesday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time on the Daily Kos front page. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.
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Now It's Your Turn What's interesting to you? Please post your own observations and your general location in the comments.
Thank you for reading. I'll work this morning so I'll respond to comments before lunchtime, PDT.