Male hornbeam catkins. 9th April 2022 'What are catkins?' he asked.
They're erect or pendent tassels of tiny flowers. Male catkins are striking, and so more familiar. Female catkins can be tiny and hard to see.
Hazel, alder, willow, oak, birch and bog myrtle have catkins. And this spring I discovered hornbeam catkins. I've long loved hornbeam's autumn fruit so I wonder how I'd overlooked the catkins. I found these trees on a bright and frosty morning so images show to advantage. To see the detailed structure and rich colours of the male catkins I had to come close.
Hazel catkins are familiar because they're an early sign of spring and they appear on leafless bushes. Oak catkins are elusive, often few, some years I can find none. This year, hornbeam catkins showed in abundance, often high on tall trees and the crinkly, fan-like green leaves unfurl to mingle with them in an overall impression of green.
At Sizergh in October, hornbeam were still heavily in leaf and so the fruit did not show distinctly. By 4th November the leaves were autumnal shades of green-gold and traceries of crinkly twigs made a striking pattern amongst fruit of three-lobed bracts wrapped around nuts. By mid-day, cumulous cloud bubbled up and for an interlude the sky grew dark and zapped all colour. Watching rich colour come and go, I worked out how to show those fruits with a backdrop of autumn leaves. As the skies darkened those frazzled hornbeam twigs and dark, lantern-like fruit evoke the mood of Halloween. Sunlit green-gold, they look mellow.
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