May 1, 2011 - Blooming Oaks
Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

Every spring when oak leaves begin to unfurl, oak flowers expand and bloom in response to rising temperatures. Red oaks tend to flower about two weeks earlier than whites. Oak trees are monoecious. They have both male and female flowers on the same tree. Male flowers are conspicuous. The long, worm-like structures droop downward from the base of newly forming branches. These catkins produce pollen that affects many allergy suffers. Female flowers are easily overlooked without a magnifying glass. Closely resembling leaf buds, these tiny flowers are located on newly forming twigs high in the crown at the base of emerging leaves. The majority of female flowers are pollinated by wind-born pollen from nearby oak trees. Rain can put a damper on pollination. Frost can kill delicate flowers. Both reduce the fall acorn crop.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.