Nature Notes
Flowering Trees Now Putting on A Show All Over Island
By Patricia Martin

During the last few weeks I have been amazed by the abundance of trees that have been breaking bud and flowering. Some are not so showy, and you only notice them because of the shower of tiny flowers that falls on your head when the wind blows and you stand beneath them (Norway Maples, for example) or perhaps you might notice the yellow pollen that accumulates on water in puddles or in troughs.

There are other flowering trees and shrubs that are, as the saying goes, "right in your face." I've been enjoying one such tree right in my own garden. It's an apple (Malus pumila). Apple trees are blooming all over the Island right now. Some are in peoples' yards and others are "wild" remnants of old orchards or perhaps trees that grew from apple seeds unintentionally spread by birds, animals, and humans.

Apples are not native to Mackinac or to the Americas. These trees were originally from Eurasia. This is rather ironic, as the white blossoms of the apple are the state flower of Michigan. It is now estimated that there are more than 3,000 varieties of this species that has been developed by pomologists. Two other closely related species are also blooming right now, the crab apple and the pear. There are a number of species of crab apple, but the one we are most familiar with is the sweet crab (Malus coromaria). This small tree produces an abundance of white to rose-colored flowers one to two inches in diameter. Many people plant these small trees just for the flowers, though they do produce small fruits that will often hang on until spring and that the birds love to eat. These fruits make a tasty jelly. It is not only the fruits that

the birds enjoy. On my apple tree recently I've noticed quite a number of ruby-throated hummingbirds sucking nectar and cedar waxwings tearing apart the blossoms. In addition, the monarch butterflies and the bumblebees have been having a wonderful time fluttering around and drinking from the flowers. The bumblebees are having such a good time that you can get up right next to them and practically pet them.

There are a number of wild trees that are blooming and being enjoyed by the birds and the bees. One that has been flowering for several weeks is known by a number of common names, including shad bush, Juneberry, serviceberry, or Amelanchier (Amelanchier sp.). These small trees or shrubs have simple, alternate leaves that are rather coppery-colored when they first appear and then turn dark green. Their white, fivepetaled flowers appear in a crowed raceme. Each petal is strap-shaped and one half to three quarters of an inch long. They usually appear in late May or early June, though this year they started a couple of weeks earlier. The fruits of these trees appear in July and are round dark-red to purple fruits about one-quarter to one-half inch in diameter. They taste a bit like a blueberry, and make good pies and jam.

Two of the wild cherries are in bloom right now. The pin cherry or fire cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) is a small tree or shrub that has rather oblong leaves with a sharp point and sharp, coarse teeth along the margin. The small white flowers, less than a half inch in diameter, are grouped two to five in a cluster. The petals are rounded, and they appear when the leaves are only half grown. The fruit of the tree is light red, thickskinned with sour flesh, and round. It can be made into jelly. The use of the name fire cherry comes from two possible reasons; the first is that this fastgrowing, short-lived, highly productive tree often completely takes over areas that have been burned. The other origin of the name comes from the fact that in the fall the leaves of this cherry turn a brilliant, flame-like red.

The other cherry that is blooming on Mackinac right now is the choke cherry (Prunus virginiana). It's a small tree or shrub that is found along the edges of woods, along fence lines, and on Mackinac it does well along the East Bluff. It is one of the most widely distributed small trees in North America. The leaves are a bit more oval than the pin cherry, with a small point at the end. They have sharp spreading teeth along the margin of the leaf. The flower is small with five rounded petals similar to the pin cherry; however, the flowers are arranged along a stem in a raceme about four to five inches long. The fruit ripens in July or August, and is dark red to almost black in color. It is round, and

the flesh is very acerbic. When I was a child, we used to dare our friend to eat the cherries because they were so sour and bitter that they made your mouth dry up and pucker. This characteristic, of course, gives them their name. Despite the sour nature of the fruit, the birds love to eat them. I've also known people who made jelly out of them, however, you have to add a lot of sugar.

So far all the trees and shrubs I've mentioned have been in one plant family, which is the Rose family (Roseacae); however, shrubs and trees from other families are also blooming right now. One that several people have asked me about is the redberried elder (Sambucus pubens). This shrub has a dark gray, warty bark with twigs that have an orange to brown pith. The leaves are arranged oppositely but are pinnately compound (the leaves are divided into leaflets along a central axis). The small white to yellow flowers are clustered together in an inflorescence that has a roughly pyramid shape. In June or July small, bright, red berries will appear. Unlike its close relative, the elderberry (Sambucus Canadensis), the red-berried elder is inedible and, if eaten, will send one to the bathroom. When I was a child we called them "snake berries" because of this characteristic.

Before I finish this column on early flowering trees and shrubs, I have to mention the plant that has become closely associated with Mackinac, which is the Lilac (Syringa vulgaris). The Common Lilac is a native of Eurasia and was introduced to North America in the Colonial Period as a garden shrub (Jefferson and Washington had them). They were widely planted

in the east and came to Mackinac in the second half of the 19th century. These shrubs, though around here we call them trees, as they can grow three stories tall and have diameters of more than two feet, have adapted well to the Island, which apparently provides everything that they need to grow well, that is, cold winter, mild summers, a nearly neutral soil pH, and well-drained soil (the natural fertilizer probably doesn't hurt, either). On the Island there are more than 100 varieties of the Common French Lilac. They like it here, and they take very little care. This year they've bloomed one to two weeks early, but so has almost everything else, owing to the mild winter and warm spring. The first lilac to open in my yard this year was on May 24, and I usually don't expect them until June 5 or so. I only hope that they will hold on for the Lilac Festival, which begins Friday, June 9, and continues through Sunday, June 18.

Trish Martin is a year-around resident of Mackinac Island, has earned a master's degree in botany from Central Michigan University, and owns Bogan Lane Inn.