Wednesday Woody

For those who might not be familiar with trees indigenous to the United States, this is a close-up of a dried “burr ball” or “gumball” from a sweet gum tree laying on a mossy area in my yard in Central Indiana.

Wikipedia: The fruit is a woody multiple capsule 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.6 in) diameter (popularly called a “gumball”), containing numerous seeds and covered in numerous prickly, woody armatures, possibly to attach to fur of animals. 

For related information visit www.eattheweeds.com/sweet-gum-tree/

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5/52 Freeze-Dried Mystery

Photo of the Week series: Every Sunday in 2012 I will either share a photo from my archives or something new I just can’t wait to get feedback on for future art shows/exhibits.

I woke early yesterday to about a half inch of snow cover. By mid-morning the sun was thawing the tree that has grown attached to my dusk to dawn light pole. Its glistening branches caught my eye so I snapped a few quick photos before the ice melted. A closer examination revealed several baby pea-size, freeze-dried berries still dangling precariously from the branches; most had split open to scatter their seeds to the ground. I am pretty sure these burnt-orange pods were once bright red. I did not have time to thoroughly search the Internet, so the tree and its possibly forbidden fruit remains a mystery for now.

Blogger participation: My hope is to receive enough input on each week’s photo to later post a Bloggers’ Choice of the Month and wrap up 2012 with a Bloggers’ Choice of the Year.