Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 49
Left to right: wingstem's distinctive seed clusters; the bowed seedhead of torch tithonia (Mexican sunflower);
milkweed pods releasing fluff-borne seeds to ride the wind.
Plants have a problem with which
animal parents might sympathize.
Once their offspring mature, they
need to get them out of the house, so
to speak, so they don't steal resources
the parent plant needs for itself.
Animal parents can (and do) chase
their offspring away, but plants are
rooted and can't do that. Instead,
they equip their offspring with tickets
to ride. Some - jewelweed and phlox
- catapult their seed; some - milkweed, dandelions, asters and goldenrod- provide parachutes; some - dogwood, blueberry, cherries and tomatoes - encase their seeds in tasty fruit.
The seeds of others - beggar's lice
and cockleburs - are fitted out with
barbs to hitch rides in the fur of a
passing animal or on your pants legs.
Since plants can't control where
their seeds will end up, they produce
bewildering numbers of them. Think
of all those seeds that spurt out of a
single ripe tomato, and the number of
tomatoes produced by one plant. One
There's something else I don't understand
about seeds. Why are so many of them so
beautiful? A squirrel would still carry off
buckeyes to cache for winter if they didn't
look like polished burl as they burst from
their husks.
curly dock plant can produce 40,000
seeds which can remain viable for 70
years. A healthy lambsquarter, a common garden weed, can produce a half
million seeds. If those seeds are buried
too deep, by plowing or rototilling, they
can bide their time - years if necessary -
until they're close enough to the soil
surface to thrust their way through.
Then they germinate. How do they
know? Beats me.
There's something else I don't
understand about seeds. Why are so
many of them so beautiful? A squirrel
would still carry off buckeyes to cache
for winter if they didn't look like polished burl as they burst from their
husks. Why are beans, spilling from
withered pods, so colorful and glossy?
Why do jewelweed seeds, freed of the
capsule that encloses them, look like
tiny turquoise beads? Why does the
floss that transports milkweed seed
gleam in late afternoon sunlight as it
drifts over dun fields? In the waning
year, why such beauty at every turn?
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 | 49
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014
Digital Help Guide
From the Farm
From the Editor
The Hike
Festivals & Events
Mountain Report
Creature Feature
The Smokies for All Seasons
Late-Fall Glories: The Photo Essay
Fine Dining in the Mountains
Winter Getaways for Snow Lovers and for Snow Not-Lovers
Vote for the Best of the Mountains: Scenic Drives!
Cabin in the Woods: The Red Horse Inn
Mountain Garden
Guest Column: Beth Macy & Tom Landon
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Digital Help Guide
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 7
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - From the Farm
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - From the Editor
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 13
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Festivals & Events
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 16
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Mountain Report
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - The Smokies for All Seasons
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Late-Fall Glories: The Photo Essay
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Fine Dining in the Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Winter Getaways for Snow Lovers and for Snow Not-Lovers
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 38
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Vote for the Best of the Mountains: Scenic Drives!
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Cabin in the Woods: The Red Horse Inn
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 46
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Mountain Garden
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Guest Column: Beth Macy & Tom Landon
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - Cover4
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