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Hi USA-NPN,
We are so excited to welcome McKinsey Tighe, our new Student Outreach Assistant, to the USA-NPN Team! You'll be hearing a lot more from McKinsey as she takes over on many of our campaign messages in the next few months
As the year comes to a close, we will take one more look at your eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) and western redbud (Cercis occidentalis) data! Your data submitted as part of The Redbud Phenology Project will help researchers like Dr. Jorge Santiago-Blay of Penn State York and the National Museum of Natural History better understand the flowering and fruiting timing of these iconic spring trees.
In our last message, we looked at ripe fruits for redbuds. This week we will continue to look at your ripe fruit observations. We will also look at your reports of colored leaves and falling leaves - phenophases that characterize the autumn season.
In eastern redbuds, you may continue to see fruits on your tree throughout the winter. You may continue to mark "yes" for these persistent fruits if they have seeds in them. As you observe your redbuds through the winter, keep an eye out for the first flower buds next year as it begins to warm again. That way, when the spring phenophases do appear, you can accurately capture those first "yes" observations.
Some of your redbuds may also show some winter buds! keep an eye out for buds and when buds begin to swell, report "yes" for flowers/flower buds.
Image credit: eastern redbud colored leaves by iNaturalist user audreycho.
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