Tuesday, August 10, 2010

OHC Summer Series #7 Summer Cattail Observations

OHC Summer Series #7 Summer Cattail Observations


Last week we were able to complete our first Outdoor Hour Challenge of the summer.  We have been so busy this summer we have not been able to complete any challenges.  We were very excited to return to our cattail colony and observe it's seasonal changes.  Here is a pictures from our spring visit for comparison.


Our colony had grown exponentially and was awash with  flower spikes.  We were able to find several ripe flowers on the ground.  When ripe the heads disintegrate into dense cottony fluff, from which the seeds disperse by wind.  The children had a blast playing with these billowy spikes and were amazed by the sheer quantity of seeds produced from a single spike. 
We only have one season left of our year long cattail study.  We have all enjoyed watching the amazing life cycle of this beautiful plant unfold.  Here are the links to our winter and spring studies if you would like to share this journey with us.

3 comments:

Barb said...

Wow! What a change from your winter study! Amazing how green they are now and with so many flower spikes. We have really enjoyed this study as well and I look forward to your last entry once the season changes again.

Thanks for sharing your link. Don't forget to submit your entry to the OHC Carnival:
http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_9182.html

Pebblekeeper ~ Angie said...

What a great study! Thanks for sharing - I think seeing the differences between April and August for us - was the largest catapult to asking the "why" questions. :)

Unknown said...

What a great study! The summer study is the first for our cattail adventures, my boys are excited to see how they will change over the next few months. I enjoyed reading your post and visiting your blog. :)