May 11, 2016

Tree Following: The Mystery Buckeye Unfurls

Buckeye Collage

My little potted Buckeye tree (Aesculus spp.) unfurled quickly over the course of a few days in mid-April, and now it continues to grow. Here's a rough video, using unedited still shots from the past few weeks.



Click here for more information about the mystery Buckeye. For more "tree following" posts from around the world, visit The Squirrelbasket.

32 comments:

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    1. Thanks, Lisa. I probably should have cropped the photos better, but I ran out of time. ;-)

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  2. Interesting! I have never seen this plant before. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hi Endah: It's a nifty tree. Mine is tiny, but growing fast! You're welcome. :)

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  3. Well done.
    My son loves his Buckeye, he thought this was a fun post of his favorite tree.
    Carla

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    1. Thanks! I'm glad your son enjoyed the video. He has good taste in trees. ;-)

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    1. Thanks, Lynne. I'm enjoying playing around with video, but it's quite time-consuming, even to create a very simple one.

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  5. Nice video, Beth!

    Do you know what kind of buckeye it is yet? (Or do you have to wait until it flowers to find out for sure?)

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    1. Thanks, Aaron. No, I do not know what species or cultivar it is. I'm waiting for one of my blog visitors to help me solve the mystery. I'm guessing it's A. glabra, or a cultivar, but I personally can't ID it until I see a flower. Any ideas?

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  6. Oh wheeeee!
    That's a wonderful video - I sat open-mouthed and by the end it was almost a little dance as the leaves whirled around.
    Who'd have thought something so simple could be so effective?
    I particularly liked the leaves when they were narrow.
    Best wishes :)

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    1. Thanks! I went into it taking photos multiple times a day for a few days, and then once a day, and then once every few days. I ran out of time to do a fancy, cropped/edited photo slide show, so I simply loaded the photos into Windows Movie Maker and adjusted the timing, added a brief intro and some music. It really is fun to play with video editing, but it's time-consuming, even for a simple video. I liked the bud and the narrow leaves, too. :)

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  7. Replies
    1. Yes, no longer simply a stick with a bud on the end of it. ;-)

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  8. I have never heard of this tree, very nice to watch it opening up like that....
    Amanda xx

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    1. Thanks, Amanda. Buckeyes are fun trees with nifty flowers and fruits/nuts. They're somewhat common around here, but very common just south of us in the middle Midwestern states.

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  9. Amazing that the plant can change so much in just weeks.

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    1. Yes, a true time lapse over the course of a few days would be incredible to see, too. Everything happens very fast here this time of year!

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  10. What a fun video. I love buckeyes....

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    1. Thanks, Tina. I do, too, but I've never had one before in my garden. :)

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  11. Nice! But when will the mystery be solved?

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    1. Thanks. Good question, Jason. Personally, I won't be able to tell until it flowers, which may be next year. I can't seem to find a big "parent" tree nearby. I'm hoping one of my blog visitors will be able to help solve the mystery. ;-)

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  12. charming time lapse Beth and what a fun project too. The cone mulch added to the overall effect - started out a bit like an acer but doing some research see that it is a horse chestnut or conker as we call them. Going to be a might tree one day

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    1. Thanks, Jane. Yes, it was fun to watch the magic happen over the course of a few days. I had grand ambitions to make a fancy, nicely cropped slideshow or video. But I ran out of time, so I just put them in order, and added music and an intro. Yes, it is an Aesculus. The mystery is, what species? :)

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  13. Beth this was wonderful...I really loved seeing it fully unfurled....now I wonder have I seen a tree like this around here.

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    1. Thanks, Donna! We have some around here, and some of the Aesculus species are native here. But they're even more common in Indiana and Ohio. I remember collecting buckeye nuts when I was a little kid living near Fort Wayne, Ind. :)

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  14. very cool video! certainly looks like a buckeye now

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    1. Thanks, Hollis. Yes, it's a Buckeye! I wonder when I (or a reader) will figure out what species it is...

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  15. There is a particular kind of magic to watching leaves unfurl, I love being able to observe it in that much detail, thank you!

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    1. Yes, agreed! You are very welcome. Actually, this gave me a chance to enlarge the images and see it in more detail, too. :)

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