Next Program

 Recommending "The Hidden Life of Trees" as a reference, Rick Barnes of Downey Tree Service discussed the interconnectivity of trees,

plants and other organisms and how they communicate with each other to warn of disease, predators and climate conditions.

Methods used for communication include wind-borne pheromones and chemical signals through extensive root systems.

Sherry Brownlee discussed how lichen feeds insects, small mammals and butterfly larvae, and is also an indicator of how clear of pollution the air is.

Some lichen grow with moss but are not moss; nor is lichen a plant. Lichen is a symbiotic relationship between algae and fungi.

There are many colors and about 20,000 species. The most common is the green we see growing on tree trunks and branches.

In November, Sherry displayed samples of fall leaf color, which included Sourwood, Red Maple, Kousa Dogwood, Bottlebrush Buckeye and native Blueberries.