Red Oak catkins

Description:

The yellow, wormlike dangles are catkins, more technically known as aments. Catkins are clusters, or inflorescences, of male flowers. Each of the "bumps" on the catkins is a male flower consisting of a bract (a highly modified leaf), a lobed calyx and some pollen-producing stamens. Once the stamens have released their pollen into the air, the entire catkin will fall from the tree. You can find thousands of such spent catkins littering the ground beneath an oak tree early in the spring. Other trees producing catkins include willows and birch. Oak trees have male flowers on one part of their branch, and female flowers on another part of the same branch. On a flowering oak twig you have to look close to see the female flowers -- the future acorns. When a plant bears both male and female flowers it's said to monoecious.

Habitat:

Wildlife habitat yard on Belton Lake.

Notes:

There were so many bees visiting this oak tree there was a constant drone around it. It sounded like a swarm.