Re: Dogwoods and Holly
Paula Sullivan (paulas@erols.com)
Wed, 25 Nov 1998 20:59:37 -0500
Bill Bridgeland wrote:
>
> Todd,
>
> The answer to some of your questions about the birds' preference for
> some (dogwood) berries over others (holly) lies in the complex
> strategies that different plants have to entice the right frugivores
> at the right time for their particular ecological niches. Some fall
> ripening fruits like dogwood, grape, and Virginia creeper are designed
> to be eaten by fall flocking migrants like robins during a relatively
> short windows, presumably because the best time for the seeds to be
> planted is in the fall. Other fruits like holly, sumac, winterberry
> are less palatable and taken by birds later when little else is
> available. They fill an important role as emergency foods then.
> These plants put less nutrition in the berries, and are adapted to be
> planted during the winter or early spring.
>
> So the point of all this is that the plants are manipulating the birds
> more than the other way around, and they determine when their fruits
> are eaten based on their best interests, and, as a community provide
> food to frugivores throughout the year.
>
> Bill Bridgeland
> Sparks, MD
Bill,
Most interesting answer to Todd's question! Seems to me that I read
someplace that dogwood berries have to be subjected to at least one
freeze before the birds find them edible. Is this true? If so, then
perhaps dogwood berries are not the very earliest fall berries to be
eaten by birds. In any event, I share Todd's concern about the effect
this drought may have on plants and birds.
Paula Sullivan
paulas@erols.com