CATKIN DAY

Catkins on a contorted hazel tree in our garden.

A catkin is a strand of tiny unisexual flowers, blooming on many species of trees.
Flowers in these cases are not colourful blooms with petals, as in insect-pollinated blossoms. These flowers are tiny and inconspicuous, but the blooming catkins themselves are elegant, though largely short-lived.
Trees with catkins include those of the Beech family -oaks, chestnuts, the Willow family -willows, aspens, poplars, cottonwoods, the Birch family -birches, alders, hornbeams, the Mulberry family, and the Walnut family -walnuts, hickories.