Bursting into life

The European ash trees Fraxinus excelsior are at last starting to break out of their winter dormancy and the flower buds are beginning to burst.

European ashes enjoy a most exotic sexual life. The dark purple flowers, which are without petals, and are wind-pollinated, open before the leaves, as in the photograph. Both male and female flowers can occur on the same tree, but it is more common to find all male and all female trees. Best of all, a tree that is all male one year can produce female flowers the next, and similarly a female tree can become male. Thank goodness humans aren't like that, life is quite complex enough as it is!

The detail will be best appreciated through the naturalist's lens.