6/02/10 A SUDDEN SQUALL

A SUDDEN SQUALL AND ITS RAINBOW
DWARF CORNEL FLOWER
NO, THEY'RE NOT TRILLIUMS
T URNED OVER LEAVES PREDICT A SQUALL
Wednesday, 7:15 AM. 56 degrees, wind WNW, moderate with stronger gusts. The sky is nearly cloudless but the barometer again predicts rain.
We had a sudden rain squall yesterday evening, anounced again by the Carlson’s large red maple tree, which turns its leaves over about an hour before a storm (presenting the gray undersides of the leaves, which can absorb moisture through their stomata, to the falling rain). The barometer never predicted the event, which left not a drop in the gage. An old Bayfield sailor once told me, “When the hillsides turn gray, I head for port.”
Dwarf cornel (Cornus canadensis) is the smallest of the dogwoods, which are generally shrubs or trees. It’s leaves and flowers are very similar to those of the flowering dogwood tree (Cornus florida). In the woods under story the dwarf cornel forms a ground cover very similar to the Trillium. The Trillium flower of course has three, usually white, petals, and the dwarf cornel four.