Here's your sign

Every year about the middle of February, a small native tree called the American hazelnut tree takes it upon itself to ride like Paul Revere announcing quietly, "Spring is coming! Spring is coming!"

The American hazelnut tree is one of the first plants in Southeast Missouri to flower each year. This spindly tree is more like a tall bush. It doesn't grow very tall, and it often forms a small thicket. This plant has both male and female flowers. A single plant can pollinate itself.

This picture, which I took Thursday, Feb. 19, shows several light green male flowers. They are called catkins. Each 2- to 4-inch catkin will produce pollen that looks like dust when shaken. The female flowers are very tiny purple blossoms that grow separately and intermittently along the limbs. Pollinators for the American hazelnut include birds, squirrels, wind and anything that shakes the tree's branches, including deer or even man. This plant does not rely on insects of any kind for pollination!