5th and 6th class are observing a Hawthorn tree as part of the Greenwave section of the 'Discover Primary Science Awards'. On Thursday the 16th of January we had a lesson based on the Hawthorn tree. We examined pictures of the hawthorn tree and we discussed what it looks like.
We learned that it looks like the blackthorn tree and so we need to be very careful when identifying the correct tree. The features of a hawthorn tree are:
- It has grey brown twigs, and still has some red haws on its branches.
- It never has a spine at the very top of its twigs.
- The spines along the sides are short and slender.
- It gets its leaves before its flowers, which are called May blossom.
We found out that the signs of Spring in the Hawthorn tree is when the buds at the end of the twigs, become green, burst and new green leaves appear. However. we also discovered that the first signs of Spring in the Hawthorn tree are not expected until after St. Patrick's Day. Therefore we will not observe the tree until after this date. From there on we will examine the tree on a weekly basis and record our information as either an observation (no sign of spring) or an official record (sign of spring evident).
We found a Hawthorn tree across the road from the school on the main Malahide Road. We knew it was a Hawthorn tree based on examination of the twigs and their spines. Another piece of evidence was the red haws on its branches. This also told us that the Hawthorn tree is not even close to developing leaves or even buds yet.
Here is a picture of the Hawthorn tree that we will be observing:
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