The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring Tra-La

The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring Tra La

by Shelly Papernik<

It’s April and the May tulips are already in bloom. The hyacinths, which normally bloom in April are also blooming. For the gardener, this crowd of plants bunching up like rush hour commuters packing together in subway trains is disconcerting. The gardener has carefully planted for a succession of flowers that not only have room to grow, but are beautiful together. First the pink hyacinths, and the blue chionodoxa. Then the red and yellow tulips. Then the peonies which are in the red family, but a different, more purple shade that looks good with the foxglove, but not so much with the Crayola colored tulips.

Though an esthetic faux pas is annoying, far more serious to the planet is what is happening when plants start blooming out of season, which is what they are doing. Spring for the plants is happening earlier and earlier, and this is happening quickly, not over the hundreds of years it used to take, but more over four or five years. What does this all mean?

The world of living creatures, plants, animals, bacteria, and all other life forms is incredibly intermingled. One thing affects another, and is affected in turn by something else. The complexity of how everything works together is enough to make one believe in a supreme being if one didn’t already do so.

For instance, although the plant may bloom earlier in the year, the insect that pollinates it may not be around then. The bee may still be asleep or may be working somewhere else. We may love flowers for their beauty, but as far as the plant is concerned the flower has a purpose, which is to ensure the survival of its species. As far as the plant is concerned the purpose of the flower is to attract pollinators, because without the pollinators the plant can’t set seed, and without seed, the plant species will eventually die out. Without pollination the flower comes and goes. And the plant eventually goes too.

Through long years of evolution the May tulip has learned that May is the best month for it to flower. Perhaps it is less likely to have a really cold damaging frost. Perhaps the pollinators are at their most numerous, (Hey, bee, look at me! Aren’t I beautiful? Lots of good pollen for honey over here!) and their chances of attracting one are greater in May. Perhaps they are less likely to be eaten by their enemies the squirrels who just may not be quite so hungry for tulip in May as they were in April, coming out ravenous from the winter dearth.

When I say learned, I don’t really mean learned in the sense that we use the word. We mean that an individual learns something and can change its behavior. For plants learning is a more drastic event. It might mean that those tulips that came up in April were devastated, and the few that came up in May survived to not only make more plants, but also to pass on their genetic code, the part that said, “Not now. Not yet. It’s still only April. Wait till May.”

Of course they didn’t talk or think. Darwin’s discovery of survival of the fittest, was not like a body building plan or gym routine. It wasn’t something they could learn to do. It was simply that some plants were more fit to survive the perils that faced them as the world changed.
We know that with the climate change trees in our hemisphere are moving farther north. This is the way we usually hear it, but it’s not exactly what happens. The trees that we see don’t actually move. They don’t suddenly grow feet. What happens is that the trees on the southern part of their habitat die out. Either the warmth itself is the cause, or the warm loving insects that prey on them or something else. But those trees die. They don’t order the moving van and travel north.

Instead, the trees at the northern part of their range produce seedlings even farther north which in the past might not have survived there, but now can because of the climate change. These trees in turn send seedlings even closer to the north pole, and the trees eventually appear in areas they were never seen before.

If we think, not of flowers and trees, but of food plants, the dangers of climate change become very scary. There may not, for instance, be enough time for orange trees to move north, nor enough land. Farmers depend on bee keepers who bring their bees to the farms when it’s time for pollination to occur so that we can get our peas, beans and broccoli. If the peas, beans and broccoli flower before the bees are ready, or if the bees are brought early but then face a devastating fungus, or if there is another plant predator that comes out in the early months which the peas, beans and broccoli have never had to face, and therefore can’t adjust to in time, what then?

Approximately 99% of scientists know from strong evidence that people are responsible for the climate change we now have, and are making it worse every day. The people in power in our country believe with the 1% that this evidence is not true. Regardless of the reason for climate change, if we can do something to prevent it from causing global disruption and widespread famine, wouldn’t it be wise to take these measures now? We know that when we are in the middle of a drought our community will have water restrictions, and though they may be a nuisance, we go along with them. After all, we need water. Now we need to slow down climate change, and we may be able to do this with a few energy restrictions. It’s time to take this next step.