The fruit of the elm

Cherry

By Rhiannonw

Wed, 20 Feb 2019
  • 3949 reads
11 comments
 

That favourite, lovely shade of lemon-green
patterning an end of April shell-blue sky,
pale posy bunches,
taut tissue coin-wings
surround each little seed-bulge
so the winds
can blow, disperse
them far beyond their leafing
arboreal source.

photos my own

 

Certificate U
Poem
Nature
Nature

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Some delicious description in this Rhiannon. Are we still missing our Elms, or did they find a disease resistant variety to replant with?

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Insert. I think it is the young elms we see now, in hedgrows. I think the bark has to be a certain thickness for the beetle to get in and cause trouble, so there are a lot of fairly short elms around especially in hedges, certainly in the borderland around here. I've therefore always felt such pleasure when I see their distinctively shaped and coloured fruit still around. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

BRILLIANT!!! This is absolute magic :0)

love "pale posy bunches" "coin wings" Wow! "seed-bulge" perfect . Also "far beyond their leafing"

well, all of it, really!

 

Insert, i wasn't sure what the trees across the road from us are, when I looked them up it seemed that they must be Wych Elms? They sound EXACTLY  what Rhiannon describes here. One of the lovely things is the abundance of seeds, the whole road under them is carpeted with seeds. And, as Rhiannon describes so evocatively, how the green stands out against the blue sky

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Oh, thank you, Di. I wanted to capture concisely that pleasure.

But I think all kinds of elm got/get the disease. I think some larger trees have been saved or got resistant, but as far as I could gather, as I told Insert, it sounds as if it is the thickness of the bark, or not being high enough to take the beetles' notice that seems to have saved the smaller ones for us, and that they spread through suckers if the 'parent' one dies. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you for the cherries. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Such amazing descriptions in this piece Rhiannon. I can't pick out a favourite part, as the whole poem is perfect.

Very much enjoyed reading.

Jenny.

 

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Jenny, so much. Good to know it was so much enjoyed. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Nolan on

Lovely. We do have similar trees here according to your description but I don't know if they're called Elm trees. By the way what is "the fruit of the Elm"?

Have a good weekend! Nolan &

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, glad you enjoyed my little description!

Not 'fruit' that are eaten, but the botanical fruit of the elm is these little seeds with a 'wing' all around the seed to help it fly in the wind, unlike the seeds of sycamore that have a wing shaped like an aeroplane wing. These 'fruit' of the elm are very distinctive, and as you read in the comments above, the dutch elm disease carried by a beetle has killed off most of the large elm trees in Britain. I don't know about South Africa.

Rhiannon

 

Submitted by forest_for_ever on

Not just the poem, but the photo transported me.  You paint pictures with words and I am grateful for this beautiful piece. I rarely write about the countryside, but poems like thiis are not only beatifully crafted but an inspiration.

forest

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, very much. Rhiannon