Witches have been leaving their brooms in my yard for some time now, but it’s only recently that I’ve been able to recognize them for what they are.
Witches’ brooms are not uncommon in coniferous forests across North America. Here in Nova Scotia, they’re often found among the balsam firs. A forest novelty, they look like mutant branches on otherwise normal-looking trees.
From a distance, they appear as a ball mass of twigs. In winter, they’re bare of needles and look especially gnarly. On large trees, they can measure several feet in diameter.
In spring, witches’ brooms grow nutritious shoots that are eaten by grouse and porcupines. The new needles are a pale yellowish green and grow in a spiral pattern around the twigs in a manner that’s different from the tree’s other branches. These needles dry up and die in the fall.
The broom is actually a fungus (Melampsorella caryophyllacearum Schröter) that depends on infection of alternate hosts for survival. In my yard, the spores grow on the needles of the fir tree in the spring and are picked up by chickweed that also grows nearby. Later, the fungus on the chickweed passes its spores back to the firs.
Witches’ brooms aren’t welcome on Christmas tree farms where they disfigure trees and weaken them for other diseases to take hold.
In the wild, large witches’ brooms are sometimes used as a foundation for dreys (squirrels’ nests). Northern flying squirrels and red squirrels are both known to make use of them for this purpose. High above the ground in the canopy of the forest, they’re sometimes also used as a base for the nests of birds of prey.
It’s funny how what man sees as messy and an eyesore in nature, wildlife employs for both food and habitat. Perhaps we should get our vision checked.
This past December, a friend was delighted to find a small witch’s broom in the Christmas tree she purchased on a tree lot. Though the seller was eager to cut it off for her, she believed it added something magical to the tree.
For more information on the Yellow Witches’ Broom in Nova Scotia, see here.
Amy, I have never heard of witches’ brooms before – well, apart from the literal brooms on which witches supposedly fly! I had NO idea that it was actually a kind of fungus.
I think it’s so wonderful that we can learn something new by reading other people’s blogs. Thank you for teaching us. 🙂
Reggie, I gain a lot of knowledge just by doing the background research for posts, so we all learn something new in the process. For years I wondered what caused these “things” to grow on the trees.
Nature doesn’t waste much, does she? Even living things like fungus are a part of the ecosystem.
Thank you for taking me back to my Bryophyte college class days!
Scott, absolutely nothing is wasted and every living thing has a seat in the banquet of life.
Something entirely new to me–thanks, I’ll be looking for them.
Pamela, I’m sure you’ll come across some soon. Sometimes, just by knowing that something exists, you have a greater chance of spotting it.
See, Amy….we’ve all learned something new today! Now I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for one while I’m walking the dogs at camp! It’ll be like a treasure hunt! 🙂
Wonderfully amazing Opening Ceremony that Canada put on last night….what a broad, beautiful and fantastic land you live in!
Cindy, be sure to say hi to Jack Sparrow for me if you see him while on your treasure hunt 😉
Yes it is quite a broad and amazing place, with so many landscapes and cultures.
I loved this. I’ve seen the tangles of browned brushy stuff in the trees and wondered at them. Now I know. I’ve always thought of chickweed as an inoffensive little plant. Bet the Christmas tree growers see it differently! Talk about invasive species.
Gerry, the Christmas tree growers are not at all amused at the presence of chickweed. It’s such an unassuming plant, barely noticeable when all else is in bright bloom around it.
So THAT’S what it is called. I have loved those brushy tangles and thought they looked magical in the trees. Places for magic to hide. And here you go calling it “Witches Broom.” I’m sure only good witches hide their brooms there. And on summer solstice they retrieve them and go flying…no…mixing up stories there. LOL!
Kathy, though you forgot to mention the role the king of the faeries plays in all this, the storyline seems quite intact 😉
I have never heard the term before, but have seen them. What I great name. I’ll have to look for them now.
Grace, in the winter, it looks just as you’d imagine a witch’s broom would look – all gnarly with irregular twigs. But it’s quite pretty when in bloom.
Always learning wonderful things on Flandrum Hill. I’m going to be keeping my eyes open for the “Witches Brooms” and am pleased I’ll know what I’m looking at when I find them.
You help me see with fresh eyes every day.
Sybil,next time you visit, I’ll have to show you the ones in the yard.
[…] For more information on Witches’ Brooms, see Witches’ Brooms in Winter. […]