I made a puzzling discovery last week when I came upon the following scene:
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| It took me only a moment to recognize the debris left on this stump as the remnants of the flowers of Leucospermum 'Goldie' but why they were consumed and by what was a mystery |
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| The responsible party apparently shredded the flower to get to something at its core |
Whatever creature did this carried the flowers some 10-15 feet away from the shrub's position in the south side border before going to work.
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| Here's the shrub in question |
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| Leucospermum flowers break away from their stems very easily once the flower is spent and many of the stems of this species tend run along the ground so "collecting" the flowers isn't difficult |
Leucospermum flowers produce a nut-like fruit at their core. Many birds, especially those in the plants' native habitat, consume the nectar but other than hummingbirds, I've never seen birds pay much attention to
Leucospermums.
Protea flowers in general, including those in the
Leucospermum genus, are reportedly poisonous to humans, dogs and cats. I found a reference online to rodents and squirrels eating the nuts contained within the flower of one
Leucospermum species. It wasn't this species but the most likely hypothesis is that the culprit responsible for the mess left behind on the tree stump in my garden was a squirrel, even if I've seen few of those critters since I stopped filling the bird feeders in February due to the salmonella outbreak among songbirds. If eating the nuts contained within the spent
Leucospermum flowers is the price I pay to keep the local squirrels away from the blueberries on my back patio, I'm happy to share the flowers.
All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
I always learn something when I read your blog. Interesting that a squirrel might take a bloom like that.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that anything would eat those flowers, Lisa, but squirrels do collect odd things - mine regularly pluck immature guava fruits and bury them in the garden like nuts.
DeleteInteresting... my first thought ran to rodents as well. Both chipmunks and squirrels like to dine on a perch to enjoy the view! At least they wait until the flower is done, it'd be a different emotion if they ate them right after they opened!
ReplyDeleteAfter I discovered the first incident involving the shredded flowers, there were no more for several days - until last night, that is. I count at least 22 flowers on the Leucospermum I photographed yesterday (shown in my post). This afternoon, there are 5 flowers left and I found debris in 2 new spots. I also found a half-eaten Magnolia flower this morning so I think I have a critter that favors flowers.
DeleteMy money is on the raccoons.
ReplyDeleteI tend to blame the raccoons for almost every destructive event in my garden, Elaine. I pointed my finger at the squirrels this time mainly because they were identified in the one article I found on creatures found to consume the nuts contained in Leucospermum blooms. But then the author of that article may be unfamiliar with raccoons ;)
DeleteIt's always so strange to me that plants poisonous to one set of mammals can be safely consumed (or parts of them anyway) by others. Squirrels do seem a likely candidate for foraging this!
ReplyDeleteWhen I read that humans, cats and dogs can be poisoned by Protea, including Leucospermums, I found it surprising that rodents and squirrels could eat the flowers as the article I read specifically mentioned irritation of the mouth (https://florgeous.com/types-of-protea/). However, articles by Gardener's World and ASPCA I just found state there's no evidence of toxicity from Leucospermum cordifolium so who knows?!
DeleteIt was kind of you to provide a lovely dining table.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, although there's a spiky Yucca planted in the hollow middle of that one! I did find new Leucospermum debris in 2 different spots yesterday but possibly that's because I hadn't cleared the "dining table" yet.
DeleteSquirrels can be very odd creatures with a determined drive for anything resembling food .. but wow .. that is different ! .. I thought the yucca was quite niffty in the stump ! I didn't know about the problem for song birds .. hopefully it isn't anywhere near us .. husband has two feeders for the goldfinches .. that is sad. I hope it is just a phase that will pass quickly. Between the bees and birds having such problems .. it is a very scary situation.
ReplyDeleteI first heard about the salmonella outbreak from bloggers in the Pacific Northwest. It seems to be of greatest concern during wet weather and, as we've had little of that and are already in our official dry season, I'll probably clean and fill my feeders again. Cleaning the feeders at least monthly is recommended. Here's one article from a US source: https://blog.nature.org/science/2021/03/24/take-down-your-feeders-salmonella-is-killing-songbirds/
DeleteGardeners are such great observers and detectives. I'd put money on a squirrel.
ReplyDeleteWhen I found a partially chomped Magnolia bud, that sealed the deal on the culprit's identity for me, Jenny. The bird feeders may be empty of seed but the squirrels are definitely here and simply branching out with their food choices (pun intended).
DeleteI would bet on squirrels because it was carried away 10-15 feet and that they would like the tree stump to carefully tease through the flower. Otherwise if it weren’t needed to be carried a distance, I would think a rat is the culprit. My two cents.
ReplyDeleteYes, the bunnies and rats (eek!) tend to eat their meals where they find them. I'll have to check the yellow Leucospermum this morning to see if any the handful of flowers there yesterday remain. I hope they don't seek out the flowers on the other 2 Leucospermums...
DeleteHappening here, too. Plant some of the seeds--some came up for me. :)
ReplyDeleteI thought of your success in getting self-seeded Leucospermums when I saw the debris left after the flowers were shredded but I'm not sure how to recognize the seeds themselves, HB. From the online information referencing Protea in general, it looks like the "nuts" are the seeds, which is presumably what the squirrels are eating.
DeleteOut hiking, when we see that we know the baboons have been feeding.
ReplyDeleteProtea nuts - madacamias come from an Australian protea.
Also have nectar to go with the 'nuts'
I count myself lucky we don't have baboons in the vicinity, Diana!
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