The "Itchy Ball" Question

A very serious study. Are those balls on my plane tree the same thing as those "itchy balls" that Dianne has on her tree? My finding is - no way. You look at the evidence, and make your own decision.




These are Dianne's itchy balls.
(This is her photograph.)








These are the seed balls that I find under my plane tree. In my opinion, these are much softer and smoother. (I couldn't even find any whole ones today. They squish and explode almost as soon as they hit the ground.)


I think Dianne's itchy balls appear to be harder and sort of prickly.


So my verdict is that they are from two different types of trees. My plane tree also has bark that peels off very easily - sometimes in sheets. Is yours similar to that, Dianne? They could be in the same family of trees I guess. I don't know enough about the subject to tell.


This very serious study came about because I have posted a few pictures from time to time, on Sky Watch mostly, and have received quite a number of comments from people asking about "those balls" or "the fruits" on the tree. Then Dianne posted a photo today for Straight Out of the Camera, of what she calls "itchy balls" from her tree. So I was inspired to do a post on the subject.



It isn't as if there aren't deeper subjects to cover this month. Among others, it is Autism Awareness Month. It is also Poetry Month - another subject dear to my heart. I'll have to give that more thought before the month's end.

Sky Watch Friday

Hello Sky Watchers! In our part of the world, it is cold and skies are gray and dull much of the time in January. We've been having snow showers too.

Even against the gray cloud cover, I love to see the plane trees that line our street, with their soft seed balls hanging like decoration.




If you'd like to join in, or just to see many other skies, go to the Sky Watch site.
Sky Watch is very efficiently handled by Klaus, Wren, Sandy, Ivar, Fishing Guy and Louise.