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Nature Moments: How to Identify Winter Trees at 60 mph

Bowdoin professor and Maine Audubon trustee Nat Wheelwright shares easy tips for identifying certain winter trees, even while driving (just remember to keep your eyes on the road!). His latest Nature Moments video:

American beech is actually easier to identify in winter than in summer, even at 60 mph, because it holds onto its dead leaves all winter. The reason? Their ancestors evolved in the tropics where plants photosynthesize year-round. Beeches just happened to keep a tight grip on their leaves when they moved north.

Nature Moments are filmed with the help of Wilder Nicholson, Rebecca Goldfine, Tom Porter, Paul Benham, and Genie Wheelwright.

View all Nat’s Nature Moments videos.