THE LEAFLET

October 19, 2015 /
Italia Peretti

Phenology Folklore Forecasting

Lore holds that if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, winter is extended by six weeks. But did you know that some also believe that trees can predict what weather is in store for us?

On October 14, The Washington Post featured a great article on weather forecasting folklore and it turns out people turn to American persimmons, acorns and hickory nuts to see if winter will be gentle or a grump.

 

Perhaps most interesting is the telltale patterns of the American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) seed. Apparently, if you cut a seed open and get a knife pattern, there will be a cold winter. Fork patterns give you a mild winter with abundant food, and a spoon pattern says find your snow shovel now.

Now we don’t encourage you to rely on the persimmon seed or a whole lot of nuts for weather forecasts, but we do say run with an acorn and nut boon and get to baking.

What other tree weather forecasting have you heard of? Tell us!

Photo courtesy of The Washington Post.