J. O'Keefe Overview Each spring since 1990 we have observed bud break, leaf development, flowering and fruit development on the same two to five individuals of 33 native woody taxa, at 3 to 7 day intervals from April through June.
Habitats range from closed forest, through forest-swamp margins, to field edges.
Individuals within a species span a variety of size classes and habitats. Depending on species, we have observed a range of two to more than three weeks in the timing of both bud break and 75 percent leaf development between the earliest and latest years. Although in some springs plants have developed consistently early or late throughout the season, in other years plant development has varied in response to changing climatic conditions, with early developing species responding to different conditions than later developing species.