Newspaper Page Text
Page 2C
March 16, 2022
^Reporter
MONROE OUTDOORS by Terry W. Johnson
Forsythia: Not a native but a welcome transplant
The many sunnshine-bright flowers of forsythia are especially welcome because
they appear when little else is blooming. (Photo/Terry Johnson)
F orsythia is one of
our most recogniz
able woody shrubs.
This is especially
true in Monroe County.
In fact, we are so
fond of its showy,
bright yellow
fountain-shaped
blossoms, each
spring we stage
a popular event
known as the For
sythia Festival.
Forsythia has
many names.
In Europe it is
often called the
Easter tree. The English
pronounce its name for-
sigh-thia. In the United
States, we call it for-sith-
ia. It is also referred to as
yellow bells or even “yaller
bells.”
One reason it is so popu
lar is this exotic woody
shrub blooms when little
else does. As such, forsyth-
ias and daffodils bring a
bright splash of color to the
otherwise drab late winter-
early spring landscape.
This forsythia is native to
Asia. Some 115 species of
forsythias have been identi
fied. In addition, over the
years horticulturalists have
developed many hybrids.
The plant arrived in
Europe in the 1830s. It was
named in honor of Wil
liam Forsyth (1737-1804) a
Scottish horticulturist.
By 1860 it had made its
way to the United States.
Folks often wonder if this
plant is a source of nectar
for butterflies, bees, wasps
and other pollinators. I
personally have not seen
very many pollinators visit
forsythias in full bloom.
Those that I have seen
visiting forsythia blooms
seem to quickly recognize
the blossoms contain little
nectar and fly away. This
was to be expected as
forsythia blossoms either
produce little or
no nectar.
Over the years
I have spent
a lot of time
trying to see if
there are any
pollinators that
feed at forsythia
blossoms. To
date, I have
learned there
is at least one
insect that routinely feeds
at forsythia blooms. This
insect is named the spring
typhia wasp (Typhia ver-
nalis). This dark parasitic
wasp looks much like a
carpenter ant that has
sprouted wings. For some
reason, it feeds on the
meager nectar located in
forsythia blossoms.
The female spring typhia
wasp lays her eggs on Japa
nese beetle grubs. When
the eggs hatch they burrow
into the grub. Once inside,
it literally eats the grub
alive.
The spring typhia wasp
is not native to North
America. It and 48 other
species of parasitic wasps
were brought to the United
States by the United States
Department
of Agricul
ture between
1920 and
1937. This
was done
in an early
attempt to
biologi
cally control
harmful in
sects. To this
day, spring
typhia wasps
continue to
assist in the
control of
this harmful
garden pest.
The fact
that forsythia
is obviously
not of value
to pollinators does not nec
essarily mean that it does
not benefit wildlife in other
ways. All wildlife require
food, cover and water to
survive.
While forsythia is not a
great wildlife food plant
it does offer our wildlife
neighbors often much-
needed cover. Cover
provides places for birds
and other wildlife to find
refuge from extreme heat,
cold, wind, rain, snow and
ice. For example, in winter
white-throated sparrows,
chipping sparrows, fox
sparrows, song sparrows,
eastern towhees and oth
ers frequent large, thick
forsythia bushes.
These dense shrubs are
also used as nesting sites
of mockingbirds, gray cat
birds, cardinals and others.
These shrubs are also used
by birds, rabbits and other
animals to escape the sharp
talons of hawks and owls.
It would be great if for
sythia was both beautiful
and a source of food for
wildlife. Unfortunately, like
so many other attractive
exotic plants that thrive
in our yards, the forsythia
will never be considered an
important wildlife plant.
That is okay. However, for
those of us that that strive
to make our yards more
wildlife friendly, when we
enjoy the beauty provided
by our forsythia bushes, we
should be reminded that
we also need to add plants
to our landscape that
bloom in the spring
and are both pleas
ing to the eye and
provide food.
Some of the plants
that immediately
come to mind are
redbud, flowering
dogwood, Cherokee
plum, wild blueber
ries, native azaleas
and coral honey
suckle.
A Monroe County
yard accented with
forsythias benefit us
and the wildlife that
lives just outside our
backdoor.
Terry Johnson is
retired Program
Manager of the Geor
gia Nongame-Endangered
Wildlife Program. He has
written the informative
column Monroe Outdoors’
for the Reporter for many
years. His book, “A Journey
to Discovery’’ is available at
The Reporter. Email him at
tjwoodduck@bellsouth. net.
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