Chapter Eighteen

364 6 1
                                    

Bill Nye pads down the beach, his fur still dampened from swimming. Salt has crusted on his flanks, and he is about to collapse from tiredness. 

Bill Nye: *stumbles away from the water, eyes bleary.* Hello? Is anyone there? 

Leaffeather: Hi there! 

Bill Nye: *looks upward.* Where are you?

Leaffeather: Above you! *Leaps out of tree and slowly floats to the ground*

Bill Nye: Are you from GravityClan or something?

Leaffeather: Of course not! *laughs.* I'm from DeciduousClan!

Bill Nye: *tips his head to the side.* What's that?

Leaffeather: A Clan here in the Forest of Way Too Many Biomes! I'm Leaffeather, a warrior of DeciduousClan.

Bill Nye: That must be... awkward to spell.

Leaffeather: *nods* And awkward to say! But I'm used to it. Soooo, who are you?

Bill Nye: Bill Nye the Science Kitty. Could you tell me a few things about deciduous trees? I'd love to help my audience learn. *gestures toward audience.*

Leaffeather: Of course! *starts walking back to camp* You should ask Oakstar. He's the smartest in the whole Clan.

Bill Nye: That would be ideal... *Follows Leaffeather into a tunnel*

Leaffeather: *waves his tail.* Hi, Maplefur! Nice to see you, Elmwood. Have fun training, Aspenpaw!

Bill Nye: So, what does deciduous? *tips his head to the side.*

Oakstar: *pads up to them.* Well, deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and it is typically used in order to refer to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally (most commonly during autumn) and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe. In a more general sense, deciduous means "the dropping of a part that is no longer needed" or "falling away after its purpose is finished". In plants, it is the result of natural processes. "Deciduous" has a similar meaning when referring to animal parts, such as deciduous antlers in deer or deciduous teeth, also known as baby teeth, in some mammals, including icky Twolegs.

Bill Nye: How fascinating! 

Leaffeather: *chimes in* Plants with deciduous foliage have advantages and disadvantages compared to plants with evergreen foliage. Since deciduous plants lose their leaves to conserve water or to better survive winter weather conditions, they must regrow new foliage during the next suitable growing season; this uses resources which evergreens do not need to expend. Evergreens suffer greater water loss during the winter and they also can experience greater predation pressure, especially when small.

Bill Nye: What's an evergreen tree?

Leaffeather: Oh, you should head to EvergreenClan. They love blabbing about that sort of stuff...

Bill Nye: I'll go there next! So, what are some types of deciduous trees?

Oakstar: Maple trees are all deciduous, as well as most oaks, elms, aspens, and birches. 

Grapepaw: Some types of vines that are deciduous are grapes, poison ivy, Virginia creeper, and wisteria. 

Shrubpaw: Don't forget shrubs, like honeysuckle or viburnum! 

Bill Nye: *smiles warmly.* Well, I'll be off to EvergreenClan now! Goodbye

Oakstar: Bye! Thanks for stopping by.

Radically recorded by Rio ⛈⛈

Bill Nye the Science KittyWhere stories live. Discover now