Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: strange bud

Last Fall, Steve and I joined our local photography club for a fall colors outing. We went to nearby Ashland's Lithia Park and had a wonderful time wandering around and taking pictures. I was very surprised when I found what I could only imagine was a budding flower on a tree that looked just like a Madrone to me. However, Madrone's don't have flowers like that, so I am clueless as to what this tree is. To further confuse matters, this picture was taken in October, and that's not normally the time for trees to flower from what I know. The mystery has been solved by one of our resident experts on ipernity, none other than Fizgig! Thank you for the identification and letting me know that this is a SEED POD! It all makes sense as it was developing at the end of the year! A big thanks also to Pam J for doing some research for me! It's so nice to finally know what this interesting this is!! :D