Tree Notes

The Popular Poplar Tree

2009-11-11T21:51:00.000-08:00

A tree-climbing poem

The upper branches of a cottonwood (poplar) tree -- probably

a plains cottonwood, as this photo was taken in Colorado

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonhurd/ / CC BY 2.0

How would it would feel to climb high in a poplar tree, with gusts of wind swaying the branches? Oh, my, I am definitely too old for that! It gives me a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach to think about it.

The Popular Poplar Tree

When the great wind sets things whirling
And rattles the window panes,
And blows the dust in giants
and dragons tossing their manes;
When the willows have waves like water,
And children are shouting with glee;
When the pines are alive and the larches,---
Then hurrah for you and me,
In the tip o' the top' o the top o' the tip of
the popular poplar tree!

Don't talk about Jack and the Beanstalk---
He did not climb half so high!
And Alice in all her travels
Was never so near the sky!
Only the swallow, a-skimming
The storm-cloud over the lea,
Knows how it feels to be flying---
When the gusts come strong and free---
In the tip o' the top' o the top o' the tip of
the popular poplar tree!

---Blanch Willis Howard

Maybe the poet's poplar was popular because it was so easy to climb. Or maybe she just enjoyed the sound of the similar words.

I came across this little poem in Arbor Day Leaves: A Complete Programme for Arbor Day Observance, Including Readings, Recitations, Music & General Information. This booklet was compiled by N. H. Egleston of the USDA Forest Service and published in 1893 by American Book Company of New York.

Tree planting mistakes have consequences

2009-11-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

Young trees that failed to thrive

A lady from my hometown in Nebraska writes a daily newsletter. Today she mentioned some trees that were planted 15 years ago in a small town about 60 miles from where she lives. It's interesting to learn that the trees failed to thrive when traditional cautions -- don't plant the tree deeper in the soil than it was in the pot; beware of trees with roots that circle the inside of the pot -- were ignored.

Back in 1994 they planted trees in the park that later became the swimming pool park. Only a few of those trees have really grown right. So two of the state foresters took an air spade and blew the dirt away from the roots of a Norway maple and an ash tree. Both were planted at least 6" too deep plus they were potted trees and had roots that were circling. One root was so large that it had girdled one side of the Norway maple. The ash tree roots had grown up and to within an inch of the surface of the soil and then went out from there. This is a very poor scaffolding for the tree when it is windy. Neither tree was over 12" tall. The maple had stunted leaves and poor top growth. The ash had limbs only on three sides and had set a huge amount of seeds indicating it was stressed and dying. They are going to try leaving only an inch of soil over the roots and then add 2" of mulch and see if the trees are happier. (Source: Email from Carolyn J. Hall, dated 11/6/09.)

Wooden Roads and Streets

2009-11-02T23:57:00.000-08:00

Four types of wood pavement

When you hear the word "pavement", does wood come quickly to mind? Probably not! However, wood has been used in various forms as a paving material in America's history -- particularly in areas where wood was more easily available than stone.

Corduroy roads

An ancient method of creating a hard-surfaced road is to lay logs side by side across a trail. Corduroy roads, created in this way, have been made around the world for centuries (where adequate forests existed). The idea was thousands of years old when it was brought to the American continent.

In America, corduroy roads were built mainly in areas where a dirt road became impassable in wet weather or in swampy areas that would be impossible to cross without a raised road. The logs were laid in place and the gaps between the logs were filled with dirt. If a single layer of logs did not rise above the muck, another layer of logs and dirt was added on top. Sometimes entire logs were used, and sometimes the logs were split in half and laid flat-side-up.

Corduroy roads were rough to drive across. They could be dangerous for horses, oxen, and travelers, if the logs were not well chinked and firmly lodged in place. Maintenance was needed to keep a corduroy road safe, stable, and usable.

In 1913, a New York Times article (pdf) cautioned that corduroy roads, built across Virginia's swamps during the Civil War, would provide a "good jolting" but might be hard to avoid. A famous example of a corduroy road in more modern times is the Alaskan Highway; some sections were constructed over a corduroy road base.

Plank roads

The first plank road was built in New York in the 1840s. Planking was installed as an improvement to an existing, well-traveled dirt road by an investment company, and travelers were charged a toll to use it. Plank roads were built in many states; the following description of their rise and decline comes from a short article about plank roads in Cook County, Illinois.

Usually there was a row of heavy stringers on each side of a 16-foot roadway and across them were laid (but not spiked) heavy planks of pine and hemlock or, better, oak and walnut. However, the planks soon warped, decayed, and frequently floated away or were "borrowed" by neighboring settlers. After a few years, with little or no maintenance, most plank roads became so uncomfortable and dangerous that they were abandoned. The decline of those "revolutionary improvements" was almost as rapid as their rise. (Source: Early Cook County Roads, Part 2)

It is interesting that a plank road was constructed in 1912 and used through the 1920s as a passage across sand dunes in the Imperial Valley of California. (Here is another account of the Imperial Valley plank road with photographs).

"Coal" road

In Michigan, where trees were abundant, another type of wooden road had developed by the mid-1800s:

The method was to pile logs along the road two or three feet high, and burn them in practically the position in which the material was to be used. After the coal was burned, it was raken off and graded down to the required width and depth of the road. This construction gave very good satisfaction, and in 1845 the Commissioner of Patents in his report stated that at the season when the mud in an adjoining road was half-axletree deep, on the coal road there was none at all, and the impress of the feet of horses passing rapidly over it was like that made on hard-washed sand as the surf recedes on the shore of a lake. (Source: Street Pavements and Paving Materials: A Manual of City Pavements by George William Tillson. See P. 293.)

Wooden block pavement

As the cities of America expanded after the Civil War, the demand and need for paved streets grew. European cities -- Paris, Berlin, London, Edinburgh, and others -- had been experimenting with using blocks of wood as pavers for decades. City dwellers liked wood-block pavement because it was quiet (the iron-shod feet of horses didn't clank on wood). Wood pavement was less slippery for horses than harder surfaces. And, furthermore, wood-block pavement was considered an advancement in sanitation.

American cities tried the idea with varying degrees of success. Sometimes, circular slices of logs were laid with the spaces between them chinked with cement or another filler. This method was not very satisfactory because the wood wore away quickly at the edges, making the remaining rounded surfaces very rough to drive across.

Closely-fitted, uniformly-sized blocks of creosoted or otherwise-treated wood made a more durable pavement. Different sorts of blocks were developed and patented by enterprising sawyers -- some were hexagonal, others were square and beveled in a special way, etc. Municipalities established standards for the buyers of the wood for paving blocks. Civil engineers experimented with species of wood, shapes of blocks, fillers between the blocks, and the underlying roadbed, trying to create the most durable surface possible.

Until I began researching this post, I had no idea that wood block pavement was used to such an extent. It was very common. For example, Chicago, in 1904, had 750 miles paved with badly-deteriorated round cedar blocks that were chinked with gravel and coal tar. If you would like to know more about paving with wood blocks, read the chapter "Wood Pavements" in Street Pavements and Paving Materials: A Manual of City Pavements by George William Tillson.

Different worlds

In the early 1900s, automobile ownership increased, the use of horses decreased, and the abundant forests were finally depleted. Road builders and city planners turned to bricks, crushed stone, asphalt and concrete -- materials we are familiar with today.

It's hard to imagine wooden streets and roads, as we look back from the 21st century. But it was a different world, then -- a world that faced its problems with much less knowledge and technology, but plenty of wood.

Famous live oaks of Oak Alley Plantation

2009-10-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

Quercus virginiana in splendid maturity

Oak Alley Plantation is famous for a long lane, lined with live oaks, which leads to a large mansion. The plantation is located near the Mississippi River, about three miles from Vacherie, Lousiana, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

The live oaks were planted early in the 1700s by an unknown French settler. In 1722, monks traveling through the area made note of the double row of vigorously-growing young oaks in their journals. The trees were 120 years old (or more) when the current plantation home was built in the late 1830s. The 28 trees of the alley were the architect's inspiration for the 28 columns of the house.

The alley is 80 feet wide and about 800 feet long. Each side has 14 trees. The planter of the oaks planned well for their ultimate size. He knew that he would never see them in their maturity; yet, he thought about what they could become and what their space requirements would be. The magnificence of his vision is fulfilled, three centuries later.

Live oak facts

Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) is nearly always wider than it is tall. Live oaks commonly reach a height of 40-60 feet with a spread of 1-1/2 times the height or more. Individual specimens may be 80 feet in height and 120 feet or more in spread. Live oaks often live 400 years, and individuals may live longer.

The tree is renown for its extremely dense, heavy wood. The acorns are relished by a wide range of wildlife; they are said to be the sweetest of all oak acorns. Native Americans gathered and stored live oak acorns to thicken their stew. They also pressed them and extracted an oil.

Like all live oaks, Quercus virginiana is an evergreen tree, holding its leaves throughout the winter months. In spring, old leaves drop off and new leaves are formed.

More tree history at Oak Alley Plantation

Another interesting bit of tree history took place at Oak Alley Plantation, In the 1840s, Antoine, a talented gardener who was a slave of the plantation, grafted the first paper-shell pecan trees. By 1865, 126 grafted papershell pecan trees were growing on Oak Alley Plantation. The variety of pecans which Antoine created became known as "Centennial".

Related websites:
Images of Oak Alley from Life magazine, 1952
Photographs of Oak Alley's trees and the mansion
Amazing images of big live oaks
Official site: Oak Alley Plantation

Photo credit: Wikimedia image by Rolf Müller, 2003.

Autumn colors of some native trees

2009-10-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

Leaf colors in autumn

Green Ash	yellow
WhiteAsh	reddish-purple
River Birch	yellow
Blackgum	scarlet
Cottonwood	yellow
Flowering Dogwood	scarlet
American Elm	yellow
Hackberry	yellow
Hawthorn	scarlet
Hickory	yellow
Red Maple	red to yellow
Silver Maple	yellow
Sugar Maple	yellow, orange, red
Northern red Oak	russet to red
Scarlet Oak	russet to red
White Oak	reddish-purple
Pin Oak	bronze or red
Osage-orange	yellow
Redbud	yellow
Sassafras	orange to scarlet
Serviceberry	red-orange
Sumac	red
Sweetgum	yellow to red
Tuliptree	yellow
Black Walnut	yellow

Hackberry: A great wildlife tree

2009-10-20T23:46:00.000-07:00

Celtis, celtis occidentalis

Leaves and fruit of common hackberry (celtis occidentalis). Berries are indicated with arrows. Image from Wikipedia.

The small berries of hackberry trees are relished by many songbirds in fall and winter, including the bluebird, cedar waxwing, yellow-bellied sapsucker, mockingbird and robin. The reference book, American Wildlife and Plants,* lists over 25 different songbirds who include hackberries in their diet.

The berries are also eaten by gamebirds such as wild turkey, quail, doves and pigeons. And as you might expect, squirrels eat the berries, and so do beaver, possum, raccoons, skunks, gray fox, wood rats, and (in Texas) the ring-tailed cat.

Some species of hackberry trees are called sugarberries or honeyberries which helps to explain why the berries were used by the Native Americans and why people still use hackberries for jelly and wine.

One or more of the eight species of hackberries are found in nearly every state from the Rocky Mountains east. In western Kentucky where I live, our hackberries are celtis occidentalis or common hackberry.

For us, common hackberry is usually a medium to large tree, but in less hospitable conditions, it may not attain such size. It's a versatile tree that tolerates many growing conditions from wet to dry, but it doesn't like permanently swampy areas and it doesn't like acidic soil.

Forestry guide Steve Nix at About.com cautions that common hackberry produces surface roots that can interfere with lawn mowing and raise sidewalks. Think carefully about where to plant the tree, but do consider it because of its great wildlife value.

Cultivars are available from nurseries, or you can transplant a seedling from the wild in early spring or late fall. Starting them from seed requires some patience -- if planted outside, the seeds germinate in 1 to 2 years.

------------
Related:
Hackberry information page in the USDA Plants Database
Hackberry Emperor butterfly

* American Wildlife and Plants by Alexander Martin, Herbert S. Zim, and Arnold L. Nelson, published by McGraw Hill Book Company in 1951. The book is out of print, but it's often available from used book dealers.

Common hackberry in summer, Hopkinsville, KY

The Spotsylvania Stump

2009-10-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

Battle-ravaged tree, preserved at the Smithsonian Institute

A few years ago, we spent four days visiting the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. To say that the museums are packed with interesting exhibits is an understatement; the Smithsonian must be experienced to appreciate it. I wish we lived closer!

At the time we visited, the Museum of American History was closed for renovations. A small exhibit from the history museum, "Treasures of American History", was set up in the Museum of Air and Space.

The history museum's curators chose about 150 items to represent American culture and history, including Mr. Roger's sweater, the ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, R2D2 and his buddy CP3O, the ENIAC, Thomas Jefferson's Bible, George Armstrong Custer's coat, George Washington's uniform and battle sword, Abraham Lincoln's top hat, and the Spotsylvania stump.

The Spotsylvania Stump is all that remains of a large oak tree that once grew in a meadow near Spotsylvania, Virginia. On May 7-19, 1864, Union and Confederate troops engaged in the Battle of the Spotsylvania Courthouse. On May 12, 1864, during a fierce encounter, the oak tree was mutilated by hundreds of bullets from small arms. During the battle, the tree's trunk broke, leaving only a stump standing. Estimates of the number of casualties vary, but 25,000 or more Union and Confederate troops were killed or wounded.

About a year later, the fallen oak tree had disappeared -- hacked up and carried away by souvenir hunters. Even the shattered trunk had been dug out of the ground and removed. When a Union division visited the battlefield and discovered that the stump was missing, Major General Nelson A. Miles made inquiries and located it in the smokehouse of an inn proprietor. Miles confiscated the stump and presented it to the U.S. Secretary of War. (Source.)

The oak tree's trunk, just below the place where it was severed, was 22 inches in diameter. The stump still contains bullets that it took the day the Spotsylvania meadow became a battlefield. It is a testimony to the ferocity of the fighting and the tremendous destruction of life that occurred at Spotsylvania and other Civil War battlefields.

Credit: Museum of American History photo from Wikipedia.

Which state trees are members of the pine family?

2009-10-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

1/3 of the official state trees belong to the family Pinaceae.

Links on the state names in the list below lead to an official state symbols page. Links of the Latin tree names lead to the USDA Plants database.

Alabama - Longleaf Pine - Pinus palustris
Alaska - Sitka Spruce - Picea sitchensis
Arkansas - "Southern" Pine - Genus Pinus
Colorado - Blue Spruce -Picea pungens
Nevada - Bristlecone Pine and Piñon/Nut Pine - Pinus aristata and Pinus edulis
New Mexico - Single leaf Piñon - Pinus monophylla
North Carolina - Native Pines -Genus Pinus
Idaho - Western White Pine - Pinus monticola
Maine - Eastern White Pine - Pinus strobus
Michigan - Eastern White Pine - Pinus strobus
Montana - Ponderosa Pine - Pinus ponderosa
Minnesota - Red Pine - Pinus resinosa
Oregon - Douglasfir - Pseudotsuga menziesii
Pennsylvania - Eastern Hemlock - Tsuga canadensis
South Dakota - White Spruce - Picea glauca
Utah - Blue Spruce -Picea pungens
Washington - Western Hemlock - Tsuga heterophylla

I was disappointed with the images -- if any -- that most of these states showed for their state tree. Students would never be able to learn the identifying characteristics of their state trees by looking at most of those photos.

Read more about the pine family (Pinaceae) at Conifers.org.

Ginkgo tree on Google Hot Trends

2009-10-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

Smelly ginkgo seeds are a curiosity and a problem.

A week ago today, I brought my morning coffee to the computer and sat down to read the news. One website led to another, and before long, I was taking a look at Google's Hot Trends -- a list of the top 40 search terms of the past few hours.

Usually when I glance through the Hot Trends, I don't know what or whom most of them are. (I don't keep up very well with "popular culture", as my son calls it.) So, I was surprised to see a familiar name on the list -- "gingko tree". Yes, the tree Ginkgo biloba was one of the top 40 Hot Trends of that moment.

Why did the curiosity of thousands of internet users focus on the gingko tree at about 7:00-8:00 A.M. PDT on October 5, 2009? I think I can guess. Two headlines from Google's list of ginkgo-related news articles and blog posts offer a clue:

As the female ginkgo tree dresses herself in the beautiful yellows of her autumn habit, foul-smelling seeds mature and drop to the ground. It is ironic that these two events coincide.

The seeds are about the size and color of wild yellow plums. The odor of the fleshy part of the seed is often compared to rancid butter (both contain butanoic acid) or to feces.

Technically, the ginkgo tree's seeds are not fruits. The gingko is classified as a gymnosperm because it produces naked seeds. The squishy, smelly part of the seed is a fleshy shell that covers the harder life-containing center of the seed.

A standard solution for the seed problem has been to plant male ginkgoes. Male trees produce pollen-bearing cones. It is interesting that the pollen contains motile sperm (sperm that can move themselves). The sperm fertilize ovules on the branches of female trees. Fertilized ovules develop into seeds.

It is unusual for gymnosperms to be dioecious-- that is, to have separate male and female plants as the ginkgo does. Ginkgos have a latent ability to be monoecious: male ginkgoes sometimes start producing seeds, foiling the best-laid schemes of landscapers and homeowners.

Various (male) cultivars have been developed and are available through nurseries. Or, you can grow your own ginkgo tree from seed. But please don't plant ginkgoes where the seeds will ever be a problem -- even if you're starting with a male tree. Plant them in a place where you can see and enjoy the unique beauty of the tree -- but a place where you won't smell or step on the seeds, if the tree ever produces them.

Bur oak: America's largest acorn

2009-10-08T23:15:00.000-07:00

Mossy cup oak acorns

It's tree trivia time! Did you know that the acorn of the bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) is North America's largest native oak acorn? A very large bur oak acorn might measure up to 2 inches in length. Most bur oak acorns are in the range of 1 inch to 1-1/2 inches in length.

The bur oak is sometimes called mossy cup oak, a name that refers to the fringe around the edge of the acorn cup. Usually, the cup covers about half of the nut, but occasionally, the cup will be so large that only the tip of the nut sticks out of the fringe. Another common name for the bur oak is overcup oak.

The twigs of bur oaks have corky ridges. If you click the photo above and enlarge it, you can see ridges on both sides of the twig, giving it an irregular, thickened outline.

The acorn in the photo is growing on a bur oak that my husband planted. In the fall, he gathered fallen acorns from the big bur oaks at his childhood home in Independence, Missouri. When he got back to Kentucky, he planted the acorns in clumps of half a dozen, a few inches deep. He wasn't particularly fussy or scientific about it. A number of little oak trees came up the next spring, and he thinned them down to this one.

This tree, and several other bur oaks he planted at the same time are now about 15 years old. At 25-30 feet, they are big enough that they are becoming significant trees in our landscape. They grew slowly at first because they were establishing their roots, but now they seem to be growing two feet or more annually. They have been bearing acorns for several years.

The bur oak, a member of the white oak family, is native to much of the eastern United States and part of eastern Canada. It commonly lives for several centuries and individuals trees in favorable conditions may live much longer. In maturity, it may reach 100 feet in height and in spread. Many creatures of the wild enjoy its acorns and some nibble the twigs as well.

Two trees with red leaves in the fall

2009-10-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

Autumn's earliest reds in these two Kentucky natives

In the earliest days of autumn, red leaves appear within the tangled, brushy fencerows of rural Kentucky roads. These bright spots of fall color are often provided by two native trees -- sumac, in its several species, and sassafras. I enjoy seeing them progress into an overall state of crimson as the season continues.

Sassafras (Sassafras albidium) can grow to be a large understory tree (up to 50 feet tall) in the woods. The larger sumacs, such as flameleaf (Rhus copallinum) and staghorn (Rhus typhina), can reach 35 feet of height in ideal conditions, such as at the sunny edge of a grove of trees. However, in the fencerows along roads, these trees don't often attain such heights.

Along the county and state roads, the road departments use regular mowing, brush cutters, and herbicides to discourage woody growth. Our regional electric company uses a horrible, aerial "bush hog" under power lines. It chops and breaks every growing thing to a 10-foot height. Farmers repair their fences and clear the trees and bushes from the fencerows from time to time.

These sorts of setbacks don't kill out the sumac and sassafras. Both these trees have extensive root systems that will shoot up new trees. Individual stems may perish, but sassafras and sumac colonies will persist as long as their root systems survive to send up root suckers. That explains the widespread occurrence of these two trees in the fencerows.

In addition, both trees produce fruit that is eaten by birds. When birds rest and roost on the fences and in the bushy growth of the fencerow, seed-laden droppings fall to the ground. This is one of nature's methods of planting new trees.

Sumac provides one of nature's most reliable autumn reds. The fall colors of sassafras include bright yellow, orange, red, and purple.

Ten easy-to-identify trees of Kentucky

2009-09-28T00:44:00.000-07:00

Trees every Kentuckian should know

In response to Rick Marsi's list of the "Top 10 Southern Tier Trees You Should Know", here's my list of ten trees that I think every Kentuckian should be able to recognize. Why? Because as well-rounded citizens of the Commonwealth, everyone should know by sight a few of their state's native trees.

The trees in my list are fairly unmistakable, with a little study. Start with these ten, learn a few more, and soon your friends will think you're a tree expert.

1. Baldcypress

(Taxodium distichum)-- Easily identified by a strong, mostly-straight trunk, fine feathery foliage that is shed in autumn, and the knees and buttresses they develop when grown by or in water. This icon of the South is one of North America's longest-lived trees, commonly living 400 to 600 years old and sometimes twice that.

2. Beech

(Fagus grandifolia)-- Smooth, silvery-gray bark and (in winter) dead leaves that persist on the tree into mid-winter make the beech easy to recognize. If in doubt, look for other beech trees nearby; it is rare to see a single beech tree because beech trees send up suckers. Beechnuts are a highly valuable wildlife food. The museum of the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, KY, has a section of a beech tree trunk on which is carved, "D. Boon Kilt a Bar, 1803." It was probably carved by someone else as Boone was living in Missouri by then. .

3. Shagbark hickory

(Carya ovata)--Easily identified by its unique, peeling bark. If in doubt, check for a large compound leaf with 5 leaflets. Hickory nuts are also a highly valuable wildlife food. Hickory lumber played an important part in American history -- it was the preferred wood for wagon and buggy axles and wheels. It is one of the best firewoods, producing long-lasting coals, few sparks, and a lot of heat.

4. Virginia pine

(Pinus virginiana) -- Easily identifiable by the many small cones which the tree never seems to completely shed, the short, two-per-bundle needles, and often, an overall "scraggly" appearance. In my part of Kentucky, Virginia pine is found on dry, rocky ridges where it doesn't have much competition for sunlight. It is valuable as a pioneer species in areas that have been eroded or burned. It is also grown and marketed as a Christmas tree. The pine seeds are an important food for small mammals and birds; larger mammals graze the branches, especially in winter.

5. Sycamore

(Platanus occidentalis)-- These giants of the lowlands are easily identified by their very large leaves and the white bark of their upper branches. Young sycamores often have mottled, peeling patches of bark on their lower trunks with the bark becoming white at the top of the tree. In late summer through mid-winter, look for dangling seedballs, which give the tree its nickname, "button-ball tree".

6. Persimmon

-- (Diospyros virginiana) Easily identified by its unique, dark-colored bark which is broken up into small rectangular blocks so the trunk of the tree appears to be covered with wooden alligator skin. In autumn, look for orange fruit about the size of a ping-pong ball. Persimmons are greatly enjoyed by most wild animals and birds. The seeds in the persimmons can be cut open and "read" to predict the severity of the next winter, according to folklore. Early settlers developed many recipes for persimmons and also used persimmon juice, bark, and twigs in various medicinal brews.

7. Eastern redbud

(Cercis canadensis) -- A small tree of the forest understory, easily identified by pink-to-lavender blooms that burst out from the branches and trunk before the leaves appear in spring. Toothless leaves are dark green and more or less heart-shaped. and older trees often have several trunks. Pea-like pods form on the branches and trunk in mid-summer and persist on the tree through mid-winter. Notable for its beauty, not for its wildlife value.

8. Eastern cottonwood

(Populus deltoides)-- Easily identified by its leaves, fruit, bark, and form. Cottonwood leaves are shiny, toothed, and triangular ("deltoides"). The fruit, a dangling string of miniature pods, is the source of the name "cottonwood". When ripe, the pods burst open, releasing cottony seeds into the wind. The bark is deeply-furrowed, coarse looking and gray-brown in color. A mature cottonwood has massive branches and trunk, and may reach 100 feet in both height and spread. Loves moist areas. Do children still blow through a folded cottonwood leaf to make it whistle, or is that a forgotten art? I taught my children, and I certainly intend to teach my grandchildren, should I be so blessed.

9. Sassafras

(Sassafras albidum)-- An understory tree that is easily recognizable by its oddly-shaped toothless leaves. On a single tree, some leaves will be mitten-shaped, some will have three "fingers" and some will be oval. The sassafras is one of the first trees to show autumn colors. Sassafras tea was once considered a good remedy for many ailments, and root beer was made by fermenting sassafras root with molasses. (See "Sassafras, the root beer tree".)

10. Southern magnolia

(Magnolia grandiflora) -- Easily identified by its large, dark-green leaves which are leathery, oval-shaped, toothless, and simple. Noted for its large, fragrant, white blossoms, this big tree is another icon of the South. In Kentucky, we're at the northern edge of its range.

11. White Oak

(Quercus alba) -- Even in winter the white oak is easy to recognize by its rugged, strong appearance and its light-gray ("white"), finely furrowed bark. In maturity, it is a large tree as wide or wider than it is tall. It has large branches (often, nearly horizontal), and a stout trunk. The white oak can live 300-500 years or more, and it deserves recognition for that fact alone. It's also a highly valuable wildlife tree. In Kentucky, it's impossible to estimate how many gallons of whiskey have been stored in white-oak barrels, how many cabins had white-oak planks on the roof, and how many hand-dug wells were lined with white oak.

Oops, looks like I have eleven instead of ten. I miscounted and now I can't make up my mind which one to leave out!

Twelve native trees with large surface roots

2009-09-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

Bad choices for areas near paving or sidewalks

Due to their large roots at the surface of the soil, these trees are not suitable for planting near sidewalks or driveways. They will cause problems if planted within "wells" in paved areas, parking lots, etc., and they will be increasingly difficult to mow around, wherever they are planted. Be careful that you don't plant them where their roots will be a trial and tribulation in your life.

Red maple (Acer rubrum)
Silver maple (Acer saccharinum)
River birch (Betula nigra)
Hackberries (Celtis spp.)
Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)*
American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Pin oak (Quercus palustris)
Willow oak (Quercus phellos)
Live oak (Quercus virginiana)
American elm (Ulmus americana)

From a list in Trees for Paved Areas, a 2002 publication of the Virginia Cooperative Extension. Non-native trees in the list include weeping willow, London planetree, and Norway maple.

*Your nursery may recommend cultivars of the southern magnolia that are supposed to have fewer surface roots. It would be a good idea to do some thorough research of the cultivar on your own, before planting .

Bur Oak Canyon of Hitchcock County, Nebraska

2009-09-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Remnant population of bur oaks in southwestern Nebraska

A deep, rugged canyon just 2 miles long, surrounded by vast expanses of prairie, is an unlikely outpost for the bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa). Nevertheless, the Bur Oak Canyon in southern Hitchcock County, Nebraska, has sheltered a remnant bur oak population for thousands of years.

The stand of oaks in Bur Oak Canyon is believed to date back 5,000 to 10,000 years. Of the 300 to 400 bur oaks in the canyon today, some individuals may be 200 years old. They are the only known native bur oaks within 200 miles.

Forester Tim Buchanan of Fort Collins, Colorado, explains that after the last ice age ended about10,000 years ago, the climate became favorable for oaks to spread across the prairies. Oaks advanced even into some parts of Canada. Then about 5000 years ago, the climate became hot and dry on the Great Plains -- and in the area of the Bur Oak Canyon. Oak trees on the surrounding prairies died from the stress of prolonged drought.

The microclimate and geology of the deep canyon helped the bur oaks survive. The bur oak's long taproot also gave the tree a survival advantage. A bur oak seedling sends its taproot deep into the ground before it begins to add height above ground. In the first growing season, it may develop a taproot over a yard in length. It also develops an extensive system of lateral and feeder roots.

It is suspected that the bur oaks in the canyon carry some genes from hybridizing long ago with other oaks, probably with gambel oaks (Quercus gambelii) and post oaks (Quercus stellata). Gambel oaks are native to South Dakota, Colorado, and the American Southwest. Post oaks are native to most of the Eastern United States. Neither post oaks nor gambel oaks are native to Nebraska today -- presumably they died out in the great drought 5000 years ago, if they ever grew in the area.

Due to cattle grazing in the canyon (which is privately owned and part of a ranch) and a lack of squirrels to disperse the seed, seedlings have a hard time getting started.

The activities of the 2009 Bur Oak Symposium include planting seedlings and acorns, and protecting new and established seedlings. The goal is to reestablish and preserve the stand of oaks in Bur Oak Canyon for the future.

More about Bur Oak Canyon:
Bur Oak Symposium 2008
Bur Oak Symposium 2009
Bur Oak Canyon -- Flickr photoset
Bur Oak Canyon -- Flickriver photoset

Related
Bur Oaks Grown from Seed -- Flickriver photoset

Images in this post are from Wikipedia.

Timber rattler threatened in Tennessee

2009-09-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

Timber rattler habitat decreasing

This timber rattler at the Nashville Zoo is typically colored for Tennessee.

I read an article about a timber rattler found on a Murfreesboro, TN, elementary school campus. Unfortunately, the school superintendent killed it, rather than calling an animal control service that might have been able to remove and relocate it without injury.

Timber rattlesnakes are considered threatened in Tennessee. In fact, it is illegal in Tennessee to kill, harm, or possess any native wild snake without a permit. The school superintendent was out of line, despite the circumstances.

Murfreesboro, TN, is a city of about 100,000 people that is located 35 miles southeast of Nashille. It is right in the middle of timber rattler country. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation describes the areas of the U.S. where timber rattlers have historically been found:

The range of the timber rattler extends from southern New Hampshire south through the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and west to southwestern Wisconsin and northeastern Texas. Populations were once found on Long Island and in most mountainous and hilly areas of New York State, except in the higher elevations of the Adirondacks, Catskills and Tug Hill region. They are now found in isolated populations in southeastern New York, the Southern Tier and in the peripheral eastern Adirondacks. (Source)

The rattler in Murfreesboro was probably hunting. It was spotted late in the evening by walkers. A place with bits of food litter on the ground is a good place to hunt for rodents. During the warmer months of the year, timber rattlesnakes return regularly to favorite hunting spots within a 2 to 3 mile area of their winter den. The snake may have hunted on the school property many times.

The common name of the timber rattler derives from their attraction to rugged, timbered areas. Their winter dens are usually in an area where rock outcroppings, rock ledges, or loose rocks create sheltered nooks below the frost line.

Timber rattlers like a sunny, rocky knob near their den, where they can lie in the sun and warm up in the early spring. The rocks provide emergency shelter in case of a change in the weather or a predator, while the snakes are still not moving at full speed. Pregnant females bask on warm sunny rocks for much of the summer as their babies develop.

Despite their common name, timber rattlesnakes are not particularly good at climbing trees; their heavy bodies don't lend themselves to shinnying up tree trunks. It's rare to see one high in a tree. However, they are considered one of the better climbers of the rattlesnake family.

In the woods, timber rattlers often hunt around fruit trees or mast trees (oaks, hickories, beech) because the fruit and nuts attract rodents. Squirrels are said to be an important part of their diet. They also hunt in newly-mowed meadows or recently-harvested fields, when such areas are within their range. There, they feast on voles, moles, gophers, mice, and rats.

Timber rattlers are usually not aggressive. They prefer to rattle rather than fight.The vast majority of bites from timber rattlers occur when people attempt to handle them. The bites are rarely fatal, though they are very painful. Some members of the Appalachian snake handling churches have reportedly been bitten dozens of times by timber rattlers. Deaths are typically because victims do not seek medical attention promptly.

Murfreesboro is currently the fastest growing city in Tennessee and one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. It added about 20,000 residents in a recent five-year period, according to statistics in Wikipedia.

As Murfreesboro and Nashville sprawl toward each other, development is taking up more and more timber rattler habitat. A Murfreesboro realtor writes, "But even with the growing demand, the Nashville area is still a reasonable market. Rolling hills covered with bright, green foliage makes the Middle Tennessee area a perfect place for families and business. " That's bad news for timber rattlers.

On the web:
Timber rattlesnake conservation study at Cumberland University -- You-Tube video -- Professor Danny Bryan implants a radio device to track movement of a medium-size, male timber rattler for up to two years.

The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus): How to tell if you actually saw one!

Public domain timber rattler photo from Wikipedia by TimVickers. Note the large scales on the body, small scales on the head above the eyes, elliptical (oval) pupils of the eye, triangular shape of the head, and comparatively small neck.

The tree-hugger goes to the zoo

2009-09-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

Native trees observed at the Nashville Zoo

When I was at the Nashville (TN) zoo last weekend, I enjoyed seeing the trees almost as much as I enjoyed the animals. The zoo is being developed on Grassmere, a historic 200-acre farm that was south of Nashville until the city grew around it. We visit every two or three years, and every time we go, new exhibits have been opened and more animals added.

How the zoo came to Grassmere

Elise and Margaret Croft were the last private owners of Grassmere. The two elderly sisters lost their main income when their family's sugar plantations in Cuba were nationalized by Castro in 1960. The city of Nashville had surrounded their farm by that time, and the property taxes were too expensive for them to pay. They could have sold the farm to developers, but they felt it would be a desecration of the land and a betrayal of the wild animals who lived there.

In 1964, the Croft sisters reached an agreement with the Children's Museum of Nashville that the Children's Museum would pay the taxes and help with the maintenance of the large old house. The Croft sisters would be able to live on the farm for the rest of their lives, and the museum would inherit the property when they died. They were lovers of nature, so they stipulated that the land could be used only as a nature study center.

Margaret Croft passed away in 1974. Custody of the land was assumed by the Children's Museum of Nashville in 1985, following the death of Elise, and in 1997, the Nashville Zoo took over the property.

Bamboo forest in the native woods

A visit to the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere has always been like a walk in the woods. I don't know when the property was last farmed seriously, but it was a long time ago -- decades, maybe even most of a century. Wherever I look around the zoo, I see woods. Some of the property has been cleared for animal enclosures, facilities for people, etc., but otherwise, it appears that the trees have taken over. Many of the trees are tall, mature specimens, suggesting that they've been growing for quite a while.

There's a new part of the zoo called the "Bamboo Trail", and the name is appropriate. Tall stands of bamboo grow thickly along the paths and the animals who are kept in that area are natives of bamboo forests. It's interesting to experience bamboo as a forest. (Photo at right: looking straight up from a park bench along the Bamboo Trail.)

Still, as a native tree enthusiast, I'm concerned about this "bamboo garden displaying a wide variety of bamboo found around the world," as the Nashville Zoo website describes it.

Bamboo is renown for being invasive; some species are more invasive than others. I hope the landscapers have some foolproof system of barriers to keep it all contained. If not, mature trees in adjoining areas are going to have fierce competition for resources, and the understory won't stand a chance.

My concerns are not unfounded. Look closely at the photo of the Alligator Cove sign and you will see many young bamboo shoots. This sign is in a wooded area that adjoins the Bamboo Trail. I hope they are clipping the invasive shoots like these to give to the animals!

Native trees at Grassmere

Around the main visitor's center, a dozen or more Magnolia grandifolia have been planted. They are young trees, but they're growing nicely. They are 30 to 40 feet tall now. It's late summer, so their fruit is beginning to form. I think Nashville is a little north of the true native range of Southern magnolia, but they can be grown there (and even farther north) successfully.

Elsewhere in the zoo, there are big beautiful hackberries (lots and lots of hackberries), beeches, hickories, cottonwoods, tulip poplars, maples, black walnuts (photo at left), oaks and redcedars. (I am just mentioning some of the most common tall trees I saw.)

I realize that the zoo is going to clear some wooded areas as exhibits are developed. I understand that the animals need winter quarters and roads to bring in food for them. I know that the visitors must have parking lots for their cars. I even realize that some visitors are going to consider the native trees "run-of-the-mill" compared with the bamboo forest.

However, I hope the zoo developers will conserve, protect, and propagate the beautiful native trees of Grassmere wherever they can. I am positive that the trees were part of what Elise and Margaret Croft hoped to permanently protect on their farm. It would be impossible to live there and not love the trees.

- - - - - - - - - -

One last thing that I want to mention -- and this is probably true of all zoos -- I read in a Nashville Zoo press release that the zoo needs unwanted vegetation such as tree trimmings, especially in the winter.

Species particularly mentioned as desirable are hackberry, elm, redbud, sweetgum, hickory, willow and -- bamboo. The vegetation is given to the animals for "physical and mental stimulation". The zoo calls it "browse."

Because of what the animals can eat and what they like, some tree clippings are are not suitable. The zoo will NOT accept oak, sycamore, tulip poplar, cherry, maple, walnut, locust, or any evergreen tree.

Front lawn of the Grassmere home

Baldcypress at Lake's Edge

2009-08-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

Three little trees I take an interest in

I've been watching these three young baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) trees for several years. They grow on the shore of Kentucky Lake near the Eggner's Ferry Bridge in Land Between the Lakes*. Turn off the road at the Fenton campgrounds, follow the road to the boat docks, and you can see them too.

When our daughter was attending college at Murray, KY, I passed through Land Between the Lakes whenever I went to visit her. I first noticed these little baldcypresses when I stopped to take some photos of Kentucky Lake on a windy day in 2007. Now our son is attending Murray State University, and I stopped to see how the little baldcypresses were doing when I drove home from Murray last week.

I was happy that the little trees are much larger than the last time I last saw them. I'm a little worried about the two smaller ones, though. I don't think their needles should be changing color and getting ready to fall off already. Certainly they are deciduous trees, but it's only the middle of August. I suppose they might have some kind of blight.

I suppose this will sound crazy. After all, these are baldcypresses, and they're supposed to be able to live in water. Still, I can't help wondering if constant submersion might be affecting the health of these young trees. When I first saw them, they were growing in wet soil at the water's edge. I think they are now standing in at least two feet of water. Kentucky Lake is full this year because we've had a wet summer.

I haven't found any information that I consider reputable about the tolerance of young baldcypress for growing in water most of the time. I did learn that baldcypress seeds will sprout in contact with wet soil, but not in water. As soon as they sprout, they start growing upward at a rapid rate; they elevate their photosynthesis organs (their leaves) as quickly as possible.

I read in Floridata's article about baldcypress that it grows faster, larger, and healthier when it doesn't have to tolerate floods. However, because baldcypress seedlings can't survive in heavy shade, they are usually out-competed in moist upland forests. Thus, baldcypress is most often found at water's edge where it gets plenty of sunshine and a lot less competition, even if it doesn't thrive quite as well.

Baldcypress is famous for the knees that develop when it is grown in or near water. One theory is that the knees are pneumatophores (air roots that help the main roots with gas exchange when the tree is standing in water). Another theory is that they function as anchors to keep the tree stable in ooze and muck. Whatever the knees do, I'm sure these babies are growing some.

*Kentucky Lake (created by a dam on the Tennessee River) and Lake Barkeley (created by a dam on the Cumberland River) are two nearly parallel bodies of water. Land Between the Lakes (LBL) is the 170,000-acre, mostly wooded, inland peninsula that lies between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkeley. LBL is managed by the National Forest Service, and the dams produce TVA electricity.

Big Oak Tree State Park

2009-08-16T00:21:00.000-07:00

An important place for me to visit

I'll be 58 next month, and I've been thinking about some things I'd like to see and do during my 58th year. I must admit that some of these things could/should have been done long ago -- but better late than never, no?

One of my goals is to visit Big Oak Tree State Park, in extreme southeastern Missouri. I've crossed the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers at Cairo, Illinois, dozens of times. However, I've never taken the time to turn off the main road and drive 25 miles south to the park. I'm always in a hurry, on a trip to visit my family.

The park has a very interesting history. This area, already a flood-plains forest, sank up to 50 feet in some places during the great New Madrid Earthquake of 1811. Swamps became swampier. As settlers populated the area, they recognized the agricultural potential of the rich, alleuvial soil, and a century of reclamation began, with the goal of creating as much farmland as possible.

By the 1930s, nearly all of the swamps had been drained and nearly all of the forest had been cleared. One tract in Mississippi County, soon to be logged, contained the largest bur oak tree that has ever been known. Public sentiment was aroused, and a statewide effort began to save the big bur oak and to preserve a remnant of Missouri's great forest of the Mississippi floodplain.

Because of the Great Depression, the state of Missouri did not have enough funds to purchase the acreage where the tree grew. With a combination of state funds, private donations, and the generosity of concerned citizens who gave what they could, enough money was raised to buy 1007 acres of virgin hardwood forest in Mississippi County. This purchase included the tract of land with the giant bur oak tree. In 1938, the Big Oak Tree Park was dedicated.

The bur oak fell in the 1950s. Its death at the advanced age of 396 was attributed to lightning strikes and rot. The tract of land where it grew is now a National Natural Landmark. The National Park Service describes the area as "the only sizable tract of essentially virgin wet-mesic bottomland habitat."

In addition to the champion bur oak, the park has been a home to other state and national champion trees as well. Missouri State Parks information says that "...trees in the park are unsurpassed in the state for their size, with a canopy averaging 120 feet and with several trees more than 130 feet tall. Five trees qualify as state champions in their species; two others rank as national champions."

The park is attractive to bird-watchers as well as tree-lovers. Around 150 species of birds have been observed there, including some very rare species that have not recently been seen -- and that brings me to a sad ending for this story.

It seems that the park's forest is not in good health. According to an article in American Forests, the old trees are dying and seedlings are not growing. The cane brake is also dying.

Part of the problem is a lake that was built in the park in 1959, destroying the natural swamp that had been there. Drainage systems within the park, designed to prevent flooding of nearby farmland in wet weather, have deprived the ecosystem of the water it needs to sustain itself. Beaver dams were dynamited, also increasing the drainage. Foresters are trying to correct these mistakes now, but it may be too late for the forest to recover.

So I must visit Big Oak Tree State Park sometime soon -- as soon as possible.

Images in this post are from Wikipedia. The map is from the article "Big Oak Tree State Park" and the photo is from an upload page titled "Big Oak Tree State Park Boardwalk". I highly recommend viewing the full-resolution version (3.96 MB ) of the photo above. Thank you to Knowledgeum, the photographer.

The forest claims one of its own

2009-08-10T23:43:00.000-07:00

Mysterious disappearance of a Kentucky frontiersman

Here is a brief biography of one of Kentucky's earliest settlers, James Harrod, who founded the first permanent settlement in Kentucky:

JAMES Harrod, born in Virginia in 1746; reared and educated in his native state, immigrated to Kentucky in 1774, and built the first log cabin on the present site of Harrodsburg; he was a successful agriculturist, an expert with the rifle, and a brave and intrepid soldier, ranking as one of the leaders in military affairs, distinguishing himself at the battle of Point Pleasant in 1774; subsequently he represented Harrodsburg (which was named in his honor) in the Transylvania Assembly; he was in the habit of making solitary excursions into the forest, and from one of these trips, which was undertaken about the year 1825, when he was about eighty years of age, he never returned, nor was any trace of him ever discovered.

Source: History of Kentucky (p. 628) by Charles Kerr, William Elsey Connelley, Ellis Merton Coulter. Published in 1922 by the American Historical Society, Chicago and New York.

Unfortunately, the authors were mistaken about the date of Harrod's disappearance. Dozens of other sources say that Harrod disappeared in 1792. He would have been less than fifty years of age at the time.

Coincidentally or not, Harrod prepared a will shortly before his disappearance. The settlers searched the woodlands surrounding Harrodsburg, but no trace of him was ever found.

To this day, no one knows what became of Harrod, but there are three lines of speculation: 1) He suffered an accident in the woods and died. 2) His wife had been unfaithful and he decided to leave. Rumors circulated to this effect. 3) He was murdered. Various rumors were spread about this as well.

James Harrod was a skilled and experienced woodsman and hunter, strong, brave, and resourceful. One writer of the mid-19th century considered him a "hunter-naturalist" of note, a man who met the challenge of the wild land in which he lived.

One thing that can be said with certainty is that Kentucky was virtually untouched by European settlers when James Harrod build a log house at Harrodsburg in 1774. The forests were in their perfect primeval state. Chestnut, American elm, and ash trees were untouched by disease and exotic insects. Elk, wolves, bears, and passenger pigeons were as familiar as blackbirds, deer, and rabbits. What dramatic changes the next two centuries brought!

Redbud pods maturing

2009-07-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

How to collect the seeds of Cercis canadensis

As I waited in a parking lot to meet my daughter a few days ago, I noticed the redbud (Cercis canadensis) trees nearby. This didn't require extreme tree identification skills -- the redbud is easily identified in summer by its (generally) heart-shaped leaves. In the leaf, several major veins begin at the juncture of stem and leaf, spreading out like spokes from the hub of a bicycle wheel.

Here is a good image of a redbud leaf at Bioimages. Please don't look at the photo in this post for help in identifying a redbud leaf. My photo has some other leaves of shrubbery mixed in with the redbud leaves. Also, the redbud leaves were a bit bug-eaten, and possibly mildewed. (We've had an exceptionally wet summer in this part of Kentucky.)

Besides the leaves, I knew these trees were redbuds because of the clusters of seedpods. Some of the seedpods were nearly mature and some were still green, but they were hanging in clusters from the branches.

Curiously enough, the redbud doesn't bloom at the tips of its branches as most trees do. Redbuds bloom from nodes on the branches. After a tree has bloomed many years from the same node area, it develops swollen areas that look almost pregnant. (image at right.)

If you want to collect redbud seed, wait until the pods are brown and dry. Then open the pods and pop out the seeds. Discard any seeds that have insect holes or that are not uniform in shape, size, or color. Store the seeds in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer. To sprout and grow, the seeds must be both scarified (seed covers scratched) and stratified (buried in cold wet sand for several months).

Nature doesn't seem to have much trouble with the
scarifying and stratifying. Owners of redbud trees can testify to the ability of redbuds to propagate themselves.

How to prepare for the emerald ash borer

2009-07-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Pointers from Minnesota tree experts

Today, Agweek published an article titled "Own an ash tree? Follow these tips." It's a list of practical pointers that may help ash tree owners as they decide how to deal with the emerald ash borer in their landscape.

The Minnesota experts don't recommend treating an ash tree with preventative chemicals until the borer has been identified within 15 miles. They also caution that tree owners should beware of scam artists who want to sell expensive, useless treatments.

You might want to print the article and keep it, if you find the tips helpful. Internet news articles sometimes become unavailable after a few weeks.

Catalpa (catawba) "worms"

2009-07-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

Larval form of the Ceratomia catalpae moth

Catalpa (catawba) trees are essential to the life cycle of the large, brown, night-flying moth Ceratomia catalpae. The United States has two species of catalpas -- southern catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides) and northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa). The Ceratomia catalpae (catalpa sphinx moth) can use either tree as a host, and catalpa moths may be found wherever catalpa trees grow.

The female moths lay piles of tiny, translucent, pearl-like eggs on the undersides of catalpa leaves or on the branches, often several hundred or even a thousand at a time. When the eggs hatch, tiny larvae emerge.

As the larvae feed on the catalpa leaves, they grow through several stages of development, becoming darker in color as they grow older. At their largest, they can measure up to three inches long. The catalpa worms always have a "horn" -- a spike at the end of their abdomen -- like the tobacco and tomato hornworms.

Catalpa worms spend their time eating catalpa leaves, and when a catalpa tree has hundreds of larvae consuming its foliage, it often develops areas of defoliation that give the tree a ragged appearance. Fortunately, the tree usually tolerates the abuse without long-lasting ill-effect.

The catalpa larvae burrow into the soil about three inches to pupate. The life cycle is complete when the large adult sphinx moths emerge, mate, and lay more eggs. Two or three lifecycles in a growing season are common.

Catalpa worms are said to be excellent fish bait for catching bluegill and catfish. One method is to cut the worm in half and turn it inside out (using a match) so the flavor is released to attract the fish. They can also be cut into pieces and threaded on a hook like earthworms. The skin of the worm is tough, so it stays on the hook and the worms are said to be lively for long periods of time. (Bait durability is much appreciated by fishermen.)

Worms can be shaken out of a catalpa tree onto a tarp spread on the ground. Fishermen sometimes preserve the worms for future fishing expeditions by packing them in cornmeal or sawdust inside glass jars or shoe boxes and freezing them. When they are thawed, the worms are still fresh and alive -- or if not, catfish like dead catawba worms, too.

The catalpa tree in the image below grows in the town of Van Buren, Missouri, about 150 yards above the Current River. It is the largest catalpa tree I've ever seen. Catalpa trees can grow 70 or 80 feet tall, and this tree is all of that or more. It would be difficult to shake it for worms.

All this writing about fish bait makes me feel like going fishing! I even know where there's a catalpa tree in our neighborhood.

Image credits: Ceratomia catalpae adult photo (found on Wikipedia) taken by Shawn Hanrahan at the Texas A&M University Insect Collection in College Station, Texas. Catalpa worm photo from outdoor.webshots.com by user jsimsw.

Shaggy barked hickories near a stream

2009-07-19T23:17:00.000-07:00

Carya ovata or Carya laciniosa

I saw these hickory trees in an old church yard in Christian County, KY. They are growing about 100 feet from a little stream that usually has some pools of water, even in the hottest, driest months of summer.

I don't know whether these hickory trees are shagbarks (Carya ovata)or shellbarks (Carya laciniosa). The two species are very similar. Shellbarks are said to prefer moist locations, so these may be shellbarks. The bark of shellbarks is supposed to be a little less shaggy and scaly than shagbarks. To be honest, I usually call them all shagbarks.

In Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Urban and Rural America (see bibliographic info at bottom of page), Gary Hightshoe writes that shagbark hickories (Carya ovata) sometimes grow in alluvial soils in the southern U.S. -- that is, where a stream has deposited silt over the centuries. However, they are often found in dryer environs, such as sunny, wooded hillsides.

Shagbarks can tolerate poor drainage but they will not live where water stands for long periods of time. The trees in the photo are far enough away from the stream that flooding would be brief and infrequent.

Shagbarks are long-lived, slow-growing trees, often surviving over 200 years. The church was built in the first decade of the 1900s, and I suspect that the trees were saplings or bigger at that time.

The shagbark hickory's shape is somewhat narrow. Typically, its spread is about half its height. These trees' lower branches were probably removed to facilitate mowing, making them look particularly narrow in shape. In maturity, the shagbark can reach 100 feet in height in optimal conditions. I believe these trees are about 100 feet tall.

The photo below shows another shagbark or shellbark hickory, a few miles away, which also grows near a little stream. I suspect this one may indeed be a shellbark, because the nuts are so big already.

Young sycamore tree (American planetree)

2009-07-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

Fast growing native tree

This young sycamore (aka American planetree, buttonwood, or buttonball) tree is growing along the road ditch near the bottom of a hill. In this spot, it receives ample moisture, and it is flourishing. Look how it is shooting out new leaves.

Sycamores grow very quickly. I've had personal experience with this. About ten years ago, we transplanted a sycamore seedling that sprang up in my garden. It has grown to at least 50 feet of height now, and its ultimate height and breadth will be as much as 100 feet. It likes the area where it is planted -- a section of our little acreage that is not well-drained. A few inches of water sometimes stand there after heavy rains, and the soil stays "squishy" most of the winter and spring.

Fortunately, it doesn't really matter how well we mow around our sycamore. This sycamore, as is typical of the species, has a lot of roots along the surface of the soil. The long, protruding, root "branches" can be a problem in a well-groomed yard because they're difficult to mow across.

The extensive system of heavy surface roots helps the sycamore to "hang on" in wet areas where the soil sometimes turns muddy or is completely washed away -- such as the stream bank where a sycamore is clinging, in the photo below.

Sycamore's Latin name is Platanus occidentalis. It is found in most of the eastern U.S., and it can be easily recognized by its large leaves and its mottled and peeling white bark. Look for it along waterways.

I've written quite a lot about sycamores. If you're interested in them, be sure to click the "scyamore trees" label for more articles.

Tree Planting in the Amana Colonies

2009-06-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

Useful trees cultivated by the Inspirationists

The Amana Colonies of east-central Iowa were one of the most successful communes in the United States. The colonies were established by a group of like-minded Pietists who immigrated from Germany in the 1840s and settled briefly in New York. In the mid-1850s, the group moved to the prairies of eastern Iowa, where they lived communally through the early 1930s. In 1905, the group held over 26,000 acres and the population had grown to over 1800.

A shared religious faith was the basis of the commune and the glue that held it together for over 70 years. The settlers of Amana called themselves "The Community of True Inspiration," believing that God speaks to His followers through inspired prophets, in modern times as in olden times. However, they also believed that the words of the Werkzeuge (prophets) should be carefully tested to see if they were true inspirations -- thence, the name of the group.

One of the Werkzeuge who had a great deal of influence over life in the colonies was Barbara Heineman (1795-1883). The hundreds of inspirations she received included one, late in her life, that dealt with the types of trees that should be grown in the Amana villages. Trees that had been planted for shade or beauty were to be removed, for only fruit-bearing trees should be planted at the homes of the Inspirationists.

There is in the Jahrbuch for 1880, a testimony by Barbara Heinemann, given three years before her death, in which the planting of ornamental trees is severely denounced by the Lord. "Wilt thou, then," it reads, "prove that it is a beautiful custom to plant trees not bearing fruit? Know then, that the pleasures of the eye and of the flesh and the over bearing manner are a mark of worldliness, and that the spirit of the world has created in you the desire for such a beginning. Alas, away with this idolatry. See ye to it then, that all trees not bearing fruit be removed from the house, for they belong to the pleasure of the eye. You indeed have the opportunity to plant a fruit tree instead, in which the Lord and all sensible people take pleasure."

Source: Amana, the Community of True Inspiration (p. 97) by Bertha Maude Horack Shambaugh. Published in 1908 by the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City.

The effects of this proclamation are still visible today, according to Jeff Meyer, author of The Tree Book, who notes that the tree population of the seven Amana villages still contains many hickory trees, planted in acquiescence to Heinemann's inspiration.

The Amana Inspirationists, as the Iowa State Horticultural Society reported in 1898, cultivated a superior wild red cherry through careful selection of the seed.

In the German or Amana colonies on the Iowa River in Johnson county, Iowa, which moved to their present place from the State of New York, Mr Budd tells that there is grown in quantity in each of their seven villages a variety of the bird cherry which bears young and abundantly, a fruit which they value for cooking. It has dark foliage and pendulous branches and does not sprout after it commences to bear heavily. The fruit is about as large as a good sized black currant, with a stone no larger than an ordinary bird cherry. It is a pleasant acid, rather too acid to eat raw, but so valued for pies as to be grown largely.

Source: Fruits for the Cold North (p. 35 ) by Charles Gibb. "Reprinted from the Report of the Ontario fruit growers association for 1883."

They also grew groves of catalpa trees, probably for fence posts and as a cash crop for railroad ties.

The National Park Service describes groves of pine trees, planted throughout the Amana farmland. Pine trees lined the borders of cemeteries. The schoolchildren of the colonies also planted and tended several large groves of pine trees called schulwälder (school forests). The pine groves were much enjoyed by the Inspirationists as places to walk and to picnic.

The pine groves of the Amana Colonies were commended in a 1908 U.S. Forest Service bulletin :"The Amana colony in Iowa County has several large groves of white pine and other pines which have proved very successful. Soil of this region is usually a rich sandy loam."

One large schulwäld of Austrian pines was harvested during World War II, and its wood given to the war effort. At least one schulwäld is still standing on private property in the area, according to the National Park Service.

Wikipedia image of a historic home in or near

the village of Middle Amana