trees
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Let ’em rip
Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides). And these Aesculus buds.Like lipsticks against the sky. And down in the leaf litter: Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum). Amelanchier. Time for the shad to blow.
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Signs and Meanings
“‘You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles.’” ~ A.C. Doyle.
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Longleaf
I’m becoming obsessed with Pinus palustris, the longleaf pine that once covered 92 million acres of the southeast from Maryland to Texas, but now exists in only a handful of preserves. I’ve not seen it in its natural state, only as old lumber repurposed. That’s a piece of it above, one of the benches at…
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All Trees Edition
River Birch (Betula nigra), young above and middle-aged below, if I’m not mistaken. The giant old Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) between the two bridges.Bud on ice. Waiting, waiting…A trio of Catalpa trees, prime Two-Spotted Ladybug habitat.The Kentucky Coffee trees on the right, however, don’t inspire the aphids the ladybugs eat.Catalpa pods.
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Vertical Canyonlands
The distinctive basin and range topography of Northern Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) bark. Layers of the bark’s growth can be seen, looking like layers of sediment, to continue the geological analogy. Hackberries were once classified in the Ulmaceae, or elm, family but are now considered to be a member of the Cannabaceae, or hemp family. Yes,…
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Dark
Our wet days and autumnal leaves are ideal for making for a lot of sidewalk prints. The Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) leaf above the Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) leaf below are both particularly good examples.
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A Good Walk
A good walk in Prospect Park with Ken Chaya, who always adds immeasurably to my knowledge. This young Red Oak (Quercus rubra) was holding on to its youthfully large leaves.A particularly nice spread of “knees” of a Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum). It was once thought that these projections from the roots were pneumatophores, helping the…
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Sweetgum
A pod of the American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) on a recent bright day.These little nuggets came out the mouth-like openings of the pod, so I assumed they were the seeds. But I was wrong. Later, walking with tree-maven Ken Chaya, we knocked another pod. The winged seeds, or samaras, are seen here with more of…
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Oak
I’ve noticed these grapefruit/softball-sized growths on the side of this big old Red Oak (Quercus rubra) before. But on my most recent pass, there was a new one. Turns out to be a fungus.
Backyard and Beyond 