Monthly Archives: May 2016

Magnolia, Tree Species

Magnolia fraseri

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Mountain magnolia, Magnolia fraseri, is also known as Fraser magnolia, earleaf cucumbertree, umbrellatree, or mountain-oread.

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The range is very limited, and this magnolia is natively primarily found in the hardwood forests at the base of the Appalachians, with some additional range.

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For such a limited range, precipitation has a sizeable amount of variation. Temperature is a little less variable, especially in the summer. In winter months, the temperature varies a little by area. Frost-free days are medial, at 150 to 180 days annually.

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Generally, the mountain magnolia is found in soils with moderate moisture. Sites are typically protected as well, and mountain magnolias do best in soils with high mineral content.

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The white flowers are 8 to 12 inches wide, with six to nine petals. They usually open from May to June. A good crop of seeds occurs every four to five years, but stump sprouts survive more easily than seedlings, typically.

Mountain magnolia has very thin bark, making it susceptible to fire damage, which leads to wood rot. Cankers, rot, insects, and prolonged flooding can damage or kill the tree.

Typically, larger individuals with defects make dense for wildlife, and sprouts and foliage are browsed.

Nyssa, Tree Species

Nyssa sylvatica

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Black tupelo, Nyssa sylvatica, has two common varieties. One is the typical black tupelo, var. sylvatica, and the other is the swamp tupelo, var. biflora. The two are usually distinguishable by the habitat difference, and are otherwise difficult to differentiate. Unfortunately, it is difficult to tell which is present at Lafayette College, as most trees are planted and not naturally found on College Hill. Records recognize the Nyssa sylvatica at the college as the black gum. However, both varieties are known by this name. The more common typical black tupelo, var. sylvatica, will be described in this entry, due to the swamp tupelo being more at home in swampier land than present at Lafayette College.

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Black tupelo, Nyssa sylvatica var. sylvatica, is also known as black gum, blackgum, sourgum, pepperidge, tupelo, and tupelogum. It has a very wide distribution, which correlates with the wide variety of climates, altitudes, and temperatures. However, rainfall overall in the range averages at 50 inches per year. Variation in the rainfall is dominantly found in when the rainfall occurs, as further south most of the rain occurs in the growing season, whereas the opposite occurs in the north.

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At higher altitudes, the tree tends to be smaller. Otherwise, the tree reaches heights of 120 feet and a trunk diameter of 48 inches.

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Black tupelo is polygamo-dioecious, meaning that some individuals have bisexual and female flowers, while others have bisexual and male flowers. The flowers appear from April to June, with fruit ripening in September and October and dropping until November. The flowers are very small and tend towards a pale green, while the fruit is about half an inch long and dark blue.

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The fruit is eaten by many animals and black tupelo is often used as a den for small creatures. The tree is also good for honey.

Quercus, Tree Species

Quercus phellos

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Willow oak, Quercus phellos, also known as peach oak, pin oak, and swamp chestnut oak, can sometimes be confused for a willow tree by the shape of the leaves and by location.

QuePhDist

This oak is found in the southern United States and is medium to large, with a long life and quick growth. An average size is 80 to 120 feet in height with almost 40 inches in trunk diameter.

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Humid, temperate climates are ideal for the willow oak. Long, hot summers and short, mild winters are preferred. Frost-free days are comparatively many, with a minimum of 180 to 190 days and a maximum of 300 days. Additionally, most willow oaks are exposed to 2,700 hours of sunshine annually, with humidity ranging from 50 to 70% throughout the year. Willow oaks are often found on moist alluvial soils, as well as near water, similar to typical willows. Sometimes willow oaks can be found on former floodplains, such as on old terraces, but these oaks are rarely doing well.

Willow oaks tend to do less well as clay content or potassium content increases. The best soils are fresh, undisturbed alluvium, with a pH from 4.5 to 5.5. Moisture must be present and available.

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Male and female catkins are present on the same tree, making it monoecious. Flowering occurs shortly after the leaves begin to bud, from February to May. Seeds begin to appear after 20 years of age. The willow oak produces small acorns between 0.4 and 0.6 inches in length, either single or in pairs. The acorns take two years to mature to a bright color and are finally mature between August and October of the second year. Most years produces a heavy crop of acorns, which are disseminated by water and wildlife.

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Heavy annual acorn production makes willow oaks good for wildlife, but this wildlife does reduce reproduction. Squirrels, birds, insects, and hogs each willow oak acorns. Fire is also a big enemy of the willow oak. Tree borers are threats as well. Additionally, acid rain has been shown to hard the foliage of the tree.

Quercus, Tree Species

Quercus rubra

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Northern red oak, Quercus rubra, is also known as common red oak, eastern red oak, mountain red oak, and grey oak.

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The northern red oak typically matures to 65 to 98 feet, with 24 to 36 inches of trunk diameter.

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Temperature, precipitation, and frost vary by sizable amounts. Snow alone can range from 0 to 100 inches annually, depending on location. Frost-free days can likewise change with averages of 100 to 220 days by location.

 

The tree grows best on moist soils, though these soils can be cool or moist. Soils can vary from clay to loamy sands, often with a high content of larger rock fragments. Deep soils are best.

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Although the northern red oak can be found at many elevations, low to middle slopes with northern or eastern aspects are ideal, as well as well-drained valley floors and deep ravines.

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Northern red oak is monoecious, meaning male and female parts are found on the same tree. The flowers are often long, dangling greenish catkins that appear with or before the leaves in April or May. The resulting fruit is an acorn, found alone or in clusters of two to five.  An acorn takes two years to fully mature, and the brown acorns are then usually ripe by late August to late October. Fruit can be born at age 25 but seeds are not abundant until age 50, with the best seed crops occurring every two to five years. However, only approximately 1% of acorns can actually be used for a new seedling. In the end, it can take over 500 acorns to produce a natural seedling. Much of the issue lies in the consumption by animals such as insects, squirrels, deer, birds, and more.

This tree is often found surrounded by the same species, and an acorn never falls far from the tree. Dispersal beyond that is driven by squirrels. Furthermore, northern red oaks are often produced through sprouts from cut trunks. Sprout size depends on the size of the trunk.

Northern red oak is shade tolerant, though not as much as many other common species. Wildfires are a concern, as fire-weakened trees can easily be overtaken by fungi. Oak wilt is a disease that can kill a northern red oak the year the tree contracts the disease.

It is one of the most important red oaks for lumber, due to its growing speed. Growth rates can reach 0.4 inches per year. Additionally, the bright fall colors and symmetrical shape make this tree ornamentally attractive.

Sassafras, Tree Species

Sassafras albidum

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Sassafras, Sassafras albidum, is also known as white sassafras. While many species of tree have a single distinctive leaf shape, sassafras has three distinct shapes. The leaves can be entire, twice lobed (mittenshaped), and thrice lobed.

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Much of the precipitation in certain habitats is actually snow, though some warmer areas only have an inch or less of snow. Frost-free days number 160 to 300. Moist, well-drained soils are best, though dry soils are tolerated. Sassafras can be found on almost any soil, including pure sand and gravelly soils.

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The flowers are yellow to slightly green, forming in clusters in March and April simultaneously with the leaves. The fruit is a dark blue drupe between 0.3 and 0.5 inches long with a single seed, maturing in August and September. The drupe is attached to the branch via a long red pedicel. Such seeds only appear after 10 years of age, with maximum production reached later at 25 to 50 years. Good seed crops can occur every year, or may occur every two years. Sassafras is dioecious, meaning an individual is usually all male or all female.

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In imperfect locations, sassafras appears to be more of a shrub. The tree sizes have very straight trunks with a maximum of about 15 inches diameter, though the average is between 6 and 8 inches. Best locations allow the sassafras to grow to almost 100 feet.

Sassafras can regrow easily from root sprouts and cuttings.

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Sassafras is intolerant of shade and highly susceptible to fire damage. Foliage diseases are also very damaging to the tree.

Sassafras is good for restoring depleted soils and serves as food for deer. Humans also consume the bark of the roots in tea and the leaves in soups. The oil of the root bark of sassafras is used in perfumes and soaps.

Taxodium, Tree Species

Taxodium distichum

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The bald cypress, scientifically known as Taxodium distichum, is a deciduous conifer, whereas conifers are typically thought of as evergreen. This means that the bald cypress sheds its needles annually, in the fall. Unlike many other conifers, the bald cypress can also produce sprouts from the stumps of trees up to 60 years of age.

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Assessing the age of a bald cypress is difficult, as multiple false rings may be produced as well as the typical annual ring. In forests, 200 years seems to be required to reach a large size, though others have claimed to have identified some trees of over 1,200 years. Either way, the bald cypress can certainly reach large sizes, with 140 to 150 feet in height and 80 to 144 inches in diameter.

Most climates the bald cypress is found in are humid, moist subhumid, or dry subhumid. Notably, however, the bald cypress tends to be found on areas that are often flooded. The flooding can be both frequent and prolonged, with 10 feet of depth. The waters can be stagnant during this period or flowing. Therefore, drainage is considered a more important factor than simple precipitation when determining habitat.

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The bald cypress does well near streams labelled “red water” rivers, which have lots of nutrients and potentially a high iron content. It can also be found in other alluvial or even interstream areas, such as swamps. Estuaries are also a viable site, though the bald cypress requires less than 0.89% salt in the water.

While in some areas the bald cypress only grows for a certain period of the year, which can be as short as 190 days, in some places like southern Florida the tree has a growing period of 365 days, or a full year. The bald cypress certainly does best in warmer climates, though it can survive in colder ones with little issue.

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No matter the elevation, most bald cypresses are found naturally on flat areas.

As a monoecious tree, male catkins and female conelets are found on the same tree. Typically, mature cones with an average of 16 seeds will develop from October to December. Water is a common disseminator of seeds. Typically the seeds do best to root on wet muck, with some surface water, though not flooded, as the crowns must remain above floodwaters. Some shading is tolerated, but overhead light is best.

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The root system and buttressed base of the bald cypress is also capable of withstanding the forces of hurricanes, even in soft, wet soils.

There are two varieties of this tree, nutans and distichum. The baldcypress at Lafayette is believed to belong to the distichum variety, which is the more widespread of the two. The distichum variety is also commonly known as baldcypress, cypress, southern-cypress, swamp-cypress, red-cypress, yellow-cypress, white-cypress, tidewater red-cypress, and gulf-cypress. However, the two varieties can be impossible to distinguish between.

Tree Species, Tsuga

Tsuga canadensis

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Eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, is also known as the Canada hemlock or hemlock spruce.  It is similar to the Carolina hemlock, but has a much wider distribution, which entirely engulfs that of the Carolina hemlock. The distribution has also been reduced to the large amount of commercialization.

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The eastern hemlock does best in cool, humid climates. Frost-free periods range between 80 and 200 days. The eastern hemlock appears to do best near the Atlantic coast and near the southern Appalachians.

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The eastern hemlock prefers moist or very moist soils with good drainage. Often, the tree will grow on areas with lots of rocky glacial material distributed in sandy or silt loam. The eastern hemlock can tolerate high elevations, and if at high elevations are often found on the north or eastern slopes, or in valleys.

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Eastern hemlocks thickets can form their own microclimate, due to the dense canopies, shade, retention of moisture, and low temperatures. This tends to reduce the understory vegetation of the area.

It can take 250 to 300 years to reach maturity, and can live 800 years or more, making it very long-lived. The tree, however, is slow growing, even if it has been known to reach 175 feet, with 76 inches in trunk diameter.

Male parts develop after about 15 years of age. The eastern hemlock is monoecious, with male and female clusters separate on the same tree, on the same branches. Of the Tsuga hemlocks, the eastern hemlock has the smallest cones. At full size, reached in late August or early September, the cones are usually 13 to 19 mm long.

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Drying and irregular temperatures can severely damage the seeds, and even in ideal conditions the seedlings will grow very slowly. However, the eastern hemlock is incredibly tolerant, possibly the most tolerant of all tree species. An eastern hemlock can survive with even 5 % of full sunlight.

The eastern hemlock is a habitat for numerous creatures, offering shelter, bedding, and food for deer, among other animals.

The bark used to be used in the leather industry, to tan hides, but is now more often used in the paper industry.

Tree Species, Ulmus

Ulmus americana

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The American elm, Ulmus Americana, is also known as the white elm, water elm, soft elm, or Florida elm.

UlmAmDist

American elms can grow 100 to 125 feet in height, with 50 to 60 inches in trunk diameter in good conditions. In less good conditions, heights may only reach 40 to 60 feet. This elm is also long-lived, easily reaching 200 years and sometimes extending beyond 300 years of age.

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The climate range of the American elm varies greatly from warm and humid to cold and dry. Generally speaking, though the elm withstands a huge variation in precipitation, most often precipitation is during warmer seasons. Days of frost also vary, with frost-free days ranging from 80 to 320 days per year, depending on location.

Most American elms are found on flat ground, or lower regions. However, this elm does make appearances both on higher elevation flats and on low hills. It can often be found on valley bottoms near streams. Due in part to the variation in slope and elevation, the American elm can be found in soil types from well-drained sands to poorly-drained clays, and organic bogs to prairie loams, as well as any middle ground. However, it does best on rich and moist but well-drained loam. Peak growth occurs when the water table is deep.

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Soil pH typically lies between 5.5 and 8.0. The American elm decomposes relatively rapidly and produces many nutrients, such as potassium and calcium, which are often desirable.

 

The American elm produces small pink flowers on long stems, about 2 or 3 weeks before the leaves come out. This usually has flowers appearing anywhere from February to May. Seed production begins at around 15 years of age but becomes abundant at approximately 40 years, and can continue until at least 300 years. The American elm produces large amounts of seeds. Self-pollinated flowers rarely produce viable seeds, making the American elm essentially self-sterile. Furthermore, while the tree is relatively resistant to frost and other temporal elements, the seeds are not and the annual crop can be killed with a few nights of frost.

Squirrels will eat the flowers, fruit, and seeds, and the seeds are also eaten by birds, mice, and opossums.

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Seedlings do best in mineral soil with only some direct sunlight throughout the year. However, after the establishing first years, full sunlight is best. The American elm is also highly tolerant of flooding, even complete inundation, as long as the flooding occurs in the dormant season. If there is flooding in the growing season, the tree can be severely harmed.

Stumps of American elms can often produce many sprouts. Furthermore, the tree can be grown from softwood cuttings.

Unfortunately, the Dutch elm disease greatly impacted the overall elm population in North America, primarily killing American elms. This fungus is scientifically known as Ceratocystis ulmi, is one of the most devastating tree diseases in North America.  Dutch elm disease was introduced to the United States in the 1930s and originated from Europe, and is still a prevalent issue for elms. Various governments and organizations are constantly on the watch for signs of Dutch elm disease in their local areas.

It is rare to see the American elm creating thickets alone, but they are found with a huge variety of other trees, and this may have in part helped preserve some expanses of American elm.