Today I noticed a tree that had snow on the branches, similar to the trees I photographed January 8, after a recent snowfall. Now, snowfall is not so recent, and most of the trees no longer have snow on the branches. The one that did seemed to be in a somewhat sheltered spot, near a house and some other trees. Seeing it made me wonder, what is it that causes the snow to stop being on the branches of trees? Does the sun melt the snow? Or does the wind blow it off? Or is it both?
Today's walk lasted about an hour, the last hour before sunset. I noticed the trees silhouetted against the sky. What is it about winter dusk that draws our attention to trees silhouetted against the sky? Are trees not against the sky in summer and in daylight?
Sunday, January 30, 2011
My first exploration of winter twigs
I have been reading about identifying trees in winter by their twigs in A Guide to Nature in Winter by Donald Stokes, so I decided to go out today to look at winter twigs and see what I could see.
The book made it sound easy. For each type of tree, two characteristics of the twigs are given, and that's enough to identify the type of tree (the book identifies them by genus, not species). I knew from my experience with summer identification that it's never as easy as it sounds. I also had noticed that the book did not include all the kinds of trees that I know are in my neighborhood. Thus to make things easy, I started off my examining some trees I already knew from my summer identification.
First I looked at ash trees. I could not see the twigs very well because the branches were too high. I had binoculars (a Christmas gift from my brother and his wife) so I used those to get a look at the twigs. I did see that they had opposite side buds and end buds. The book says that the way to tell ash and maple apart in winter is by their end buds, but either I couldn't get a good look at the end bud, or else I just didn't know what to look for, since I did not recall at that time what the book said about telling ash apart from maple. Also, in a residential neighborhood, I was a little uncomfortable about using the binoculars too much, for fear someone would think I was spying on them.
Next I looked at Norway maple twigs. This was easier because the tree was on a hill. By standing in a spot that was higher than where the trunk of the tree was, I could reach the twigs and get a good look. I saw that the buds were red. The side buds were opposite, and seemed to be in the same locations as the leaf scars. It seemed that the farther back on the twig I looked, the smaller the side buds got. The end buds looked like a cluster of a lot of buds. The twigs seemed to branch oppositely, but the big main branches of the tree were not opposite.
I got two pictures of the Norway maple twigs, but you can't really see that much:
After studying this tree for a while, I moved on. Walking down a street, I saw a tree and wondered what it was. I knew that it was a tree that I had identified in the summer, but I couldn't recall what it was. I examined the twigs, and found that the buds were opposite. From my summer identification, I knew the only opposite trees on this street were maples, so I knew it was a maple.
Farther down the street was a tree which I had not definitively identified in the summer. I thought I recalled that it had simple, unlobed leaves and perhaps some fruit. I took these photos:
The book says that the short, stubby twigs that can be seen in the top picture are called spurs and that they are found in apple and cherry trees. It also says that cherry trees have lenticels like birch, so I am thinking that this tree is a crabapple.
The book made it sound easy. For each type of tree, two characteristics of the twigs are given, and that's enough to identify the type of tree (the book identifies them by genus, not species). I knew from my experience with summer identification that it's never as easy as it sounds. I also had noticed that the book did not include all the kinds of trees that I know are in my neighborhood. Thus to make things easy, I started off my examining some trees I already knew from my summer identification.
First I looked at ash trees. I could not see the twigs very well because the branches were too high. I had binoculars (a Christmas gift from my brother and his wife) so I used those to get a look at the twigs. I did see that they had opposite side buds and end buds. The book says that the way to tell ash and maple apart in winter is by their end buds, but either I couldn't get a good look at the end bud, or else I just didn't know what to look for, since I did not recall at that time what the book said about telling ash apart from maple. Also, in a residential neighborhood, I was a little uncomfortable about using the binoculars too much, for fear someone would think I was spying on them.
Next I looked at Norway maple twigs. This was easier because the tree was on a hill. By standing in a spot that was higher than where the trunk of the tree was, I could reach the twigs and get a good look. I saw that the buds were red. The side buds were opposite, and seemed to be in the same locations as the leaf scars. It seemed that the farther back on the twig I looked, the smaller the side buds got. The end buds looked like a cluster of a lot of buds. The twigs seemed to branch oppositely, but the big main branches of the tree were not opposite.
I got two pictures of the Norway maple twigs, but you can't really see that much:
After studying this tree for a while, I moved on. Walking down a street, I saw a tree and wondered what it was. I knew that it was a tree that I had identified in the summer, but I couldn't recall what it was. I examined the twigs, and found that the buds were opposite. From my summer identification, I knew the only opposite trees on this street were maples, so I knew it was a maple.
Farther down the street was a tree which I had not definitively identified in the summer. I thought I recalled that it had simple, unlobed leaves and perhaps some fruit. I took these photos:
The book says that the short, stubby twigs that can be seen in the top picture are called spurs and that they are found in apple and cherry trees. It also says that cherry trees have lenticels like birch, so I am thinking that this tree is a crabapple.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Snow on trees
Today I was reading a book about bonsai. It talked about different shapes for bonsai trees. Then I went outside. It snowed last night. The snow on the branches of the trees seemed to accentuate the shapes of the trees, so I went from looking at shapes of trees in books to looking at shapes of trees in my neighborhood.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Winter tree identification
When I started tree identification last summer, I feared that in winter, when the leaves I relied on for identification would be gone, it would be like being blind -- I would not be able to recognize trees. However, it was not so bad as I expected. Today I visited a spot where I went for tree identification last summer and found I could recognize 8 tree genuses.
The cedar, spruce, and pine were recognizable because they still had their greenery.
The oak was recognizable because it holds its brown leaves.
The birch was recognizable by the bark.
I knew the hickory because it was the one I had spent so much time trying to identify. Last summer, I identified it as a hickory, and spent a long time trying to figure out the species. I don't remember what species I finally decided on, but I know which tree it was that I spent so much time on.
I knew the Norway maples because they are so common around here. I am so used to seeing them that I can sometimes recognize them without their leaves. And after identifying them in the summer, I recall to a certain extent which trees are Norway maples.
There was one tree that had a familiar look to it, but I didn't know right away what it was. I studied the leaves on the ground below it. Most were clearly oak leaves, but I did not think this was an oak tree. I sought a leaf that was not an oak leave and studied it. Ahh, cottonwood, that is where this type of trunk is familiar from.
I did not take photos of trees in that spot today, but here is a photo of how oak trees hold their leaves in winter:
The cedar, spruce, and pine were recognizable because they still had their greenery.
The oak was recognizable because it holds its brown leaves.
The birch was recognizable by the bark.
I knew the hickory because it was the one I had spent so much time trying to identify. Last summer, I identified it as a hickory, and spent a long time trying to figure out the species. I don't remember what species I finally decided on, but I know which tree it was that I spent so much time on.
I knew the Norway maples because they are so common around here. I am so used to seeing them that I can sometimes recognize them without their leaves. And after identifying them in the summer, I recall to a certain extent which trees are Norway maples.
There was one tree that had a familiar look to it, but I didn't know right away what it was. I studied the leaves on the ground below it. Most were clearly oak leaves, but I did not think this was an oak tree. I sought a leaf that was not an oak leave and studied it. Ahh, cottonwood, that is where this type of trunk is familiar from.
I did not take photos of trees in that spot today, but here is a photo of how oak trees hold their leaves in winter:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)