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Education News >> Subjects >> Forestry
Forestry News
Flowering trees and shrubs should be pruned during the dormant season for many of the same reasons you prune less showy trees. Still, to preserve the current year's flower crop, prune early spring blooming trees just after they flower. Do not prune a flowering tree this Spring, especially if it has not bloomed for the season!...Read More
Cherry in Central Park, NYC - Photo © 2007 Steve Nix, licensed to About.com
When to Prune Trees With Showy Flowers originally appeared on About.com Forestry on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 02:18:42.
Paul Cappiello and Don Shadow have compiled a "must read" for flowering dogwood lovers. Dogwoods: The Genus Cornus gives a complete treatment on the tree and may be the only book in existence devoted just to dogwood identification and management. The book is extremely well written and entertaining while presenting an in-depth study of all major dogwood species. Each genus is documented by the best dogwood photos available. These photos will help you with your toughest selection needs.
Review: Tree Bark - A Color Guide
Photo - Timber Press
Book Review - Dogwoods: The Genus Cornus originally appeared on About.com Forestry on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 at 04:14:39.
Ever heard of a Hercules-club or Devil's Walking stick? Aralia spinosa is the scientific name of a tree that naturally grows in much of the Southeast but can live nearly anywhere in North America. Very few landscapers recommend the tree but some do with reservation and caution.
Young Hercules' clubs have massive amounts of thorns on their trunks and branches. The tree is actually considered an undesirable species in the wild because of an ability of the tree to aggressively take over a site (called invasive). These trees can actually cause physical distress when grabbed or fallen on.
Hercules' club is an early spring bloomer and you should start seeing those blooms very soon. The blooms flower in panicles of pale green flowers which are always located at the end of the branches. Each flower is followed by a follicle fruit that dries and splits to reveal a shiny black seed.
Over time, trees (see photo) replace with bumps the thorns it had earlier in its shrubby tree life. As the tree ages, the bark overgrows the thorns forming odd corky bumps. Eventually, the tips of the thorns will either break off or be completely buried within the bark. It is a very interesting plant to look at during all stages of life.
The leaves are pinnate with seven to nine leaflets. The leaflets are deep green and shiny; the petioles are red and a red spine is usually present on the rachis between each pair of leaflets.
Mature Hercules-club Bark - Photo by Jane Kirkland
The Devil's Walkingstick, Aralia spinosa originally appeared on About.com Forestry on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 05:21:52.
Here are picture galleries of interesting and unusual woodlots and woodlands. Over the years, I have taken and collected photographs and pictures of interesting forests. These are my most popular tree and forest picture galleries.
I really like to explore a forest's detail or a tree in interesting or unusual settings and record them in their own unique image gallery. The settings of these galleries take you from natural forests to unusual man-made forest settings, from historic sites to beautiful botanical displays.
Gum/Cypress Swamp - Photo by Steve Nix, Licensed to About.com
My Best Tree and Forest Picture Galleries - Photo Galleries of Interesting and Unusual Trees and Forests originally appeared on About.com Forestry on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 05:13:09.
A visit to the Everglades National Park became one of the most fascinating adventures I've had in years. I now see the Florida Everglades as a complex ecosystem and natural wonder, not just a sea of saw grass, and well worth a visit. It is also home to the strangest tree in the United States - the strangler fig.
This fascinating strangler fig starts as an "air plant" on a doomed host tree, usually cabbage palm. As the tropical hardwood hammock tree grows and sends roots to the ground, it "strangles" its host, eventually kills the tree and consumes the nutrients it provides. The strangler fig is of major importance to a tropical hammock community and often produces the only food available to fruit-eating wildlife during certain seasons.
Strangler Fig in Naples, Florida - Steve Nix Photo
The Fascinating Strangler Fig originally appeared on About.com Forestry on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 08:38:46.
Small engines, including chainsaws, can be frustrating to start. This is especially true when starting a saw that needs a tune-up or when engine temperatures are extremely cold. Many times a new chain saw will give you trouble even when using the saw's operation manual.
Here is a step by step set of instructions that can make cranking up a chainsaw less of a chore. It has been developed from tips given by loggers who use the tool every day, year after year. The first big thing to remember is to keep the saw clean, full of gas and oil and perform regular maintenance.
OSHA Photo
Starting a Chainsaw originally appeared on About.com Forestry on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 01:47:18.
All 50 states and several U.S. territories have officially embraced a tree. All of these state trees, except Hawaii's
kukui or candlenut tree, are native to each state in which they have been designated that official status. Check my complete list of state trees with links to species information. I also include the date that each tree was legislatively enabled as the official state tree.
One of the best depictions of all the official trees together in one illustration is the very famous Smokey Bear poster called "Be careful with our stately treasures". This poster is complete with illustrations of all legally proclaimed state trees. Here you will see each tree, a fruit and a leaf. You might be able get this publication through your State Forester and I have seen it for sale on eBay.
Smokey Bear Poster Courtesy United States Forest Service and Your State Forester
50 Official State Trees originally appeared on About.com Forestry on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 03:59:21.
Question:
I read your article on the Judas tree today and have this quote from another source in connection with the Judas tree.
"But every insect--bee or butterfly--that ventures to rest upon the edge of its blossom is overcome by a fatal, curious sort of opiate, or sleeping-draught which the flower-juice contains, and drops dead upon the ground beneath!"
I was wondering if this is fact. Could you help with this inquiry?
My Answer:
Your Judas tree is associated with, and the common name of, many world-wide members of the redbud family (Cercis). Our native North American redbud or Cercis canadensis is a beautiful tree and a favorite food for butterfly larvae. To my knowledge, it is not an opiate and does not negatively affect any flora or fauna.
The specific redbud that is most often labeled Judas tree is Cercis siliquastrum and lives in Mediterranean and Asia minor countries. That tree is the one most associated as "Judea's tree" and is supposedly the tree Judas Iscariot hanged himself after betraying Christ.
Mature Redbud in Central Park, NYC - Photo © 2007 Steve Nix, licensed to About.com
Redbud - The Judas Tree originally appeared on About.com Forestry on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 03:36:44.
Vertical mulching is an excellent technique used to partially alleviate soil compaction within the critical root zones of trees. Vertical mulching is also used to drain wet conditions under trees that are oxygen and nutrient starved. Your trees will significantly improve in health when this treatment is made, especially in compacted or wet soils.
Before starting a mulching project, become familiar the the critical root zone or tree protection zone. This zone is generally defined as the area under a tree and out to its dripline. Improving conditions in this protection zone will also result in major health benefits to a tree.
Athens-Clarke County Georgia Community Tree Program Illustration
Critical Root Zone and Vertical Mulching originally appeared on About.com Forestry on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 05:42:07.
Forest fire is common in places around the world where climates are moist enough to allow the growth of trees and shrubs, but have extended dry, hot periods. The most noted areas on Earth for wildfire include the vegetated areas of Australia, Western Cape of South Africa and throughout the dry forests and grasslands of North America and Europe.
Wild fires in forests and grasslands in North America are particularly prevalent in the summer, fall and winter, especially during dry periods with an increase in dead fuels and high winds. That period of time is called the wildfire season. Western U.S. fires tend to be more dramatic during summer and fall while Southern fires are hardest to fight in late winter and early spring when fallen branches, leaves, and other material dry out and become highly flammable.
Because of urban creep into existing forests, forest fires can often lead to property damage and has the potential to cause human injury and death. That "wildland urban interface" is a growing zone of transition between developed areas and undeveloped wildland. It makes fire protection a major concern for state and federal governments.
Millions of dollars are spent annually on fire protection and training fire fighters in the United States. An endless list of subjects on how wildfire behaves are collectively called "fire science". I want to very briefly introduce you to some concepts, terminology and web sites where you can explore the subject of wildfire at your leisure.
A Wildfire in the Southern United States - Photo by Steve Nix, Licensed to About.com
When And Where Do Wildfires Occur? originally appeared on About.com Forestry on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 01:32:55.
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