Downy Serviceberry

 Amelanchier arborea

Identification Information

Date: Saturday, June 12, 2021

Time:  5:00 p.m.

Location:  Sweet Orr Commons (23 E. 6th Street, Pottstown, PA 19464)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest

Weather conditions:  84 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, some cloud cover

At my niece's apartment, I remember always seeing this berry tree and wondering what it was... perfect opportunity!

The leaves are oblong and about 2 inches long.  They are toothed and pinnately veined.  Berry clusters grow out of leave whorls and look like tiny apples.

The main trunk was about 4 inches across but divided into 4 main branches fairly low.  Bark on the trunk and branches was fairly smooth with some fine horizontal ridges.  

(Brockman, 1986, p. 172)

This tree might have been 10 feet tall.  It is on the edge of the courtyard where it can get plenty of sun.

I stumbled across a couple of interesting tidbits about the name, but I wasn't able to confirm any of them.  Most related to them blooming when roads became serviceable or when the ground thawed enough that you could hold funeral services.  But I did find a pie recipe or two and a really cool reading of a book based on the Lenape.

Honeylocust

 Gleditsia triacanthos

Identification Information

Date: Saturday, June 12, 2021

Time:  5:30 p.m.

Location:  Sweet Orr Commons (23 E. 6th Street, Pottstown, PA 19464)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest

Weather conditions:  84 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, some cloud cover

After a day at one of my terrestrial habitats, I stopped by my niece's apartment to visit (and get cold water).  We used to live together, so I remembered some of the trees in the courtyard that I used to love.

The big Honeylocust was wonderful as a shade tree, and I enjoy the sound of the wind blowing through its leaves.  Those leaves are over half a foot long and compound.  The leaflets are oval-shaped and only an inch long.  I originally identified it by the strange end leaflet, which always seemed out of place because it was not like other oddly-pinnate leaves where the last one pointed as an extension of the stem... it pointed off to one side.

In the fall, the leaves turn an awesome, bright yellow.  The seed pod is formed, and I remember that by the thousands of them that littered the courtyard floor.

The identifying characteristic that I noticed on this trip was the bark.  I could see that initially it probably just had minor horizontal ridges.  But because this is an older tree (trunk diameter is about 2 feet, height is approximately 50 feet), the bark has expanded and settled into big plates.  (Brockman, 1986, p. 188)

Weeping Willow

Salix babylonica

Identification Information

Date: Saturday, June 12, 2021

Time:  6:55 a.m.

Location:  Memorial Park (75 W. King Street, Pottstown, PA 19464)

Habitat:  Palustrine Sycamore-Birch forest

Weather conditions:  73 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, clear skies

Ahhh, the weeping willow (with some bonus Mallards bathing in the background).  The Weeping Willow is not native to North America.  Because of its dramatic look it has been planted so often that it is part of many local forests. 

Its leaves are long (about 5 inches), simple, very narrow (about half an inch), and lanceolate in shape (wider at the base and coming to a point at the tip).  They are arranged in an alternate pattern. (Brockman, 1986, p. 82)

 Branches grow in crowns so that, along with the long and thin leaves, gives the tree an appearance of hanging.  This particular willow was not quite 30 feet high with a trunk diameter of less than a foot.  The bark was dark with deep ridges.

My favorite bit of knowledge from my research is about the scientific name.  The origin of the name is from the Bible.  A verse in Psalms describes people weeping while sitting near the rivers of Babylon, hanging their harps on the willows nearby.  It was the inspiration for the "On the Willows" song in one of my favorite musicals, Godspell.  And yet, the trees near the Euphrates river are a relative of willows... poplars.  Oh, the irony.

  

Salix babylonica. (2021, January 20). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from 

     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_babylonica#Horticultural_selections_and_related_hybrids 

Pin Oak

 Quercus palustris

Identification Information

Date: Saturday, June 12, 2021

Time:  4:45 p.m.

Location:  Highland Memorial Park (701 Farmington Avenue, Pottstown, PA 19464)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest

Weather conditions:  86 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, some cloud cover

This one has got its eye on you.

Some oaks are hard to tell apart for the average on-looker.  They pretty much all have the same type of bark--rough and ridged.  Most acorns look the same.  There are a few species that are short and squat or extra long, but a bit of strange development can give you that as well.  

So one of the most telling parts of the tree in terms of identification is the leaf.  

Rounded lobes for white oaks; pointy lobes for red oaks.  My eyeball tree is definitely in the red oak group.

Since I am here in the early summer, I don't know what color these leaves will be in the fall.  The shape, however indicates either Black Oak or Pin Oak.  Both of those trees have leaves that are oblong, pinnate, deeply lobed and toothed with 5 - 7 lobes.  (Brockman, 1986, p. 126)

The distinguishing characteristic of Pin Oaks are that their lower branches point downwards, middle branches point out, and upper branches point upwards.

Nielsen, R. K. (2020, February 27). Common types of oak trees. Owlcation. Retrieved June 15, 2021, 

     from https://owlcation.com/stem/Types-of-Oak-Trees-with-pictures-of-bark

Sweetbay Magnolia

 Magnolia virginiana

Identification Information

Date: Saturday, June 12, 2021

Time:  7:10 a.m.

Location:  Memorial Park (75 W. King Street, Pottstown, PA 19464)

Habitat:  Palustrine Sycamore-Birch forest

Weather conditions:  73 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, clear skies

Maggie, the baby sweetbay...

I hope to get back here later in the summer so that I can see the berries of this magnolia.  From pictures, they look like the pleasant version of something alien and oozing.  

But I was able to identify this tree without the fruit.  Magnolia flowers are white and cup-shaped, and they smell wonderful!  Each flower is about 3 inches in diameter and has at least 9 petals.  

The leaves are simple and grow in an alternate pattern.  They were about 4 inches long and 1 or 2 inches wide.  Magnolia leaves are shinier than most other leaves I have seen.

The bark of the tree was a bit scaly, and the trunk was maybe 5 inches in diameter.  The entire tree was only 10 feet tall.  
(Brockman, 1986, p. 150)

Sassafras

 Sassafras albidum

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time:  5:50 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies

A Sassafras baby!  Sassafras leaves grow in an alternate pattern.  The leaves are slightly oval (about 5 inches long and 3 inches wide).  This is such a fun tree because it has three different types of leaves, and they can all be around at the same time.  I remember leader pointing these out during a hike in girl scouts years ago.  I was so intrigued.  The leaves can have one lobe, two, or three.

(Brockman, 1986, p. 156)

This tree was only a few feet taller than me (maybe 8 feet tall).
It has a stick of a trunk... 3 inches in diameter.  This tree was growing on the edge of a trail and small field, in the riparian zone of a pond.  I wonder how well this tree will do because it is in the shade but does well with full sun.

Sassafras has uses in medicine and flavoring food.  How cool would it be to make my own root beer?

 Sassafras albidum. (2021, June 9). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/ 

     wiki/Sassafras_albidum 

Eastern Red Cedar

 Juniperus virginiana

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time:  5:35 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies

The leaves of Eastern Red Cedar look slightly different when they are first growing compared to when they are older.  Young foliage is covered all over with scaled needles.  As the tree gets older, more of the actual branch shows.  Needles grow in alternate pairs.  You can see the beginnings of seed cones which look like berries.

(Brockman, 1986, p. 64)

This particular tree was, perhaps, 40 feet tall with a trunk of about a foot diameter.  It was growing in the shade.  One common place to find Eastern Red Cedars is limestone hills.  Lo and behold, this land use to be a limestone quarry!  The bark is reddish-brown and fibrous.

  

Juniperus virginiana. (2021, May 3). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from 

     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniperus_virginiana  

Eastern White Pine

Pinus strobus

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies 

Right at my feet... an identification of a tree!  The pine cones of Eastern White Pines are notable and unique: long (about 6 inches), slightly curved, scales without prickles.  And surrounding the old cone were fallen needles--some still in their bundles of 5.  

(Brockman, 1986, p. 22)

This tree might have reached 50 feet.  The clusters of needles on the tree are shed once every year and a half.  

Branches of White Pines are about one and a half feet apart going up the trunk.  They are often described as coming out like spokes of a wagon wheel.

Pinus strobus. (2021, May 14). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/ 

     wiki/Pinus_strobus 

"Before I had done I was more the friend than the foe of the pine tree, though I had cut down some of them, having become better acquainted with it." (Walden - Thoreau)

The Spruce Fight

Picea

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time: 5:20 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies 

This tree started another argument.  We never resolved it.  I am declaring a genus and arguing for a species.  Don't tell him... he disagrees.  I know it.  He said that it can't be spruce because spruce has a particular smell.  We scratched the bark and sniffed, and he said that the smell was wrong.  I'm not sure I trust his smell memory from twenty years ago.  

The tree was a good 50 feet high with a trunk diameter of about a foot and a half.  It still stood in the shade of giant deciduous trees around it.  Spruces, like many other evergreens, are shade-tolerant.  The structure of the entire tree and branch location looks more like a Black Spruce than Red which usually are more conical.

Red spruce vs black spruce: Identification. (n.d.). Bplant.org. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from 

     https://bplant.org/compare/8091-8176

The first part of my argument is the bark.  The scaly texture is typical of spruce.  The dark color (given the age of the tree) is gray-brown, pointing to Red Spruce.  I didn't want to peel any outside bark off to see the color on the inside because the tree had already been through a lot.  Poor thing was riddled with holes from woodpecker feedings. 

Finally, look at the needles... the formation is either Spruce or Hemlock: a single needle coming out of each "pore," dense.  But the individual shape of each needle is Spruce, not Hemlock: the needles are more rounded.  Unfortunately, we did not even think to get all the dirt off directly around the stem, so I can't see if the needles have a tiny petiole or come out of the stem directly on a woody "peg."  They aren't bluish enough to be considered a Black Spruce.

(Brockman, 1986, p. 38)

So here is the big kicker... Red Spruce don't really grow in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  It is still possible that this is a Red Spruce considering that the owner of this park rehabilitated it from a quarry and planted trees from throughout the greater region.  So... Red Spruce... I think.  ?

White Oak

 Quercus alba

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time: 5:15 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies

What a White Oak!  This tree was over 100 feet tall and had a trunk that was over three feet in diameter.  White Oaks are distinguishable by their leaf shape.  They have a general oblong shape with many (7-9) rounded lobes that are not typically deep.  

The trunk of the white oak is grayish in color.  It has vertical ridges that are broken to give the bark a scaly appearance. (Brockman, 1986, p. 120)

I had to include this long shot... such a gorgeous tree.

Striped Maple

 Acer pensylvanicum

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time: 5:10 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies

There was a fight about this tree.    

I immediately jumped to sugar maple.  I could see the leaf shape from a distance, and at quick glance I saw five lobes.  The trunk looked right (smooth, but starting to form scaly ridges).  It was more than 20 feet tall with a long trunk before branches started.

... but he is the one who had the book.

And he was looking closely at these leaves while I was declaring the wrong tree.

Striped Maples are somewhat unique in their leaf shape.  The toothed leaves have a heart-shaped base and three fairly shallow lobes.  Once he pointed those out, I knew I had lost.

(Brockman, 1986, p. 214).

The Striped Maple is a shade tree, which is perfect because it does not grow to be terribly tall.  In this woods, it was shaded by a few giant oaks.

Don't worry.  We still love each other.

Sweet Birch

 Betula Lenta

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time: 5:00 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies

The leaves of the Sweet Birch are oblong and toothed.  This one was growing at the edge of dense forest, which makes sense because it is classified as a fairly shade-intolerant tree.  

(Brockman, 1986, p. 104)

The trunk of this one was about one and a half feet in diameter.  I don't know the height of the tree because the entire top was broken off.  Without being able to get too close (too much poison ivy down there!), I can't determine what might have caused the damage.  The bark of Sweet Birch is unique in that it has horizontal ridges, but as it gets older, the bark splits vertically then sheds.  The amount of peeling this particular tree bark is showing indicates that it is probably about 80 years old.

Betula lenta. (2021, May 16). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

     Betula_lenta 

Black Walnut

 Juglans nigra

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time: 4:45 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies

A big, beautiful black walnut tree!  I remember chucking the fruits of these as a kid on a local playground.  This one was, perhaps, 40 feet tall with a trunk almost two feet in diameter.  I learned from some research that this one must have grown amongst other trees because its branches begin fairly high up the trunk.  Now there are no trees for at least 20 feet.  This may be because Black Walnuts are allelopathic.

Lohmiller, G., & Lohmiller, B. (2020, August 19). Black walnut trees: Facts about the infamous black 

     walnut. The Old Farmer's Almanac. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://www.almanac.com/ 

     black-walnut-trees 

The leaves are over a foot long, with more than a dozen pinnate leaflets.  Black Walnut bark is deeply ridged and gray-black in color.  This wood is valued for its color and rot resistance.

(Brockman, 1986, p. 92)

While it is difficult to get to the meat of the nut, black walnuts are completely edible.  What would be more American than an apple-walnut dessert!?

After the green-skinned fruit is removed, a highly ridged shell remains.  Inside of this is the nut.  I'm familiar with this one.  But I read that these trees can also be tapped in the spring.  What does walnut syrup taste like?!

 

Juglans nigra. (2021, March 31). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/ 

     wiki/Juglans_nigra

Norway Maple

 Acer platanoides

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time: 4:30 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies

This maple tree was in a small but dense grove growing in the middle of a looped trail.  It's trunk was barely six inches in diameter.  The bark on the trunk had thin, fairly even ridges.  The entire tree was probably 10 feet tall... a teenager.  :)

It was difficult to exclude Sugar Maple as the identification of this plant.  Both have very similar leaves--about 4 inches wide with five lobes.  The three center lobes each have 3 teeth.  Sugar Maples are native to the area, and it seems as though Norway Maples are their foreign doppelgangers.  These trees were imported as a shade tree and have established themselves throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania quite well.  The identifying characteristic is the angle, from base to tip, of the middle lobes.  Sugar Maples have a wider tip.  Norway Maples have a wider base.  (Brockman, 1986, pp. 210 and 216)

Norway maple vs sugar maple: Identification. (n.d.). Bplant.org. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from 

     https://bplant.org/compare/68-93

  

Shagbark Hickory

Carya ovata

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time: 4:15 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies

This tree was an old wise guy!  Right next to the parking lot of the park, there was evidence that it had grown fairly removed from neighbors.  It was probably a tree lining the original farming property.  I estimated that the tree was about 80 feet tall.  The leaves were close to a foot long with five leaflets that are pinnate.   

The biggest identifier is the bark of the tree.  It is, as named, shaggy!  We found a few old nuts on the ground that could not be absolutely identified since they had been decomposing for too long.  (Brockman, 1986, p. 96)

I really want to try a hickory nut now.  I found out while reading that the word hickory comes from an old Algonquian word, "pawcohiccora," which references the meat of the nut and a hickory nut milk that they used to make!

Carya ovata. (2021, June 6). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

     Carya_ovata