Not Much Time Left for Naked Tree ID This Season!

How many trees can you identify in the winter? There's a challenge for you. You're outside, walking from here to there, bundled up in your coat ~ driving along tree-lined streets ~ what kinds of trees are you passing? It will be easier once the leaves burst out, but it's a fun game to see how many tree you can identify in their naked states.

There is one more opportunity to walk the woods with an expert from the RI Wild Plant Society on Saturday, April 5th. Here is the info from What Grows On in Rhode Island Calendar:

Buds, Twigs and Bark - Learn to identify local trees.
Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Tri-Pond Park Nature Center, Asa Pond Road, South Kingstown, RI

As spring emerges, learn to identify local trees and shrubs through their bark and buds. After some indoor exploration of samples and their characteristics, we will walk a short trail at Tri-Pond Park Nature Center to try our skills. Spring will be in the air -- an ideal time to learn before using your knowledge later on walks in the woods. Bring pencil and paper for notes.

Leader: Frances Topping, a naturalist interested in the interactions of plants and animals, including humans. Frances holds a BS in Botany and Zoology from Sheffield University, England and a Graphic Design degree from Rhode Island School of Design.

Registration required. Contact Frances at 401-364-8002. Fee $8.00 RIWPS members, $10.00 non-members.

I went on the Audubon Naked Tree ID walk in February and made a dent in my ignorance of this subject. I generally love the architecture of trees ~ that's why I especially love beeches and elms. They are noble at any time of the year. Tulip trees have the remnants of the tulip-shaped flowers in the winter, and their architecture can also be grand ~ angular. There are some huge tulip trees along Blackstone Boulevard in Providence. That mile and a half strip of park is tended by The Blackstone Parks Conservancy, by the way.

On the other hand, some bare trees in winter look like they've just been scared to death, like zelkovas ~ no grace or elegance in my opinion, so I personally don't like them as a replacement for American elms that have been devastated by Dutch elm disease over the last few decades. Maybe when they're fully mature they'll have that majestic shape...? And some street trees are completely ramshackle due to encounters with power lines and the other stresses such as their positions along curbs. Nevertheless, tree architecture is interesting once you start thinking about it. How do those branches stay on the trees? How are they supported? Quite a bit of natural engineering in those trunks.

Here is the most important hint for deciduous tree identification, with or without leaves:

• MADHorse ~ Maple, Ash, Dogwood, and Horsechestnuts have opposite branches, NOT alternating. [The link on MADHorse is to a very good explanation of the memory device with illustrations of opposite and alternating branches].

I'll give you a couple of things to look for when you're out and about in New England in the next two or three weeks. The top photo is a tulip tree ~ click on the photo to enlarge it, and note the distinctive tulip shapes on the branches. By the way, you can see that the branches on this tree alternate. The second photo in this post is of the dogwood near the Audubon HQ in Smithfield. The photo doesn't show the opposite branching that well, but it does show the distinctive onion-shaped buds that soon will open as flowers.

It's not hard to pick out either of these trees in winter. So, how many tulip trees and dogwoods do you usually walk or drive by each day?