Marcescense

Treeaddict

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Harford county MD
Interesting information. We’ve all observed this many times. In our area, young beech’s especially and sometimes white oaks do this. I was unaware that the behavior had a name. But, all behaviors have a name so…….
 

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To the best of my memory, it always carries leaves til spring, but my interest is greater is late fall/early winter when the breeze is crisp, and it's the only tree activity still going. It's kind of a meloncolic sound, which I find appealing that time of year. I'll grab a pic tomorrow when it's light out.
 
Driving in a 'hood the last week, I noticed a huge oak with pretty much all its brown leaves intact on the tree- I wondered if it was freshly dead or if marcescense was the reason :rockhard:
 
Oaks typically hang on to their dead leaves, it's one way to identify them in winter.
 
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Cory, yes, “the dead do not shed”🤣. I recall the time that the red maple I was trimming still had leaves on its broken branches while the rest of the tree was barren. Twas an eye opening experience into the nature of leaf drop
 
Oaks typically hang on to their dead leaves, it's one way to identify them in winter.
Around here, ime, they typically do not. Here and there, yes. I have a huge black oak in my front yard, nary a leaf on it this winter.

The big Q imo is how exactly does one pronounce the marc..... word? :rockhard:
 
Here's a better black oak pic. Note the precarious squirrel nest in the cherry behind it. I want to take the top out of the locust on the immediate left. They'll all have to go in the not too distant future.

IMG_20230119_115656767_HDR.jpg
 
Mar-sess-ence


Lately, I have been waiting for the leaves not to fall. It’s true. Some species of temperate woody plants do not shed their dead and withered leaves in the autumn. While the leaves go from green to tan, they remain firmly affixed to the stem through winter and into spring. You may be familiar with this phenomenon, called marcescence, with young beech trees (left image below, an unaccessioned sapling on Hemlock Hill).
Marcescence in the Arboretum by Ned Friedman
Ned Friedman
A small minority of temperate woody plants species are marcescent and it is worth searching them out on cold windy days. The rattling leaves create a unique soundscape, they provide a beautiful beige texture to the landscape, and through the winter, they become progressively tattered by the elements (lower right image, Daimyo oak, Quercus dentata, 1590-52*B, in April 2017).
So how does it work? Every leaf in a temperate woody plant creates an abscission zone at the base of the petiole (so-called leaf stalk). The abscission zone is comprised of cells designed to separate from each other and allow the leaf to fall from the parent plant—and it is typically activated in the fall. However, in marcescent plants, the abscission zone is not activated until the spring. Why? No one has a clue. Just one more wonderful mystery of trees.
There are some great marcescent trees and shrubs at the Arnold Arboretum (and sometimes, only part of a tree will be marcescent). Head to the oak collection and keep an eye out for young trees clothed in last summer’s leaves. Chinese witch hazels can be marcescent; also some individuals of Ozark witch hazel (the degree of marcescence can be variable). And one of my favorites: the Oriental spicebush (upper right, Lindera angustifolia, 740-75*B) which can be found just across the carriageway from the lilac collection.
If you crave more Arnold Arboretum plant images, follow me on Instagram @nedfriedman.
 
@cory fair enough, could be regional. If I see a tree in winter with brown leaves it starts the sorting process in my mind for ID from a distance
Hornbeams hang on to leaves in winter as well
 
SK, thx for the pronunciation key.

My question is why do some trees of the same species shed and others do not?
 
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SK, thx for the pronunciation key.

My question is why do some trees of the same species shed and others do not?

That’s a great question! Most juvenile beeches in our area don’t drop while most mature do. No rhyme or reason that I know of. Gonna hafta look into it.
 
@cory fair enough, could be regional. If I see a tree in winter with brown leaves it starts the sorting process in my mind for ID from a distance
Hornbeams hang on to leaves in winter as well
Hornbeam is used for hedges here for that very reason.
Gives you a not see-through hedge in vinter.

We have 2 oak types Q. robur and Q.petreae

First one shed, second one doesn't, and is called winter oak because of that.
 
All the young beeches around me held on to their leaves until at least a week ago. The mature trees (usually the parent of the younger offshoots) are bare.
 
They look a bit like beech, but the trunk has rippling longitudinal bulges as opposed to the more or less round cross section beech has.
 
Btw, the word in question is misspelled in the OP, it needs an extra 'c'. I had a feeling there was something fishy about the word and its pronunciation.
 
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I looked up hornbeam and thought it looked like what I believe to be ironwood. I looked up ironwood and it appears that it IS or related to hornbeam?
 
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