tree trivia

  • Thread starter Thread starter Paul B
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Paul B

Paul B

I dig hammocks.
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Burnaby BC
Ok folks, I am leading a one hour walk today at a local (former) arboretum. The area I am walking in has some Beech, red, english and pin oaks, tulip trees, japanese umbrella pine, snake bark maple (acer davidii), cedrus atlantica, robinia pseudoacaccia, sequoiadendron giganteum, calocedrus decurrens, lombardy poplar and ailanthus altissima. Anyone have any interesting knowledge I can share with the crowd? :)
I have walked the same area a few times and have said the same things so often that I figured some of you lot might be able to help me spice it up a bit.

oh, did I mention I am leaving in about an hour? haha make it snappy!
 
In LA, Ailanthus are considered extremely invasive. They grow like weeds bigger than houses. There is a higher concentration of the trees in the poorer parts of town (east LA, south central, etc).

In a San Diego fire 2 years ago, a forest of pines, firs, calocedrus decurrens, oaks, and a few other things burned for a week. Of all the trees in the forest, only the C. decurrens survived. If you go Rancho Cuyamaca State Park, in many parts of the woods all you see is dead trees speckled with the living tops of the incense cedars.

love
nick
 
Atlantic cedar is native to morrocco.
incence cedar are not a true cedar even though thats what most people think of when talking about cedar
 
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  • #8
c decurrens is what was used to make pencils. :) I didnt know about its fire ability, usually I talk about that for the sequioadendron. I try to get a burly looking bloke to punch the bark, usually I have to do it first.
 
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  • #12
and here, there are two flanking a driveway , they set seeds under themselves but otherwise not a problem. :) What about oak and beech? I usually talk about them being good at CODIT, relatively slow growers, the great trunk flare of beech, long lasting leaves, high tannin levels, good firewood, used for barrels etc for wine and whiskey.... Try to find an acorn or beechnut to let the kids get some hands on... oh, and the oaks have star patterned pith rather than the much more common round rings....
 
I'd heard Ailanthus leaves were edible and had medicinal properties.

Found this:

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/ailanthus_altissima.html

The tree of heaven is believed to have medicinal value in Asian traditional medicine as a remedy for asthma, worm infestation, vaginal discharge, diarrhea, and mentrual cramps. In Africa, it is used as a treatment for heart problems, seizures, and menstrual discomfort. In France, the leaves of the tree of heaven are used instead of mulberry leaves for feeding silkworm moths. The wood of A. altissima may be used in crafts and woodworking. The toxin produced in the leaves, bark, and wood is currently under study as a natural herbicide source.
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  • #14
there ya go! :) thanks. ok, I am headed out in a few minutes, see y'all later!
 
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  • #19
went well, had a crowd of about 50 at the peak, went on for about near 2 hours of talking and walking. :)
 
sotc said:
You got a loud speaker? Did anything we came up with help?
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"Talking and walking"???? Come on, Paul, you gotta do better than that. These boyz have given you their treasured little nuggets, gems of wisdom, precious pearls, sweet wonderings and learnings of their misspent youth...did you use any or not? :P

(Don't mind me too much...I just read the stuff, didn't have any neat things to throw at you.)
 
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  • #22
SOTC. no loudspeaker, just had to holler. As for info, sorta, I looked up the name of the allelopathic chemical in the Ailanthus. :)

Pantheraba, yup, I walked swiftly between trees and stood at each one to impart what trivia I could. :) The half dozen kids were cool, I got them to all join hands and do a group tree hug around a large Tulip tree, a couple of them felt the bark of a couple other trees to see that it was slightly cooler than ambient temperature, which of course means that it is alive, and transporting water up the trunk. :) We also checked out the seeds and pods of Maples, Beech, Oak, Ailanthus and Paulownia.
 
Good report, Bro...thanks.

I was comparing beechnuts and eastern hophornbeam seedpods today...both are pretty cool.

And that is cool about the tree being slightly cooler than ambient...I did not realize that happened. I will do that test myself...thanks for THAT little gem.
 
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  • #24
Not sure how scientific that is about the tree temp but for the dozen or so tries I have made, the tree has been just noticeably cooler to the touch. I think the thickness of the bark may make a difference too.
 
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