Trees in a Clearing

I always enjoy running across a Beech tree. Across the entire property I’ve probably encountered fewer than a dozen specimens. This is a small example of the species, but it still displays a handsome collection of leaves beginning to show their autumn colors.

I found the Beech growing in this small opening in the cedars. The hole in the canopy isn’t more than 20 feet in diameter and wouldn’t take more than a couple of good trees to fill it. I wonder what the chances are that the Beech could win against its competitors and claim a position in the canopy.

The primary competition for sunlight is going to come from various oaks. This species can be particularly difficult to accurately identify. Although the various characters predominately point to Blackjack Oak, Quercus marilandica; this is a species that crosses to produce a number of different hybrids. Someday I’ll have to spend time studying the different trees to see if I can identify what types of crosses are growing here. Regardless of the parentage, these are rapidly growing trees that would have no trouble overtopping the Beech.

Fragrant Sumac, Rhus aromatica, is a shrub that will not hinder the growth of the Beech. Maximum height of this shrub is usually around ten feet. The branches tend to lean as they grow, so most of the specimens are more sprawling than upright. As an understory species it often supports itself on the branches of taller trees and works its way upward in this manner.

Chinquapin Oak, Quercus muehlenbergii, seedlings can be found just about anywhere at Blue Jay Barrens. This species doesn’t seem to put on the rapid growth of most other oak species. Instead of racing toward the sunlight, Chinquapin Oak progresses slowly and seems to get left behind as stunted specimens in the understory.

Shingle Oak, Quercus imbricaria, is another fast growing oak species. The oaks already have a head start on the Beech and will probably end up shading it as they move to fill the available space. It’ll be a few years before a clear winner will be decided and it’s hard to predict the outcome with any real certainty. The competition should be interesting to watch.

Big Sprawling Oak

Most of the large trees at Blue Jay Barrens have unique shapes that make them instantly recognizable as individuals. These aren’t the type of trees that make good timber, but they’re excellent if you just like big trees. Each tree is a product of past activities and it’s fun to speculate on the events that brought each tree to its present form. This Chinquapin Oak has probably had more than its share of traumatic events in the course of its life.

A lot of effort went into sinking roots into this rocky hillside. The trunk is just over three feet in diameter and the base is even larger. This tree is magnificently anchored and exudes a strength that makes you believe it could last forever.

Branches take off in all sorts of odd directions. The surrounding trees are all much younger which indicates that this tree was left standing when all around was cut. Was it too small to cut or was it left because it was damaged by a falling tree? This would have been near the edge of a farm field at one time, so maybe the tree was left to provide shade for a tired farmer.

Many lower branches mean many tops. This tree claims a large area of the forest canopy. Several large trees could grow in the space being occupied by this one. Anyone managing the forest for timber production would have had it cut long ago. I’m glad none of the earlier farmers went in for doing any management.

The leaves look healthy enough. All of the leaves on the trees look a little bit ragged this year. Part of the reason is the unusually high number of leaf eating larvae on the trees this year. A second reason is the hail storm we had earlier in the year that managed to hole a great number of leaves.

I’ve grown quite fond of many of these misshapen giants and will be saddened if anything happens to them. I wouldn’t trade this guy for a dozen timber trees.

Little Oak with Big Caterpillar

As I emerged from the woods, I stopped to scan the little barrens opening I was about to enter. To my right I could hear something chewing and I turned to find this caterpillar a few feet away busily devouring a leaf of a small Chinquapin Oak, Quercus muehlenbergii. I believe this is the larva of a White-Dotted Prominent moth, Nadata gibbosa. The caterpillar is also commonly referred to as the Green Oak Caterpillar for what should be obvious reasons.

There were several leaves on the tree showing signs of feeding activity and a couple leaves that had been eaten right down to the petiole. From its size, I imagine this larva will soon be pupating, so the tree shouldn’t be losing too many more leaves.

Since it already had my attention, I decided to check the tree over to see how it was doing. There was a lot of damage due to egg laying by the 2008 brood of periodical cicadas. There is a good likelihood that many of these branches will break as the tree ages.

Something used silk to hold these leaves together and then ate the lower surface of the attached leaf from the safety of a leaf sandwich. There were several of these areas on the tree, but I didn’t find any sign of the culprit.

This small oak had an enlarged base typical of most small trees on the barrens. The top growth on these trees often dies back and a new shoot emerges from the base. Since the base has been continually growing from the time the seed sprouted, it becomes disproportionately larger each time the old top growth dies and a new one begins.

It’s not an easy life for these little trees. The barrens don’t offer the best of growing conditions, at least for larger plants that need an adequate water supply. It takes a lot of luck for the small oaks to reach a point where their survival would be considered secure.

A Little Oak

It sometimes amazes me how much adversity the plants at Blue Jay Barrens can survive. This is a small Chinquapin Oak, Quercus muehlenbergii. It has been here, at approximately this same size, for as long as I’ve owned the property. It survives on a partially shaded, rocky, south facing slope.

Here’s a perspective shot of me standing beside the tree. To help you get a feel for the size, I’ll tell you that I’m not over 12 feet tall and the tree barely reaches my chest. The top of this tree has died and a lower branch is now becoming the dominant leader. This sequence of events has played out many times in the past.

The lower trunk shows a lot of age. You can see the remains of a stub on the left where the tree once died back almost to ground level. This looks much like an old Bonsai specimen.

A little farther up the tree, there is another die back and promotion of a side sprout to leader.

Of course, rough growing conditions are not all this tree must endure. Several of the leaves are wearing small oak galls. Galls are usually formed on leaves as a result of either a fungus infection or a response to an insect egg. I believe this is of the latter variety, forming around a tiny wasp egg.

There are also plenty of insects around to munch on the leaves. This insect is a small Walking Stick. It’ll be larger and much more stick-like this autumn. When they are abundant, Walking Sticks can nearly strip a tree of leaves. It wouldn’t take many to eat all the leaves on a tree this size.

It could be quite an insult to a tree to be decades old, but have a Bush Cricket take up residence in your leaves. I don’t know if the cricket or some other insect is responsible for the damage to this leaf. Between the cricket’s hind legs is the egg of a butterfly or moth. Soon we’ll have a young larva taking its share of leaves from the tree.

Here’s an interesting Harvestman, A.K.A. Daddy Long Legs, cruising the branches in search of a meal.

Looks like one of those long legs went missing. I used to keep guys like this as pets when I was younger. They did quite nicely in a terrarium. Most people never get a good look at the bodies of these interesting creatures. All people see are a bunch of legs and that’s their signal to leave.