The Hidden Life of Trees
For July 2017, the BRDC Book Club read and discussed The Hidden Life of Trees.
"In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware.
For July 2017, the BRDC Book Club read and discussed The Hidden Life of Trees.
"In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware. Much like human families, tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, and support them as they grow, sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group. As a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. In contrast, solitary trees, like street kids, have a tough time of it and in most cases die much earlier than those in a group.
Drawing on groundbreaking new discoveries, Wohlleben presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities; he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him. As he says, a happy forest is a healthy forest, and he believes that eco-friendly practices not only are economically sustainable but also benefit the health of our planet and the mental and physical health of all who live on Earth."
Galax Middle School Studies Leaves, Invasive Plants and the American Chestnut
Students from Galax Middle School travel to Matthews State Forest to learn about the forests of the Blue Ridge.
Friday, October 14th, students from Galax Middle School traveled to Matthews State Forest to learn about the forests of the Blue Ridge. We met with Zach Olinger, a Forester with the MSF, and began an enlightening afternoon hiking around Matthews State Forest.
We first began our educational tour with leaf identification. Mr. Olinger discussed the native trees of the area and then guided us to some of these trees around the property. The students also received information about non-native ornamental tress brought in from other countries. There are a large number of heirloom apple trees on the property and they delighted us with a tasty treat!
The second phase of the hike revolved around invasive plants. In a small wooded area near the pond, Mr. Olinger handed each of the students a picture of a non-native invasive plant species. The scavenger hunt began as students were sent out to see if they could find any of these plants. Unfortunately, in a very small area, 7 invasive species were discovered by the students.
Finally, we reached the American Chestnut grove. Here, students learned of the research being conducted on the reestablishment of the American Chestnut tree. Matthews State Forest is the site of one of many orchards with fourth generation American Chestnut trees. Students learned about backcrossing to create a genetically blight resistant American Chestnut tree. They examined the differences between the Chinese Chestnut and the American Chestnut tree based on this backcrossing using their leaves and tree structure as examples.
(July 2015) American Chestnut: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree, by Susan Freinkel
"The American chestnut was one of America's most common, valued, and beloved trees—a "perfect tree" that ruled the forests from Georgia to Maine. But in the early twentieth century, an exotic plague swept through the chestnut forests with the force of a wildfire. Within forty years, the blight had killed close to four billion trees and left the species teetering on the brink of extinction."
July's BRDC Book Club Selection is American Chestnut: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree, by Susan Freinkel:
"The American chestnut was one of America's most common, valued, and beloved trees—a "perfect tree" that ruled the forests from Georgia to Maine. But in the early twentieth century, an exotic plague swept through the chestnut forests with the force of a wildfire. Within forty years, the blight had killed close to four billion trees and left the species teetering on the brink of extinction. It was one of the worst ecological blows to North America since the Ice Age—and one most experts considered beyond repair. In American Chestnut, Susan Freinkel tells the dramatic story of the stubborn optimists who refused to let this cultural icon go. In a compelling weave of history, science, and personal observation, she relates their quest to save the tree through methods that ranged from classical plant breeding to cutting-edge gene technology. But the heart of her story is the cast of unconventional characters who have fought for the tree for a century, undeterred by setbacks or skeptics, and fueled by their dreams of restored forests and their powerful affinity for a fellow species."
BRDC Discovery prompts study of Virginia Paper Birch
Way back in 2011 one our guides, Devin Floyd, took a group of young explorers up into a very unique habitat on Turk mountain in search of rare species. They were searching in a north facing rock talus for ice age relic species. Low and behold that group found and documented a tree that had characteristics fully matching a Paper Birch, Betula papyrifera. The Paper Birch is a species that isn't usually documented as living south of Pennsylvania.
Way back in 2011 one our guides, Devin Floyd, took a group of young explorers up into a very unique habitat on Turk mountain in search of rare species. Their goal was to scour a north facing rock talus for ice age relics. Low and behold they found and documented a tree that had characteristics fully matching a Paper Birch, Betula papyrifera. The Paper Birch is a species that is rarely south of Pennsylvania!
Since then A Study of Virginia Paper Birch has gotten underway, organized by the Virginia Natural Heritage Program and Chip Morgan. Genetic sequencing will be used to figure out the identity of the tree and determine the degree of variation among Virginia birch populations.
The full blog post about the exploration can be seen here: Exploring the Talus of Turk
Trees in the Ground!
TREES IN THE GROUND
GRAYSON HIGHLANDS SCHOOL
GRAYSON, COUNTY, VA.
Grayson Highlands School
is positioned in a broad valley near Troutdale, Virginia. Opening this fall, this K-12 school consolidated Bridle Creek and Mount Rogers schools. In time, it will serve a larger student body, but during the transition, many kids in the neighborhood continue to attend school in Independence. Last winter, John Alexander, principal, several community members and Blue Ridge Discovery Center volunteers met to discuss broad ideas based upon outdoor classroom activities. The grounds on campus are essentially a blank slate, inspiring us to approach the possibilities with creativity and student owned ideas.
Earlier this fall, Clyde Kessler,
BRDC Board Member, initiated a tree planting program at the new school by making a donation towards a tree or two. This donation grew as others heard about the program, with Carol Broderson and Blue Ridge Birders Club chipping in. After doing some research and consulting a variety of tree experts, including David Richert with Virginia’s Department of Forestry, we settled on a list of species that would do well on this windswept sandy spot.
Taking this list
with me to Jones Nursery, Woodlawn, Va., on Tuesday, November 23rd, I met with Charlie Jones and Roger Hollinger, who helped me pick out and load up what $250.00 could buy. Charlie took an interest in our project, and not only helped me find the healthiest trees, but donated two large sugar maples to the cause. Charlie and Robert were incredibly helpful, including loading me up with stakes and pipe to help protect the trees from wind and deer.
The tree list is as follows:
3 large sugar maples
1 large red maple
1 large pin oak
1 medium serviceberry ( downy , shadblow, or Allegheny species)
1 medium American holly
1 small Norway spruce
1 medium eastern redbud
I then headed west
to the school, where Rebecca Absher, our point person and science teacher, met me, and with several older students we began to dig the holes and plant trees. There was not enough time left in the day to plant more than three, and with the Thanksgiving Holiday upon us, we were forced to wait until the following week to complete the planting. I left the school after securing a promise that all of the trees would be properly watered. Subsequent rains through the weekend further insured that the trees would be fine.
Realizing the magnitude of the job ahead,
meaning digging six large holes in very hard ground, I reached out to our local BRDC volunteer pool and received the promise of help from Carol Broderson, Niki Weir, William Roberts and Larry Paluzzi. We all met, (and just in the nick of weather time), at the school on Thursday, December 2nd. Devin Floyd joined us for an hour, on his way to Independence for another BRDC program.
Again, with a great deal of help from the kids, we succeeded in planting the rest of the trees, including roping them off and attaching the protective tubing. It was plenty cold and breezy, as can be seen in the pictures, but spirits remained high. Planting a tree is a commitment to and an association with the future. We pointed out to the kids that as they grow, so will the trees, and it will be fun to look back on this day while sitting under the shade of a spreading oak or maple.
This small but significant first step
on the school grounds merely sets the stage for future activities. Among our ideas is to create a tree nursery on site, a protected space for planting seedlings and even seeds for later transplanting. From here on out, the kids are going to study the grounds with trail and garden in mind. The next step is to have the kids create a map of the campus, and then begin the process of thinking about where they would like to plant a grove, what they might place along the edges, as well as how best to utilize the resource of a small branch and wet zone on one corner of the property.
By Scott Jackson-Ricketts
photos © Scott Jackson-Ricketts and Devin Floyd
Exploring Blue Ridge Flora and Geology
On November 13,
the Rivanna Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists and friends from the Native Plant Society went on a stroll to learn more about the flora and geology of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The crew of nearly forty people explored the Jack Albright Trail (opened 2005) and the old Appalachian Trail near HumpbackRocks. Chip Morgan was the guide, and he was assisted by Russell Fitzgerald who shared the history of the local people from the long association his family has with this area.
During the hike the large group stopped frequently. The Catoctin formation meta-basalts are well known for the floral diversity they can support. The landscape in this area is also traced with a variety of features that echo human activity. This was a complex landscape, one that was impossible to soak up in a single day!
Below you will find a list of trees, ferns, a geologic description (map showing paleogeography included), and a link to a prior blog story exploring the geology and flora of Humpback rocks.
List of trees and shrubs observed:
1.Northern Red Oak, Quercus rubra
2.Chestnut Oak, Quercus prinus
3.Black Oak, Quercus velutina
4.White Oak, Quercus alba
5.Pignut Hickory, Carya glabra
6.Mockernut Hickory, Carya alba
7.Yellow-Poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera
8.White Ash, Fraxinus americanus
9.Black Birch, Betula lenta
10.American Linden, Tilia americana
11.Black Locust, Robinia pseudoacacia
12.Red Maple, Acer rubrum
13.Striped Maple, Acer pensylvanicum
14.Norway Maple, Acer platanoides
15.Black Cherry, Prunus serotina
16.Persimmon, Diospyros virginiana
17.Paulownia, Paulowniatomentosa
18.Spicebush, Lindera benzoin
19.Pinxterflower, Rhododendron periclymenoides
20.Alternate-leaf dogwood, Cornus alternifolia
21.Mapleleaf viburnum, Viburnum acerifolium
22.Hop Hornbeam, Ostrya virginiana
23.Sassafras, Sassafras albidum
24.Witch-hazel, Hamamelis virginiana
25.Serviceberry, Amelanchier sp.
26.American Dogwood, Cornus florida
27.Hawthorn, Crataegus sp.
28.Black Haw, Viburnum prunifolium
29.American Chestnut, Castanea dentata
List of Ferns Observed
Rockcap fern, Polypodium virginianum complex
Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides
Marginal wood fern, Dryopteris marginalis
Ebony spleenwort,Asplenium platyneuron
Upland brittle bladderfern, Cystopteris tenuis(leaves not present, but habitat pointed out)
Geologic description(adapted from USGS description; source below*):
Rock Type: Metabasalt (Catoctin Formation)
Age:Proterozoic Z-Cambrian
Paleo-geographical map (Notice the character and location of the terrain during the time of these basalt flows!!) http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namPC550.jpg
Description: grayish-green to dark-yellowish-green, fine-grained, schistose chlorite- and actinolite-bearing metabasalt, commonly associated with epidosite segregations.
Minerals: chlorite + actinolite + albite + epidote + titanite +/- quartz + magnetite. Relict clinopyroxene is common; biotite porphyroblasts occur locally in southeastern outcrop belts.
Geophysical signature: The Catoctin as a whole has a strong positive magnetic signature. However, between Warrenton and Culpeper the lowest part of the Catoctin, which consists of low-titanium metabasalt and low-titanium metabasalt breccia, is non-magnetic, and displays a strong negative anomaly. Metabasaltis by far the most widespread unit comprising 3000 feet or more of section
Primary volcanic features : vesicles and amygdules, sedimentary dikes, flow-top breccia, and columnar joints, relict pillow structures.
*Source: http://tin.er.usgs.gov/geology/state/sgmc-unit.php?unit=VACAZc;0
==================================
Prior posting that may be of interest:
Remarkable Trees of Virginia Hike ….the Shenandoah National Park
Tulip Poplars of Pocosin Hollow
It is just one of those timeless places,
achieved through a combination of old growth forest and the remains of early settlers' hard lives there. Exploration off trail in the hollow bottom and on the flat ridges will be well rewarded.
This is a partial description
of a 5 hour day hike with an
elevation change of close to 1000’ and starting on skyline drive at the PATC Pocosin
Cabin Parking (Milepost 59.8) that a group of 14 Virginia Master Naturalists did on
October 16, 2010. After following the old fire road past the cabin, and taking a short
detour to the old mission ruins on the right a little over a mile in, continue down the
road and take the Pocosin Hollow trail down to the left in less than ½ of a mile more.
There is a signpost there on a concrete marker.
The trail is wide
, in great shape and easy to follow downhill for another mile to a
stream crossing…after crossing you will look for an old road going upstream, and 2 old
wooden gate posts in 300 yards will confirm you are on the right track. The old road has
several dead falls , branches lying along it you will need to step over , but is generally
easy to follow for about 600 yards to the immense tulip poplar in the photo.
If you continue
up the stream valley , you will pass under an unbroken grove of
poplars with little understory , for about ½ mile. Small native chestnuts and cucumber
magnolias are also found here. Further off trail exploration will show evidence of early
settlement here.
The return trip can be done
in about 1 1/2 hours, as the trail is well graded and
switchbacks often…occasional views across the upper hollow, to Lewis mountain are
found in the middle half…The October 16 trip actually left the Pocosin Hollow trail very
soon after joining it, and came down the stream valley on the left side of the stream to
the poplars, adding additional time. One can truly appreciate the wildness of Shenandoah
National park this way …
In the book, Remarkable Trees of Virginia
, which spawned this hike,
the trees are referred to as the "largest trees in aggregation" in the National Park that
naturalist Mo Stevens has seen in more than 35 years of walking there. The trees seem
to be about 120 feet tall, and the rich soil along the hollow bottom support this kind
of growth, as evident in the oaks and mountain laurels as well. For some reason or
another, this grove of trees was spared the axe in early settlement of what is now the
park...The poplar in the photo easily exceeds the height of the others! Great hike for
those who love trees …
By John Holden,
Virginia Master Naturalist
and
Blue Ridge Mountain Sports
Manager
Photographs © John Holden
Resources
For more information about the Yellow-poplar tree visit:
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/liriodendron/tulipifera.htm
For more information about the Virginia Master Naturalists organization, visit:
http://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/
Exploring Grindstone
This forest chews lava, and exhales the whispers of glaciers...
Sipping from rock once fuming and flowing
Drawing from deep water pebble-pimpled silt,
Splitting muck-mired cobbles of glacial mowings
Benefacting cycles of rise and wilt...
This forest
chews
lava,
and
exha
les
the
whispers
of
gla
ciers...
-D. Floyd
On Sunday the 12th,
a mother, a father, and a son explored the forest at Grindstone Campground on the north side of Mount Rogers. We were there to 'see what we could see'. Our walk took us around the short Grindstone loop trail, the 'Whispering Waters nature trail'. As has been experienced in the past, the beauty is blinding and the diversity overwhelming. One passes through at least two distinct forest types and transitions from glacial lake deposits to lava flow remains.
The forest along the upper portion of the trail is truly unique, as it is dominated by linden, ash, and cucumber magnolia. The great number of seeps along the trail provide for excellent exploration and the make-up of the forest shifts around every corner!
Here's a small bit of what we saw:
Geology:
Rock type #1, near the beginning of the trail, is :
Konnarock Formation
;
Maroon diamictite, rhythmite, and arkose.
These are rocks that were deposited in habitats that included deep icy lakes and glacial activity. They are the silicified (fancy word for 'turned into rock') remains of muds, silts, pebbles and cobbles carried by glaciers. Interestingly, the stones seen in the silicified mud were dropped into that muck and consist of materials from formations nearby...ryholites, greenstones, and granites. This makes sense because the glaciers would have been eroding these materials from the land during that time...and, it was a landscape devoid of plants and animals!...mountains and valleys of pure rock, silt, and sand!
Rock type #2, as one heads up the trail the rocks change to:
Mount Rogers Formation;
Phenocryst-poor rhyolite.
These rocks are a dark purple, and are the results of lava flows! Mount Rogers, White Top, and Pond Mtn. (NC) form the core of what was a massive and explosive volcanic complex. These once towering volcanoes have seen a lot of erosion, and have even found themselves buried beneath miles of sediment at different points in the geologic past. But today, we are afforded a view of these ancient volcanoes. It is worth noting here that this rock known as "Rhyolite" is high in silica, and breaks kind of like glass (chonchoidal fracture). This made it a choice material for use in making spears, knives, and other tools during prehistoric times. Somewhere on these mountains hides ancient quarries used by Native Americans!
Primary source:
Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, 1993, Geologic Map of Virginia.
Trees and shrubs:
chestnut oak,
Quercus prinus
northern red oak
,
Quercus rubra
red maple,
Acer rubrum
sugar maple,
Acer saccharum
striped m
aple,
Acer pensylvanicum
black cherry,
Prunus serotina
yellow birch,
Betula alleghaniensis
black birch,
Betula lenta
American beech,
Fagus grandifolia
Fraser magnolia,
Magnolia fraseri
cucumber magnolia
,
Magnolia acuminata
witchhazel
,
Hamamelis virginiana
viburnum
sp.
yellow buckeye,
Aesculus flava
green ash,
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
white ash
,
Fraxinus americana
American linden,
Tilia americana
rhododendron
sp.
yellow poplar
,
Liriodendron tulipifera
eastern hemlock,
Tsuga canadensis
...and, maybe
Carolina Hemlock
,
Tsuga caroliniana
(need to revisit the site to verify)
Scientific name reference:
Two unidentified species of the Lycopodiaceae family.
Smaller plants:
ramps,
Allium tricoccum
white baneberry,
Actaea pachypoda
Solomon's seal,
Polygonatum sp.
false Solomon's seal,
Smilacina racemosa
Pipsissewa
,
Chimaphila maculata
Dutchmans pipe,
Aristolochia macrophylla
ground cedar,
Lycopodium sp.
clubmoss
,
Huperzia sp.
partridge Berry,
Mitchella repens
white snakeroot
,
Ageratina altissima
black cohosh,
Actaea racemosa (syn. Cimicifuga r.)
blue cohosh,
Caulophyllum thalictroides
yellow mandarin,
Disporum lanuginosum
jack in the pulpit
,
Arisaema triphyllum
Curtis's goldenrod
,
Solidago curtisii
**
Two aster species remain unidentified, see images below.
**Two Lycopodiaceae species remain unidentified. see image above.
My identification sources:
Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, by Lawrence Newcomb
On the way home
we could not resist stopping to take in a phenomenal meadow. Willows, hawthorns, alders, cinnamon ferns, golden rods, ironweeds, ladies' tresses and butterflies galore. This little boggy area is very close to Grindstone Campground and can be thoroughly enjoyed from the road. I suspect there are many locations in the Grayson highlands area that are similar to this one, as it is maintained as pasture.
The Summer "horn of plenty"
In walking around our farm in this late Summer period I am struck by the exuberant production of Nature including flowers, fruits, seeds, green vegetation, etc. I especially notice the fruits of the hackberry (likely Celtis occidentalis), which grows along one of our fence lines. This is not a species I see often although it is touted as a bird-friendly plant because of its fruits. We have tried planting it and its more southern relative the sugarberry, without a great deal of success. I think it requires a richer soil and more moisture than our sites generally provide.
Another beautiful and bird-friendly plant is the relatively rare cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) which is highly specialized for pollination by hummingbirds. It has a very interesting ecology since it is a poor competitor with grasses and thus is found most often along streams, disturbed by occasional floods, or in wet areas of pastures where competition is reduced by grazing. It appears to be poisonous, as is ironweed, and is thus not eaten by horses. Ironweed is also one of our favorites due to its wonderful flowers and attraction to butterflies, and later to seed eating sparrows, such as the white crowned which spends Winters here on the farm.
Of course we should not ignore the growth of grasses and their abundant seeds which provide food for many animals. Indeed some herbaceous plants that farmers may consider weedy and less than desirable can be highly beneficial for wildlife. For example consider the foxtail (various Setaria species), grasses that flourish in Summer if the competition from cold-season grasses such as fescue is removed by cutting in mid-June. If you allow this to grow (we have a patch next to our garden) it will attract resident indigo buntings and even migrating bobolinks to harvest its seeds.
In contrast to this late Summer explosion of plant growth, most birds are past their breeding periods and are relatively quiet, many have begun migration, or are filling their bellies with the "horn of plenty" available all around them from the natural foods that have sustained them for eons. Given the luxury of such natural foods, it is very hard to justify artificial feeding of birds in the Summer. Let's try to balance our desire to enjoy birds in a backyard setting at feeders, with the best interests of the birds themselves. There is an alternative that can serve both the best interests of birds and their human watchers, namely the planting of appropriate native and exotic plants around our houses that provide foods in a manner consistent with natural patterns of behavior.
Bill Dunson
Galax, Va & Englewood, FL
Beware fuzzy caterpillars!
We have planted many hundreds of trees and shrubs on our property to encourage wildlife of all sorts, so I keep a careful eye out for pests that eat these plants. Some of the worse problems are due to insects that come in groups, such as caterpillars of various moths. I am used to dealing with army worms and web worms but came across a new enemy recently. Groups of hungry caterpillars appeared on our treasured black walnut trees (and sumac also) and started a full-scale attack (see photo above). In their young stage they were white with black spots and a black head, and were quite hairy. Now a fuzzy caterpillar often means "KEEP AWAY" since the hairs can be irritating and even toxic. These turned out to be hickory tussock moths or hickory tiger moths which are well known to possess stinging hairs and even to be toxic for birds to eat. They group together, likely with their siblings that hatched from their mother's eggs, and remain together for some time until they get much larger when they live alone (see photo below, of a much older caterpillar from our yard- not a typical coloration- often they are more black and white).
It is interesting to think about why not only insects but many types of animals group together in flocks or swarms. It is usually considered to be a defense, potentially to confuse and divert the attack of predators. In the case of these caterpillars, it is also likely that distasteful and/or toxic
creatures
ban together with siblings to gain an additional advantage if a predator does attack and learns to avoid this color pattern in the future. Siblings that share many of the same genes will benefit more by being together with their brothers and sisters than with strangers, if they are attacked and some are sacrificed to teach the predator to avoid the others.
Caterpillars have a variety of defenses other than stinging hairs and toxic flesh. They tend to be active at night and group together in daytime under protective webs. When I touched the leaf on which the young hickory tussock moths were sitting, a surprising thing happened- numbers of caterpillars began to drop down to the ground quickly on web lines (see photo). You might wonder why this would be necessary when these caterpillars seem to be so well protected. However virtually all good defenses have spawned a specialized predator that can circumvent the defensive strategy- in this case it is the yellow-billed cuckoo (see photo) which is a fuzzy caterpillar eater. Not
coincidentally
we have noticed far more cuckoos on our property this year than last when caterpillars were not so numerous. So the hickory tussock moth caterpillars drop from the tree at the
slightest
indication of a cuckoo being present, and can then crawl back into the tree after the cuckoo leaves.
The intricate natural history of something so seemingly inconsequential as a tiger moth caterpillar tells us once again that the adaptations of this larval moth are subject to very specific design criteria to maximize its chances of survival and subsequent reproduction. So even if we destroy some of these creatures that eat our yard plants, we cannot fail to marvel at their remarkable methods of existence.
Bill
Dunson
Galax
, VA &
Englewood
, FL
Lava reaching skyward
This past Sunday, a group of us Charlottesville folk went to Humpback rocks up on the Blue Ridge (mile 5.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway). We enjoy being within a twenty minute drive of these higher elevations...and we aren't alone. The parking lot was packed, and the nearby by living farm exhibit gets year around attention. The trip up there is always amazing because the landscape changes so dramatically before ones eyes...and your ears "pop". Interstate 64 climbs diagonally up the mountain cutting through thick deposits of metamorphosed lava. We were time travelers ...traveling forward in time to see denuded trees that will dominate our view down on the Piedmont in a couple of weeks; our trees are still hanging on to leaves...especially the oaks, hickories, and invasives (pawlonia, white mulberry, etc.). We were also traveling through
a complex geologic landscape, ultimately ending up in meta-basalts deposited when central Virginia was well south of the equator, and turned 90 degrees east!
We all met at the parking lot, the kids poured out, and off we went into a woods known for its high black bear population. Some estimates claim that 3 bear live upon every 2 square miles of woods....that's quite a bit. The nearby Shenandoah National Park boasts the largest population of black bears in the east. This is not the time of year to see them though...late spring and early summer is when you can catch them moving about as mating season kicks in.
An immediate thing noticed when one looks up from the parking lot is that a strenuous hike is about to be had. The hike covers over 1000 feet of elevation in less than a mile...with some mild rock climbing thrown in there. Half our kids had to be carried. The others had something else in mind....a race to the top!
We moved up the mountain, over outcroppings of 570 million year old Greenstone (young for Blue Ridge Rocks!). These rocks are old lava flows that once covered great amounts of what are today Virginia and Maryland. The rock is hard, very hard, and thus resists erosion. This greenstone holds up most of the peaks and ridges for most of the way thirteen miles south and over a hundred miles to the north.
The forest was dominated by
,
, and Hickory(
,
, and
).
,
, and
were the dominant understory trees. A few old field relics were scattered about in the forest, including large Flowering Dogwoods and Black Locusts, which were probably the oldest trees we saw at Humpback.
One of the familiar and signifying attributes of the dying black locusts is the polypore it plays host to, the
. So far as I know, it only grows on the Black Locust!
Along the trail we occasionally encountered enormous Chestnut Oaks. Check out the size of the one John's leaning on! Also notice the very distinct bark of the Chestnut oak...so deeply furrowed.
We also found several witchhazel in late bloom (see image with the inset), all but a few had dropped their long and wispy yellow petals and stamens, leaving behind these curved sepals.
All adults and kids (all five under the age of 5) made it to the top! I've tried this on two other occasions, without luck. Must have been somethin in the air! The view was magnificent.
