Family Tree, Branching across the Country

The husband's family celebrates Thanksgiving in Virginia, and this year we decided to join them. I have an ancestral branch of the family that moved from Maine to Virginia in the 1850s so I also planned to do some research and visit some cemeteries. The research proved unproductive but I did learn quite a bit about the Civil War through some online articles and listening to the Washington Post's podcast Presidential. I also gained an appreciation of how far from home this family uprooted. However, even more productive than the research was the search for cemeteries and gravestones. 

The first cemetery, the Pohick Episcopal Church Cemetery in Lorton, VA was easy to access. Having seen a photo of the gravestone on Find-A-Grave, my eyes were honed in on a particular shape and a light color. It also helped to see a large family marker with the name "MORGAN" which is the married name of my great-great-great grandmother Flora Louise Chase. In addition to her stone, I also found several stones marking her children's final resting places.

The second stop was at the St. James Cemetery in Falls Church, VA. This was also easy to access, and again I had a Find-A-Grave photo to work with. Relatively small, it was easy enough for us to survey the entire cemetery but we came up empty. Looking again at the reference photo, I noticed that the stone was surrounded by oak leaves so we focused our search to the areas beneath the oaks. I remembered a stone that had been lifted by oak roots. Brushing dry leaves aside, I found Marion Genevieve Richard's stone bearing her married name "BROWN". Marion is my great-great grandmother.

Our third stop of the day was at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC. I had done my research at home and had a good idea which section of the cemetery I wanted - thank goodness, because this would have otherwise been impossible. We walked right to this distinctive double-marker stone. Before the Civil War, Thomas and Elvira Winship Chase lived in Farmington with their children where Thomas practiced law. After a few years in Chesterfield VA, they moved to Washington DC where they spent their remaining years.

It was quite a thrill to find all three cemeteries and an even greater sense of satisfaction to locate the gravestones. Though I've downloaded the Find-A-Grave photos, I now feel as though I've brought these distant relatives "home".

Thomas and Elvira Chase

Sometime in the 1850's Thomas Chase, a lawyer practicing in Farmington Maine, moved his family (wife Elvira and eight children) to be a farmer in Manchester in Chesterfield County Virginia. While in Virginia his daughter Flora fell in love with and married a Confederate soldier named Harney Napoleon Richard. Harney returned to his home state of Florida not knowing that Flora was pregnant. In 1866 Flora gave birth to a daughter Marion in Chesterfield and, believing that Harney had died since he never returned, remarried and had several more children. By 1880 Thomas and Elvira had settled in Washington DC. Flora, her new husband, their children, and Marion lived next door.

Flora and Harney's daughter was my great-great grandmother. I have many unanswered questions about this family: what pressed Thomas to leave Farmington; what drew him to Chesterfield; did Harney ever consider returning to Flora; did Flora ever try to reach Harney in Florida; what happened between 1866 and 1880; was Thomas content with his break from practicing law? 

After a morning at the Chesterfield Historical Society, three attempts to find local libraries with genealogy records, and an afternoon at the Library of Virginia in Richmond I am no closer to answering any of my questions - for today anyway. I'll continue to search online for clues, and some day I'll return to Chesterfield, hopefully armed with a few more details and direction. In the meantime, I met some lovely people, strengthened my resolve to discover more about my ancestors, and spent some much needed down-time with my husband's Chesterfield family who, like Thomas and Elvira, relocated from Maine. 

Habits and Peculiarities

I love library book sales. Richard and I have developed the peculiar habit of seeking them out and spending hours poring over row upon row, table after table, of books. In addition to the sheer pleasure of being present to so many great works, this has proven to be a great way to add to my personal library of trees and natural history.

I love the sense of community that brings book lovers together, politely sidling past one another, waiting patiently to peruse THAT stack. I love the care taken to sort selections into categories, to handle each and every book so mindfully, and then place it where it is most likely to be found by its new reader. I love the watchful attendants who work the room straightening the field guides, tightening up the row of historical novels, tidying up the stories about animals. I love the check-out Friends of the Library who quickly tally the total while offering an extra bag to even out my load. I love that I can roam the room for hours, select anything that catches my fancy, and keep looking for just one more volume on my chosen interests. I love the inner satisfaction that I've supported a worthy cause - the Library - and I've supported another worthy cause - reading hard copy! And I love that, at the end of the day, I can curl up in the recliner and get lost in another good book.

Among the many titles I picked up this morning is "Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them: A Popular Study of Their Habits and Their Peculiarities" by Harriet Keeler. As if the first part of this title wouldn't grab my attention, how could I pass by the subtitle? Now to find more shelf space...

Sugar Maple

Sugar Maple (Acer sacharrum) is one of seven species of the Acer genus that grow in Maine's forests. Six of these "typical" maples (A. saccharum, A. saccharinum, A. rubrum, A. platinoides, A. pensylvanicum, and A. spicatum) have opposite arrangement of their simple leaves and buds. Other trees with opposite features include the ashes, red-osier and flowering dogwoods, the viburnums, and horse-chestnuts. The other thing that these six maples have in common is their palmate venation - the leaf veins originate from a central point at the base of the leaf and fan out, sort of like your fingers fanning out from the palm of your hand. The other vein arrangement is pinnate, like a feather where the veins branch outward all along the central mid-vein. Finally, the maple fruit is a double-winged indehiscent samara. In addition to the six typical maples is Boxelder (A. negundo) which has compound leaves which are oppositely arranged - it also bears the double-winged samara.

So, how do you tell a Sugar Maple from the other simple-leaved maples? From late spring through autumn, you can distinguish it by its leaf margins. Maple leaves are lobed which means there are distinct indentations that don't go all the way to the mid-veins. The leaf depicted here has three large lobes with two smaller lobes at its base. The other simple-leaved maples will have 3-5 lobes with  palmate venation, but the  notches and margins will differ. At the base of each lobe where it meets the next one, the part that reaches toward the center of the leaf is a sinus. The sinus is distinctly "U" shaped on Sugar Maple (A. saccharum) and Norway Maple (A. platanoides). The sinus is notched like a "V" on the leaves of Mountain Maple (A. spicatum) and Red Maple (A. rubrum). Striped Maple (A. pensylvanicum) is fairly "V" notched, and Silver Maple (A. sacharrinum) is very deeply and "U" notched. You can distinguish Sugar Maple from Norway Maple leaves by breaking the leaf stem from the twig and looking for a milky white sap on Norway Maple. 

In winter you can look at bark and buds. Sugar Maple bark is different from Norway Maple - the former has broad ridges whereas the latter has narrowly spaced ridges and furrows. Bark is a little tricky because young, middle-aged, and mature trees have different textures. Striped Maple bark is vertically striped and the tree doesn't get very tall. To me, Sugar Maple's broad ridges don't seem to curl as much as with mature Red Maple or Striped Maple. I don't have much experience looking at the bark of Mountain Maple. The oppositely arranged buds also yield clues. Sugar Maple buds are dark brown and very pointed though not excessively long. Red Maple and Silver Maple buds are rounded and red. Mountain Maple buds are pointed, short-stalked, and green to red in color. Striped maple buds are distinctly stalked. Norway Maple scales are large. 

On being a naturalist: time, tools, and territory

Being a naturalist, regardless of your approach or perspective, requires a certain amount of time, the right tools, and staking out your territory. Well, that's what I think everyone needs. The list can be longer, more complex, or centered on just one aspect like journals, birds, or wildflowers. For me it still comes down to time, tools, and territory if a I hope to gain a deep understanding of the natural world.

Time: There's never quite enough of it, and it slips by all too quickly. Honing my naturalist skills is balanced by work (which provides funds for naturalist books and tools), getting to the gym (slow walking doesn't burn off the calories), and social activities (grandkids' sports, music, and dance get priority, family gatherings a close second, and of course, time with the hubster). A really good day might be stopping to gather leaves on my way to soccer, going to a library book sale with the hubster for more naturalist books, or walking in the woods with family or friends. More often than not, it's taking the time to stop when I see a tree of interest on my way somewhere else. Occasionally it's an intentional outing or study group with naturalist peers. Long-term planning for each month, quarter, or the coming year is another way to maintain my goal of becoming a really good naturalist. 

Tools: A hand lens, binoculars, a pencil, and my journal are really the most important tools that I need to be a good naturalist. I'm able to look closely under magnification, see detail from a distance, and record my observations, thoughts, and questions. I'm fortunate to also have a LOT of field guides, books, and access to the internet to help me figure out what I'm seeing and to better understand natural processes. A sturdy field bag is another good tool - big enough but not too big, lots of pockets, comfortable over my shoulder. Someday I hope to have a dissecting microscope, but I've managed pretty well without one thus far.

Territory; I've nearly outgrown the corner of our house where I store my collections, pore over specimens, and prepare teaching materials. We manage to mostly keep up with chores in our common areas (kitchen, living room) and leave each other's office space alone. I have to admit that leaves, twigs, laminating materials, and books regularly escape my assigned space and I'll need to make some other arrangements soon - renting a studio perhaps. Outside I regularly tromp around the trails behind our house or the trails at the Arboretum across the street from where I work. There, I see seasonal changes unfold, and almost always find something brand new to pique my curiosity and broaden my understanding. 

Time, tools, and territory. Good for anyone who is serious about studying and gaining expertise in a particular area whether it's a naturalist, musician, artist, chef.... anyone.

Human relationships in nature

I had an idea this past week, to use naturalist quotes at critical transitions during the graduation festivities of the latest group of Maine Master Naturalist students. I was drawing from the class's assigned reading list and thought I'd find quotes appropriate for breaking bread together, for collaborative study, and for celebrating one another's achievements. What I found was a lot of individual's writings about their experiences with elements of nature - observations of a firefly, insights on the behavior of a porcupine, or seasonal changes of a maple tree. Although these are important topics that help us better understand the natural world, and though I know there are other works that do indeed bring human relationships into the discussion, it made me think more deeply about establishing and nurturing our human relationships as we figure out what it means to be a naturalist.

Generally, a naturalist can be defined as an expert in, or a student of, natural history. Myself, I fit into the student category with aspirations of becoming more well versed in a particular topic or two while being conversant in others. This seems to characterize most of my fellow naturalists who have graduated from the Maine Master Naturalist Program. Another quality of my peers is to strengthen and engage in shared, collective learning through book clubs, impromptu study groups, and trail walks during the year. Hurrah for MMNP whose goal is to "create an ever-widening ripple, a network of citizen-naturalist volunteers who share their knowledge, insights and enthusiasm about Maine's varied natural communities to a broad array of individuals." It's the network that captures my interest right now.

Being a naturalist means many things to many people but at it's core I think it's a blending of natural science and social science. In my corner of the world, we naturalists are part of a dynamic network of individuals that go out of network for a time to make personal observations and take time to reflect - and then return to the fold to share what we've seen, heard, and experienced - and then move along within the fold to learn and experience more through each other's eyes. That's the piece I missed in the small sub-set of books I reviewed - the human interactions. If I used these half-dozen books to model my naturalist behavior, I'd be living a solitary life indeed.

Now, I know that naturalists, including the authors of this short list of books, have relationships in which they share their observations. Edwin Way Teale's naturalist travels included his wife and the many friends and colleagues that they visited from coast to coast. I like reading about the building and nurturing of the relationships that go along with identifying, documenting, and modeling the technical aspects of being a naturalist. To experience our human connections with the natural world, but to also connect with other like-minded souls within those experiences.

Color of the week - RED

Today's color is red - one that will be making more of an appearance as the calendar marches on through September toward October. This pigment can show up in different plant parts as red or red-related colors of purple or blue. In flowers, colors and patterns may attract pollinators or alert herbivores to stay away from toxins. During the growing season, leaves and stems often show more green than anything else since chlorophyll, another pigment, is readily produced to use in photosynthesis. In spring and fall with less chlorophyll production, other pigments such as the red anthocyanins or yellow xanthophylls dominate. Red anthocyanins may also act as a sunscreen to lend some protection to plants. How many shades of red can you find in your back yard?

 The bright vermillion petioloes of Red Maple (Acer rubrum) caught my eye when I got out of work yesterday afternoon. Many of the leaves on this tree are already drying out and losing their greenness.

 In passing, these brambles sport maroon tinted twigs. The leaves are showing a lot of end-of-the-season wear and tear.

 Ruby twigs are readily apparent and striking against the white berries of Red-osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea). Note this genus' arcuate leaf veins - a great diagnostic - and the opposite leaves and buds which help identify the species.

Staghorn Sumac's (Rhus hirta) leaves are beginning to reveal crimson pigments. Staghorn Sumac is a good example of shrub vs. tree: multiple woody stems less than 3" diameter and less than 15' in height. It's also a good example of compound leaves - the bud forms at the base of the leaf on the twig, but there are no buds or swellings at the base of the leaflets. 

Aspen and poplar - what's in a name?

What's in a name? Plants are named by way of binomial nomenclature - a first and last name - expressed as Genus species or Genus species. If John Smith were a plant, for example, its name would be Smith john, either in italics or underlined to give the reader a heads-up on its taxonomic status.

This binomial nomenclature can be referred to as a scientific, technical, or Latin name but I recently came across the term botanical name which makes the most sense for me. Scientific or technical seem daunting to the lay person, and Latin may or may not be accurate since it may be a variation of a Latin word, a Greek word, or something Latinized from Greek. So, botanical name is the term for me since it's a botanical specimen that I'll be discussing. Binomial nomenclature is used for animals, too, so I'll have to think about that.

Plants may also go by a number of common names, some of which they might share with another plant or two. Trees in the Populus genus go by poplar and aspen, for example. While multiple or shared common names can lead to some confusion when attempting to discuss a tree, the botanical name gets you directly to the species of interest. The Forest Trees of Maine describes three Populus species: P. tremuloides, P. grandidentata, and P. balsamifera. You may find others that have been planted in parks or urban developed areas but if you learn these three, you'll be well on your way to recognizing other trees in this genus and distinguishing them from the Maine forest tree species.

P. tremuloides and P. grandidentata go by the common name aspen and have some similarities that distinguish them from P. balsamifera which goes by the common name poplar. See the chart below for some key characteristics. This photo shows P. tremuloides (upper left), P. balsamifera (upper right), and P. grandidentata (bottom). The darker leaves are the upper side, and the lighter leaf shows the underside.

Trembling aspen (P. tremuloides) gets its name from its leaves that tremble, or shake, in the wind thanks to its flattened petioles. Big-toothed aspen (P. grandidentata) also shakes in the wind, but gets its common name from its leaves' large, coarsely toothed margin. Balsam poplar (P. balsamifera) is also known as Balm-of-Gilead but balsam poplar is also used interchangeably with cottonwood (P. deltoides) - the balm is made from the sticky buds.

	P. tremuloides	P. grandidentata	P. balsamifera
Petiole, in cross-section	Flattened	Flattened	Round
Distribution	Statewide	Statewide
Shade tolerance	Intolerant	Somewhat tolerant
Mature bark	Smooth top, ridged below	Smooth top, ridged below	Smooth top, ridged below
Alternate leaves	Round, short-pointed, finely toothed	Broadly egg-shaped, coarsely toothed	Ovate, fine round teeth, rusty blotches below
Buds	Dark brown, shiny, sticky	Dull gray, slightly hairy, not sticky	Resinous, sticky
Flowers	Catkins before leaves	Catkins before leaves	Catkins before leaves
Wood (see linked article for more info)	Close-grained, soft, little scent	Close-grained, soft, little scent	Coarser-grained, foul odor when green

Do you want to learn more about trees?

Maine Trees, Top to Bottom is for anyone interested in trees - beginners, back-yard naturalists, and more serious enthusiasts. The variety of student backgrounds leads to lively discussions and shared learning (I always learn something new) based on published literature, direct observations, and oral traditions. If you're interested in trees and want to know more about them, this class is for you!

The class has evolved over the years and will continue to develop in its format and its teaching tools. Building on the Forest Trees of Maine and Natural Landscapes of Maine, the six-week class is designed to equip students to identify the tree species that characterize Maine's forest communities. Learn to use dichotomous keys and understand botanical terms as you look at trees close up and from a distance.

Currently, Maine Trees, Top to Bottom is structured into six two-hour sessions. Each session introduces a couple of tree related topics and includes hands-on specimen identification (leaves, twigs, bark, fruit, flowers) as well as outdoor practice on trees surrounding the venue. As might be expected, topics range from roots-soil upward to trunk-nutrient transport to leaves-canopy. Though trees are the focus, we also bring in discussion of natural communities and the relationship between trees and the animals that live in those communities.

Interested? Watch for the spring calendar at Lewiston Auburn Senior College. You can also bring Maine Trees, Top to Bottom to a place near you as a six-week class or as a four-hour introductory session. For more information, contact treestoptobottom@gmail.com.

Flat-faced bark of Basswood

Basswood (Tilia americana) is more common in our area than I ever imagined when I began studying botany in general, and trees in particular.

A tree has many features that are useful in identification. The first feature most of us see is the bark, though that's often discounted because a) the leaves get most of the publicity and b) many of the barks look the same. Until I read BARK: A Field Guide to the Northeast, I mainly relied on the leaves, considered the twigs and buds, and only rarely took much note of the trunk standing literally right before my eyes.

One of the challenges in using bark as an ID tool is that most trees have a youthful, mid-age, and mature form. Even after reading BARK, I tended to group mature trees into one of three categories: smooth (like beech), peeling (like paper or silver birch), or ridged-furrowed (a huge group including oak, maple, elm, pine, hemlock and many, many more).

Basswood bark had, in my mind, gotten lost in the ridged-furrowed group. Yesterday, however, I learned a new character to its ridges that I expect will make this species easier to identify. The furrows are shallow, and the ridge face is flat. Also, the ridge-furrows run vertically up the trunk in long linear patterns. Basswood leaves are also pretty distinctive with their heart-shaped asymmetrical base and light-colored bracts that highlight the tiny flowers.

Trees are part of, and largely define, natural communities by giving the community vertical structure and also lending a name - White Pine Forest, Red Maple Swamp, or Pitch Pine Woodland for example. Basswood is characteristic of a Maple - Basswood - Ash Forest which you can read about here: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mnap/features/communities/maplebassashforest.htm.
Learning more about the different features of each tree, as well as those with which it is often associated in a particular landscape, makes it easier to pick out of a crowded forest or woodland.

Shaggy Shagbark Hickory

Big-toothed Aspen

Big-toothed Aspen (Populus grandidentata) is fairly abundant around our house, lining the discontinued dead-end dirt road on which we live and showing up occasionally along the paved nearly-two-lane back roads. Fifty years or so ago, pastures and hay fields characterized farmland whereas only a few open farm fields remain today. Where the Big-toothed Aspen stand, you can see the fairly even ground in contrast with more dramatic hummocks and hollows pocked with boulders in less accessible areas of the forest.

In an early successional forest, pioneer species such as Big-toothed Aspen (P. grandidentata), Quaking Aspen (P. tremuloides), Gray Birch (Betula populifolia), and Paper Birch (B. papyrifera), establish where there is abundant sunlight after a landscape has been disturbed by fire, agriculture, or logging. Over time, other tree species take root and reach up into the canopy, out-competing the pioneers who are intolerant to shade.


Most of the Big-toothed Aspen's branching occurs high in the canopy where the leaves reach for solar energy used by chlorophyll to convert carbon dioxide (from the air) and dissolved minerals (from the roots) into sugars (photosynthesis). Oxygen is released in the process which makes plants, in general, a nice complement to us humans who exchange the oxygen for carbon dioxide.


The Big-toothed Aspen leaves flutter in the wind, a function of the flattened petioles (leaf stems). A side note, the fluttering gives this tree's Genus-mate Quaking Aspen (P. tremuloides) its common name as well as its species designation. Another side note, a third Populus species, Balsam Poplar (P. balsamifera) has a rounder petiole that does not catch the wind in such a shaking manner.  You might notice that aspen and poplar are used interchangeably for this genus.



Moving down the Big-toothed Aspen's trunk you might notice that the bark is very light-colored, like Paper Birch or Gray Birch. Closer inspection reveals a slight greenish tinge from chlorophyll that allows the bark to photosynthesize, a little bit anyway. On a Paper Birch, the white bark peels horizontally in thin strips that you'll never see on a Big-toothed Aspen or Gray Birch. Paper Birch and Gray Birch have lateral black lines, lenticels, that allow for gas exchange. The Big-toothed Aspen lenticels are more diamond-shaped, like little stars. The birches have a black chevron where the branches come out from the trunk - not as prominent on the Big-toothed Aspen.


If you follow the trunk down to the ground, you might be surprised to find the bark transitions to furrows and ridges! The ridges are quite distinctively chunky on older trees (see photo below with pencil for scale). On tall but less mature trees (like the photo on the right, below), the bark has been described as "zebra-like" with a light colored base laced with emerging, darker ridges.

And, of course, there's always the leaf. In spite of its tattered appearance, it's easy to confirm this aspen's identity and its names, both common and technical - Big-toothed Aspen, Populus grandidentata!

The White Oak Group

This fall, one of my quests is to collect leaves from all eight oak species that can be found in Maine forests. There are four in the black oak group: Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra), Black Oak (Q. velutina), Scarlet Oak (Q. coccinea), and Bear Oak (Q. ilicifolia). Four more are grouped as white oak: White Oak (Q. alba), Chestnut Oak (Q. prinus), Bur Oak (Q. macrocarpa) and Swamp White Oak (Q. bicolor). Black oak leaves have bristly lobe tips, and the acorns take two years to mature while white oaks have rounded lobes or teeth with acorns maturing every year.

Thus far the teaching collection includes specimens from Northern Red Oak, Scarlet Oak, White Oak, and Swamp White Oak - halfway there!

The question today is what species of oak is represented by the leaves and bark pictured. Situated in a planted community, the tree is labeled White Oak (Q. alba). However, the Forest Trees of Maine describe White Oak leaves as dull above with rounded lobes, and the bark as having broad, flat, flaky ridges - neither of which seems to match up to this tree. Years ago I might have walked away thinking, "Okay, this is an atypical White Oak" but nowadays I question everything (especially myself). My goal isn't to discount someone else's work but rather to firm up my own understanding. So I'll bring you along on today's quest and questions - perhaps you'll weigh in with thoughts or answers.

First, what do I see? For me, direct observations in the field and photographs for later reference are the first step in identification. Instead of taking a field guide or key and trying to fit a specimen into that format, I attempt to learn by looking first at the features in front of me. Here's what I noted:

• Acorns: still forming, will continue to watch them develop. All eight oaks develop acorns: the black oak group takes two years to mature while the white oak group's acorns mature every year. This tree's acorns are still forming so I'll check back frequently over the next month or so for developments.
• Buds: still forming, will continue to watch. Winter buds begin developing at the leaf base during the summer. Breaking off the leaf doesn't reveal anything definitive yet so this is another feature I'll track over the next few weeks.
• Leaves: alternate, simple, lacking lobes, rounded "teeth" without bristly tips, deep glossy green above, wedge-shaped base. The rounded edges definitely put this leaf into the white oak group - no bristly tips. Not distinctly lobed like White Oak or Bur Oak, this can be narrowed down to either Chestnut Oak or Swamp White Oak - if we believe it to be a Maine tree. A planted grove may include other species so there's a possibility that it's a non-Maine native or a hybrid.
• Bark: deep fissures with orange at fissure base, irregular chunky ridges, gray-brown. 

Now let's compare observations and photo documentation with keys and field guides.

White Oak Quercus alba	Short-stalked (F) Cup bowl-shaped covering 1/3 or less of acorn (P)	2-4 times longer than acorn cup, hairless (F) End-buds red-brown, small, blunt, hairless (P)	Hairless (P)	Dull upper, rounded lobes (F) Evenly lobed, hairless, somewhat white below (P)	Broad flat ridges, flaky (F) Whitish, furrows broken into rectangular blocks (B) Whitish, slightly furrowed to scaly (P)
Chestnut Oak Q. prinus	3 times as long as cup, long & wrinkled (F) Cup bowl-shaped, tight scales free only at tip, < 1” across (P)	Sharp-pointed, broadly ovoid, hairless (F) End-buds narrow, sharp, > 3/16” (P)	Hairless (P)	Shiny upper, shallow rounded lobes (F) 7-16 pair of rounded teeth, leathery, slightly hairy below (P)	Deeply furrowed (F) Firm flat-topped ridges broken horizontally into irregular blocks with crisp square edges – corrugated & angular (B) Dark, deeply ridged (P)
Bur Oak Q. macrocarpa	2 times as long as cup, margin fringed with long hair-like scales, short-stalked (F) Bowl-shaped with fringe of elongate scales (P)	Broad ovoid, blunt or sharp-pointed, coated with soft hairs (F) End-buds blunt and hairy, > 3/16” (P)	Yellow-brown, hairless to hairy; branchlets may have corky wings (P)	Dark green & shiny upper, violin shaped (F) At least one pair indentations divide leaves into 2 or more portions, somewhat hairy & whitish below (P)	Deeply furrowed, flaky (F) Deeply furrowed, rough scaly ridges are not flaky, thick irregular blocks (B) Light gray, shallowly grooved (P)
Swamp White Oak Q. bicolor	3 times as long as cup, margins fringed with scales, long-stalked (F) Bowl-shaped cup with stalks longer than leaf-stalks (P)	Roundish, blunt-pointed, hairless (F) Brown end-buds small, blunt, hairless (P)	Hairless (P)	Dark green dull upper, slightly lobed (F) 4-6 pair of large rounded teeth, sometimes shallow lobes, wedge-shaped base, white-hairy beneath (P)	Deeply fissured, broad flat ridges, flaky, inner bark orange (F) Irregular furrows, narrow scaly ridges broken into horizontal blocks (B) Light gray, ridged or flaky (P)

F  = Maine Forest Service. 1908 (rev 2008). ForestTrees of Maine. Maine Department of Conservation.

B = Wojtech, Michael. 2011. Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. Hanover: University Press of New England.

P = Petrides, George A. 1958 (1972 2^nd ed). A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Buds and acorns on the planted species will yield information toward making a definitive identification. The shiny upper leaf with 8-9 pair of lobes suggests Chestnut Oak. Now off to southern Maine in search of field species to compare with those planted.



UPDATE: Here are leaves seen on a sapling at Mt. Agamenticus where the Maine Natural Areas Program's Natural Landscapes of Maine has documented Chestnut Oak as a natural community. Though the Mt. Agamenticus Wildlife Management Area does not allow specimen collection, I was able to get this photo to use as comparison with the planted specimen above - what do you think?

First thing first

The first thing to know about trees is, what is a tree? Sounds like a simple question but go ahead, if you haven't thought about this before - what makes a tree a tree? This is one of the very first questions asked at Maine Trees, Top to Bottom.

Trees live for many, many years - decades and sometimes centuries. From its seedling start to its sapling stage and then as a young tree, it keeps reaching for sunshine at its top, stretching its roots through the soil at its bottom, and adding growth rings to its trunk. Shrubs also live for many years, but the above-ground parts of herbaceous plants (grasses, ferns, wildflowers) die back at the end of each season.

A tree has a single stem, unlike shrubs which have multiple stems at their bases. There are a few considerations to make here. For example, in a post-harvest forest you might find several stump-sprout trees coming out of one base, like the photo to the right. This happens after the original tree is cut down and a few dormant buds emerge and send up new main stems (trunks). Another scenario is where Gray Birch (Betula populifolia) or poplar/aspen may propagate vegetatively, that is, underground so you get a small grove of the same species. In both cases, think about the tree species and whether you'd usually, or ever, see it growing as a single-trunk tree. It is not uncommon to see a single Gray Birch or a lone Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides). Shrubs ALWAYS have multiple stems no matter where or when you see them - think of staghorn sumac, lilacs, or highbush blueberry.

A tree has a woody stem, unlike fibrous herbaceous plants. A woody stem persists year after year, adding more growth to the tips of the branches and roots, and more growth to the girth of its trunk. An example of a fibrous non-woody plant is blackberry whose dried canes persist through the winter, but new growth comes up every spring.

Size is another consideration when distinguishing trees from other plants. Mature trees are generally taller than 15 feet and have a diameter of more than 3 inches. Of course, tree seedlings and saplings won't meet these criteria but they will have single woody stems, and it's likely there are mature representatives in the same area. So that's it - a tree has a single woody stem and at maturity is taller than 15 feet with a diameter greater than 3 inches.

Witch-hazel

The last common tree listed in the Forest Trees of Maine Species Index is Witch-hazel, Hamamelis virginiana. I happened to be in Lewiston this morning so I stopped by the Rancourt Preserve where I've seen quite a nice stand of these short-stature trees at the first beach (the Maine Register of Big Trees has one that is 32' tall). There are several distinctive features that make it fairly easy to identify in all seasons. The deciduous, alternate leaves have a wavy margin - not lobed or toothed, but truly wavy - and an asymmetrical base. You can see both these features in the photo. The flowers appear in fall, yellow with long, narrow, strappy petals - they're just tiny buds right now but wait until October! The fruit is a woody capsule that persists on the twig through winter into the following spring - they're still pretty fresh and light green right now, I'm not sure when they'll harden up so that's something to watch for. Leaves, flowers, and capsule are key features, but you can also look for scalpel-shaped buds in winter, or check for hairy, zig-zaggy twigs to further confirm your skills.
Rancourt Preserve is a local treasure with a loop trail along the Androscoggin River. It's a fairly easy walk with a variety of different trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants to botanize. Witch-hazel is fairly common but somehow I hadn't yet gathered its leaves - finally I can check this one off my list on this final day of August.

Class materials

Several years ago I studied with the Maine Master Naturalist Program. One of the assignments was to press and laminate a number of specimens - tree leaves, wildflowers, and ferns. I could see their value as a durable teaching tool. Over time I've perfected my technique and experimented with materials. Initially, specimens were layered between clear vinyl and clear contact paper, but the latter wasn't as clear as I might have liked and the former wasn't as stiff as I wanted.



These days, I use transparency film which is super clear and fairly stiff over clear self-adhesive laminating sheets. They're more expensive than contact paper and vinyl, but they're durable and clear which, to me, is worth the investment. You might try hot-laminating but I wonder if the dry-pressed leaves might crack as they go through the machine - maybe not, you could try it. The cold-laminating process is only a bit tricky with one goal - no wrinkles or bubbles. Of course, the other component of a laminated specimen is the specimen itself. For my tree class, I want representative shapes but also a good size for the collection. Sometimes that means selecting smaller-than-average leaves, especially if I'm also trying to get them in their opposite or alternate arrangement. Here's the step-by-step method I've developed over the years and mostly follow these days.

1. Locate the tree species of interest. Sometimes this means planning a field trip (hurrah! field trip!). For example, Chestnut oak's range is southern Maine and Balsam Poplar communities are mapped in the northern half of the State. 
2. Size matters to me. If possible, I collect samples that fit onto a 4" by 5.5" piece of film. This size fits into 4" x 6" photo pages which then go into a 3-ring binder. No worries if the leaves are bigger than that, I just put the laminates into a full-size sheet protector.
3. From the size parameter, I select a dozen healthy leaves of representative shape. Every tree has some that have an odd lobe or insect damage, and some species like red oak have sun-leaves and shade-leaves. If I'm collecting from afar, I might gather a few extras just in case I mess up (gasp!) with the laminating or maybe a leaf gets folded in the pressing book (it happens even when you're super careful).
4. Press these leaves into a field guide or handy book. If they easily fit into a field guide there's a good chance they'll meet my ideal size - and many field guides have a ruler inside the cover so that's helpful. Let the leaves dry for a week or so. If they're particularly moist at collection, I might check on them after a couple of days and transfer them to a dry book as needed. Damp leaves may darken or mold, and that's no good. You can also use a plant press though I find they're a bit bulky for the field. I have a plant press at home, but it's an extra step in a hectic schedule. That said, a plant press produces a really flat leaf.
5. You're ready to laminate! Cut the transparency film based on the size of your specimen. I usually go ahead and cut a dozen pieces so I'm ready for mass-lamination. Set them aside, out of your laminating area so they don't inadvertently get stuck up where they shouldn't.
6. Because they're super clear, lay out the laminating sheet where you've got enough light to see the edges. Begin in one corner and place your specimen, leaving a margin for the transparency film to stick. Carefully lay the cut piece of film over the specimen (bend the film just a little so you can lay the middle first, then ease the sides down to minimize bubbles or wrinkles) to capture the margin you left around the leaf. With your fingers, press from the center out, then press around your leaf - you want a good seal. Repeat this until the laminating sheet is full. You can get four 4" x 5.5" specimens onto one laminating sheet or two that are 5.5" x 8.5". 
7. If you want, add a label with a Sharpie. I use a numerical code so that I know what I've got but students have to focus on what they see. A wise naturalist once told me that once a student names something, they are likely to move on. I want my students to really look at these specimens, describe what they see, and to compare it to another specimen. Then give it a name.

So what do we have laid out here, "T005"? Do you see the bulge at the base of the leaf stem which isn't present at the base of the leaflets? This makes it a compound leaf - the entire thing is the leaf. The bulging at the base of the stem is where the bud develops. At the end of the summer, the leaf (that whole thing with three leaflets) will fall off and leave the bud exposed on the twig. In the spring, the bud will open up and produce a new leaf. The other interesting feature about these leaflets, if you look closely you can see it, is a little protuberance on one side of some leaflets. Almost like the hint of a thumb on waving hands. This tree is often planted in neighborhoods because it grows fast. A friendly tree - neighborhoods, waving hands - what is it? Boxelder, Acer negundo! In the same genus as maples. The "waving hands in the neighborhood" story helps me remember the tree.

Hoppity hop hophornbeam

Yesterday afternoon I managed to ride my bike a couple of miles. That doesn't sound like much of a distance, but it WAS a couple of miles and it was on a barely-any-traffic road so I felt safe. Safe, unlike the back roads near home which have no bike lane, hardly any shoulder, and lots of turns and knolls that do not deter drivers from going as fast as possible.

Anyway, I ditched the bike at one point to look for Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa), which I found, and somehow (this level of plant distraction happens a lot) I wandered off to look at fourteen other trees including Eastern Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) dripping with its hop-like fruit. Since I was on a short bike ride, all my baggies were in the car. However, improvisation is one of my middle names, so I collected enough hops for my teaching collection - into my sports bra. Then for good measure, I nipped off a dozen of the hairy, alternate, double-toothed leaves to press and laminate. Also into my sports bra.

By the time I got back to the car, I had Eastern Hophornbeam leaves popping out from my left neckline, Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea) leaves from the right, acorns lumped like a third breast in the middle, and hops peeking out from my skort pocket, Bur Oak specimens will have to wait until next time.

After loading the bike, it only took a few minutes to remove my scratchy treasures, press the leaves into field guides, and sort the hops and acorns into baggies for a secure ride. I used to just pile stuff on the front seat thinking I'd sort them out when I got home but I have learned a few things over time - one important lesson is to press and bag specimens as I collect them. Score!

Class materials: blessings from the Universe

This morning I poked around the White Pine (Pinus strobus) stand behind our house in search of new pine cones from which I might harvest some seeds. Unlike flowering plants whose seeds are enclosed within an ovary, conifers (gymnosperm = naked seed) bear bare seeds on the scales of female cones. I'd read that White Pine drops fresh cones from late August through September. Even though the seeds usually disperse before the cone drops, I imagined at least a few intact cones might make it to the forest floor. No such luck in the woods today.  

So I decided instead to go for a nice walk down the road just for some exercise and fresh air under a sunny, blue sky. As soon as I turned out of our dirt alley onto the paved road, what should appear? There on the asphalt, I saw this freshly dropped pine cone still bright green, coated and dripping with pitch. (insert imaginary audio clip: squeal of delight) What a find! Too sticky to pull apart right now, I collected it in a baggie (because I almost always carry a baggie or two for impromptu finds) and brought it home to dry out a bit.

With any luck at all, I'll be able to harvest some seeds which I plan to laminate along with the 5-needle fascicles. Blessings like this seem to happen just often enough for me to truly appreciate how the Universe provides exactly what I'm looking for.

UPDATE: It's been a week or so since I set the fresh pine cone on a south-facing window sill, protected by a sheet of waxed paper to keep the sap from getting onto the wood finish. After a few days, I bent and twisted the cone stalk to see if the seeds might be ready to release but only a few broken seed wings popped out. This morning (September 5th) I saw a couple of winged seeds had dropped from the cone - a gentle shake yielded many more! Notice how the now-dry scales have opened up. Now, the final step is to laminate the seed along with the 5-needled bundle.

Trees every day

It's two seasons and many months before the next Maine Trees, Top to Bottom class but that doesn't keep me from preparing. Collecting and pressing leaves occupies me from spring to fall. The goal is to include all the trees of Maine's forest in the teaching collection. Though not yet half full, the binders are getting thicker with each new laminated leaf specimen. Cones, samaras, acorns, and other 3-dimensional (non-pressable) items get dried out and stored in small divided containers. Bark and sections of tree trunks go into a larger plastic tub.

















Studying Maine trees isn't my only pastime, but it is one that helps slow down a sometimes crazy schedule. It gets me outdoors when I might otherwise get distracted with housework or errands. It satisfies my desire to find creative ways to share how important trees are to natural communities. At home, we find it's a messy hobby with the twigs, leaves and needles, and Tupperware filled with acorns all around the house. But it's joyous to see pine cones atop the open beams in our living room, to duck under dried chestnut leaves beside the desk, and to see wood carvings that my dad has given me. Trees and tree things inside and out - every day.

Boxelder

Today was the final class of my 6-week Maine Trees, Top to Bottom course. For the first five classes we focused on a particular topic: basic tree anatomy and conifers; winter twigs and buds; leaves and photosynthesis; flowers and fruit; and bark, trunk and roots. The students eagerly met my objectives for them: become more observant, understand the terminology, and learn how to identify Maine's forest trees. We had a lot of fun, and we all learned a few things - including myself. 

I had misidentified this tree a few weeks ago, thinking it was a silver maple with its opposite red buds swelling early in spring and the proximity to the Androscoggin River. Weekly visits on my way to class provided an opportunity to observe the emergence of the male flowers with long filaments and anthers, and then the female flower's developing samaras. It wasn't until last week that the early leaves emerged from the leaf buds revealing divided leaves and its true identity - boxelder. The boxelder (Acer negundo) is the only Maine maple that doesn't have the characteristic palmately lobed simple leaves.

This is a female red maple flower. I learned that some Maine forest trees are dioecious (two houses) with male flowers and female flowers found on separate trees. These include the maples, ashes, honeylocust, poplar and aspen, and willow. Other trees are monoecious (literal translation, one house) with separate male and female flowers on the same tree. These include fir, alder, birch, hornbeam, chestnut, hickory, cedar, beech, walnut, larch, hophornbeam, spruce, pine, sycamore, oak, eastern white cedar, and hemlock. It has made for an interesting spring tree survey, looking for the male and female flowers and trees.

One class was devoted to bark. Until recently, tree identification was taught to me in terms of leaves and winter twigs. However, bark is right there in front of us - the first part of the tree we ever see.