2nd Annual Forest Education Day: Identifying Trees in Winter

Friends of Shimek 2^nd Annual Forest Education Day March 22, 2014

Identifying Trees in Winter

John Byrd, Area Forester, Presenter

(Notes by Lora Conrad who is responsible for any errors in content.)

A cold windy morning with none of the promised sun---but 22 of us hiked along a trail in the Donnellson unit of Shimek with John Byrd in the lead---
-explaining how to identify trees---without green leaves on them!

 With leaves, identification is, well, a bit easier to say the least---just go to the ISU Forestry Site
 and proceed with the identification questions—wala---an answer will be found.

https://www.extension.iastate.edu/forestry/iowa_trees/tree_id.html

(I'm not saying it will be right for that depends on the accuracy of our answers.)

But on a cold day in March when only a few buds are beginning to swell---how do you decide what kind of tree is right in front of you? Below are the ones we looked at and how John explained to identify them---of course—he is speaking from the experience of looking at thousands of trees every year for “a few” years. So don't expect to get them all right the next time you go hiking or riding at Shimek---but you should get more of them right.

For photos in a slide show made during the session

 https://picasaweb.google.com/lpconrad/Mar222014FriendsOfShimekEducationDay#

Below is the description  for identifying each of the

trees we studied with photos at the above location.
     

    

#1 Post Oak. To determine if it is an oak, look at twigs. ALL oaks will have three buds at the tip of a twig. For a post oak, look at the bark---it will be “checky.” A post oak is in the white oak family, with sweet acorns for wildlife. Post oak can grow in very poor sites, rocky out-croppings and such, which creates poor wood quality. If growing on a good site, it can be better quality economically. All white oaks have a fungus on the bark—for post oak it becomes patchy in appearance. Then, look under the tree for some dried leaves--- post oak leaves have a cross shape like this:

#2 White Pine. None of the pines are native to southeastern Iowa but some acreage in Shimek was planted to several varieties of pine years ago. White pine is found native in northeast Iowa in a few areas. Here one is in luck as, of course, the needles are still upon the tree and there will be some on the ground. It is identified easiest by its needles which are soft and grow in bundles of five, 3-5 inches long, bluish green, with fine white lines .

 

#3 Shagbark Hickory. For a tree 5 or 6 inches in diameter or larger, it is easy to identify by its bark with peeling edges that give it the “shaggy” appearance. However, when it is young, its bark is as as smooth as other hickories. For younger ones, look near the base and you might see it begin to develop the shaggy signature. The twig on all the hickories will show the characteristic evidence of alternate compound leaves. The bud and twig can help distinguish among the young hickories. The bud of the shagbark is a long, large terminal bud whereas the bud for the bitternut is smaller and yellow. The mockernut twigs are hairy but those of the shagbark are smooth.

 

#4 Mockernut Hickory. This tree is mostly found in southeastern Iowa, including Shimek, but not much further north. Stand back from the tree a bit and look at the bark---mockernuts have a diamond shape in the bark—which shagbark does not. It also has a large terminal bud but it is not yellow like the bitternut hickory. If there are dried leaves under it, you will notice they have a longer stem than other hickories.

 

#5 Black Cherry. Trees are easiest to identify by their characteristic black, platy scales on the bark. It often grows faulty or does not get over 12 to 14 inches in Shimek. However, the fruit is very much used by wildlife. It grows best in the well drained soils of the eastern US. It is a very valuable tree used for lumber for cabinets and furniture. Heartwood is a light pinkish brown when freshly cut, darkening to a deeper golden brown with time and upon exposure to light. Sapwood is a pale yellowish color. The wood can be soaked to spread the color evenly into the sap wood to achieve the even color desired in the lumber.

#6 Swamp White Oak. This tree grows in wet or dry conditions. It has checky bark like the post oak. Distinguish it by the bark on the twigs. Most oaks have fairly smooth twigs but for the swamp oak, the twigs and small branches have a crumbly, easy to peel bark.

 

#7 Ash. There is lots of small ash in Shimek. EAB has not yet been found in Shimek but it has been found in adjoining counties. Shimek is included in the state restrictions on the movement of Ash timber and firewood. To tell a young ash from a walnut which looks similar, rub the bark. If its still dark under the surface its walnut; if light, its ash. For the ash, new branches emerge opposite each other on the limbs—so look up into the tree for that branching pattern. (Note: Boxelder also has opposite branching, but has waxy buds.)

#8 Shingle Oak. This is one of the best wildlife trees in Shimek as it has lots of small acorns and is very prolific. It is in the Red Oak family so its wood is not as valuable a timber tree as White Oak. Its wood is used most often for pallets or firewood. One way to help identify it is that it retains many of its leaves dried on the tree until it starts to bud in the spring. Another way to identify it is that it almost always has those prominent walnut sized black balls or wasp galls on it. These do not harm the tree unless it is heavily loaded with them. The wasp causes an irritation on the tree limb and the tree makes the gall. The gall wasp is a beneficial small insect that does not sting. Its leaves are not the classic oak shape we expect. You may find leaves under it that while dried and rolled up in March. will look like this with a tiny sharp tip on the end.

#9 Red Oak vs. Black Oak. Both are part of the same oak family—with leaves with pointed tips on the lobes. The red oak has silvery streaks in the dark bark (and does not have the galls of shingle oak)...see photo here. The Black oak tree will have black color in the lower part of the trunk and the trunk will have a checker block pattern that the red oak does not have. Just to make it interesting, these two trees will hybridize---thus making it even harder to tell what you are looking at. But then, they are about the same in wood quality. The white oak acorns are sweeter to wildlife and the tree puts much energy into their production but in an irregular cycle. Red oaks most often bear every other year though sometimes that can mean certain limbs on the tree are bearing in different year cycles. If there are acorns under the tree, the acorn cap of the red oak is small but that of the black oak extends half way up the acorn.

 

#10 White Oak. This is the life-blood species of Shimek forest. It has a beautiful, light wood in high demand for flooring, cabinets and furniture. It produces excellent acorns for wildlife. The trees grow very large and some are left to grow extra large to seed the forest floor for the next generation of oaks. Much of the forestry work to redevelop the white oaks involves harvesting trees to see that enough sun light reaches the forest floor for the young white oak seedlings as they will lose out to more shade tolerant species if that is not done. The bark is a lighter color than the other oaks—an ashy gray. As it ages, the bark furrows and makes blocky plates. John took a core sample of a tree that will have to be cut anyway to show the attendees that after the surrounding tees had been thinned, the white oaks growth rings were wider than before. This is how he assesses if the thinning is working to increase the growth of white oaks.

 

#11. Elm. A lovely vase shaped elm about 8 or 10 inches in diameter stood along the trail. To identify elm, look for many spindly branches up in the tree. Note that the buds will begin to swell and open very early. Despite the Dutch elm disease, there are still many smaller elms, and in fact much of the understory can be young elms since it thrives in shadier areas of the forest. Most do not grow very large as a result of the disease. When used for something like veneer, elm can be extremely valuable, especially Red Elm, but finding a great Elm takes a lot of looking. Most elm goes to the pallet mill.

 

#12 Ironwood. The ironwood (or hop hornbeam) tree with its rough bark looks a lot like elm –it is an understory wood. It has twigs that are thin and spindly also. It holds its little leaves all winter. It is called ironwood because it grows very slowly making a very dense hard wood but it does not get very large.

There are still more trees to learn--- maybe we can do that next year.

 

Looking for a tree for your yard or some for your farm? Check out https://www.arborday.org/trees/index-choosing.cfm to help you decide what might work best in your particular circumstances. The DNR announced that the State Forest Nursery has a great selection of quality trees and shrubs for sale to improve your property.  These conservation seedlings are fantastic for aiding in erosion control, improving wildlife habitat, establishing food plots for you or wildlife, and for creating personal timber/forest area. For more information on ordering trees or seedlings available, contact the State Forest Nursery at 1-800-865-2477 or go to www.iowatreeplanting.com

 

Seen any Red or Blue Paint On A Tree in Shimek?

If we see blue paint around a tree, when we are riding or hiking in Shimek, that tree has been marked to be harvested. John explained: Harvesting is done because we are managing for oak forests.  As it goes in life, the species you want the most takes the most work.  To get oak in the stand, there has to be harvesting to get sunlight to the forest floor.  Sunlight=oak.  The process is that a shelterwood harvest removes approximately 30-60% of the canopy trees to allow some sunlight.  For sunlight to hit the floor fully, the understory, shade loving species (elm, ash, bitternut hickory, ironwood, cherry, sugar maple, etc.), must be removed or they will soak up all the sun.  Over the next 10 years, the residual oaks will drop acorns and proceed to start natural regeneration.  These new seedlings will grow slowly and eventually die out if there isn’t another harvest.  Therefore; ten years after the initial shelterwood harvest, I will conduct a clear cut harvest.  This will ensure that the new seedlings will thrive in full sunlight. 

The other point to harvesting is during the initial shelterwood harvest the rule of thumb is “worst first”.  This is when you take out damaged, multiple stem, or mis-shaped unhealthy trees.  You might also take out some good trees to allow sunlight.  This harvest actually will increase the health of the stand (The reason we do most forest management is health of the trees).
 One question I get sometimes is “Why are you cutting if we have good oaks now?”.  Well, in the early 1900’s and before, the railroad companies clearcut a fair portion of Iowa for railroad ties.  This clearcutting resulted in sunlight hitting the forest floor and let the oaks come back.  Fire was also a tool for oaks because they are fire adapted.  Natural fires on the landscape would thin out the undesirable species and allow the oaks to thrive.  Nowadays, we suppress fire and we have to do more forest management things to imitate fire events.  So basically, if we want our future generations to have oak, we have to cut trees.  Every harvest done on Shimek has the trees marked.  This is to ensure that we know what the volume and species are that are being harvested.

Trees marked with red paint are to be girdled or felled and left in the timber as part of forest stand improvement. John explained: This increases wildlife habitat and snag trees. We allow people to cut firewood to utilize some of the material.  Forest management can start 10 years before a harvest and can continue every 10 years up to the next harvest.  Oak can be finicky.

If you  missed this session, plan now to join John next year for an interesting walk in the Shimek woods.