The Senator Falls

So, those of you who are up to speed on your big tree news may already know this -- but one of the world's largest trees collapsed in flames last weekend.  It was one of those news oddities that got picked up on morning radio stations and when I heard the story, you can imagine I went straight to the interwebs to investigate more.  

'The Senator' as the tree was lovingly nicknamed, was a baldcypress growing in Longwood, Florida.  Today I was on the National Mall and snapped a few shots of The Senator's genetic cousin, Taxodium ascendens. Baldcypresses can be the East Coast's largest trees and The Senator was designated in 2006 as the largest tree (of any species) east of the Mississippi.  It was estimated to be about 3,500 years old, ranking it as the fifth oldest tree in the world.  

While this species on the mall is probably about 50-65' high, The Senator was 165' high until 1929 when a hurricane topped it.  Shortly before its demise the plant stood at about 125' - just 25' shy of the Statue of Liberty.  The diameter of the trunk measured at just over 17'.  That's probably about 5-6 times bigger than the tree in these photos.  Those dimensions are quoted in this article, though it should be noted that arson is no longer being considered as a source of the fire that ultimately felled the tree.  

Balcypresses are given their name since they are deciduous cypresses, losing their leaves in the winter, which is a rare occurrence for a gymnosperm (i.e. non flowering plant).  The habit is upright and conical.  The plants thrive in swamps and saturated conditions.  It's this tolerance to anaerobic conditions that have lead to its more frequent use as street trees (since the conditions under concrete sidewalks are similarly limited in oxygen).

Sciadopitys verticillata

When I was entering the sculpture garden this week, from the southwest, I had to give this plant a quick doubletake.  I had first assumed it was a long needled species of Picea, but no, it was Sciadopitys verticillata, or umbrella pine. 

Umbrella pines are rarely found in public areas.  Indeed when I teach this plant to my students at Columbia, I'm limited to showing them a very sad, very runty tree in the pinetum of Central Park which has surely not grown an inch in my five years of teaching. So when I do find such a lovely specimen, I get excited about it. 

Not all specimens grow as slowly as the one in Central Park.  At best, they can manage a tiny bit of growth - perhaps 6" a year.  This of course means they are fairly expensive. I'm curious what lead to this selection then, back in the early 90's.  At best, this plant has only grown 10' and I can't imagine that a 20' specimen was installed.  Perhaps it was transplanted on-site?  If anyone remembers if Sciadopitys was at the sculpture garden before the renovation, please let me know!

Microbiota decussata

In November, I made a reference to Louise Bourgeois's spider sculptures.  Now you can decide for yourself whether or not that big katsuratree in Dumbarton Oaks resembles one of her sculptures.  I still think it does.  

In any case, this isn't an art blog, so we won't spend too much time on the actual sculpture.  Instead, we're noting the groundcover beneath it: Microbiota decussata, or Siberian cypress.

Siberian cypress was discovered outside Vladivostock in 1921, growing above the tree line of nearby mountains and withstanding temperatures below -40° F.  Since then it's been a favored cypress family groundcover, less common than Juniperus and just a tiny bit more tolerant to light shade. It also (similar to blue rug Juniper) changes color.  In the winter, as you can see it has a dusky rose tint, but when the weather warms up, it will turn green.  If you read my NYPAOS post on fall color, you will know that this change in color means that the chlorophyll is no longer being produced and thus the green pigment in chlorophyll is not abundant, providing opportunities for the anthocyanins in the plant to be reflected in the color spectrum.

Though the plant can handle a touch more shade than Junipers (the only other Cupressaceae genus with popular groundcovers), it is demands of good, well-drained but moist soil.  This is also about as far south as the plant can be.  In zones 8 and warmer, it simply does not survive.
 

Cedrus atlantica glauca

Yesterday, I had some downtime before I taught my horticulture course in DC.  I decided to take advantage of the warmer (ish) weather and visit the National Sculpture Garden associated with the National Gallery of Art. 

 

I remember when the gardens here were redesigned by Laurie Olin Partnership, back in the early/mid '90s.  I cannot believe it's been almost 20 years since this was new construction.  It would explain how the tree specimens have gotten so big all of the sudden!

 

This species is closely related to the deodar cedar I posted about last December.  In fact, it's Cedrus, only it's Cedrus atlantica glauca, or blue atlas cedar. 

Unlike Cedrus deodara, this specimen has spurs with many more needles, all of which are shorter.  This difference, though small when comparing one spur to another, adds up to a very different character in the tree.  The habit is less pendulous and of course, as the subspecies name 'glauca' infers, the needles themselves have a bluish tint.  

Tsuga canadensis

It's high time I post an entry on one of my favorite evergreen trees, Tsuga canadensis or Canadian hemlock.  The allée below was taken at Longwood Gardens, not far from the entry. 

 

I love the willowy nature of hemlocks -- some coniferous trees like spruce can seem so rigid and stiff - but hemlocks have a softness to them that is unique.  It's also native to the mountainside forests of this region which adds to the plant's advantages.

 

The short, flattened dark green leaves are easy to identify if you look for the white stomatal stripe that appears on the underside.  The leaves are generally arranged in two ranks along the stem, with a third, smaller leaf compressed on top of the stem.  The cones are small - smaller than a ping pong ball. 

In the image above, you more clearly can see the shorter, third leaf.  You will also notice that this leaf appears "upside down" -- that is, the side with the stomatal stripe is facing up.  You also have probably identified the evidence of wooly adelgid on the branches.  The white, cottony substance on the stems are egg sacs of the pest.  Wooly adelgid was introduced to the US in the Pacific Northwest in 1924.  It's estimated to have reached the Middle Atlantic states by the 1950's.  Tsuga is the pest's food of choice and over the years, hemlocks will eventually die from an infestation.  Until then, they will appear grayish in color, as the insect has sucked most of the sugar-rich chlorophyll from the leaves. 

The specimen above is a weeping cultivar of hemlock.  The most famous weeping cultivar is called 'Sargentii.'  These are extremely slow growing (read: expensive) plants and in my opinion, they're somewhat strange-looking.  Of course, my students already know that I have a bit of a bias against dwarf or weeping conifers. 

Finally, Tsuga is not the genus that Socrates purportedly died by.  That plant is called poison hemlock or Conium maculatum.  The common name hemlock was applied to Tsuga because, as legend has it, early settlers thought the crushed leaves of Tsuga smelled like Conium.

Cryptomeria japonica

Here's a shot of a building outside the National Cathedral with Cryptomeria japonica accenting the corner of the structure.

Cryptomerias are native to Japan where the trees reach sequoia-like heights of 80 meters.  Cryptomeria japonica is the only species in its genus, making the plant monotypic.  It is also endemic to Japan (meaning that it is only found - in nature - in Japan) and extremely common there. Japan is the most diverse area for conifers -- more families (6), genera (18) and species (45) of conifers are found in Japan than anywhere else.  

 

Cryptomerias are commonly referred to as 'Japanese cedars' which is a misnomer since the plant is not a cedar (Cedrus) at all.  It isn't even a member of the cedar family (Pinaceae), but a member of the cypress (Cupressaceae) family.  The branchlets remind me of little pipe cleaners, with small compressed leaves that look similar to the juvenile awls of junipers.

The bark is quite similar to other Cupressaceae species, with a reddish, cinnamon color and vertical fibrous strips.  You can make some assumptions about the etymology of the word Cryptomeria.  Crypto- is derivative of the ancient Greek word krypto- which means hidden.  Meri- means 'part'.  Essentially the name is referring to the fact that all the reproductive parts of the plant are hidden in the seed capsules.

Snowy Cedrus deodara

Some of you may have noticed that I have a tag called "iPhone Pics."  That's not a blatant ad for Steve Jobs, so much as a contrived way to make excuses for less-than-stellar photos.  Like this one, taken from the front seat of my car, on Glebe Road in Arlington.

 

Despite the crummy picture, I wanted to post it since I had recently written about Cedrus deodara and realized, after contemplating this mostly-lovely (though limbed-up) specimen in an otherwise uninspiring landscape, how nicely the branches hold snowfall.  

In contrast, take Cedrus atlantica glauca or blue atlas cedar, growing off Columbia Pike (below).  The shorter needles mean the plant holds less snow and as a result is largely unaffected by the weather. 

Here's another deodar cedar, standing kitty corner to the blue atlas.  This time the tree hasn't been limbed up, but it is crowded by the white pine (Pinus strobus) to the right. 

Cedrus deodara

Across the lawn from the katsura tree in yesterday's post, stand these regal specimens of Cedrus deodara or deodar cedar.  This is probably in my top-five list for conifers (stay posted for that entry!).  I love the deodar cedar's graceful, feathery habit.  ...There is one specimen in Central Park's Cedar Hill that I've shown to students since I've begun teaching and it never fails to take my breath away.

 

Cedrus is in the Pinaceae family and is classified as such because its leaves are long, cylindrical needles.  Other Pinaceae genera include Pinus, Tsuga, Larix, Abies and Picea.

 

Unlike pine trees, which have needles bundled together in fascicles, Cedrus species have the needles arranged in spurs.  Cedrus deodara usually has between 15 and 25 needles per spur, whereas Cedrus atlantica glauca (blue atlas cedar) has 30+ needles per spur.  

...I have to admit, I'm amused that between this post and my post on white oak, readers could think that I always have a fresh manicure.  It's definitely not the norm!

 

Cedrus, and other genera in the Pinaceae genus, have two sets of cones.  On lower branches, you find the smaller male cones, like the ones above.  These form through late summer into fall and when they are "ripe" they release pollen into the wind.  

 

In the upper reaches of the tree (I used a 40X on this zoom!) you'll find the female cones (and a few male cones as well).  The female cones receive the pollen and the take up to two years to produce seeds.  When the seeds are ready for dispersal, the scales of the cones open up and release them to the wind.  The female cones generally exist in the top of the canopy to disperse the seeds as far away as possible.   Most Pinaceae cones will only open up if the air is dry.  In rainy or humid weather the cones -- sometimes even ones that have fallen to the forest floor -- remain closed, since the wet weather will hinder seed dispersal.

Pinyon Pine

Below you can see a pic of the Grand Canyon, taken from the Bright Angel Trailhead, on the South Rim.  I was so delighted to finally see the Grand Canyon, to me - and many others, of course - it's one of our greatest national treasures.  The far side of the canyon - where the elevation roughly matches the ground I'm standing at when I took this picture - is 18 miles away.  To put that in perspective, Manhattan Island is only 13.4 miles long.  Lanai is 18 miles long exactly.  The Canyon's width is 277 miles, which is more than the length of the entire state of Maryland.  It's compelling to try to comprehend something so vast, particularly when you are standing at the edge of it.  The depth, by the way, tops out at a mile.

Yes, but what about the plants???

 

Above you can see that, despite the rocky, soil-poor subgrade, trees have managed to create footholds in the cliffs.  Perhaps one of the most iconographic in this landscape is the pinyon pine, or Pinus edulis. 

 

Like all pines, the leaves are needles and occur in fascicles.  Pinyon pine has two needles per fascicle.  The needles are short and rigid.  The nuts - pinyon or pine nuts - they're the largest nuts you can gather from any pine. These are different from the Italian pignolis, which are the nuts of Pinus pinea.

 

Pinus edulis is one of the key species in the Pinyon-Juniper Belt - an ecosystem defined by the presence of the pine and Utah Juniper that occupies the region north of the desert but south of the colder canyons to the north.  Annual rainfall is limited to around 20 inches, so plants are adapted to drought.  The photo above shows the scrubby habit of a pinyon pine-dominant forest as seen from Cathedral Rock in Sedona.

  

Edulis literally means edible.  The nuts are in high demand by locals.  At times, people have even raided the nests of woodrats, gathering a yield of as much as 30 pounds. 

Blithewold and Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea'

This week and next I'll be posting a few photos from Blithewold in Rhode Island.  Blithewold is a mansion outside of Providence that was finished construction in 1896.  I went there in August while visiting a friend and took scads of photos.

The first I'm sharing is of Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea.'  I saw this majestic specimen towering next to the mansion no sooner than two days after teaching it to my students.  The words still haunt me: 'Filifera Aurea Nana' is the dwarf cultivar of this plant, and is most common.  'Filifera Aurea' can get very tall - up to 80' - but not around here.  Perhaps in Japan you can find the species getting that tall, but not here.

Yep, nevermind. As you can guess by scaling the workers, this specimen is well on its way to reaching 40' plus.  When I saw it, I think I actually blushed with shame!

In my defense, this is a rarity on the east coast and I suspect the plant was installed shortly after the mansion was built; it only grows a few inches a year.  If we said the plant was 40' high (480") and grew at 6" a year (optimistic), we could age this tree at about 80 years.  I'd say it grows more slowly than 6", too.

That said, Blithewold is located on a peninsula near Bristol Harbor and the water would create milder winters and more humidity, both of which would suit this plant well.

Above is another specimen - in a size you're more likely to encounter - in Bryant Park in New York.  It's clear from the long, threadlike branchlets why this plant is called 'Filifera' and the gold color easily accounts for 'Aurea.' Pisifera literally means "bearing peas" and is referring to the very diminutive cones that the species will bear. Chamaecyparis is derivative of the Greek word chamai which means "on the ground" and kuparissos which is the Greek word for cypress.

Araucaria heterophylla

Not far from the Lodge at Koele in Lanai is a road that follows the ridgeline of the island's mountains. When the road first begins to climb in altitude (ultimately reaching 3000'+) you pass a modest cemetery for the local residents of nearby Lanai City (population 3,164).  Flanking the cemetery are Cook's Pine, or Araucaria columnaris.   At first glance, I would have assumed they were Araucaria heterophylla, or Norfolk Island Pine.  Indeed they are quite similar, though local lore states that only one Norfolk Island Pine stands in Lanai, and it is located in the front yard of the Lodge.

 

As you can see, this specimen is more than a little majestic.   Both species of Araucaria are quite similar.  There's a great site that details the differences among A. heterophylla and A. columnaris here.

 

The plaque below indicates this tree as Norfolk Island Pine (coincidentally enough, Captain Cook named Norfolk Island himself, and consequently the Norfolk Island Pine.  When A. columnaris was deemed a different species, the common name was based on Cook.).

Both species are common enough in Hawaii and are often used to flank roadways and orchards.  You can see a shot of them along the pineapple farms of Oahu in a NYPAOS post here.  While Araucaria is in the pine order, Pinales, it is not a member of the pine family, Pinaceae.