This reminded me of a lady I spoke to on the garden hotline last summer. She could not be convinced that moss was the symptom, not the cause, of her lawn problems.
Sapsucker art.
Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata). Until finding that link when looking up the latin name, I didn't realize that the young trees were so smooth.
Camo bark: American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis).
A mere two years ago, this fallen tree trunk was a major obstacle on the old logging road. Once it sagged and touched the ground, it disintegrated quickly.
I love seeing the trees there. Absolutely right about tree bark art. It is so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGreat bark photos!
ReplyDeleteI was amazed at all of the trees in England, France, & Italy that looked like Sycamore. I found out that 1. they were London Plane-trees and 2. that some of the "Sycamore" trees here in Canada and in the U.S.A. are also London Plane-trees. One has to check the fruits. Sycamore has fruit in single "globular aggregates" while L.Plane-trees have 2 or 3 fruit aggregates on each stalk.
Lovely pictures! And there seems to be amazing light where you live. Here in Germany it is rather dark most of the day and the sky is grey. The sun has apparenty moved to Alabama. Cannot blame her!
ReplyDeleteI've actually thought of moss on poorly draining soils as being the cure, or perhaps a reasonable substitute, rather than a problem. The cure I suppose is to get out there and double dig and augment and terrace to prevent erosion.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you both!
Lovely photos! At least we have more seasonal weather this week....the better for walking in the woods!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures. They look like the inspiration for sci fi stories..
ReplyDeleteI like the spasucker tree. What's the species?
ReplyDeleteThanks y'all. I love all the different types of bark.
ReplyDeleteDean I didn't know that, but I don't remember ever seeing more than one ball on a stalk in this area. (But now I'm going to be looking more closely!)
Sabine it'll be gray here for a while now too. Gray is better for photography anyway except for early morning & late afternoon...
Wayne I actually like moss quite a bit, but the lady in question certainly didn't. She'd had grass growing under a tree for many years then all of the sudden it died and moss replaced it... She insisted that the moss had killed her grass and could not be convinced otherwise.
Janet yep more normal now. I love the occasional warm day in winter but a week of it tends to confuse a lot of plants!
H&B2, for me it's fairy stories! Especially the mossy tree.
Dave, I can tell you a lot of things about that tree, but not the species! It's probably an oak but to tell you the truth I've never looked closely. It's right next to the cut for the old logging road, so the base of the tree is a few feet off the ground, which I guess is why there is so much sapsucker activity at the root level. There are several foamflowers around the base, and if I remember correctly the tree is partly hollow. I'll try to notice the species next time we're up there!
wonderful images! it is like walking in the forest with you!
ReplyDelete