Along The Tulpehocken Today
- Thread starter Teegate
- Start date
This was on the other side of the tracks, the first photo. I walked back up the branch that flows from the RR (second photo).
Here's a phenomenon I've seen before. This is Rhynchospora alba. The seeds were always there, just waiting for this fire.
We had two maliciously set fires in "our" woods this past summer. Both were only 400 yards from our house. One of them came very close to some mature Catalpas that were part of an old homestead that was acquired when Wharton was formed.. I'll take a look at that area over the weekend to see if there is any new growth. I think the fire just missed the Catalpas though.
Yes, same site. It's just that some are a lot larger than the others. Here's a wide view of same site. And these were on both sides of the creek as far as my eyes could see.
Here's the size compared to my hand. I have a feeling this is all only temporary, that they won't last. But wouldn't it be odd if they all grew to 12' feet?
We have a curve ball. David Snyder questioned the tiny teeth on the margin, and suggested Paulownia because of that. We are not sure, and I did dismiss the red viening as just a local thing. So, there is still a question about the ID. I still don't like Paulownia though.
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Seek app says it's a member of the Nances,Willows and Allies. It looks like no willow I"ve ever seen and I have no idea what a Nance is and since Allies are not enemies I"d think thats a good thing. What are Nances and Allies by the way?
Nances,Willows and Allies appear to be a family of plants from Mozambique and to me look nothing like this. methinks Seek app is drunk
The asymmetrical base suggests Basswood or one of the other Lindens to me, but the leaf next to your hand seems far to big for any of them. But larger-than-normal leaves are often present on stump sprouts, as you might find after a fire. But going back to Paulownoia vs. Catalpa, I see the issue with the teeth on the leaf edges, which is more suggestive of Paulownia. And Paulownia does have quite a bit of leaf shape variation, from being Catalpa-like to almost looking like a maple. Perhaps we'll all live long enough to see it fruit, and nail it down!
Whatever they are, this area is covered with them. They survived the 2024 fire.
That's good to know Ed, easier to get to.
When you said 'survived the 2024 fire', do you mean to say the same plant is there, but established?
I don't really know, none are no higher than 2 feet. Their bright leaves, which did not drop, are easy to spot. They are on the east side of the road if traveling toward the tracks.
I was just thinking of something. If we take a look at those photos of Friendship again, maybe we'll see a big Catalpa or some such that was growing there. Not saying it's a direct connection but....
A friend from my office went out there today, and it actually has buds now. She says its a possibility that it's Bigtooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata). I'm in favor of that ID, though not totally there yet. I know German thought of an Aspen too, but that big leaf with my hand on it is huge for that tree. Still, it's number one in the running right now.
Aspen has wispy, cottony seeds, so the next thing to do is find that Friendship thread with photos of the old town. Perhaps we'll see that tree in one of the photos, and throughout the years they were blown to that area.
Aspen has wispy, cottony seeds, so the next thing to do is find that Friendship thread with photos of the old town. Perhaps we'll see that tree in one of the photos, and throughout the years they were blown to that area.
If they are indeed aspens, either P. grandidentata or P. tremuloides, the leaf stems should be vertically flattened, causing the leaves to flutter from side to side in a breeze. It would be a very obvious ID point, but not if you didn't have it in mind to look for. If the leaves have dropped, it shoud still be easy to notice that detail on the fallen ones.