A Forgotten Old-Growth Woodlot

The indigenous peoples of primeval west-central Ohio would hardly know what to think of their homeland by the look of the landscape today.  What was once a sprawling, open forest marked with numerous prairie, fen, and thicket openings is now a never-ending sea of agriculture with a sprinkle of leftover, disregarded wooded islands.  These ignored woodlots are all that remains of the formerly forested landscape and barely look anything like their predecessors of yesteryear.  Small, scattered and heavily overgrown with the incredibly invasive Asian bush honeysuckle monocultures and tangles of grapevines, it's a sad sight to see when one pictures what the land must have been like a few centuries prior.  Luckily there are still a few hidden gems out there in-between the corn and soybeans, waiting for someone to take notice and dare to break through the impenetrable honeysuckle exterior and on into its forgotten beauty.

Old-growth woodlot in a sea of corn fields in west-central Ohio

The particular old-growth lot I'd like to share in this post is located in the west-central county of Clark, not too far from where your blogger grew up.  I'd driven past the woods countless times before and always peered in with the unquenchable curiosity of what, if any, big trees could be found within.  A couple falls ago I decided to slip into its depths with my camera and father in tow to have a look-see at what we could find.

Clear cut through the edge of the forest

As we approached the eastern edge of the woodlot it became quite noticeable that someone had clear cut a swath of forest out some time ago.  Unfortunately, this parcel of land is owned by a real estate developer and the clear cut strip and old logging marks spray painted on many of the wood's finest trees pay reminder to its probable fate as a subdivision.  Whether this is near or far in the future I can't say but each time I drive by and see it unchanged I breath a small sigh of relief.  If this slowed economy has had any positive effects, keeping this forest from being logged and developed is one of them.

An enormous white ash (Fraxinus americana) with blogger's father for comparison

After battling through the thick honeysuckle and osage orange perimeter our eyes met the first of this woodlot's ancient leviathans.  I've seen many white ash trees in my day but none have come even close to this forest grown monster.  The single trunk shot straight up over our heads and reached a height approaching 100' tall.  Most of the crown had long ago succumb to decay and wind/storm damage but a few forking branches still allowed it to scrape the heavens at such an impressive height.

Better view of the enormous, single trunk

I wish I had my measuring tape and clinometer with me because this ash certainly deserved to have its dimensions precisely measured.  The diameter was easily over four feet wide, perhaps even approaching five feet from certain angles!  I can't begin to imagine how old this tree may be and hope it continues to hang on for years to come.  Soon enough seeing ash of this size will be as rare American elms of similar proportions due to the emerald ash borer.

Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) leaves

The diversity of canopy tree species was quite impressive with a mixture of red and bur oak; shagbark and bitternut hickory; black walnut; basswood; sugar maple; white and blue ash; and beech all mixing together.  I labeled it a mixed oak/hickory forest with shagbark hickory being the most dominant species, as about one of every four trees was one.  

Large shagbark hickory rocketing into the canopy

My father told me stories about him and his dad coming to this very woods in the fall to squirrel hunt decades and decades ago when they knew the neighboring farmer who owned the plot.  The massive amounts of seasonal hickory nuts drew in crowds of red and grey squirrels looking to fatten up for the approaching winter months.  They rarely walked out unsuccessful in their hunt.  He mentioned the forest then was pure and free of any invading honeysuckle and the under story was considerably more open, but that was 40+ years ago and times had unfortunately changed.

A 'straight as an arrow' bur oak topping out at nearly 100' tall

The other most common canopy species outside the shagbark hickories was another heavy nut producer and squirrel favorite: bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa).  Their furrowed and dark barked trunks stood out against the lighter shades of grey from the beech, sugar maple, and ash.  Most of the specimens like the one pictured above had faint markings from a previous timber cruising crew that had undoubtedly found them as impressive as us, albeit for the 'wrong' reasons.

Old-growth bur oak climbing high into the canopy

Straight trunks with a slow taper and branches only beginning to appear at 40-50 feet up made for some very beautiful trees.  Each time I see a time-tested tree that has withstood decades, even centuries of harsh weather and climate conditions makes me thank mother nature for her gift and say a silent prayer to the wind that long may they avoid man's chainsaw and greedy wallets.  Trees like this aren't grown overnight and take a long, long time to replace.

Cluster of nice sized bur oaks

The deep, rich mesic soil with centuries of decomposed leaf litter made for excellent growing conditions and allowed these trees to attain such girth and lofty heights.  I plan to revisit this winter for a better, less restricted look at the forest now that all the leaves are off the trees.  I'll be sure to bring my measuring tools this time around as I'm curious just how tall some of these oaks and hickories top out at.  Even a spring visit should be in store to see if any display of wildflower ephemerals coincides with the new growing season.

A beauty of a black walnut (Juglans nigra) and something you rarely see today

Now this is something you just don't see in today's forests anymore.  This black walnut was one of a dozen or so scattered throughout the lot with straight, slightly tapering trunks that would have any logger drooling in envy.  Black walnut specimens like this all met their sawmill fates decades ago for their very valuable wood.  The one pictured here topped out at 80-90' tall with its first blemish being a fork nearly 50' up.

Massive red oak (Quercus rubra) with an equally big bur oak to the back right

The bur oaks weren't the only impressive members of the Quercus genus to grace the ever-yellowing canopy.  Red oak (Q. rubra) trees exceeding three feet in diameter weren't too uncommon but none could challenge this particular behemoth.  I love the gradual widening of the root flare in these forest-grown oaks, it really adds some character to their mighty stature.  The large tree to the back right is another example of the forest's impressive bur oaks.

The massive red oak hardly tapering as it shoots into the canopy

This is one of those trees whose height I'd really like to measure; I have a hunch it tops 100'.  The slow taper of its central column has a huge volume of wood packed into the sky and would provide quite a bit of lumber in the event of its human-caused felling.  I'm jealous of the birds and squirrels who can enjoy the views from the canopy of such a mighty being.  

Large musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana) in the under story

It wasn't just the canopy tree's dimensions that consistently impressed me; some of the under story species did as well.  Your blogger's father stands next to one of the grand examples of musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana) to be found within the woods.  Other frequent under story species included Ohio buckeye, ironwood, pawpaw, hawthorn spp., blackhaw, redbud, and spicebush.  Now, I know you're wondering about that massive tree in the background and no worries, I've saved the best for last.

An truly monstrous bur oak and the largest tree found in the forest.

Near the margins of the field lies the champion of the forest; the largest and most impressive of all its denizens.  What makes this bur oak so impressive is the clear signs of being an open-growth tree instead of forest-grown like the rest of the trees featured.  The low-hanging branches and rounded crown all point to this specimen spending a majority of its time growing in the open and stretching out its branches to catch all the sunlight it could.  

Zoomed in shot of my father and the behemoth bur oak

I have no idea how old this bur oak truly is but I wouldn't hesitate to guess at least 200-250 years old, if not more.  I suspect it was already of decent size when the land was cleared a couple centuries ago; which allowed it to relish in the endless sunshine for decades to come.  Looking at Ohio's champion bur oak measurements I already know this one doesn't compare but would still someday like to take precise measurements of its circumference, height, and spread to see how well it does stack up to our state's champs.

Walking through the corn after an excellent time in the old woods

As we walked back to the road through the corn field I glanced back at the wood lot a number of times and thought this shot really captured the stature of the monarch bur oak.  You can see its still green-leaved canopy rising up above the yellow and oranges of the shorter, but still impressive surrounding trees.  I'm sure there are more exciting big trees and discoveries to be made in this old-growth wood lot and I hope to return in the near future to see what else I can uncover.  People think they have to go far and wide to find appreciable beauty in the flat and boring west-central portion of the state but sometimes all you have to do is find a unsuspecting woodlot and step on inside its living cathedral of trees...

Care to Learn Your Carya's (Hickories)?

Trees have always been one of my favorite pieces to the puzzle we call Nature.  The list of their functions and uses in both the natural world and our human society is miles long.  From recycling our waste carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen to supplying the world of birds and beasts food of countless varieties; it's safe to say the more trees, the better off our world is.  When I first started off learning my trees it was at the basic level of identifying it down to genus.  I could identify Oaks from Maples and Ashes from Pines.  Little did I know just how diverse and unique Ohio's forests were as I hiked through them in my earlier years.  In Ohio there are over 150 species of native trees and shrubs that grace our landscape and today I would like to show you how to identify a particular genus of native trees in their winter state.

Winter twigs of Ohio's indigenous Hickory species

Meet the genus Carya, commonly known as the Hickories.  Hailing from the Walnut (Juglandaceae) family there are six species native to our state: (from left to right) Shellbark Hickory (C. laciniosa), Bitternut Hickory (C. cordiformis), Pignut Hickory (C. glabra), Mockernut Hickory (C. tomentosa) and Shagbark Hickory (C. ovata).  There is a sixth species native, Red Hickory (C. ovalis) also known as Sweet Pignut Hickory that was long considered a variety of C. glabra but was recently designated as a separate species.  With that being said let's take an inside look at each individual species and how to identify it down to species in the field.

SHELLBARK HICKORY (Carya laciniosa)

Shellbark Hickory bark

Shellbark Hickory bud

Also known as Kingnut Hickory, this large tree grows throughout the state but is the most habitat restricted species of Hickory we have.  Found in wet bottomland and floodplain forests along streams and rivers as well as terraces and lower slopes in valleys, C. laciniosa is rarely found growing anywhere else.  As you will see later in this post, the mature bark can be easily confused with the more or less identical bark of another hickory, the Shagbark.  The best way to determine the two species in winter is by taking a look at the twigs.  Even though Sharbarks tend to grow on the higher and drier areas of the forest, I have seen them grow side by side Shellbarks in a bottomland forest on several occasions.  Shellbark Hickory twigs are a light orangish-tan color, stout and almost always glabrous (smooth, without hairs) while Shagbark twigs are darker brown colored, not typically as thick and quite hairy. While obviously not noticeable during the winter months, Shellbarks almost always have 7 leaflets per leaf versus the typical 5 on Shagbarks.  This acts as an easy separator during the growing season.

Twig with rachis

Typical form of the tree

Another helpful way to distinguish the two shaggy barked hickories is the presence of the rachis' over-wintering on the twigs, especially on younger trees.  The rachis is the long 'stem' that each leaflet (single, small 'leaf') attaches to to complete one, single hickory leaf.  In Shellbark's case just the leaflets tend to fall instead of the whole leaf; rachis and all, as seen in the picture above on the left.  C. laciniosa  tends to grow tall and straight with a round crown of thick, stubby branches on top.  These large trees can attain heights of over 100' tall and over 3 feet in diameter in the right conditions.  In fact, I have seen an old-growth shellbark growing in a wet flatwoods in southwestern Indiana that was approaching 150 feet in height with no branches for the first 80+ feet!

SHAGBARK HICKORY (Carya ovata)

Shagbark Hickory bark

Shagbark Hickory bud

Up next to help dilute the confusion between the two is Shagbark Hickory.  In the picture above you can see the bark is the same as the aforementioned Shellbark Hickory in that the mature bark splits and begins to peel away from the trunk in long, curved strips.  Doing well in the moist soils of valleys and bottomlands to the dry upper slopes and ridge tops, C. ovata can be found growing in just about any part of a deciduous forest.  As previously mentioned, the twigs of the Shagbark are a dark brown and hairy with a pinkish terminal bud that is flanked by darker, purplish bud scales.  This is one of most commonly found hickories, occurring in every county in Ohio.   The new-growth twigs on this hickory tend to be rather hairy and noticeably darker and not as stout as the Shellbark.

Young bark of Shagbark

Typical crown form

The bark of younger Shagbarks is slow to get peeling and stays tight against the tree until small fissures form as cracks up and down the truck as seen in the picture on the left.  Given time these trees will grow to have the same pattern and shape as the Shellbark Hickory.  I've seen where some people take the long strips of bark from Shagbark hickories and boil them down to make Hickory syrup.  It's not as sweet as Maple syrup but is said to have a unique, smokey taste all its own.  I'd love to give it a try sometime whenever given the chance.

BITTERNUT HICKORY (Carya cordiformis)

Bitternut Hickory

Bitternut Hickory bark

Next is the first of the three 'tight bark' hickories and probably one of, if not the easiest tree to identify in Ohio when you can take a look at the buds on the twig.  Bitternut Hickory (C. cordiformis) has very smooth, thin and light grey colored twigs that are adorned with sulfur-yellow, naked buds unlike any other tree or shrub inside our state.  All the other hickories have scaled buds which have different layers or coats of 'shells' on the bud however C. cordiformis's bud has no layered or peeling scales.  The number of leaflets can range from 7-11 per leaf but seem to regularly average 9 in our state.  The individual leaflets also have a tendency to be the most lanceolate and thin.  The bark is thinly furrowed and does not peel or appear shaggy at all.  Towards the base of the trunk the bark almost looks as though a vandal with a spray can gave the bark a thin, silvery and shiny coat of paint. 

Bitternut twig and buds

Bitternut bud

On the left is a close-up, macro shot of the bud to show just how unique and alien it really looks.  The smooth twigs are covered in small, light colored 'dots' called lenticels.  A lenticels job is to act as a pore for the twig and tree and allow gas (mostly CO2 and oxygen) to move in and out of the plant.  Most commonly found growing in moist soils and on lower slopes, Bitternuts can really be found growing throughout a forests topography.  It is another very common tree found in every area of Ohio.  It gets its name from the small, inedible hickory nuts it produces each season.  While most hickory nuts are very palatable and tasty the Bitternuts, as the name suggests, are very bitter and are largely left alone by wildlife except in the most desperate of situations.  Like the rest of the hickory species this tree can attain great size and serve as a dominant member of the forest canopy.  

Old growth Bitternut

Blogger and old growth Bitternut

On my family's farm in Clark county, Ohio there is a small woodland patch that has several old-growth Bitternut Hickories that are over 150 years of age.  The above pictures show the largest one in summer as well as your blogger standing next to it in its dormant, winter state.  Over 100' tall (I've measured the tallest at 115') and approaching 4 feet in diameter, these behemoths show just how large this relatively slow growing tree can get when given the time and resources.

MOCKERNUT HICKORY (Carya tomentosa)

Mockernut bark

Mockernut twig and bud

Mockernut Hickory (C. tomentosa) gets its latin scientific epithet from the word 'tomentose' which means covered in dense hairs, which describes the twig and buds pretty accurately.  The twigs are brown in color and have a pretty hairy feel and look to them especially towards the the end of twig (new growth).  The terminal bud (bud at the end of the twig) is another way to tell this species apart.  The buds light yellow in color and have a "hershey kiss" look to them or to me look like a pear sitting upright.  During the growing season the leaflets number from 7 to 9 but are predominately 7.  The undersides of the leaves and rachis is very hairy.  The bark is similar to that of C. cordiformis, as it is silver-grey in color and is tight against the tree with no peeling or shedding.  Found growing usually on the higher slopes and well drained ridges, Mockernut is predominantly found in the eastern half of our state.

Typically growth form and habit

Young Mockernut bark

If confused by the bark and a twig is not reachable the best way to determine this from a Bitternut Hickory is to take a look at the crown of branches and twigs.  Bitternut branches tend to be long and thin with the ends coming to a point that appear to have no bud while Mockernut's branches a shorter, more stout and thick and end with a fat, round bud at the end.  Once you get to know your trees better it becomes easier to distinguish the bark between C. cordiformis and C. tomentosa without having to look at the other features, but when in doubt look up.  The bark of young Mockernuts can be confused with the young bark of Shagbarks (before any peeling/fissuring) and even more so with Bitternuts.  Once again, looking at the twigs and buds can help rule out the other species.

PIGNUT HICKORY (Carya glabra)

Pignut growth habit and form

Pignut twig and bud

The final species of hickory to be identified is the Pignut Hickory (Carya glabra).  The latin scientific epithet for this tree is just the opposite of the Mockernut.  Glabra comes from the word 'glabrous' which means smooth and without hairs.  This is describing the twig of this hickory species which is dark brown, smooth and on average the thinnest.  The buds are scaled and can look like miniature, hairless versions of their Shagbark counterpart.  The leaflets are almost always 5 in number and have a slender, glabrous rachis much like the twig.  Most commonly found on the drier soils of the upper slopes in the forest community, C. glabra can, like many of the other hickories previously discussed, occur in other habitats where the soils are well-drained.  The range within Ohio is very similar to that of the Mockernut Hickory in the fact it resides in the eastern half of the state with a few disjunct populations in the northwestern section.

Typical Pignut bark

Shaggier bark (perhaps Red Hickory variety)

Pignut Hickory has the unique pleasure in the Ohio hickories of being in the middle between loose-barked and tight-barked trees.  On the right is a mature Pignut that has small pieces of bark slightly peeling away from the tree.  If confused on whether or not the tree is a Pignut or Shagbark/Shellbark remember that the twigs on the Pignut are thin and the buds small, while the Shag and Shellbark are stout and large.  A simple look up into the canopy should do the trick to resolve this problem in the field.  The picture on the left is of a Pignut with a considerable amount more bark peeling away from the trunk.   I have read and observed that the closely related Red Hickory's (C. ovalis) bark is slightly more shaggy than that of the average Pignut while the twigs are mostly the same with perhaps C. ovalis's being a bit more stout.  I suspect due to the shaggier appearance of the specimen pictured on the left that it is a Red Hickory rather than a Pignut.  If the leaves were present it would go a ways in helping to I.D. this tree as C. ovalis has 7 leaflets per rachis while C. glabra only has 5.

To wrap things up let's come back to the first picture I posted with all five species twigs represented in a line up.  I didn't line these up in just any random order but in regards to where you will most likely (key word being likely) find them in regards to where you are topographically in the forest community.  When looking at a hickory tree species it is helpful to notice where you are on the aspect of the slope to help rule out or tie in which species to consider.

Shellbark, Bitternut, Pignut, Mockernut and Shagbark

The Shellbark starts things off in the bottomlands and at the lowest points.  Bitternut is next up and is found in the bottomlands as well the lower, more moist slopes.  As you go farther up Pignut can be found from the lower slopes up to the higher ridges.  Mockernut sticks to the higher slopes and ridge tops while Shagbark dominates the highest and usually driest areas.  Remember that the trees don't read the books and this is only a guideline for the most typical situation but has provided to be an important resource in the past.

Well I hope you walk away from this post more confident in your abilities to correctly I.D. our hickories in their hibernative, winter state.  I plan on doing other posts in the future breaking down more families and genus' of our native trees.