we went out today to study our "witchy tree" along the river. we have sketched this tree in the winter (you can see our pictures and our sketches here), but never in the summer. however, we did identify it three years ago in june of 2011 as a burr oak. you can see that post here. shockingly, we only went out to sketch it today!
the burr oak's latin name is quercus macrocarpa.
it is a type of white oak and is native to north america (the eastern and midwestern us, and south central canada).
our burr oak is the only burr oak that we have seen in the park.
it is a hardy tree and has been planted in many climates ranging from anchorage, alaska to texas. it's often used as an ornamental tree as it is one of the most tolerant of urban conditions (i guess it doesn't mind a lot of smog and soot).
when growing on it's own, it can be found in the open, away from the forest canopy (such as the eastern prairie, along a waterway). it is a drought resistant tree, as it has a long taproot.
the leaves are lighter colored on the underside; shinier and darker on
the upper side. they are large, about six inches long, with a soft lobed
edge. we have yet to observe the flowers and catkins . . maybe i better
set an alarm on my phone calendar for a particular day next spring!
it's bark is ridged and rough, light brown and grey.
chanda's journal sketch . . with observations about the weather (71 degrees) and the patches of lichen on the trunk, giving it a blue-grey look.
working on adding the fine veins . .
morgana's journal sketch . . she noted that when the leaf was held up to the light, the veins appeared yellow.
my journal sketch . .
showing the size of the leaf . . just a little smaller than morgana's hand.
the leaves have a very free form shape . .
. . and cluster in groups of up to eight on the outermost branches.
sketching the rough and ridged branches with tapered ends . . in the winter we had noted how the silhouette of the tree was very angled and sharp, giving it a "witchy" look (you can see this in the first photo).
there's a new public art exhibit in the park this spring.
there's a new public art exhibit in the park this spring.
they are tree-like metal mobiles that glitter in the sunlight and twirl in the breeze. they're like sparkly little fairies next to our witchy tree.
I really like the shape of the leaves and the sound it makes it when they are blowing in the video...also the bird in the background singing. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your summer study of your tree along with your journals.
Hi Barb, Thanks so much. It's good to hear from you :)
DeleteEnjoyed your photos and nature notebooks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Carol. I really enjoyed your pics of NSW and the poetry you included.
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