THE WINTER ASPECT OF TREES 



BY R. N. DAVIS 



CURATOR OF EVERHART MUSEUM, SCRANTON, PENNSYLAVNIA 



ASIDE from occasional displays of the winter beauty 

 of forests we are apt to think of trees in winter 

 as dead and uninteresting. While it is true that the 

 trees usually lack leaves, fruits and flowers during the 

 winter season some of their other characters stand out 

 more prominently at this time. In winter we can see the 

 form of the tree and its method of branching much more 

 clearly than when it is clothed with leaves. The color 



A STUDY IN BRANCHING 



The white ash on the left has opposite branches. A ring around the 

 stem just above the upper pair of branches marks the beginning of the 

 year's growth. All the ashes and maples have opposite branches. The 

 witch-hazel, shown on the left, has the two-ranked alternate arrange- 

 ment of leaves, buds and branches. In this spray only one of the 

 lateral buds of 1917 developed into a branch in 1918, all the buds below 

 it remaining dormant. 



and surface markings of the bark, too, stand out more 

 distinctly in winter. An expert can tell almost any 

 species of tree by an examination of the bark. The 

 winter buds make an added feature of intense interest. 

 What a wonderful difference there is in these embryo 

 branches ! The great buds of the horse-chestnut have a 

 most elaborate arrangement for the protection of the 

 delicate parts within. The baby flower cluster is covered 

 by the downy growth of the undeveloped leaves. The 

 latter are surrounded by the tough hard scales and these 

 are varnished over to keep out the water. We can find 

 all gradations from this most elaborate protective cov- 

 ering to those in which there seems to be but the slightest 

 attempt at protection from the rigors of winter. 



In northeastern Pennsylvania are nearly a hundred 

 species of native forest trees. Probably very few equal 

 areas have a greater wealth of species. Learning to 

 recognize nearly all of these trees by sight at any time 



of year is not a task but a great pleasure. If considered 

 by groups it simplifies matters greatly. First of all con- 

 sider the cone bearing trees. No one could have any 

 difficulty in distinguishing these trees from all others. If 

 we made the group of evergreen trees it would include 

 almost the same species. The only native coniferous 

 tree here which sheds all its leaves in autumn is the 

 tamarack or American larch. The European larch is 

 occasionally planted but can be distinguished from native 

 species by its larger cones. In the far west there are 

 two other species of larch. From Virginia southward 

 the bald cypress is found in great abundance and this 

 tree has received its name from the fact that it is bare 

 of leaves in winter. With these few exceptions all our 

 coniferous trees are evergreen. Of our broad leaved 

 trees none are evergreen in this vicinity although there 

 are some such species in the south and we have a number 

 of shrubs which are evergreen. 



In the immediate vicinity of Scranton we have but two 



A SUGAR MAPLE GROWN IN THE OPEN 



The form of the top of the sugar maple is unmistakable even at a great 



distance. 



pines, the white pine and the pitch pine. We do not 

 have to go more than twenty miles to the south, how- 

 ever, to find occasional specimens of the scrub pine and 

 a somewhat longer journey to the north will reveal the 



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