So Many Trees, So Little Time: Part 1

Out of the many places I could have taken a picture of trees, I chose right on top of Observatory Hill looking towards Guion. There is a multitude of greenery in which I could observe but there was also a large number of vines. These vines scaled the trees as they hunted for more sunlight and have taken over any trees. But there was hope. I found smaller trees among the shrubs that hadn’t been consumed by the climbers. This being said, I was able to find a few Durand Oaks, one Yellow Poplar, and one Black Locust.

Durland Oaks is often mistaken when identified because it can look so much like a white oak. This tree has leaves that are slightly shiny like plastic and the acorns they produce have very little tannins and therefore are a favorite of wild life to eat. This oak is very tolerable to many types of soil and weather conditions.

The Yellow Poplar can grow up to 120 feet tall and have tulip-shaped leaves. The flowers on these trees are famous since they are a beautiful yellow with orange accents. Unfortunately, when I started to observe this tree, all of the flowers were gone. Their seeds are wing shaped and eaten by a variety of animals.

The Black Locust stuck out to me because of the pods that were falling off of it. Another peculiarity was how the leaves (elongated ovals) were opposite of each other on the spine. Upon further investigation online, I found out that this tree also has very beautiful flowers, abate white. I seem to have bad luck when it comes to observing beautiful flowers.

The age old question has been posed yet again. Why do the leaves change color? Chlorophyll, the green coloring, is used in photosynthesis in order to create glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide during spring and summer time. When autumn comes along, there is less sunlight and therefore less energy to be made. The chlorophyll then fades aways so that the bases of yellows and oranges (which has always been there) can be seen. These yellow and orange pigmentations are from carotenoids. Anthocyanins, the red and purple pigmentation, is produced during the summer. This is all how the leaves change color but now why. That is because it is relatively unknown why they change colors. Some scientists believe it is a sign to animals and insects that winter is coming while others believe is just an occurrence that use to have significance in the past (like our appendix) but no longer does. There are still studies going on to explain the beautiful phenomenon but there has yet to be any concrete evidence.