A tree obsession

We took a nice walk at Donaldson Woods, an old growth forest at Spring Mill State Park last week. For years, Son1 was obsessed with birds, but a couple of summers ago, he suddenly developed an interest in trees, as I think I might have mentioned before. He taught himself all about trees using different guidebooks, e.g.  Sibley's Guide to Trees, and legit internet resources, mostly ones with .edu extensions. He got so good, he was able to identify a tree on campus that stumped a dendrologist colleague of hubby's.

Anyway, the specimens at Donaldson Woods are magnificent. The aforementioned colleague of hubby's recently sampled some (only the already dead ones) that dated back to early-mid 1700s!

I took a couple of photos of some of Son1's favorites:

Tuliptree

Some people call Tuliptree "tulip poplar," but they aren't poplars at all.

Northern Hackberry

I find the Hackberry bark both fascinating and creepy. Makes me itch.

Eastern Redcedar

I like the shape of this one. It'd be perfect in a horror movie where giant shrikes pin their prey onto the spiky branches.

This funky thing is a Flowering Dogwood growing through a Chicken-of-the-Woods mushroom (which are delicious). It's like nature ikebana.

Do you have any favorite trees? Have you ever been to an old growth forest or been to Sequoia National Park to visit those incredible and old trees?

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Guess the tree

We have a tree in our yard that we'd never thought of eating the fruit of previously. We got this tree as a sapling from hubby's parents' front yard where its parent grew big and beautiful for years.

You can click on this first photo to enlarge it and see if you can guess what tree it is by its leaves and bark.

If that didn't help, here's the fruit of this tree that we recently realized we could eat. Son1, who's been studying trees extensively for the past year and a half, found out.

The fruit looks a bit lichee-like but tastes more like a cherimoya. Did that help?

Another hint would be: it's not a native species, though there is a native equivalent. Son1 is usually against non-native flora and fauna, but this particular tree is not invasive and does produce an edible fruit so he's letting us keep it. ;)

If you still don't know what it is, scroll down a bit to the answer.

So what about you? What new and interesting fruit or food have you tried recently?

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This tree is a.....










Korean, or Kousa, Dogwood!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Move over, Johnny Apple Seed

Our 16 year old became interested in trees this past summer. When I say "interested," I mean "obsessed." He taught himself all about them, searching the internet for info, and reading a ton of books, such as The Sibley Guide to Trees.* He can identify all the ones native to southern Indiana with relative ease and also has extensive knowledge of trees in the rest of the country, including non-native species from other continents that have been perpetuated here.

Because we're nature- and conservation-minded, he decided that he would collect seeds from native species wherever he finds them to propagate on our land.

Here's a photo of his collection so far:

Pretty, aren't they?

Besides having plans to re-naturalize our property, Son1 also wants to sell seeds to those who want to grow certain types of native trees. He was dismayed by the number of non-native trees that various companies (even Arbor Day Foundation) sell, so he'd like to start up a business educating others about the virtues and care of native - that is, North American - species, and selling their seeds, and possibly seedlings.

I'm tickled that he's gotten a bit of the entrepreneur bug and is combining it with a passion. I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

*please note: link above is an Amazon Affiliates link

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Not your Nutella's hazelnuts

In addition to birds and butterflies, Son1 had gotten really into trees lately. He is rarely seen without his The Sibley Guide to Trees book, regaling (*ahem*) anyone who'll be willing to listen to any piece of minutiae on some obscure tree, not all of which are that interesting to me.

However, there is one particular tree that is apparently all over our property that is pretty darned neat. It's the American Hazel. Son1 spent half a day this fall harvesting the nuts from this variety. Here's what the "nut" and a leaf looks like:

When you peel off the outer husk, you get something that looks like a miniature version of the European hazelnuts (Common or Giant Hazels...all in the genus Corylus) with which you're probably more familiar. 

Here's Son1 peeling the husks:

And here are a couple of the hazelnuts (note the variation in size):

The shell of the nut is as hard as an walnut or pecan shell. Since I couldn't find the (very expensive) nut cracker we bought from Lehman.com some years ago (figures), I had to improvise with a paper bag and a jewelry-making hammer. Yeah, I'm a regular Macgyver.

However, it was a poop-load of work for a small handful of meat. If it weren't for the fact that it's free, I'd never bother again. I think I'll roast the meat and mix it with melted chocolate to make a homemade Nutella. A minuscule amount of homemade Nutella. Maybe enough for a doll's breakfast. :P

Do you have American hazelnut or any other hazelnut trees on your property? Have you harvested and eaten any?

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams