January 31, 2010

This week’s challenge was to identify seven species of tree in one area. Not, perhaps, the most seasonally-appropriate activity. We chose today based on the weather forecast, since it was the warmest option in a bitterly cold week. Mt. Auburn Cemetery was practically deserted (we saw a photographer), and while it was nice to have it all to ourselves it was very clear why there weren’t more people around.

We played as follows: choose an interesting or pleasing tree, make a guess about it based on the field guide, and go look at the tag. Here’s how it went:

Tree #1

We guessed, correctly, that it was some sort of European Beech. In fact, it was a cultivar called Purple-Leaf Beech (Fagus sylvatica var. Atropunicea).

Tree #2

We guessed it was a Red Maple, but it was in fact a Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum var. Green Mountain). It was planted in 1986, the same year Matt was born. Okay, actually he was born sometime in the 14th century and has been surviving off the blood of the living for over half a millennium ... but hey, close enough.

Tree #3

We had no clue. We guessed, from the leftover flowerheads and seed pods we could see, that it might be some sort of buckeye (flying blindly with the guide), but it was actually something called an Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa). Since we have never been to its native China, we couldn’t really be expected to get it …

Tree #4

Hm … it’s some sort of weeping pine, we said. Let’s count the needles … 5 on each bunch. That’s white pine, right? Okay, let’s guess weeping white pine.

Booyah! It is a weeping white pine! (Pinus strobus var. Pendula.)

Tree #5

We thought it was a larch, with its long evergreen leaves. But it’s a Japanese Umbrella Pine (Sciadopitys verticillata). What’s that? Well, it is the only species in the Sciadopityaceae family, of course! Obviously. Hmph.

Tree #6

“Oh, that’s a plane tree!” “Yup.” It was indeed a London Plane Tree (Platanus acerifolia), familiar to most of us from various public places.

Tree #7

After some deliberation we guess, correctly, that it was a Red Oak (Quercus rubra). Look at all those cute little acorns!

“Tree” #8

Couldn’t identify this one beyond the color actually …. Well, that and where it was growing.

Even in the dead of winter, the cemetery was lovely. Next time we do this, we’ll try for a slightly more wild area, we think—the presence of so many wacky exotics was a bit of a pain. Then again, we would also have preferred to do it in less of a hurry, which was necessary both because it’s been a busy week and because it was too cold to linger over a field guide much. Amherst people would recognize many names among Mt. Auburn's dead: we saw a Converse, an Appleton, and a Pratt, and there's plenty more where that came from.

We also drew our latest card: the Eight of Diamonds (Visit a New Museum). Yes, it is indeed the fourth diamond in a row, and there are only 11 in play (2s and 7s are wild, remember). We’d really like some Spades (cozy domestic activities) or Clubs (crafty things) for a change … despite our best efforts most of our Hearts (physical activities) are not really winter-friendly, so it’s a good thing we’re not getting those at the moment. But … really? A month of Diamonds? Anyway, we’ll be picking a museum soon—stay tuned!