Sapsucker Tree

September 15th, 2012. We drove over Patterson Gap Road from Betty’s Creek Road to Persimmon Road. Patterson Gap lies on the Tennessee Valley Divide in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The road is graveled and water erosion has produced some rough sections.

Half way up the road to the summit at Patterson Gap, we found this tree…

A sapsucker, or perhaps many sapsuckers, have enjoyed sap from this tree and probably over may seasons.

A closer view. Note some oyster mushrooms also growing on the trunk.

We’ve had sapsuckers work trees at our place but not to this extent.

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Related post:

- Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia syphilitica)

- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Right Under Our Noses

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Right Under Our Noses

Many years ago, we planted a Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) tree by the woods for Fall color. It's about 30 feet high now.

In early January, W was out in the field playing with new binoculars. He noticed some movement on the trunk and when he took a closer look he found a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) drinking sap from small holes it had drilled into the bark. He managed to get the following photographs.

*****Perched on the side of the trunk. A trickle of sap is visible just to the left of the sapsucker.

Drinking sap from a crevice on the tree trunk.

Drinking sap from a little further down the trickle. Even with its red head and throat, it’s easy to see how this bird would ‘blend’ into the tree trunk even as it moved around the trunk.

I took a look at the tree which is bare now.

Clearly this tree has been a favorite of sapsuckers for many years. The rows of holes are only 3 to 4 inches apart.

Fresh holes with sap trickling down the bark. As I was approaching the tree, some Pine Warblers (Dendroica pinus) were also drinking from the holes and flew off to fuss at me from nearby pine branches.

I also looked at the trunk of a nearby Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) tree. Sapsuckers had obviously been harvesting sap from this tree as well - although there are no fresh wounds. However, there were only a few rows of healed holes on the trunk and with the exception of tow rows about 3 to 4 inches apart, the rows were 3 to 3 feet apart. It’s not clear whether this is because the Sugar Maple is more desirable than the Pecan tree or because the latter is further from the protection of the woods.

Unfortunately Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers only winter in the South so we probably won’t see them during the summer. But now I know that I can probably sit out in the field and watch them to my hearts content in the Fall and Winter.
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Identification resources:
- The Cornell Institute of Ornithology: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)

Related post:
- Woodpeckers: Juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) and Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

Princess Tree (Paulownia tomentosa)

Paulownia tomentosa is known by the common names Princess Tree, Princesstree, Foxglove Tree, Royal Paulownia Tree, or Empress Tree. It's a tree that grows to 50 to 75 feet high. The tree begins to flower before the leaves develop.

This is the only tree that I’ve seen naturally occurring; I've seen others, but not many, in cultivated gardens. This tree is on the south side of Marburg Creek, just below the dam in Fort Yargo State Park. To reach it I walked down the back side of the dam to the bike trail and then directly across to the tree. This area is a seep from the ledge above to the creek and was covered by a couple of inches of water. When I left, I walked directly back to the ledge and across to the bike trail. This would have been a better approach to reach the tree.

The tree in bloom – photographed from the top of the dam

A cluster of flowers

Close up of an individual flower.

Seed pods left from last year.

Paulownia tomentosa (Princess Tree) is native to western and central China. In the United States, its range extends from New York-Connecticut in line across the country to Texas and south to Florida.
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Distribution Map:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Paulownia tomentosa (Princesstree)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Paulownia tomentosa

Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Princess Tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
- Native & Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Paulownia tomentosa (Princess Tree, Royal Paulownia, Empress Tree)
- Wikipedia: Paulownia tomentosa

Related posts:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

Prunus serotina is known by the common names Black Cherry, Wild Black Cherry, Rum Cherry, or Mountain Black Cherry.

The tree. This tree is 20+ feet high; it's growing in the open along a fence line at our place. Usually I see them growing at the edge of woods.

Some flowers

The leaf

Flower buds

Flowers opening

*****

Flowers fully open

The ‘green’ berries. The will be black when ripe. The fruit is edible and is used commercially as a flavoring.

Prunus serotina is native to the United States and grows in the eastern United States and Canada. It also grows in Arizona, New Mexico, and British Columbia.
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Distribution Map:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Prunus serotina (Black Cherry)

Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
- Wikipedia: Prunus serotina

Related posts:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower

Zen: Late Afternoon Sun On Tree Trunks

A cold weather front is coming through. First, 2.4 inches of rain. Then sunny but with winds of 10 to 20 mph from the northwest. In the late afternoon, the sunshine on these pine trunks gave an illusion of warmth.
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Acorns: Live Oak (Quercus niger)

For a long time we thought it was a Willow Oak. It grew from an acorn. It was shaped like a Willow Oak. For some years, its leaves resembled those of a Willow Oak. And then the club-shaped leaves developed. We were a little disappointed. But we got over it and we love it.

The Live Oak has fascinatingly small acorns. Usually we only see them on the ground. However, sadly, the lowest branch snapped a day or so ago and I've been able to get some photographs of the acorns in situ.
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