Do you have oak trees in your neighborhood? As oak trees age, their branches become gnarled, knobby, and rough. They take on so much character, and, in winter, their leaves are usually the last to fall. When mature, at least 50 years old, oaks begin to drop acorns- the prize of animals scavenging for food. In December, we saw a party pack of ham from Spain that advertised the pigs were acorn-fed. We wonder in Greensboro farmers feed their pigs acorns. North Carolina has 16 different kinds of oak trees: white, post, overcup, chestnut, swamp, live, northern red, southern red, cherry bark, black, scarlet, turkey, blackjack, pin, water, and willow oak. All but two appear to grow in Guilford County (reference). Even the pin oak, with the smallest habitat, grows here.
According to the City of Greensboro's Treasure Trees Program, these are our noteworthy oaks: a Black Oak in Summerfield, 116 feet tall; a Northern Red Oak on North Church Street, 133 feet; a White Oak on North Church Street, 135 feet; a Pin Oak on Sherwood Street, 130 feet; a Southern Red Oak on Neelley Road in Pleasant Garden, 125 feet; and a Willow Oak on Cypress Street; 138 feet. The Southern Red Oak in Pleasant Garden has the largest crown spread of all the trees in Guilford County, 125 feet. Its crown is exactly the size of its height. That is a lot of shade! Wouldn't it be fun to take a tour, "Trees of Greensboro." May we all be good stewards of our trees, regardless of whether or not they are on the list for being noteworthy. And if you are offering a tree tour, let us know!
In spite of all our reading, unfortunately, we are unable to determine which kind of oak is photographed above! Go here if you want to learn about the trees dubbed most significant trees in our area.
Yes, we do have a lot of oak up here. I like this one.
Posted by: William Kendall | Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 11:21 AM