Month: March 2023

Taking the small hike into centennial was definitely telling of some phenological changes. For starters, most of the snow was gone under the cover of the trees. Except for right along the path, for most of the trip I was traveling on slushy ice. The setting surrounding the ice was definitely telling of the upcoming of the mud season. I will miss the frequent fluffy snows, I am excited for the upcoming warmth. However, while I am visibly ready for the changing of the seasons, the beech trees excitement is not as visible.

There wasn’t really much change in terms of the trees phenological progression. The buds have not yet flowered. The dead leaves continue to be the only ones present. However, the buds are very much in tact and it seems as though this baby beech has not yet fallen victim to any beech blight. Something I did notice that I did not realize last time was that the bark on this beech is much scalier than typical for beech trees. Had it not been for the dead leaves and the distinctive buds, identifying this tree would’ve been much more difficult.

Heading into Centennial for this assignment, was much more of a trek than I realized. Evidence of the past snows and frosts covered the paths to my spot, which was once more quite a hike. My spot is mostly populated by conifers like Eastern Hemlocks, Eastern White pines and similar trees. Therefore, it made this assignment a little difficult when looking for these deciduous trees. However, on the way to my spot I was able to spot some baby American beeches!

That’s what’s pictured in my iNaturalist post. Within a conifer stand, there were a few baby beeches littered about. Most likely from the mature Beeches dotted within the stand. These trees were small enough where I could take a look at the buds, which I included on my post. There were no signs of flowering from the buds. But the identification process was made easier by the presence of some shriveled leaves that were holding on despite the harsh colds and strong winds. I assume there had been some protection from the surrounding canopy from theses winds. However, the buds were also identifiable by the long slender and light brown scale like tip. What did throw me off was that the bark of the trees was not as smooth as what I perceived American Beech to have.