WISE Group 2

Elizabeth Crowley & Shili Feng

Port Jefferson High School (Earl L. Vandermeulen High School)

February 12, 2002

The first corner in our plot was a triple tree.

The second corner of our plot is a broken tree covered with snow!

The third corner of our plot is a tall White Oak (Quercus alba) tree with whitish gray and scaly bark.

The fourth corner is a Black Oak (Quercus rubra) with tough bark that is almost black and extremely rough.

This tree is a Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) which is the most common eastern conifer with reddish-brown, easily shredded bark.

Three Black Birch (Betula Lenta) with dark, smooth bark.

Species List:

White Oak (Quercus Alba)

Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana)

Black Birch (Betula Lenta)

Sassafrass (Sassafras Albidum)

Hickory (Carya)

Tulip-Tree (Liriodemdron Tulipifera)

Black Oak (Quercus Velutina)

March 18, 2003

Poison Ivy (Rhus radicans) growing up a Black Birch (Betula lenta)

We were unable to identify this species of plant.

Catbrier (Smilax rotundifolia) growing vertically

Cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.)

Species List:

Poison Ivy (Rhus radicans)

Catbrier (Similax rotundifolia)

Goldenrod

Moss

Changes:

Spring Time Now!

• No Snow
• Trees are beginning to bud
• Leaves visible on ground
• Grass sprouts

April 9, 2003

IT IS RAINING TODAY!

Hey we have Snow:

• Depth: approx 3 cm
• Holes in snow possiblely from rain, runoff from the trees or wind
• More snow on one side of the trees either from the sun or wind
• No snow on rocks or next to rocks may be because of the sun
• No snow under fallen trees
• No snow on the pathway because of human interference

Plants:

• Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana): showing signs of budding
• Moss growing on the ground
• Black Birch (Betula lenta): distinguished by "root beer" aroma in crushed twigs and foliage.
• Catbrier (Smilax rotundifolia): very thorny green-stemmed, climbing by tendrils attached to base of leafstalk.
• Sassafras (Sassafras albidum): all parts of tree are aromatic, budding flowers clustered at end of twig.
• Black Cherry (Prunus serotina): smooth and readdish-brown in young trees. Distinctive unpleasant odor and bitter taste. Budding flowers in long clusters at end of twig.
• Turkeytail (Coriolus versicolor): very common on both dead and injured wood, attached in overlapping shelves or roselike clusters. Thin, leathery, with variably colored concentric stripes, wither velvety or satiny to touch. They are stalkless fungi.
• Multiflora rosa

Spring Time in Oak-Hickory Woodlands:

http://www.bhg.com/home/Tree-Pictures.html

http://www.gpnc.org/eastern.htm

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/forestry/Education/ohiotrees/cherry.htm

http://www.emilycompost.com/catbrier.htm

Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

Above, if you are looking at a female, you will find little blue balls on the branches of the Eastern Red Cedar trees. These are the fruits of the tree. Smash one between your fingers and you will notice a pungent odor as well as finding one to four seeds inside.

A careful inspection will reveal the female flowers, which are small spiky structures. In the photo you can see two just above the cluster of berries as pointed out by the red arrow.

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

What are the flowers like?
Male and female sassafras flowers are produced on separate trees. The green-yellow flowers develop in small clusters.

When does this tree bloom?
Flowers appear in April and May before the leaves unfold.

The Sassafras has small light green colored flowers growing in racemens that bloom just before the first leaves appear in the Spring. The small fruit is about pea-sized, first yellowish green then maturing to blue.

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

Leaves of Black Cherry are among the first to emerge in early spring. They are alternate, simple, and have fine serrations along their margins.

The showy white flowers of Black Cherry are arranged in long, pendulous, cylindrical structures that adorn the tree in mid-spring. The flowers are slightly fragrant, attract many bees, and later give rise to the fruits.

Black Birch (Betula lenta)

The female flowers form within the lateral buds and are not seen until early leaf emergence in the spring on this monoecious species.

Fertilized female flowers give rise to green cones in spring.

Catbrier (Similax rotundifolia)

April 30, 2003

We determine the Latitude and longitude coordinates of our plot using GPS.

N 40.90734° , W 73.12047°

Sunny and warm weather conditions

Plants:

• Poison Ivy(Rhus radicans) : blooming, shinny red leaves
• Red Cedar(Juniperus virginiana): No change since the last visit to preserve
• Catbrier(Smilax rotundifolia): Green Leaves
• Black Cherry (Prunus serotina): Leaves
• Sassafrass (Sassafras albidum): Leaves
• Black Birch (Betula lenta): Leaves
• Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera): Leave, long, wide alternate tulip shaped with four lobes
• Turkey Tail (Coriolus versicolor): Dead, no long has the same color
• Aster (Aster divaricatus)
• Grass
• Moss

Insects:

• Larva