Species in the Spotlight Archive
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Yellow Birch
The lustrous sheen of yellow birch adds a warm element to Vermont woods, even on a gray, rainy day. Yellow birch does not occur in pure stands, but it does appear in all stages of forest succession. The complete content of this article is part of the downloadable pdf of this issue, available in our online shop.
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Tamarack
In the fall of the year, in almost any rural locale in the northeast, you are likely to hear an apocryphal tale about the unschooled recent arrival from down-country and his tamaracks. The complete content of this article is part of the downloadable pdf of this issue, available in our online shop.
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Basswood
Until you get started, telling hardwood trees apart in the winter seems really difficult. But once you learn to recognize a few trees, you will find that it isn’t all that hard. A good tree to start with is basswood (sometimes called linden) because some of basswood’s distinguishing characteristics show up even better in winter than in summer. For instance,… (more)
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Trembling Aspen
Called popple in Vermont and quaking aspen in some parts of the country, this tree’s light green leaves ceaselessly rustle, even when the air seems still. Because the leaf stalks are flat like a ribbon rather than round like a drinking straw (like most leaf stalks), it takes a mere breath to get the leaves shimmering and whispering to one… (more)
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Eastern Hophornbeam
Sometimes it seems that to Donald Culross Peattie, author of the 1948 classic, A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America, there is not much difference between people and trees. Here’s what he has to say about Eastern hophornbeam: “Everything about this little tree is at once serviceable and self-effacing. Such members of any society are easily… (more)
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Black Cherry
Though black cherry’s contribution to fall color is limited to a bright, clear yellow, at other times of the year it offers displays of pink, red and purple. In spring, the opening leaves are a beautiful reddish color which persists until after the white flowers open late in May. The half-inch blossoms, buzzing with bees and other pollinating insects, take… (more)
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Balsam Fir
The easiest way to identify balsam fir is to crush a handful of needles. If the rich spicy fragrance quiets your mind or fills you with longing to be in the cool north woods, you are holding the leaves of balsam fir. In warm openings in a forest of balsam or along the sunny shores of a balsam-fringed lake, the… (more)
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Black Willow
Much of the visual charm of river edges and streamsides can be credited to black willow. Its wide-spreading irregular crowns lean over the water, allowing some dappled sunlight through the delicate narrow leaves, and the rough, almost black trunks give a sinewy structure to the fluid scene. The complete content of this article is part of the downloadable pdf of… (more)
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Northern White Cedar
Distinguishing between far off conifers by color sometimes seems to require more imagination than discernment. At other moments the distant glimmer of blue from white pines, the orange tinge of hemlocks or the dark olive that radiates from white cedars speaks more clearly than any other characteristic. The complete content of this article is part of the downloadable pdf of… (more)
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Red Oak
Red oak is a tree of many colors. Red-pink in spring, deep green in summer, russet in fall and slate grey in winter, the tree always commands attention. The complete content of this article is part of the downloadable pdf of this issue, available in our online shop.