Jens Jensen Preserve

Trail Guide

Ryan Postema, Executive Director

Chikaming Open Lands

Sawyer, MI

2016

http://www.chikamingopenlands.org

JJP 1

POISON IVY (Toxicodendron radicans).

“Leaves three let it be” is an often repeated phrase when alerting people to poison ivy. It is

found mainly near the road entrance on Parkway Ave.

It has stems that trail along the ground as well as stems that anchor by small roots to the bark of

trees so that it can grow up the side of trees.

All parts of the plant (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) are poisonous to humans.

You may also see wild raspberry along the trail. Leaves are heavily notched and stem has

thorns.

In the middle of summer, small pale green flowers are produced along the stem of poison ivy &

after fertilization each can produce a greenish, berry-like fruit about a ¼ inch in diameter.

The poison is an alcohol called urushiol which causes skin rashes that appear as small blisters.

Breaking the blisters by scratching can spread the urshinol increasing the area of the rash.

Some individuals are highly sensitive to urushiol—exposure can cause severe swelling of skin,

and throat leading to anaphylactic shock. These individuals need immediate attention at a

hospital emergency room.

For most, however, initial contact produces a mild rash or no reaction. Further exposure often

results in an increased skin response, so avoidance is the best policy. But if you contact poison

ivy, the FDA recommends the following: Clean the area with rubbing alcohol. Then wash the

area with soap and water. Remember also that your shoes or clothing may also have urushiol on

them, so handle them with care.

Figure 1. Poison Ivy plant on the left is compared to wild raspberry plant on the right.

JJP 2

PAW PAW (Asimina triloba).

A common under-story trees in the area.

This member of the custard-apple family (Annonaceae) is a small tree that thrives in floodplains

and rich, bottom-land forests.

The tree is found throughout eastern North America, but is more of a southern species, with

southern Michigan at the northern edge of its range. The fruit is difficult to find because once

it’s ripened, it is favored by a variety of mammals, including humans, with a taste and texture

said to be similar to a mix of banana and papaya.

Hosts the larvae of the zebra swallowtail (Protographium marcellus) butterfly.

Figure 2. Paw Paw tree with flower

JJP 3

NEW YORK FERN (Thelypteris novaboracensis).

Like all ferns they produce spores on the underside of the fronds in clusters called sori

The pinnae (side branches of the frond) taper towards the root.

Plants are growing in patches, an indication that they are clonal i.e. all plants are genetically

identical connected by underground stems.

Suspected of producing chemicals that inhibit seed germination by other species.

Figure 3. New York Fern with leaf comparison diagram.

JJP 4

RED MAPLE (Acer rubrum).

In this forest, red maple often occupies sites where there might be patches of standing water in

the spring. Its leaves have V-shaped notches that end in a sharply acute angle but you will find

younger trees growing closely with sugar maples in this area.

Red maple leaves turn brilliant red in the fall.

Its wood, while hard, is not as strong as sugar maple, and is not as desirable for high quality

furniture, but is used for plywood and veneer.

Many horticultural varieties make beautiful shade trees in residential settings.

Figure 4. Leaf comparison between Sugar Maple and Red Maple.

JJP 5

SUGAR MAPLE (Acer saccharum).

It is co-dominant with American beech in this and the majority of forests in southwestern

Michigan. Leaves turn the eye-popping yellows and oranges in the fall.

The sap can be used to make maple syrup. Sap is drained in late winter (when daytime

temperatures are above freezing and nighttime temperatures are below freezing). After boiling

off much of the water (a process called sugaring), we get maple syrup.

The beautiful, whitish, grain-less wood is hard and strong and is often used to make high quality

furniture. This tree is excellent for providing shade in residential landscapes.

Figure 5. Leaf comparison between Sugar Maple and Red Maple.

JJP 6

RED (GREEN) ASH (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

Is an abundantly encountered seedling saplings. All of the canopy trees around here are dead,

having succumbed to the eating habits of the emerald ash borer, an invader accidentally brought

to the USA from Asia.

The adults lay their eggs in the furrows on the bark of ash tree trunks. When the eggs hatch the

larvae burrow into the tree where they feed on the living tissues where the wood meets the bark.

This prevents the flow of water and nutrients within the tree. After a year wreaking havoc

within the tree the larvae complete their life cycle (pupa then adult) and the adults chew their

way out of the tree, leaving D-shaped exit holes in the bark.

Living, infected trees can be recognized by sprouts along the trunk and dead branches in the

canopy.

Figure 6. Red Ash leaves.

JJP 7

EASTERN HEMLOCK (Tsuga canadensis).

A group of evergreen hemlock trees can be seen behind the beech trees in the foreground.

They have soft, blunt needles which are shed after about 3 years.

Pairs of winged seeds are produced on the underside of the papery bracts of the small cones.

The tree grows well, but very slowly, in deep shade, and individual trees may live over 600

years. When this forest was sampled in 2015, no seedlings were found. This is probably due to

deep shade, dry soil surface, and acidic soil created by the adult trees, and to the effective

browsing by white-tailed deer.

Because its wood is soft, brittle and foul-smelling the trees often were left when other species

were logged.

Figure 7. Eastern Hemlock tree.

JJP 8

AMERICAN BEECH (Fagus grandifolia).

Distinctive thin, grey bark.

Grows 50-70 ft.

Dominant tree in many of the forests of southwestern Michigan & the dominant tree in the

northeastern part of this preserve.

There are many saplings along the trails in the preserves.

Susceptible to parasites. Fungal growth may digest the heartwood and hollow out the tree.

Small animals at the base may create large holes and make tree vulnerable in high winds.

Seeds are produced at intervals of 3-5 years as small, shiny brown, triangular nuts (beechnuts)

Sweet and edible and are readily consumed by birds and mammals.

The hard, whitish, durable wood used for furniture, flooring, containers, furniture, handles and

woodenware

Figure 8. American Beech Leaves

JJP 9

WILD LILY-OF-THE VALLEY (Maianthemum canadense).

This plant is growing on the ground in front of you.

The nearby plants are part of a colony sharing an underground root.

In spring, a mature plant will send up a second leaf and then a cylindrical cluster of small,

aromatic, white flowers, and later some round berries.

The plant dies off during the summer.

The berries can be made into jam, but are very tart.

Figure 9. Wild lily of the Valley flowering.

JP 10

PILEATED WOODPECKER (Hylatomus pileatus).

A non-migratory bird, about the size of a crow. The bird in the photo is a male identified by the

red stripe running from his bill to his throat. In females this stripe is black.

Feeds mainly on insects that live under the bark and in the wood of trees that it gets at by using

its head as a jackhammer and its bill as a chisel. You may hear one at work in these woods.

It is thought to prefer carpenter ants and beetle grubs, but will also eat fleshy fruits and nuts.

Pairs mate for life and cut nest cavities in dead standing tree trunks with its powerful head and

bill. The hole about 15 ft up in this dead tree was chiseled out by a Pileated Woodpecker and

probably used for nesting.

Clutches of 3-5 eggs are laid and the pair takes turns incubating. From egg laying to fledging

takes about 1.5 months.

Because each pair requires a territory of 300 to 500 acres of mature forest, we need to preserve

large, wooded tracts to ensure continued presence of these magnificent birds.

It was the model for Woody Woodpecker of cartoon fame.

Figure 10. Pileated Woodpecker

JJP11

PEPPERIDGE (Nyssa sylvatica)

In his book “Pastoral Days” about life in New England, the botanical illustrator and natural

history writer, W. H. Gibson, wrote this “But there is another tree which should not be

forgotten, and if once seen in a New England autumn landscape there is little danger of its

escaping from the memory. Of course, I refer to the pepperidge, or tupelo, that nondescript

among trees; for whoever saw two pepperidge trees alike?” Accepting this, it is hard to follow

with a description sufficiently useful for identification of this species.

Is also known as tupelo, black gum, sour gum tree

Trunk grows straight up into the branches, at the tips of which are held several oblong leaves.

These turn multicolor of orange and red in the fall. Some trees here are male and some are

female, almost.

Each tree while having mostly unisexual flowers will also bear a few bisexual flowers. Female

trees produce small, sour, bluish-black fruits about the size of a grape, and these provide food

for a variety of birds.

In his book “The Complete Works of Josh Billings”, the 17th century humorist, Henry W. Shaw,

perfectly describes the hard non-splitting wood of the pepperidge tree as he characterizes an

obtuse man: “It is as hard to get an idea into him as it is to get a wedge into a pepperidge tree.”

FIGURE 11. PEPPERIDGE, Nyssa sylvatica.

JJP 12

SASSAFRAS (Sassafras albidum).

The bark is dark, & deeply furrowed

The leaves come in a variety of shapes.

Common in an area that is becoming reforested.

It becomes less common as other trees shade it out because it is cannot tolerate deep shade.

The tree produces a chemical that has the taste of root beer, a taste that you can experience by

chewing on a leaf stalk.

A very tasty tea can be made from the roots, but consuming too much has been linked to liver

damage.

Figure 12. Different shapes of Sassafras leaves.

JJP 14

SPICEBUSH (Lindera benzoin).

Found abundantly in the under-story of the wetter areas of the preserve.

Its soft, dark green leaves are attached singly along the woody stems.

An individual Spicebush plant is a male or female. Male plants have flowers that produce

pollen on red stamens; female plants have small yellow flowers that contain an egg inside of the

pistil and can produce small red fruits that appear in late summer.

The leaves provide food for some spicebush swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. h Native Americans made a tea from the bark, which they drank to purify their blood, and the

settlers used the fruits like we use allspice.

Figure 14. Spice bush leaves on top and Spicebush butterfly on bottom.

JJP 13

ARROWWOOD VIBURNUM (Viburnum dentatum).

Is a common shrub in these woods.

It can be recognized by its sharply toothed, oval to round, opposite leaves (two leaves attached

at each place along the stem). In late spring it produces clusters of small white flowers.

In the late summer the fruits ripen into small, bluish-black berries fruits which are eaten by

birds and mammals.

The straight stems of this shrub were used by some Native Americans for arrow shafts. Some

Native American women would boil the twigs to produce a solution used as a contraceptive.

An excellent landscape shrub.

Figure 13. Arrowwood viburnum leaves.

JJP 15 (serviceberry with berries)

DOWNY SERVICEBERRY (Amelanchier arborea).

This small tree was named Serviceberry because it flowered in the spring when the soil had

thawed sufficiently to dig graves for those who had died during the winter. It is also called

Shadbush because it flowered when schools of shad would “run”.

The bark is smooth and grey; the elliptical leaves are finely toothed with pointed tips and

rounded bases.

The white, 5-petal flowers appear in clusters before the leaves develop. The reddish-purple

fruits about the size of a blueberry, are sweet & a favorite of forest birds and racoons. They

ripen in the early summer and are excellent for making into pies and jams but also

Capable of tolerating a variety of habit conditions.

Does well as a small tree in residential landscapes.

Figure 15. Downy serviceberry with berries.