Praesentconguesapiensitametjusto.

This brochure is the third of a series that wehave developed to help readers learn moreabout the urban forest found in ourneighborhood.Inthisbrochure,wehelpyoutorecognize and identify the trees that weregrowing here long before the Realty Plot wasdeveloped and now tower over our housesproviding an important visual balance andambiancetotheneighborhood.

TheRealtyPlotTreeCommittee

September2016

TheRealtyPlotTreeCommitteeisanadhocgroupofRealty Plot residents with a common interest in thetrees that comprise the urban forest that is adistinguishing characteristic of this neighborhood. Ifyou would like to join the Committee in this work,contactBenWilesatben.wiles.home@gmail.com.

HeritageTreesOftheRealtyPlot

RedoakleafBlackoakleaf

RedOak(Quercusrubra)

Redoaksmayberecognizedbyitsbarkwhichfeatures ridges that appear to have shinystripes down the center. Leaves are darkgreen,shinyandhave5-7lobeswithU-shapednotches. Leaves turn red in the autumn. Theacorncaphasreddishbrownscalesandcoversonlythebase,appearingtoosmallforthenut.

Red oaks are vulnerable towilt diseasewhichwasfirstdiscoveredinNewYorkinGlenvillein2008.Thisisaveryseriousfungaldiseasethatcankillredoakswithinweeksofinfestation.

BlackOak(Quercusvelutina)

Black oaks are distinguishable by trunkswith bark broken up with horizontaldivisions which result in a square pattern.Leaves have 5-7 bristle-tipped lobesseparated by deepU-shapednotches. Theupper surface is shiny deep green; lower isyellowish-brown with hairs along the midrib. Leaves turn brick red or yellow in theautumn.Thecapoftheacorncoversalmosthalfthenut.

Black oaks are normally found in forestedareas and not commonly used forlandscapingortreelawns.

Redoakbark Blackoakbark

MoreBrochuresAboutTreesinTheRealtyPlot

Our first two brochures, “Notable Trees oftheRealtyPlot”and“MatureStreetTreesoftheRealtyPlot,”canbefoundontheRealtyPlot website. The first brochure describessome of our important and noteworthytrees, and the second one identifies thetrees that were planted in the street lawnsoonafterourhouseswerebuilt.

Redoakacorn Blackoakacorn

OurTreesPriorto1899

The major tree species that were growingherepriortothedevelopmentoftheRealtyPlot includetheoaks(red,whiteandblack)andwhitepine.Thesespeciesareallnativeto eastern North America. Several oakspeciesandwhitepineoftengrowtogetherin forests of the Northeast, with the pinebecoming the taller species. All of thesetreescanliveforhundredsofyears.

Thepinoaks that lineAdamsRoadarenotpart of this type of natural ecosystem andare rarely found in the wild. Pin oaks areused more as landscaping and street treesbecause they are easy to transplant, growquickly and are tolerant to pollution. Thepin oak is discussed in the brochure onmaturestreettreesoftheRealtyPlot.

The land on which the Realty Plot,originally known as College Woods, wasdeveloped was owned by Union Collegeuntil it was sold to the General ElectricCompany in 1899. Photos fromthat periodshow a mix of wooded and open areascomprising the 75 acres of land. One canassume that some of the trees in thewooded areas had to be cut down toaccommodatetheconstructionofroadsandhouses.TheviewofLowellRoadonanoldpostcardphoto(seefrontofthisbrochure)shows that many trees were obviouslysavedfromthatfate. Itappearsthatmanyof the trees that were saved at that time,however,arenolongeraround.

EasternWhitePine(Pinusstrobus)

Virginwhitepines forestsoncecoveredmuchof northeastern North America. This specieshas the distinction ofbeing the tallest tree ineastern North America. It can be easilyidentifiedby itsneedles thatoccur inbundlesof five. The cones,which hang near the endsofbranches,areslender,3–6incheslong,andhavescalesthatareslightlyflexedandusuallywhite-tipped.

WhiteOak(Quercusalba)

This isthemostcommonoakfoundintheyardsoftheRealtyPlot.YoucanalsofindalargeoneinthestreetlawnonLowellneartheRavine. It is calledwhiteoakbecauseofthepalegraybarkandwhitewood.Theleaves are easily distinguishable from ourother oaks with rounded spaces betweenroundedlobes.Leavesturnpurplishred inthe autumn. The acorns become lightbrown and shiny. The knobby caps oftendropoffatmaturity.

TreeIdentification

Identification of black oaks and red oaks iscomplicated.Firstbecauseourtreesaresotallit is often difficult to obtain a leaf or acorndirectly from the tree you are trying toidentify. The shape of the leaves is highlyvariable even on the same tree. Further, redand black oaks are known to hybridizeproducing subspecies with a mix ofcharacteristics. As an aid to identifying thetree species included in this brochure, theimportant distinguishing characteristicshighlightedinred.

NeedlesandconeofwhitepineWhiteoakleaf

Whiteoakacorn