No offense, but, Choke Cherry? Come on, that's a shrub; an understory species; barely a tree on a good day. The Black Cherry is the great American cherry, and a medicinal plant, to boot (love that cough syrup). It can grow to an impressive size, but like most cherries, it's usually a successional species, and prone to falling down. The national tree should properly be a climax species, the sort that eventually overtops things like cherries and hornbeams. For all the talk about how big it is out west, you don't have many big trees out there, do you? (Same goes for you Texans.) And I don't want to hear about giant conifers on the West Coast, either. The American tree must be a broadleaf, deciduous, flowering tree. Now, I have no problems with Oaks, but I don't get the Oak as a species. What Oak? There are dozens! Quecus has got to be the biggest genus around, and there's a world (well, a continent) of difference between the White Oak of the east, the Live Oak of the south, the Canyon Oak of the west, not to mention those scrubby Post and Blackjack Oaks of the Cross Timbers forest at the edge of Texas, where the trees give way to plains. Did I mention the dearth of trees in Texas? Yeah, yeah, maybe there're Cottonwoods along some river, but those are just Poplars on steroids, and will also fall down in less than a human lifetime. Let's face it, the Tuliptree is the American tree par excellence. Its range is almost exactly the eastern US. It's the tallest tree around, except for the Sycamore, which it can overtop by growing faster. And unlike the Oaks, which have species all over the place (English Oak, anyone?), Liriodendron tulipifera is (like its leaf shape) virtually unique, with only one other species in the genus, and that in SE Asia. It's a tree of great character: known for being tall and straight, it also bears the most beautiful flowers of any true forest tree. These have not been adjusted by human meddling, like Prunus, and Malus, and the rest of the Rose crew. Nevertheless, Liriodendron is modest, and doesn't make a big show. The flowers are borne high aloft, and are mostly green, so you may have to make a point of looking for them. This is truly a noble tree, but maybe I've said all this before? I would have voted for it, but I don't think it should get mixed up in politics.
All right that's it. If I could string together a moment or two of coherence you'd really be getting the whatfor now.
West bashing may be ok, but Texas? This site stinks with Texans. (My point precisely says AW). -badabing-
"Dearth of trees in Texas"? I have twelve acres of trees in Texas not to metion a Tulip tree or two in North Carolina, and a Sycamore already dwarfing the Rocheblave house so let me just jump in here...(veins popping, temples and neck.)
(Ok, maybe you do have a few trees in Texas but not any big ones)
Here jimlouis cocks back his sticks, fingers dangling at their ends, his birdcage puffed out, and emits a budweiser enhanced spittle flecked retort.
Oh yeah, what about that Treaty (live) Oak in Austin. (Not deciduous says AW, and besides, wasn't it poisoned to death by a local sicko?).
Yeah, well how come they gotta be deciduous? I think they put that guy on death row.
...dammit, where's Tom Moody when you need him? Come on TM, get him. He can't get away saying we have little trees. Can he? Bill? Can he get away that? Or is that why we all fled, to get away from our little trees? Oh dreaded epiphany.
Shrub? Have you ever actually seen a chokecherry? In Wisconson 1000
year old 'mothers' 2 feet in diameter
are still pumping out fruit 'over the canopy'. Medicinal uses for this amazing tree far outnumber those
for Prunus serotina, the black cherry. Long live the weeds , the cedars ,the yarrow/ give me chokecherries
mashed in bison marrow..
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- alex 5-04-2001 12:44 am
All right that's it. If I could string together a moment or two of coherence you'd really be getting the whatfor now.
West bashing may be ok, but Texas? This site stinks with Texans. (My point precisely says AW). -badabing-
"Dearth of trees in Texas"? I have twelve acres of trees in Texas not to metion a Tulip tree or two in North Carolina, and a Sycamore already dwarfing the Rocheblave house so let me just jump in here...(veins popping, temples and neck.)
(Ok, maybe you do have a few trees in Texas but not any big ones)
Here jimlouis cocks back his sticks, fingers dangling at their ends, his birdcage puffed out, and emits a budweiser enhanced spittle flecked retort.
Oh yeah, what about that Treaty (live) Oak in Austin. (Not deciduous says AW, and besides, wasn't it poisoned to death by a local sicko?).
Yeah, well how come they gotta be deciduous? I think they put that guy on death row.
...dammit, where's Tom Moody when you need him? Come on TM, get him. He can't get away saying we have little trees. Can he? Bill? Can he get away that? Or is that why we all fled, to get away from our little trees? Oh dreaded epiphany.
- jimlouis 5-04-2001 11:12 pm [2 comments]
Shrub? Have you ever actually seen a chokecherry? In Wisconson 1000 year old 'mothers' 2 feet in diameter are still pumping out fruit 'over the canopy'. Medicinal uses for this amazing tree far outnumber those for Prunus serotina, the black cherry. Long live the weeds , the cedars ,the yarrow/ give me chokecherries mashed in bison marrow..
- frank 5-07-2001 7:51 pm [1 comment]