Trees of Indiana Part 3

PINUS VIRGINIANA Miller. Jersey or Scrub Pine. (1/2.)]

=3.= =Pinus virginiana= Miller. Jersey Pine. Scrub Pine. Plate 4. Bark dark-brown with rather shallow fissures, the ridges broken, somewhat scaly; shoots green, light brown or purplish with a bloom, becoming a gray-brown; leaves in bundles of two, rarely three, twisted, usually about 4-5 cm. long, deciduous during the third or fourth year; cones sessile or nearly so, narrowly conic when closed, 4-7 cm. long, opening in the autumn of the second season; scales armed with a curved spine 2-4 mm. long; wood light, soft, weak, brittle and slightly resinous.

=Distribution.=--Long Island to South Carolina, Alabama and north to Indiana and Licking County, Ohio. The distribution in Indiana is quite limited, and has never been understood by authors who variously give it as found throughout the southern part of Indiana. It is confined to the k.n.o.b area of Floyd, Clark and Scott Counties, and the southeastern part of Washington County. In the original forest it is confined to the tops of the k.n.o.bs where it is a.s.sociated with Quercus Prinus (Gray's Man. 7th Edition). It propagates easily from self-sown seed, hence is soon found on the lower slopes of cut-over lands, and soon occupies fallow fields.

It is now found in the open woods several miles east of the k.n.o.bs in the preceding counties, but pioneers of this section say it was not a const.i.tuent of the original forests but has come in since the original forests were heavily cut over. It is believed that it crowned the k.n.o.bs over our area from 5-10 miles wide extending through the counties named and extending northward about 25 miles. This species is found in the open woods on a few hills on the Millport Ridge in the northern part of Washington County, and it appears as if native, but investigation showed that it had spread from a tree on the site of a pioneer's cabin. It is also found as a frequent escape on the wooded bluff of Racc.o.o.n Creek in the southern part of Owen County, and appears as native here. It is a.s.sociated on the bluff and slope with hemlock. Chas. Green, a man of sixty years, who owns the place says the trees were seeded by a tree planted in his father's yard nearby. His father also planted a white pine in his yard, and it is to be noted while the Jersey Pine has freely escaped the white pine has not, although the habitat seems favorable.

=Remarks.=--In its native habitat on the exposed summits of the "k.n.o.bs"

it is usually a small tree about 3 dm. in diameter and 10 m. high. When it finds lodgement on the lower slopes and coves it may attain a diameter of 7 dm. and a height of 25 m. This tree is really ent.i.tled to be called "old field pine" on account of its ability to establish itself on them.

From the ease with which this species propagates itself from seed it seems worthy a trial for forestry purposes in the "k.n.o.b" area of the State. However, all attempts to grow this species from seedlings at the Forest Reserve have failed.

=2. LaRIX.= The Larches.

=Larix laricna= (Du Roi) Koch. Tamarack. Plate No. 5. Tall spire-like trees, usually 2-3 dm. in diameter, rarely as large as 5 dm. in diameter; bark gray or reddish-brown, scaly; twigs slender, smooth, light brown, becoming a dark gray brown; leaves scattered along the shoots of the season, in fascicles on the older branches, usually 20-50 in a bundle; filiform, 1-2.5 cm. long, obtuse at apex, triangular in cross-section, all falling off late in autumn; staminate flowers borne on the short leafless branches, the pistillate appear with the leaves on the branches of the previous season; cones borne on short, stout branchlets, normally erect or inclined to be so, 10-20 mm. long, purplish brown while growing, turning to a light brown at maturity, persisting on the tree for about a year; wood hard, heavy, light brown, variable in strength.

=Distribution.=--Labrador, Newfoundland south to southern New York, West Virginia, northern Ohio and Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and northward.

In Indiana it is confined to the northern part of the State, and has not been reported south of the northern part of Ca.s.s County. The most southern station in the eastern part of the State is about Lake Everett in the northwest part of Allen County. It is found on low borders of lakes, in swamps and in bogs. In all of its stations in Indiana it is found growing near the water level in great depths of organic matter more or less decomposed or in beds of peat, which contain little or practically no soil. Where it is found, it usually forms a pure stand.

=Remarks.=--Formerly the tamarack was a common tree in its area.

Recently many of the tamarack swamps have been drained. This with heavy cutting has reduced the supply of tamarack in Indiana to an insignificant amount. The tamarack is popularly cla.s.sed as white and yellow--the yellow being considered the better of the two. In our area it is used princ.i.p.ally for poles and posts. There is a diversity of opinion as to the durability of tamarack in contact with the soil. The most authentic information places the life of fence posts at about ten years.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 5.

LARIX LARICINA (Du Roi) Koch. Tamarack. (1.)]

=3. TSuGA.= The Hemlocks.

=Tsuga canadensis= (Linnaeus) Carriere. Hemlock. Plate 6. Tall trees, 3-7 dm. in diameter, with reddish-brown or grayish bark, deeply furrowed; shoots very slender and hairy, becoming smooth in a few years; leaves apparently 2-ranked, persisting for about three years, linear, short petioled, 6-13 mm. long, usually about 10 mm. long, usually flat, obtuse or notched at apex, bright green and shiny above, bluish-white beneath; staminate flowers appear early in the spring from buds in the axils of the leaves of the previous season, the pistillate terminal, erect, oblong; cones almost sessile and pendulous, borne on the end of last year's branch, maturing the first season, ovoid, 1.5-2.5 cm. long; wood light, soft, brittle, not durable, difficult to work, splintery but holds a nail well.

=Distribution.=--Nova Scotia south to Delaware, west to Minnesota and southeastward through Indiana and eastern Kentucky, thence southward on the mountains to northern Alabama. In Indiana it is not found[4] north of Brown County. It is found in limited numbers at the following places: on a bluff of Bean Blossom Creek in Brown County; on a steep wooded slope on the south side of a small creek about one and a half miles north of Borden in Clark County, and also reported on the bank of Silver Creek between Clark and Floyd Counties; a few trees on the top and sides of the cliffs about one mile east of Taswell in Crawford County; a few trees on the bluff of Guthrie Creek in Jackson County; a few trees along the north fork of the Muscatatuck River between Vernon and North Vernon in Jennings County; a few trees on the south bank of Back Creek near Leesville in Lawrence County; frequent on the banks of Sugar Creek near the "Shades" in Montgomery County; a few trees on the bank of Racc.o.o.n Creek in the southern part of Owen County; frequent on the bank of Sugar Creek in Turkey Run State Park in Parke County; a few trees on the banks of Racc.o.o.n and Walnut Creeks in Putnam County. Also reported by Beeler[5] as found on a bluff of White River in Morgan County.

In all of its stations it is found on sandstone bluffs on the south side of streams, giving it a north or northwest exposure. In a few of the stations there are no small trees, but in Montgomery County along Sugar Creek it is reproducing well.

=Remarks.=--Hemlock is of no economic importance in Indiana. The bark is much used in tanning. Hemlock is frequently used for a hedge plant, also as a specimen tree in parks, etc.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 6.

TSUGA CANADENSIS (Linnaeus) Carriere. Hemlock. (1/2.)]

=4. TAXDIUM.= The Bald Cypress.

=Taxodium distichum= (Linnaeus) L. C. Richard. Cypress. Plate 7. Large tall straight trees, up to 18 dm. in diameter and 45 m. high, usually with a b.u.t.tressed base which is frequently hollow. In wet situations it develops steeple-shaped projections from the roots to above the water level, known as "knees"; bark gray or reddish-brown, separating from the trunk in long thin narrow strips; shoots light green, smooth, turning reddish-brown the first year, then a darker brown; leaves spirally arranged, appearing as if 2-ranked on vegetative shoots, linear, 5-15 mm. long, sessile, acute, yellowish-green, turning brown in the fall and dropping off; staminate flowers numerous, borne on long terminal panicles, pistillate flowers solitary in the axils of the leaves; fruit a cone, globose, about 2.5 cm. in diameter, the surface with some wrinkles made by the edges of the closely fitting scales; wood light, soft and straight-grained, rather weak, does not warp or shrink much and reputed to be very durable when exposed to soil or weather.

=Distribution.=--Along the Atlantic coast from Delaware to Florida and along the Gulf west to Texas and north along the Mississippi Valley to Indiana. In Indiana it has a peculiar and limited distribution. The ma.s.s distribution was just north and west of Decker in Knox County.

Collett[6] estimates that 20,000 acres were "covered with a fine forest of cypress". Wright[7] maps the other places in the southern part of Knox County where the cypress was known to have occurred. At present the only cypress in Knox County is in the extreme southwest part of the county, and is known as Little Cypress swamp. Here it is a.s.sociated with such trees as white elm and Schneck's oak. It is believed that it extended only a few miles north of the Deshee River. Going southward it has not been seen in Gibson County, and is first noted in Posey County along the Wabash River in a cypress pond about 12 miles southwest of Mt.

Vernon. Then again in Posey County along the Ohio River on the sh.o.r.es of Hovey Lake, and in a slough about 3 miles east of Mt. Vernon. It occurred in a few spots in Vanderburg County along the Ohio River southwest of Evansville. It again appears in limited numbers along Cypress Creek a few miles east of Newburg in Warrick County, which is its eastern[8] known limit.

The cypress in all of its stations is found only in places that are for the greater part of the year under water.

=Remarks.=--The original stand of cypress in Indiana has practically all been cut, and the swamps drained and now under cultivation. In the slough east of Mt. Vernon for several years, thousands of seedlings of the year have been noted, but for some reason they do not survive a second year. The present indications are that the cypress will be extinct in Indiana before many years because practically no small trees can be found.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 7.

TAXODIUM DISTICHUM (Linnaeus) L. C. Richard. Cypress. ( 1/2.)]

This species is highly recommended by some nurserymen for ornamental planting. It proves hardy in the southern part of the state. It is a fast growing tree, adapted to a wet soil, but will succeed in drier situations.

=5. THuJA.= Arbor-Vitae.

=Thuja occidentalis= Linnaeus. Arbor-Vitae. Plate 8. Small evergreen trees with a conical crown, bark on old trees reddish-brown or dark gray, shreddy; branchlets compressed, reddish-brown; leaves all closely appressed, in alternate pairs, scale-like, about 3 mm. long on young branchlets, on old branches somewhat longer together with a spine 2-3 mm. long; flowers appear early in the spring from the ends of the branches; cones mature the first season, about 1 cm. long and .5 cm. in diameter; wood soft, brittle, weak and durable.

=Distribution.=--New Brunswick to Manitoba, south to Minnesota and New Jersey thence southward along the Alleghanies to North Carolina and Tennessee. In Indiana it is found native[9] only in Lake and Porter Counties. In Lake County a few isolated specimens have been found in several places near Lake Michigan. In Porter County it is known only in a large tamarack swamp north of the Mineral Springs stop on the Traction line, and about a mile from Lake Michigan. Here about 100 trees are found scattered over an area of less than two acres. The largest specimen measures 70 cm. in circ.u.mference. This species is doomed to early extinction in our area. No doubt it already has vanished from Lake County, and it is probable that the colony north of Mineral Springs is the last of the species in Indiana.

=Remarks.=--While only found in a swamp in Indiana, this species adapts itself to all kinds of soils and exposures. It transplants readily and is used for ornamental purposes, and for windbreaks. Dwarf forms are frequently planted for hedges. The wood is used princ.i.p.ally for poles and posts, and is commercially known as white cedar.

=6. JUNiPERUS.= The Junipers.

Evergreen shrubs or trees, leaves opposite or whorled, sessile, scale-like or short-linear; fruit berry-like; seeds 1-3.

=Juniperus virginiana= Linnaeus. Red Cedar. Plate 9. A small tree, usually 1-2 dm. and rarely up to 5 dm. in diameter; bark shreddy; branches usually more or less ascending which gives the tree a narrow conic appearance; shoots green, soon turning light to reddish-brown and on older branches gray or dark brown; leaves 4-ranked, scale-like and 1.5-2 mm. long, or subulate, decurrent at base and 3-10 mm. long on vigorous branches or very small trees; flowers terminal; fruit ripening the first season, berry-like, globose but longer than wide, with a bloom and a very resinous pulp about the seeds which are usually 1 or 2; wood light, brittle, close-grained, durable and fragrant.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 8.

THUJA OCCIDENTALIS Linnaeus. Arbor-Vitae. ( 1/2.).]

=Distribution.=--Nova Scotia south to Florida, west to Texas and north to South Dakota. It is found in all parts of Indiana, although sparingly in the northern part, especially where streams with bluffs are absent.

No doubt this species in the original forests was confined princ.i.p.ally to the bluffs of streams and rocky ravines. Since the forests have been cut, it is now found growing along fences, in open dry woods, and in southern Indiana it is a common tree in old abandoned fields, and in waste places.

=Remarks.=--Red cedar has had many uses, and the large trees have been practically all harvested. It is now used princ.i.p.ally for poles, posts, crossties, cigar boxes and lead pencils. It is the best wood known for lead pencils. The odor is so objectionable to insects that a market has been made for chests of this wood in which to store clothing and furs.

=SALICaCEAE.=[10] The Willow Family.

Trees or shrubs with bitter bark; simple alternate leaves; flowers in catkins, which fall off as a whole, the staminate after flowering, the pistillate after ripening and scattering of the seeds, the staminate and pistillate on different plants (dioecious); flower scales single, below each flower; fruit a lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate capsule opening lengthwise into 2 recurving carpels or valves; seeds numerous, minute, oblong, bearing a tuft of hairs at the base. Genera 2, _Salix_, the willows, and _Populus_, the aspens and poplars, or cottonwoods, separated by the following characters, those applying only to Indiana trees species in parentheses:

Buds covered by a single scale; (leaf-blades mostly enlongated, more than twice as long as wide); flower scales entire or rarely shallowly toothed at apex; stamens mostly 2 or 3-8 or 10 1 Salix.

Buds covered by numerous scales; (leaf-blades mostly cordate-ovate, less than twice as long as broad); flower scales deeply cut or lacerate; stamens more than 10 2 Populus.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 9.