The acorns on the red oak are approximately one inch long, straight sided, with a distinctive shallow cup and shells lined with woolly hairs. In identifying an oak, one must first decide which of the two great groups it belongs to: white or red. The leaves on a seedling or a sucker shoot can be quite different from those on a mature tree. Sometimes it can be confusing when deciding what type of oak you are looking at because the leaves can vary even on the same tree. On the oak, the lightning cannot follow the water path and ends up entering the tree’s liquid sap, causing it to boil and then explode. If lightning strikes, it follows the rainwater on the outside of the tree to the ground. This rigid bark does not allow the rainwater to run evenly down the tree as it does on the smooth bark of the beech. The beech’s trunk, which has a high oil content, is smooth whereas the oak has a rough, ridged bark that can be three to four inches thick. Our ancestors believed that a beech tree planted near a house would protect the dwelling from lightning. If you need to seek shelter under a tree, the best one seems to be the beech tree. The ancient Norse associated the oak tree with Thor, the God of Thunder. The Greeks were led to consecrate oaks to Zeus, the notorious hurler of lightning. It is said that the mighty oak is one of the species struck by lightning more often than other trees. If you’re in the woods, the worst tree to be under is an oak tree. We all know that the worst place to be during a thunder and lightning storm is under a tree. There are more than 300 species of oaks found throughout the world and some 40 species are native to North America. While the white oak group is distributed all over the northern hemisphere, the red oak group is found only in North America. There are two great groups of oaks: white and red. An oak tree can take up to a century to reach its full maturity. Oak trees are known as the Methuselah’s of the East and can live up to 400 years. So it’s almost a miracle that we have oak trees in the woods. Of those that sprouted, half died as seedlings.Īdd to this the fact that a young oak tree does not start producing acorns until it is at least ten years of age. In one study where 15,000 acorns were tracked, 83% were eaten by animals, 6% were attacked by insects, 10% were naturally imperfect and less than 1% sprouted. This rich soil will help the few acorns that survive to become oak trees. Then, the centipedes and ants will set up residence inside the acorn shells.įinally, the shells collapse, and earthworms turn the shell pieces into humus. This breakdown riddles the shells with more holes. After the larva inside the acorns eventually exit, mold and fungi start to breakdown the acorns. ![]() However deer, mice, bear, and other mammals aren’t as fussy and will eat the acorn and larva.Īcorns that are missed by the larger animals are consumed by the smaller ones. A squirrel will discard an acorn found with larva inside.
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