James- The mystery plant is one of the Asian Mahonias, which have compound leaves with holly-like leaflets---probably *Mahonia bealei.*
Steve On Sat, Jan 2, 2010 at 12:35 AM, James Parton <[email protected]>wrote: > ENTS, > > Today I finally got back to do some measuring of a nice White Pine grove > that I found while on another hike back in January 2009. The grove is > located between the Blue Ridge Parkway and Hendersonville Rd ( Hwy 25 ) near > where the parkway crosses over 25. I call it the Ramble Grove because of the > nearby Ramble housing development located nearby. > > > http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldtrips/north_carolina/20090125-blueridgeparkway/mountainstosea_trail.htm > > The grove is dominated by Eastern White Pine but also contains Tuliptree > and Pitch Pine with American Holly as an understory tree. A few oaks and > shortleaf pines are found here too, especially near the borders of the > grove. Large Poison Ivy vines also climb to great heights into the trees. I > found one huge vine that was two feet in circumference! Why do some forests > have large Poison Ivy vines while others lack Poison Ivy all together? > Poison Ivy seems rare in most older growth forests I visit while it seems > more common in younger forests. Especially near populated areas. Does anyone > know why? I would guess this grove to be young judging by the trees > youthful appearance and many branch stubs on the trunks of the pines. I > would guess the grove at 60-80 years old. > > The tallest tree found today was a respectable White Pine that was 143..2 > feet tall and 6' 3" in girth. Tall and slim. The largest overall was a > Tuliptree that was 138.3 feet tall and 8' 9" in girth. > > Also a hollylike plant was found in the forest that I believe is an > invasive species. Can anyone identify this " mystery holly " for me? I have > seen it as an ornamental in people's yards. I think my dad has one.. I don't > think it is a true ilex. > > Here are todays measurements > > cbh Height > > White Pine 6' 3" 130.3' > > White Pine 8' 0" 122.6' > > White Pine 6' 2" 136.5' > > Tuliptree 8' 9" 138.3' > > White Pine 6' 3" 143.2' ! > > Pitch Pine 5' 6" 114.3' ! > > > It was a good day but my hands were about frozen when I got out of the > woods! > > > James Parton > > -- > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org > Send email to [email protected] > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > To unsubscribe send email to > [email protected]<entstrees%[email protected]> > -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
