Jess, Awesome. When I generally think of Pisgah National Forest I usually do not think of trees 150 feet tall or over. The forest was extensively logged in places 90 years ago and back. But then, I must remember, that record Tuliptree you found on Bradley Fork, GSMNP is only in the 100 year range. PNF is close and maybe I should do more searches there.
One place I have planned is a grove of White Pine in the Pink Beds. I have hiked both John Rock and Looking Glass. Impressive views await those who hikes to their summits. This was before I joined ENTS and before I started closely examining forests. James P. On Jan 15, 10:33 am, Jess Riddle <[email protected]> wrote: > Ents, > > On Saturday, at the suggestion of Josh Kelly and Will Blozan, we > followed the Davidson River west from Brevard, NC to explore Horse > Cove and East Horse Cove. Ascending to just under 6000’ elevation, > the surrounding watershed drains the steep southeastern flank of the > Balsam Mountains, and features several granitic domes, the best known > of which is Looking Glass Rock (http://tinyurl.com/yct2wqw). John > Rock, one of the smaller granitic domes, shelters Horse Cove from the > west, and the steep upper slopes of Chestnut Knob provide shade from > the south/southeast. While Horse Cove is a broad cove draining to the > north with several small, steep, sub-coves coming off Chestnut Knob, > the adjacent East Horse Cove is a northeast flowing ravine. East > Horse Cove generally appears more acidic with patchy rhododendron > along the stream, although near the top of the stream spicebush > dominates the understory. Tuliptrees line the stream, but on the east > facing slopes they quickly give way to a mix of hickories and oaks. > Tuliptree also forms nearly pure stands where side coves enter into > Horse Cove, and on those sites spicebush again dominates the > understory. Gentler sections of Horse Cove support a more diverse > overstory that, in addition to tuliptree, includes a mix of oaks, > pignut hickory, and beech. Throughout the cove silverbell occurs as > an understory species, and a few sugar maples, locally uncommon, grow > in the midstory. The overstory is generally mature, probably a little > less than 100 years old, except for a section of the middle of the > cove that was clear cut perhaps a decade ago. > > Species Cbh Height > Ash, White 7’8” 136.6’ > Beech 6’2.5” 130.6’ > Basswood, White 5’10” 142.3’ > Hickory, Mockernut 7’11” 132.9’ > Hickory, Mockernut 7’4” 133.1’ > Hickory, Pignut NA 143.4’ > Hickory, Pignut 6’6” 152.1’ > Magnolia, Cucumber NA 128.7’ > Oak, Black 9’2” 125.5’ > Oak, Chestnut 5’0” 128.0’ > Oak, Northern Red 9’0” 129.2’ > Oak, Southern Red 7’10” 119.7’ > Pine, White 9’7” 149.9’ > Tuliptree 6’4.5” 150.4’ > Tuliptree NA 150.9’ > Tuliptree 6’10” 157.5’ > Tuliptree NA 159.5’ > > Rucker Index 139.0’ > > The mockernut hickories may be state height records, and the great > height and abundance of the hickories relative to other species > resembles tall tree sites along the Blue Ridge Escarpment in SC, > including Wadakoe Mountain and Tamassee Knob. However, basswood does > not reach 140 along the escarpment, and all of the tall ash on the > escarpment are var. biltmoreana not var. americana as in Horse Cove. > The southern red oak is also exceptional for the mountains, and not > surprisingly, grows on a slope outside the coves and just above the > Davidson River. We did not attempt to find the tallest tuliptree and > only explored about half of the cove, so more searching will almost > certainly raise the Rucker Index above 140’. > > Jess and Mike
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