You ought to know this'n

[Tom]

What's that fellow pointing at?

[Texas Ranger]

Tree asparagras? :

[Tom]

Got your mind on food again, Don? :D

[beenthere]

Looks like the whole candelabra this time (unless we need magnification for this mystery item).

[Tom]

Lookin' for the tree.    You might find it in an earlier post unless you know other secret research procedures.  :D

[CHARLIE]

Loblolly Pine!!!!

[Tom]

nope!

[Bud Man]

A porcupine with hemorrhoid's of the Pinus variety.

[Tom]

nope! :D

[Texas Ranger]

Tom, y'all got some strange pines over there that I am not familar with, but, either slash or pond pine.

[Tom]

In April of last year, I posted these pictures in Plant and Tree ID. click for The Old Post

[biziedizie]

  Is he pointing at something or is he inspecting the booger that he just dug out of his nose???


    Steve

[Jeff]

my first thought was to delete that post but it serves ya right if I just leave it there.

 ;)

[biziedizie]

  Hey Jeff it ain't my fault. ;D It's my kid who asked me if the guy was picking his nose. :D :D :D I tried to explain to him that we were trying to figuire out what the tree was but he said oh nooooo daddy he's picking his nose. :D :D
  He made me laff that's why I posted that. :D :D :D :D :D

  BTW I think that tree is a blue spruce :P


   Steve

[biziedizie]

  K Tom I looked at the the old link and I was wondering if the blue spruce that we have here is a cousin of this tree??? They sure do look the same.
  I always thought that there were only certain types of trees like Spruce, fir, cedar etc. Paul_H explained to me one day that D-fir was not really true fir which kinda shocked me.
  Is there really a true strain of tree or are they all in-bred???

  I have a therory about old growth fir that an old timer told me and it was interesting. He told me that the fir now a days is stronger then the old growth stuff cause the growth rings are tighter. He explained way more reasons aswell. He took his opinion to a forest meeting and made alot of people think about things when he made his speach. I want to get a copy of what he said and post it here to hear opinions.


   Steve

[Tom]

No, this tree isn't anything like Spruce accept that it's a conifer.  All these yellow pines (Pinus) are related  there are just different species and even they have sub-species.  Take for instance the Longleaf pine.  You will hear references to Dade County Pine which is a Longleaf but is stressed by the climate in which it grows.  By calling it Dade County Pine it opens up special marketing doors for those who would like to take advantage of it.

Then you will here references to Mountain Longleaf.  The same goes for it but it grows in a stressed environment in the high country.

Around here there is Slash, Loblolly, Sonderegger(a hybrid), Sand pine, Pocosin(pond)pine and common names for some like Black pine, which to some is Loblolly but to most is pond pine.

In other parts of the country you find Lodgepole Ponderosa, knobcone, Western white, sugarpine, Red pine, pitch pine and the list goes one.

Perhaps one of the Foresters will come on and tell us the place that conifers take in the climax of a forest.  Wenrich had a little blurb on it once but I can't remember where it is.

This is where Sawing trees becomes so interesting.  Your customers expect you to know all of this stuff. they think you are an expert because you have a sawmill and a chainsaw.   This is a good place to learn it too.  There are some smart cookies with Forester degrees here but they have to be prompted sometimes because they don't know that you want to learn.

[biziedizie]

  Hey Tom there's a guy out here named Al and he's been around trees all his life and he told me that he still doesn't know everything. Kinda neat when a person can't know everything about trees. I think that's why I'm so interested in the sawing thing.
  When it comes to a hybrid tree can you explain in simple terms what this means???


     Steve

[Texas Ranger]

Al, didn't say it all, everytime you think you know SOMETHING, it jumps up and bites you with a weird variation.  Thats whats neat about the woods.  Something new every day.

[Tom]

I agree with claiming to know everything. It's probably a foolish person who thinks he does.

The dictionary says this for the 1st description of hybrid: an offspring of two animals or plants of different races, breeds, varieties, species, or genera

Like a horse and a donkey make a mule.  Crossing a red rose and white rose to get a red and white rose.  Crossing a disease free variety of something with a disease prone, but larger, variety of something to get a Big Disease Free something.

Sonderegger is a naturally occurring hybrid of Long leaf and Loblolly pine.  The only Southern Yellow Pine cross with a name.

Here is an article that explains it better than I could. Sonderegger article

[DanG]

Tom, you mentioned the Sand Pine. Now that is an interesting genus! It has got to be the "cactus" of the tree world. It loves poor soil. One reason it interests me is that it is a true native of my area, and is indigenous to only a small part of the Fla panhandle and the very southern tip of Alabama. It has been spread by reforestation projects into other areas where they are planting 3rd and fourth growth plantations and the soil is depleted. It is doing well, as I understand it.  The trees tend to be bushy in their youth, but will self-prune and make some pretty decent stems if they're planted close enough.  You can forget taking a leisurely stroll through a thicket of them, though. They plant them thick enough that the deer have a hard time going into them.

[Tom]

I've tried to walk through sand pine before.  It can hardly be done.  The little branches are as entertangled as briar and, your right, even naturally they are thick as fleas on a dog.

I've seen it in central Florida where efforts are being made to bring it back. It requires fire to seed and that, and development, may be the reason it is having a hard time now.  I don't hear of it being used commercially too much.  It's supposed to make good pulp.

[DanG]

They are using them pretty heavily around here, mostly on the coastal plain south of here. The soil is very sandy and won't even grow a decent weed. The Sand Pines are doing well. If I ever get picture capabilities back, I'll take a few shots of them. :