Diversity in Monica's Woods   Robert Leverett
  Oct 18, 2005 12:18 PDT 

ENTS,

   While in his recent Massachusetts visit, Jess Riddle commented on the
diversity in the vicinity of Monica's woods. It set me to thinking. The
following are native species that I've seen in and around Monica's woods
to include the Fitzgerald Lake area and the west side of Broad Brook.

white pine
eastern hemlock
eastern red cedar
pitch pine
sugar maple
red maple
box elder
stripped maple
black birch
white birch
yellow birch
eastern cottonwood
red oak
white oak
black oak
chestnut oak
scarlet oak
serviceberry
bigtooth aspen
quaking aspen
black locust
tuliptree
witch hazel
pignut hickory
shagbark hickory
mockernut hickory
bitternut hickory
white ash
green ash
slippery elm
black cherry
silver maple
hackberry
American basswood
hop hornbeam
American hornbeam
American sycamore
American beech

   I suspect that the above list could be expanded by 4 or 5 were I to
look long enough. Pin oak is almost guaranteed as is black willow. So 40
is an almost assured minimum. Around Fitzgerald lake there may be a
little swamp white oak. I've seen it near the Mill River. Were I to look
long enough in the wetter areas, I could probably add black gum. There
is almost assuredly a small amount of dogwood. If we want to add what
was once a tree, we could add American chestnut. There is a good chance
that somewhere in there a little gray birch grows.

   Excluded from the list are staghorn sumac, the shrub-sized cherries,
and mountain laurel. There once would have been butternut and American
elm in the area. Taking the known, the probable, and the once present,
the list reaches 45. That's not too shabby. Maybe Will or Jess saw other
species, but I doubt that the list of natives would ever make 50. In
truth, I should remove black locust. Though well naturalized, it is not
a native. Nor is catalpa, which I didn't list.

   Monica's Woods currently has a Rucker index of 109.8. By late fall
110 is virtually assured. That's better than I originally thought I'd
ever see.

Bob   


Robert T. Leverett
Cofounder, Eastern Native Tree Society