Jewell Branch    Jess    Jan 19, 2003 12:02 PST  Last weekend Michael Davie and I looked at the mountains adjacent to Wadakoe Mountain to see if they have the same rich, amphibolite derived soils as Wadakoe. Except for one short section of a creek and one bowl, which has tuliptrees with height to diameter ratios of over 100:1, areas of rich forest are scarce on the adjacent mountains. Consequently, we focused most of our measuring efforts on the upper part of Jewell Branch, which is at the eastern edge of Wadakoe Mountain. Tuliptree, sweetgum and white oak are the most common species in the cove at the top of the branch. Spicebush is the primary understory species in this cove. Going down the branch, shortleaf pine, hemlock, and rhododendron become more common while tuliptree disappears from the canopy. Species Height Cbh Significance Basswood, White 126.7' 6'2.5" 2nd tallest known in SC Cherry, Black 120.9' 4'1" Tallest known in SC Honeylocust 118.1' NA Tallest known in SC Locust, Black 134.3' 4'7" Tallest known in SC Cucmbertree,Magnolia 139.9' 7'6.5" Tallest known in SC Oak, Northern red 133.1' NA Oak, Scarlet 130.7' NA Tallest known? Oak, White 130.8' NA 4th tallest known in SC Pine, Shortleaf 128.2 5'0" 4th tallest known in SC Pine, Shortleaf 133.6' 4'11" 2nd tallest known in SC Tuliptree 147.3' NA Tuliptree 148.7' NA Tuliptree 154.0' NA Tuliptree 161.1' NA 4th tallest known in SC Jewell Branch is all second growth forest, so many of the trees in the drainage are still growing rapidly. The cucumbertree is actually on Sharp Top Mountain. The cherry is one of only a handful I've seen in SC that are over 100'. I don't know if the honeylocust is native or not. The south side of the gap that the tree grows near was farmed, but hackberry also grows naturally in the area. Including Jewell Branch with Wadakoe Mountain pushes the Rucker Index up to 137.85'. Jess Riddle   Home