Michigan Trees - LightNovelsOnl.com
You're reading novel online at LightNovelsOnl.com. Please use the follow button to get notifications about your favorite novels and its latest chapters so you can come back anytime and won't miss anything.
HABIT.--A tree 50-70 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 1-3 feet; forming a dense, conical, spire-topped crown of numerous, drooping branches which persist nearly to the ground.
LEAVES.--Spirally arranged along the twig; crowded; 3/4-1 inch long; rigid, curved, acute; l.u.s.trous, dark green. Persistent 5-7 years.
FLOWERS.--May; monoecious; the staminate ovoid to subglobose, long-stalked, reddish to yellowish, 3/4-1 inch long; the pistillate cylindrical, sessile, erect, 1-1/2-2 inches long.
FRUIT.--Autumn of first season; sessile, cylindrical cones 3-6 inches long, pendent from the tips of the uppermost branches; sterile scales very short, toothed; seeds red-brown, rough, 1/8 inch long, with long wings.
WINTER-BUDS.--Ovoid, acute, red-brown, not resinous, about 3/8 inch long.
BARK.--Twigs red- or orange-brown, smooth or corrugated; becoming thin and gray-brown on old trunks, slightly fissured, scaly.
WOOD.--Light, strong, tough, elastic, soft, fine-grained, white, with thick, indistinguishable sapwood.
NOTES.--Grows to a height of 120-150 feet in northern Europe and Asia.
Perfectly hardy in Michigan. Easily transplanted. Adapts itself to a variety of soils and climates. Grows rapidly, but is short-lived in our country. Desirable for ornamental planting. Useful for shelter belts.
[Ill.u.s.tration: +Balsam Fir+
1. Winter branchlet, 1.
2-3. Leaves, 2.
4. Cross-section of leaf, enlarged.
5. Unopened cone, 1.
6. Cone-scale with seeds, 1.]
+PINACEAE+
+Balsam Fir+
_Abies balsamea (L.) Mill._
HABIT.--A slender tree 40-60 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 12-18 inches; branches in whorls of 4-6, forming a symmetrical, open crown widest at the base and tapering regularly upward.
LEAVES.--Scattered, spirally arranged in rows, on young trees extending from all sides of the branch, on old trees covering the upper side of the branch; narrowly linear, with apex acute or rounded; 1/2-1-1/4 inches long; l.u.s.trous, dark green above, pale beneath; sessile; aromatic. Persistent 8-10 years.
FLOWERS.--May; monoecious; the staminate oblong-cylindrical, yellow, 1/4 inch long, composed of yellow anthers (subtended by scales) spirally arranged upon a central axis; the pistillate oblong-cylindrical, 1 inch long, composed of orbicular, purple scales (subtended by yellow-green bracts) spirally arranged upon a central axis.
FRUIT.--Autumn of first season; oblong-cylindrical, erect, p.u.b.erulous, dark purple cones, 2-4 inches long, about 1 inch thick; seeds 1/4 inch long, shorter than their light brown wings.
WINTER-BUDS.--Globose, orange-green, resinous, 1/8-1/4 inch in diameter.
BARK.--Twigs at first grayish and p.u.b.escent, becoming gray-brown and smooth; thin and smooth on young trunks, pale gray-brown and marked by swollen resin chambers; red-brown on old trunks and somewhat roughened by small, scaly plates.
WOOD.--Very light, soft, weak, coa.r.s.e-grained, perishable, pale brown, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.--Occasional in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula, frequent in the northern half; abundant in the Upper Peninsula.
HABITAT.--Prefers cool, moist, rich soil; low, swampy ground; well-drained hillsides.
NOTES.--Grows rapidly. Short-lived. Easily transplanted.
[Ill.u.s.tration: +Hemlock+
1. Fruiting branch viewed from beneath, 1/2.
2. Leaf, 3.
3. Cross-section of leaf, enlarged.
4. Branchlet with partly opened cone, 1.
5. Cone-scale with seeds, 3.]
+PINACEAE+
+Hemlock+
_Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr._
HABIT.--A large tree 60-80 feet high, with a trunk 2-4 feet in diameter; forming a rather broad, open, somewhat irregular-pyramidal crown of slender, horizontal branches.
LEAVES.--Spirally arranged around the branch, but appearing 2-ranked by the twisting of their petioles; linear, flat, rounded at the apex; about 1/2 inch long; dark yellow-green and s.h.i.+ning above, h.o.a.ry beneath; short-petioled. Persistent about 3 years.
FLOWERS.--April-May; monoecious; the staminate axillary, short-stalked, light yellow, about 3/8 inch long, composed of subglobose cl.u.s.ters of stamens; the pistillate terminal, oblong, pale green, 1/8 inch long, the scales short, pinkish.
FRUIT.--Autumn of first season, gradually losing their seeds during the winter and falling the next spring; oblong-ovoid, acute, short-stalked, red-brown cones, about 3/4 inch long; seeds 1/8 inch long, with wings about twice as long.
WINTER-BUDS.--Ovoid, obtuse, red-brown, slightly p.u.b.erulous, 1/16 inch long.
BARK.--Twigs at first pale brown and p.u.b.escent, becoming glabrous, gray-brown; thick, red-brown or gray on the trunk, deeply divided into narrow, rounded, scaly ridges.
WOOD.--Light, soft, weak, brittle, coa.r.s.e- and crooked-grained, not durable, ill-smelling, light red-brown, with thin, darker colored sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.--Throughout the state, with the exception of the south-eastern portion; scarce on the east side of the state, more common on the west, becoming very abundant in Emmet County.
HABITAT.--Prefers well-drained uplands and slopes of ravines.
NOTES.--A favorite hedge plant. Useful for ornamental planting in shady situations.
[Ill.u.s.tration: +Arborvitae. White Cedar+
1. Fruiting branchlet, 1.
2. Tip of branchlet, enlarged.
3. Cone-scale with seeds, 3.]
