10/14/2019
Arrived at 12:38 pm. Left at 1:25 pm.
Hi guys! Today I chose to focus on the little sapling at my sit spot. I figured since I will be observing this little tree for the rest of the semester, I might as well figure out what kind of tree it is. The sapling is roughly 3.5 meters south of my sit spot. Upon arrival to my sit spot, I noticed that the little tree’s leaves had started to change and fall. Using the Tree Key in the Common Native Trees of Virginia tree guide, I determined that the little sapling is a Flowering Dogwood, which is the state tree and flower of Virginia! I thought that was pretty cool. The tree guide had some pretty cool history on the Flowering Dogwood, such as how the wood is so hard and strong that it was once used to make spools, textile shuttles, handles, and mallets.
I really like this experience. Mainly because I have found it is quite satisfying to go out into the woods and try to identify the different trees. I have mostly been identifying full grow trees, so it was nice to try my hand at identifying a sapling.
It is really cool that you can across the state plant! Are Flowering Dogwoods really common in Virginia?
That’s really cool! I didn’t realize that saplings were so different from one another that you could ID the individual species rather than just the family. It will be really cool as you get to see it change!