Willow oaks can be some of the biggest hardwoods in the South,
and Arkansas is no exception. I have three such trees to report
upon, one of which approaches the current Arkansas state record.
I've sent pix of these trees to Ed to post on the website, if he
can.
The first willow oak comes from the small town of Beebe, AR
about 30 miles northeast of Little Rock on the transition
between some of the low, rocky ridges of the Ouachita Highlands
province and the Mississippi River Delta (this tree is above the
delta on a low ridge comprised of bedrock (some type of shale or
sandstone). This tree has been open grown its entire life, and
the family who contacted me about it claims that it dates back
to the pre-Civil War period when it was part of a slave-holding
plantation. I could not confirm its age with an increment corer,
but it is possible. Anyhow, the dimensions are as follows:
Common name Scientific DBH CBH HT(sine) HT(tan)
AvgCrwn
name (in) (ft) (ft) (ft) width(ft)
willow oak Quercus phellos 50.3 13.2 80.7 83.7 91.8
red mulberry Morus rubra 33.3 8.7 34.5 -- 34.5
Beebe, Arkansas Willow Oak |
Beebe, Arkansas Mullberry |
I reported
both the sine and tangent heights because the Impulse 200LR that
used quickly and directly calculates the tangent height (which I
can then report to the landowner), but needs to be adapted to
produce the numbers to calculate sine height. The red mulberry
was not a monster, but it was impressively stout. I didn't take
a tangent height of this individual because of its funky lean,
but the sine method worked superbly (34.5 feet is not tall, but
for this species, it is a pretty impressive tree).
The next willow oak is a clarification of a then unknown
individual from my first official ENTS report:
| |
| |
The
following oak is found on the north side of
campus, near one of the
entrance roads, but in a non-descript small
bottom:
willow
oak??? Quercus phellos??? 61.0 16.0 107.4
This
is a massive tree, with a broad crown spread,
and large, thick
branches. It had apparently grown in more open
conditions
initially, but is now surrounding by other oaks,
gums, and ashes,
some of which are 20+ inches in DBH. I am not
entirely sure of the
species, but it is probably a willow oak.
|
|
Turns out
that yes, it is a willow oak, and it is on some private property
just north of the UAM campus. So, the final ENTS stats for this
individual are:
willow oak Quercus phellos 61.0 16.0 101.2 --.- --.-
UAM
Willow Oak (The person in the photographs is one of our forestry technicians,
Kirby Sneed.)
|
This is an
impressive tree that is probably 150 to 200 years old. I'm not
sure which limb I used for the previous height, but I feel
better about this one, given the technique and the visibility of
the top branches from this new angle (I didn't take a tangent
reading from this point). The final and most impressive
individual is actually growing in a yard off of Main Street in
Monticello. I finally contacted the residents today, and they
graciously gave me permission to measure the willow oak:
willow oak Quercus phellos 67.7 17.7 91.8 105.0 104.2
 |
 |
 |
| Monticello, Arkansas Willow
Oak |
This monster
is only a little smaller than the co-champion willow oaks listed
for Arkansas, which average about 76" DBH and 122 feet wide
crowns (and ~108 feet tall, using the tangent method). The crown
of this tree is enormous and vibrantly healthy. Note the
considerable difference in heights (91.8(sine) versus 105.0(tan)
feet). The highest leader is not directly above the bole, and
would be almost impossible to spot from the ground. I get more
confident with the sine method every time I use it!
I hope to send some more reports on the stands of the area,
although as leaf-out is almost complete down here, it becomes
very difficult to peer through the woods, so some of this work
may have to wait until next fall/winter/spring.
Viva Quercus phellos!!
Don Bragg
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don C. Bragg, Ph.D.
Research Forester
USDA Forest Service
Southern Research Station
|