Striped Maple, #66, and more   dbhg-@comcast.net
  Jul 18, 2004 15:50 PDT 
ENTS:

   Well, Friday and today were good ones for MTSF and a return to big tree numbers. On Friday, several off us spent time coring trees. Of course a measurement or two had to take place. Dave King was curious about a striped maple. The result was a 60.4-foot height for the state record. A circumference of 1.8 feet gave the tree a high height to diameter ratio, but we haven't been tracking understory species, so I'll hold off passing judgment on that. 

Later a 151.0-foot confirmation in the ENTS grove added number 66 to the list. Not bad.  Today a measurement of the still growing Jake Swamp tree yielded 165.1 feet. What can I say?


Bob
RE: #66 and more   dbhg-@comcast.net
  Jul 20, 2004 04:01 PDT 
Ed:
    I'm sure Will can beat the 60-footer Mohawk striped maple in the Smokies. I think he already has, probably more than once. I've measured shad bush in Mohawk to 62 feet. I'll begin to pay more attention to the understory plants.

....

Bob
RE: #66 and more   Will Blozan
  Jul 20, 2004 04:06 PDT 

Ed,

I have (laser) measured two striped maples over 70' in the Smokies, the
tallest at 77'.

Will
RE: #66 and more   Robert Leverett
  Jul 20, 2004 06:56 PDT 

Will:

   You obviously have the champion. Sixty feet is pushing the limit in
western Massachusetts. Maybe we'll eventually go to 62 or 63, but not
more.

   As the years have passed, I've noticed more and more white pines in
the Berkshire region creeping up in stature. So, today it is a very
different forest from the one I was introduced to 29 years ago. Certain
areas are much more interesting.

   I didn't get to track individual candle growth on the white pines
this year like I had hoped, but this I will tell you, the extension is
still occurring. The Jake tree seems to still be adding inches. I'm
reasonably pleased with the 165.2-foot measured height. Although, I
admit that seems excessive in terms of the difference from the Oct 2001
taped height of 160.9. On the other hand, there could have been a
problem on the tapping. Who knows? Regardless, until the tree is climbed
again, the calculated height of 165.2 is the number. This sets the
Rucker Index at 134.84 for Mohawk. I suspect that some of the other
champs have lost height, so the 134.84 is probably not a concurrent
figure, but encompasses a 2-year interval.

    The one exciting fact is that many of the 150s are only 110 to 150
years of age and growing like hydras. I really have no idea what the
maximum potential is. However, left to grow, lots of the current Mohawk
150s probably have the potential to grow 15 to 20 more feet - I think.
Is there a possibility for a 180? yes, but probably only one or two.
    

Bob