North Carolina

    
 


Swannanoa Pignut Climb

 

 

North Carolina

 

 

On March 14, 2010 the Eastern Native Tree Society and Western Native Tree Society switched from discussion lists on Google Groups to a new discussion list in a Bulletin Board format at: http://www.ents-bbs.org/index.php  Posts made since the inception of the BBS on March 14, 2010 will be sorted and archived on the BBS. Click on the link to go to the equivalent section on the new BBS. This website will continue to serve as a front end for the ENTS and WNTS groups. It will continue to serve as a repository of older posts, and will serve as the host site for special projects and features that are not well suited for a BBS format. Please visit the BBS for the latest information and trip reports.

 

Field Trips

 

 

  • Nantahala National Forest   I have been looking through the newsletter for the Arbor Day Foundation (March/April 2010) and came across two men next to a huge tree in Nantahala National Forest. The photo is by Lamar Marshall. The article focused on the Chunky Gal trail, Boteler Peak and the Tusquitee Bald roadless area. There was a 53-acre parcel that was slated for... more »  March 12, 2010.  Mistake about my Nantahala National Forest post 
  • Pink Beds Tree Hunt ENTS,   I have been planning a return to the Pink Bed's in PNF to do some off trail searches for large or unusual trees and since I went on Sunday to do a little Worship in the woods. The day started off really well, upon Entering Pisgah National Forest on 276 passing the Ranger Station and Riding Stables I noticed a huge Pitch Pine on the left. I had noticed it before but had never stopped. I had guessed it's girth between 8 and 9 feet. Turning around and pulling off the road beside the tree I thought, " WoW, what a big fella " as I approached it. Upon measuring the tree I found it had a really impressive girth. 10' 1 1/2" cbh!  Second only to a huge Pitch Pine measured recently at Bent Creek. It was 10' 4" cbh. Shooting the laser straight up through the loose crown I got 106.5 feet so I knew this tree was quite tall. Walking well back from the tree and measuring it again I got 112 feet tall. Nice!  The tree splits into a double trunk just above head high.... more »  Mar 10, 2010.
  • Leatherleaf Mahonia ENTS,   In a post made back in January I had found an odd " mystery holly " in the Ramble Grove near Asheville NC that I could not id. ENTS members identified it as Leatherleaf Mahonia for me. I had also stated that the plant looked familiar. It turns out that my dad who lives in Lowndesville SC has two of them planted near his house. They bloom in winter and are now blooming and very fragrant even though it is February. While the plant superficially resembles holly, unlike holly it has compound leaves. The Berrys are also blue unlike American Holly which has red berries.... more »  Feb 22, 2010.
  • Rudnick Woods_Kellogg Conference Center ENTS,   As a follow up on a recent post concerning the forest on the property of the UNCA Kellogg Conference Center and in response to a flurry of post concerning Bing maps and Google Earth I thought I would give the group an aerial view of Rudnick Forest. The first image is a capture of the entire forest surrounding the conference center. The entire property is in the neighborhood of about 50 acres or so. The second is a close-up of of a big grove of White Pine located within the forest. However the first photo does not show the clear-cut area. It was taken prior to the cutting. Actually a few trees remain in the area but sparse they are.... more »  Feb 16, 2010.
  • Rudnick Forest ENTS,   Sunday afternoon I returned to one of my favorite forests, the Rudnick forest which is on the property of the Kellogg Conference Center of UNCA. I returned to check on the well being of a nice White Pine grove located here and to explore a new area within the forest I located using Google Earth. The first tree I measured was surprisingly a Chestnut! Walking down the trail from the new parking area off South Rugby rd I noticed a burr on the ground and then found more. Then I found the fallen leaves. Just off the trail there stood the tree. Looking closely at the coursely spined burrs and moderately serrated the leaves I id it as an Asian species. Probably Chinese. Still, A Chestnut was a surprise. I have no doubt walked by this tree a number of times without seeing it. Going on I found out that the big pine grove is there and healthy. I was really worried about it since some clearcutting closely approached its borders last year. I also checked out... more »  Feb 15, 2010.
  • Holmes Educational State Forest Fire fighting displays Barry,   Seeing your fire fighting equipment photos from there in the NJ Pine Barrens I thought I would post you some from Holmes State Forest NC. I have been in that tower twice when it was on the mountain. It was removed from Spivey mountain sometime around 1990.   JP Feb 13, 2010.
  • Two Trees ENTS,   Today after work just before dark I decided to check out a couple of decent local trees that I have been meaning to visit for awhile. One is a nice sized Holly located on Naples Rd just above the RR tracks and the Naples Post Office. It is located just a short distance off the road so It was not hard to get to. The tree is 57.8 feet tall and 6' 4" in girth. Not a record but still a nice sized Holly.... more »  Feb 10, 2010.
  • GRGL White Pines ENTS,   Today after church I walked a short distance down the Bishop Branch trail in the Green River Game Lands to measure a decent White Pine that I had seen there a little over two years ago. The Pine is located across Bishop Branch creek near where the trail ( Actually an old road ) crosses another old road. The pine was only 105.3 feet tall. I was thinking it would be a bit taller. Oh, well. I measured another White pine nearby that had a broken top. It was 91.9 feet tall.... more »  JP Feb 7, 2010.
  • Lake Powhatan Trees ENTS,   Today I returned to Lake Powhatan in BCEF to check out a grove of Norway Spruce trees I spotted while visiting the area on Jan 17th.   [link]   The grove is located just past the dam of the lake up on the hill to the left. The " grove " turned out not to be a grove at all but a line of Norways planted along the remnants of an old road. Tromping up the hill along a trail in the snow I get uphill enough to measure the spruces and can get a clear laser shot on both the bottom and tops of the trees. Seeing the trees from across Bent Creek they look really tall. I was thinking 120+. Upon measuring them I noticed by the numbers that the trees were gonna turn out a bit shorter than I had hoped for. I also roughed out a Shortleaf Pine below the grove at 100 feet and I knew right then that the spruces would be less than 112 feet high. Doing the math in the field I found the tallest to be only 109.2 feet tall. Not bad but not the 120 I was hoping for. Oh, well. However, I found one surprise. Sapling Norway Spruce!  A few had come up from seed. That is something I rarely see with Norway Spruce here... more »  James Parton, Feb 6, 2010.
  • Pisgah National Forest History Check out this attached PDF file on a little history of the Pisgah National Forest. If you have more info on the history of PNF please share it!   Hopefully, I have not submitted this PDF in the past.  Jan 31, 2010.
  • Another big snow in the NC mountains ENTS,   Another big winter storm moved into the western North Carolina mountains yesterday evening and by the time it moved through by morning many of us had close to a foot of snow. I had 11 inches at my home here in south Asheville ( Arden ). Keith Carter, a friend of mine had 8 inches of snow at his home near Candler which is located just west of Asheville. I have posted three pictures and Keith sent me three more giving me permission to post them. The forests surrounding Lake Julian are beautiful covered in snow as are the spruce trees near Keith's home on Justice Ridge Rd.... more »  Jan 30, 2010.
  • Bent Creek Experimental Forest_Lake Powhatan addition Ed,   I tried posting this picture directly into the Bent Creek Experimental Forest_Lake Powhatan post I did earlier. I never could get it to go. It is a close up of the trunk of the 10' 4" cbh Pitch Pine I measured there. Could you add it to the post for me? Jan 20, 2010.
  • Carl Sandburg Pines Today I took my daughter Sarah to visit the Carl Sandburg Home in Flat Rock NC which is now owned and run by the National Park System and is classified as a National Historic Site. While taking a long-way-around to the goat barns, we entered the forest via the trail on the back side of Connemara lake. Soon after entering the woods Sarah spied a... more »  January 18, 2010.
  • Bent Creek Experimental Forest_Lake Powhatan Yesterday I got out to explore the area around Lake Powhatan in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest. The BCEF is part of the larger Pisgah National Forest and includes the North Carolina Arboretum. In the past I had sighted a big White Pine near Bent Creek above the lake as well as a Norway Spruce grove that I wanted to get a good look at. According to a site on the web some NS has been in BCEF since 1925 and may have had enough time to exceed 100 feet in height. I intend to see how tall they are.... more »  Jan 17, 2010.
  • Horse Cove, NC  On Saturday, at the suggestion of Josh Kelly and Will Blozan, we followed the Davidson River west from Brevard, NC to explore Horse Cove and East Horse Cove. Ascending to just under 6000’ elevation, the surrounding watershed drains the steep southeastern flank of the Balsam Mountains, and features several granitic domes, the best known... more »
  • Joyce Kilmer trees Here are some images of the many grand trees in NC's Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. The blue day pack is about 15" tall. Dan Miles , January 8, 2010
  • Eaton/Julian Forest ENTS,   Today I continue to explore the forests near my home that surround Lake Julian near Asheville NC. I have done a couple of past posts on the forests near the lake and following these I will label this section of forest section 6.  
    By James Parton  - Jan 7
  • The Ramble Grove_Asheville NC January 2, 2010
  • Snow in Western North Carolina December 19, 2009
  • Grandfather National Scenic Area   December 15, 2009
  • Fall Mountain Ash December 6, 2009
  • 179" black cherry Nov. 7, 2009
  • Lovely neighbors  Oct. 19, 2009
  • Cheoah Hemlock update 9-10-2009  Oct. 18, 2009
  • Hemlocks at Highlands Biological Station, Highlands, NC 9-10-2009  Oct. 18, 2009
  • Padgett Poplar Highlands, NC 9-10-2009 Oct. 18, 2009
  • Super scarlet, Biltmore Forest, NC  Oct. 16, 2009
  • Asheville Country Club, NC Oct. 16, 2009
  • Carolina Trees http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/c77637bd030fdfb6?hl=en March 22, 2009
  • Wright Creek 20-foot circumference Poplar  Feb 27, 2009
  • Carolina Plants Question Feb 21, 2009 http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/9314752eb7fb263b?hl=en
  • Special Places Kellog Center hendersonville NC Feb 14, 2009
  • Bent Creek Experimental Forest Asheville NC Feb 15, 2009
  • Calvary Episcopal Church hollies, Fletcher, NC Feb 12, 2009
  • Mountain-To-Sea Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway  Jan 2009
  • Memminger Tuliptree Measured  Jan 2009
  • Kings Mountain, Dana, NC  Jan 2009
  • Norway Spruce, NC  Jan 2009
  • Huge Vine In Hendersonville  Dec 2008
  • Lake Julian Pine Forest, NC December 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
  • North Carolina Natural Heritage Program:  http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Environment/NCNatherit.html From the forested mountains in the west to the marshes and dunes of the coast, North Carolina contains more natural diversity than all but a few of the other states. This diversity both comprises and is dependent on a wide range of native ecosystems varying from the grassy balds and spruce-fir forests of the mountains to the pocosins and swamps of the coastal plain. Although much of North Carolina's natural landscape has been converted to non-native ecosystems, some remnants of our native ecosystems remain. And it is in these remnants that some of the most rare plants and animals and the best examples of our natural communities of our state survive. It is the goal of the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program to find these remnants, to document their location and condition, to study them and, when appropriate, to facilitate their protection.