Lee Branch   Jess Riddle
  May 18, 2004 12:19 PDT 

Lee Branch is a tributary of Alexander Creek, which is described in a
November '03 post, and drains the section of the Brevard Belt immediately
south of Station Cove. The tall trees are concentrated in four
topographically complex coves south of Lee Branch. The southernmost of
the coves faces east with two small branches running through the area.
The land in between the branches consists of a bench that leads into a low
ridge below and above gives rise to a slope inclined at over 30 degrees.
Tuliptree and pignut hickory form most of the canopy in that area with
some northern red oak and a little siverbell and white ash. Oaks take on
a greater role around the edges of the cove with white, black, or chestnut
dominating depending on the aspect. Some canopy dominants were probably
removed by past logging, but trees over 150 years old remain scattered
throughout the cove. Yellow buckeye forms a midstory along the streams
and rhododendron and dog-hobble occur as scattered clumps in the
understory. Bloodroot and rue anemone are the most common herbaceous
plants with some violets and mayapple also present.

The next cove to the has a much spacer herbaceous layer, probably due to
drier conditions. The ridges bordering the cove rise less than 100' above
the drainage, and second-growth oaks dominate with a few tuliptrees along
in the middle. The cove adjacent on the north side is notably
asymmetrical, and appears to have a very different disturbance history.
One side of the cove consists of a broad, gentle, southeast facing slope
with a poorly defined edge while a short, steep, north-facing slope forms
the other side of the cove. The more gentle side of the cove shows minor
terracing, and the area was clearly farmed in the past. Tuliptree
dominates close to the drainage with some northern red oak, but gradually
becomes less common on the gentler side of the drainage mixing with white
and black oaks. On the drainage small yellow buckeyes shade mayapples
while redbuds bloom over pennywort in the farmed area.

The northernmost of the four coves is more of an open, north aspect slope
with somewhat of a stair-stepped profile. A small ridge and an unnamed
tributary of Lee Branch with a cascade border opposite sides of the area,
and Lee Branch itself flows at the base of the slope. A mix of deciduous
species grow on the lower slopes with the component of oaks increasing
with elevation. Patches of rhododendron and dog-hobble also occur on the
lower slope with some hemlock in the understory. The upper slope is more
open, and rue anemone is the most common herbaceous species.

Species Height Cbh Cove
Ash, White 133.8' 6'9.5" 4
Basswood, White 124.1' NA 1
Beech, American 121.9' NA 4
Hickory, Pignut 155.8' 8'3" 1
Oak, Black 118.9' 11'1.5" 1
Oak, Black 136.8' 7'11.5" 4
Oak, Black 139.1' 6'6.5" 3
Oak, Chestnut 122.9' 7'7" 4
Oak, Northern Red 130.8' 7'9" 3
Oak, Northern Red 130.9' 8'9" 4
Oak, Northern Red 131.1' 13'6.5" 1
Oak, Northern Red 132.2' 8'3" 2
Oak, Northern Red 137.5' 7'7" 4
Oak, Northern Red 138.8' 8'5.5" 4
Oak, Northern Red 143.7' 8'10" 4
Oak, Northern Red 150.0' 6'11" 3
Oak, Scarlet 120.3' 7'10" 4
Oak, Scarlet 128.2' 7'3.5" 4
Oak, White 120.2' NA 1
Oak, White 122.5' 6'9" 4
Oak, White 133.1' 7'10" 3
Sweetgum 130.3' 6'11" 4
Sweetgum 132.2' 5'5" 4
Sweetgum 133.3' 4'4" 4
Tuliptree 150.0' 11'4" 1
Tuliptree 152.0' 8'10" 3
Tuliptree 157.8' 7'8" 3
Tuliptree 160.3' 8'5" 3

The pignut hickory listed above is the second tallest currently known in
the state and the third tallest confirmed by ENTS. Similarly, the two
tallest black oaks listed above are the two tallest known in the state,
and the taller of the two is the second tallest confirmed! The taller of
the two is also fairly young and has potential for further growth. The
tallest of the northern red oaks is the second tallest now located. The
tree would be easy to measure if not for the dense cluster of tuliptrees
surrounding the tree. Consequently, I'm not sure if the two measurements
I took of the tree from approximately 90 degrees apart are of the same
top. The listed height for the tree is the average of the 149.2' and
150.8' measurements. The tree is well under 100 years old, and has plenty
of competition to force continued height growth; the the substantial lean
and advanced basal root may lead to mechanical failure before the tree
grows much taller. The 128.2' scarlet oak is also note worthy as the
second tallest of the species known in the state. The site is also the
third known in the state to support a tuliptree over 160'.

However, an enormous pignut hickory growing on the edge of the bench in
the southernmost cove is by far the most impressive tree in the area. I
measured the tree last year at 154.7'; but that was with a poor shot at
the base, and I knew the tree was taller. That measurement combined with
shooting vertically with the rangefinder made me think the tree would top
160', but not exceed the Chum Cove pignut. Consequently, I spent two
hours one day in March measuring the tree. The lower trunk tapers from
13'6" at grade on the uphill side to 11'5" at bh, and remains just over
11' at six feet above mid-slope! Above that height, the tree extends
another 74.0' to where the trunk forks and spreads into a crown spanning
63'. I took a total of five measurements to four different twigs from
three different positions spanning about 120 degrees. The one twig
measured from two positions yielded 167.8' and 168.2'! The other tops
measured 167.1', 168.2', and 168.53'! Using 168.2' for the height, the
tree has 321 big tree points!

That tree brings the Rucker Index for the Alexander Creek watershed to
140.14', with only the black locust not in the Lee Branch watershed. A
total of 16 species have now been measured over 100' at the site. The
slope by Lee Branch, an area of less than 20 acres, is also remarkable for
supporting five different species of oaks over 120' in such a small area!
Plenty of justification also exists for calling Alexander Creek the land
of the pignut hickories since two of them exceed 150' tall and five are
over 11' cbh!

Jess Riddle
Re: RE: Lee Branch   Jess Riddle
  May 20, 2004 06:10 PDT 

>> Is this a national champion?<<

One of the Georgia barrier islands has a pignut listed at 16'8" cbh with a
huge crown; however, the Lee Branch tree has only 15 fewer points and
probably has much greater volume. The Chum Cove tree may still have the
greatest volume due to the higher point of branching and the remarkably
slow taper of the upper trunk, but the two should still be very close.

Jess