Wadakoe's north end (SC)   Jess Riddle   Mar 03, 2005 09:11 PST  Wadakoe Mountain, elevation 1865', rises some 900' on the southern edge of the Blue Ridge in Pickens County, South Carolina. The small coves on the northeast corner of the mountain were the last to be searched for tall trees, generally due to more difficult access than other parts of the mountain. The coves turned out to have greater oak dominance and lack some of the high nutrient indicators, such as paw paw and black walnut, that occur in coves that begin higher on the mountain. Both drier conditions and location near a change in bedrock may explain part of those relative differences. The northernmost sections of the coves had dense heath understories, lacking on the rest of the mountain, and are most likely underlain by a somewhat acidic nice rather than the calcium rich amphiboles that occur higher up the mountain. However, section of the coves closest to the steep slopes of the mountain proper support some exceptional trees growing in canopies of unremarkable height, and revisiting some of the adjacent coves yielded some pleasant surprises. Cbh Height Species NA 136.2 Ash, Green 6'2" 129.0' Basswood, White 7'1" 153.4' Locust, Black 7'7" 133.3' Maple, Red 9'3" 114.3' Oak, Black 6'?" 123.0' Oak, Black 4'8" 124.7' Oak, Black NA 111.1' Oak, Chestnut 7'5" 133.6' Oak, Chestnut NA 131.1' Oak, Northern Red 10'9" 147.4' Oak, Northern Red 5'3" 118.0'+ Oak, Scarlet NA 125.2' Oak, Scarlet Small 117.8' Pine, Shortleaf 4'9.5" 114.8' Pine, Virginia 7'2" 156.3' Tuliptree 5'10" 157.4' Tuliptree 6'9" 160.8' Tuliptree 9'4" 161.3' Tuliptree 4'9" 108.0' Tupelo, Black The green ash is a remeasurement, and the only individual of the species over 130' on the mountain outside of one cove that contains three individuals over 140'. Growth intervals on the upper branches appear to be slightly under a foot in length. The basswood also has a couple of well defined, dominant leaders, and has already reached the second greatest height known for the species in the state. The black locust seemed like the real find of the day although it too had been previously measured. On the original summertime measurement for the tree I had to guess the location of the base, and the tree was still the tallest measured on the mountain at 136'. Revisiting the tree, I discovered the grapevine shrouded silverbell, spicebush, and pawpaw around the base had hidden more of the lower trunk than suspected. Extending a telescoping pole to 15' did little to help counteract the effect of the vines, which are likely largely responsible for the three foot discrepancy in heights. The 153.4' figure comes from throwing out the highest measurement and averaging the other two. The tree looks every-bit of it's height since natural disturbances have afforded a clear view of the entire tree down to the grape vine shroud. The tree stands just upslope of talus produced from a low volume waterfall. Even though the tuliptrees farther down the cove have only reached approximately 150', the locust now stands approximately 20' taller than any other locust on the mountain and over nine feet taller than any other locust in the state. The red maple also appears to be an anomaly. The next tallest I have measured in the SC mountains is nearly 20' shorter, and the previous state height record in the Congaree is over 10' shorter. The shagbark hickory like bark, unusual for maples in the area, first attracted my attention to the tree, and the weaving, off-center branches made the overall height quite surprising to me. The black, chestnut, and northern red oak heights are all new bests for the mountain. The northern red oak stands at the top of an otherwise unexceptional ravine sheltered by forest covered slopes inclined at over 40 degrees. The base is somewhat swollen to support the offset main trunk, but the entire crown is ascending and upward pointing. While this tree is the forth tallest known in the state behind one on the Whitewater River, one at Tamassee Knob, and another in the Brevard Belt. Tall northern red oaks are far scarcer and more scattered at Wadakoe than at Tamassee Knob. Unfortunately, Hurricane Francis took down the tallest known scarlet oak in the state, but several others in the vicinity, including the two listed above, survived the storm The virginia pine survived Francis unscathed, but time has still caught up the tree. The pine's foliage was quite thin, so it will probably not survive much longer. The 114.8' figure is the second highest measured in the state. Rucker Index 161.3' Tuliptree 153.4' Green Ash 153.4' Black Locust 152.6' Pignut Hickory 147.4' Northern Red Oak 137.1' White Pine 136.6' Mockernut Hickory 133.6' Chestnut Oak 133.6' Shortleaf Pine 133.3' Red Maple 144.23' RI That index places Wadakoe firmly in the third position in SC, behind the Congaree and Tamassee Knob/central Brevard Belt. Jess Riddle RE: Wadakoe's north end   Robert Leverett   Mar 03, 2005 10:59 PST  Darian:    Will Blozan has measured them to even greater heights in the Smokies. He has broken 160. Reference the ENTS website tall tree Listing    162.0’ 6’ 1.0”    152.2’ N/A    148.4’ 4’ 10.0”                                        In the Northeast, so far, roughly 126.6 ft is our best. Black locust is a remarkable species, north or south.    When we review our discoveries/confirmations of the past decade, a picture of species potential begins for me that leads to the possibility of even grander pre-settelement forests than I had heretofore believed - at least in large areas of the South. Bob   Home