Ents,
Overton Park lies within urban Memphis, Tennessee but above the
Mississippi River floodplain. A network of closed roads, trails,
and
a small stream spider across the park's 342 acres of low, gentle
hills
(http://www.parkfriends.net/The%20Old%20Forest.htm).
Lawns with
scattered trees, a nine hole golf course, and a playground
occupy
roughly half that area, but a hardwood forest with many trees
exceeding 150 years old envelops the remainder of the park. The
heavy
and intrusive recreational use and abundance of well established
exotic species obscure the forest's disturbance history, but the
site
has repeatedly been recognized as old-growth (Davis Old-growth
in the
East: A Survey).
gorgeous White Oak
In March, patches of cutleaf toothwort, may-apple, and a yellow
violet
add color to the forest floor. At a larger scale, the colonies
of red
buckeye and Chinese privet grow in the understory, sometimes
with
Japanese honeysuckle crawling over them. Similarly, paw paw,
American
hornbeam, and eastern hophornbeam occupy the midstory in
different
sections, and paper mulberry has invaded one area. The
ubiquitous,
large tuliptrees and cherrybark oaks make the overstory more
consistent, and white oak, sweetgum, and shumard oak are also
common
canopy members.
huge Common Paw-Paw
Species Cbh Height
Ash, White 12'3.5"
120.2'
Cherry, Black 6'11" 106.2'
Hickory, Bitternut 8'8" 124.8'
Oak, Black 11'6" 115.7'
Oak, Cherrybark 15'6" 142.2'
Oak, Cherrybark 17'6" 142.7'
Oak, Northern Red 13'3" 121.0'
Oak, Post 9'7" 103.3'
Oak, Shumard 12'4" 129.9'
Oak, Shumard 14'9" 132.5'
Oak, Shumard 16'5" 135.5'
Oak, Shumard 11'9.5"
137.1'
Oak, White 14'7" 125.2'
Paw paw 1'4" 50.8'
Paw paw 2'3" 51.6'
Sweetgum 10'9" 127.6'
Sweetgum 12'3" 128.6'
Sweetgum 13'8" 136.0'
Sycamore 9'0" 130.3'
Sycamore 12'9" 132.0'
Sycamore 15'4" 136.9'
Sycamore 12'8" 142.6'
Tuliptree 15'1" 147.4'
Rucker Height Index: 131.3'
Tuliptree 147.4'
Cherrybark Oak 142.7'
Sycamore 142.6'
Shumard Oak 137.1'
Sweetgum 136.0'
White Oak 125.2'
Bitternut Hickory 124.8'
Northern Red Oak 121.0'
White Ash 120.2'
Black Oak 115.7'
Rucker Circumference Index: 13.9'
Cherrybark Oak 17.5'
Shumard Oak 16.75'
Sycamore 15.3'
Tuliptree 15.1'
White Oak 14.6'
Sweetgum 13.7'
Norhtern Red Oak 13.25'
White Ash 12.3'
Black Oak 11.5'
Post Oak 9.6'
Former national champion Shumard Oak
The cherrybark and shumard oak heights are new state records for
ENTS
since we had not previously measured those species in Tennessee.
The
northern red oak listed above was the only one seen at the site.
Post
oak is also uncommon in the park, but another individual may be
even
taller; the current height record for the species is 105.0'. The
paw
paw is a potential Tennessee state champion and has a TDI of 163
(max
3'0"?, 58.8'). The sweetgum is also a new state height
record, but
that species had previously only been measured in the mountains.
Jess Riddle & Will Blozan
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