Birches (Betulaceae) – LIFE IN THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVER WATERSHED

October 27, 2023October 28, 2023

Visit South Mountain for the Brightest Foliage Display You’ve Ever Seen

Where should you go this weekend to see vibrantly colored foliage in our region? Where are there eye-popping displays of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens without so much brown and gray? The answer is Michaux State Forest on South Mountain in Adams, Cumberland, and Franklin Counties.

South Mountain is the northern extension of the Blue Ridge Section of the Ridge and Valley Province in Pennsylvania. Michaux State Forest includes much of the wooded land on South Mountain. Within or adjacent to its borders are located four state parks: King’s Gap Environmental Education Center, Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Caledonia State Park, and Mont Alto State Park. The vast network of trails on these state lands includes the Appalachian Trail, which remains in the mountainous Blue Ridge Section all the way to its southern terminus in Georgia.

Pennsylvania State Parks on South Mounatin — In Pennsylvania, the forested highlands of the Blue Ridge Section of the Ridge and Valley Province are known as South Mountain. Much of South Mountain lies within the boundaries of Michaux State Forest. Stars indicate the locations of 1) King’s Gap Environmental Education Center, 2) Pine Grove Furnace State Park, 3) Caledonia State Park, and 4) Mont Alto State Park. A drive on US 30 between Gettysburg and Chambersburg will take you right through Michaux State Forest along an east to west axis while a scenic northbound or southbound trip along PA 233 will bring you in proximity to each of the state parks located therein. (Base image from NASA Earth Observatory Collection)

If you want a closeup look at the many species of trees found in Michaux State Forest, and you want them to be labeled so you know what they are, a stop at the Pennsylvania State University’s Mont Alto arboretum is a must. Located next door to Mont Alto State Park along PA 233, the Arboretum at Penn State Mont Alto covers the entire campus. Planting began on Arbor Day in 1905 shortly after establishment of the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy at the site in 1903. Back then, the state’s “forests” were in the process of regeneration after nineteenth-century clear cutting. These harvests balded the landscape and left behind the combustible waste which fueled the frequent wildfires that plagued reforestation efforts for more than half a century. The academy educated future foresters on the skills needed to regrow and manage the state’s woodlands.

Online resources can help you plan your visit to the Arboretum at Penn State Mont Alto. More than 800 trees on the campus are numbered with small blue tags. The “List of arboretum trees by Tag Number” can be downloaded to tell you the species or variety of each. The interactive map provides the locations of individual trees plotted by tag number while the Grove Map displays the locations of groups of trees on the campus categorized by region of origin. A Founder’s Tree Map will help you find some of the oldest specimens in the collection and a Commemorative Tree Map will help you find dedicated trees. There is also a species list of the common and scientific tree names.

The Yellow Buckeye (Aesculus flava) is a tree found in the forests of the Blue Ridge Section of the Ridge and Valley Province in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. You can see it in Pennsylvania by visiting the collection of trees in the Arboretum at Penn State Mont Alto.

The American Chestnut can be difficult to find due to the impact of chestnut blight, but you can see it in the Arboretum at Penn State Mont Alto.

Shagbark Hickory is a common tree in the forests of South Mountain.

The Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium), a native of Europe, is naturalized throughout eastern and south-central Pennsylvania and is one of the more than 150 species of trees in the arboretum’s collection.

Sweet Birch (Betula lenta) foliage is particularly bright yellow on South Mountain this autumn. It really “pops” against the backdrop of the evergreen Eastern White Pines and Eastern Hemlocks. During less-than-ideal years, Sweet Birch leaves can subtly transition from green to drab brown without much fanfare before falling.

You might have a difficult time finding a Common Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) growing wild in Pennsylvania, but you can find it in the Arboretum at Penn State Mont Alto.

The autumn leaves will be falling fast, so make it a point this weekend to check out the show on South Mountain.

March 3, 2023August 14, 2023

Plantings for Wet Lowlands

This linear grove of mature trees, many of them nearly one hundred years old, is a planting of native White Oaks (Quercus alba) and Swamp White Oaks (Quercus bicolor).

Imagine the benefit of trees like this along that section of stream you’re mowing or grazing right now. The Swamp White Oak in particular thrives in wet soils and is available now for just a couple of bucks per tree from several of the lower Susquehanna’s County Conservation District Tree Sales. These and other trees and shrubs planted along creeks and rivers to create a riparian buffer help reduce sediment and nutrient pollution. In addition, these vegetated borders protect against soil erosion, they provide shade to otherwise sun-scorched waters, and they provide essential wildlife habitat. What’s not to love?

The following native species make great companions for Swamp White Oaks in a lowland setting and are available at bargain prices from one or more of the County Conservation District Tree Sales now underway…

The Red Maple is an ideal tree for a stream buffer project. They do so well that you should limit them to 10% or less of the plants in your project so that they don’t overwhelm slower-growing species.

The River Birch (Betula nigra) is a multi-trunked tree of lowlands. Large specimens with arching trunks help shade waterways and provide a source of falling insects for surface-feeding fish. Its peeling bark is a distinctive feature.

The Common Winterberry with its showy red winter-time fruit is a slow-growing shrub of wet soils. Only female specimens of this deciduous holly produce berries, so you need to plant a bunch to make sure you have both genders for successful pollination.

American Robins feeding on Common Winterberry. — An American Robin feeding on Common Winterberry.

Common Spicebush is a shrub of moist lowland soils. It is the host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly and produces small red berries for birds and other wildlife. Plant it widely among taller trees to provide native vegetation in the understory of your forest.

Common Spicebush foliage and berries. — Common Spicebush foliage and berries in the shade beneath a canopy of tall trees.

The Common Pawpaw a small shade-loving tree of the forest understory.

The Buttonbush is a shrub of wet soils. It produces a round flower cluster, followed by this globular seed cluster.

And don’t forget the Eastern Sycamore, the giant of the lowlands. At maturity, the white-and-tan-colored bark on massive specimens makes them a spectacular sight along stream courses and river shores. Birds ranging from owls, eagles, and herons to smaller species including the Yellow-throated Warbler rely upon them for nesting sites.

Yellow-crowned Night Herons Nesting in an Eastern Sycamore — Yellow-crowned Night Herons, an endangered species in Pennsylvania, nesting in an Eastern Sycamore.

So don’t mow, do something positive and plant a buffer!

Act now to order your plants because deadlines are approaching fast. For links to the County Conservation District Tree Sales in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, see our February 18th post.