Lopped Trees of Long Island Young Oak Trees to Produce the Curved “Compass Timber” Needed for Wooden Shipbuilding (Albion John E
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Long Island Botanical Society Muttontown Preserve LONG ISLAND Muttontown Lane East Norwich, New York 11732 BOTANICAL SOCIETY Programs Vol. 11, No.4 The Quarterly Newsletter Oct.-Dec. 2001 October 9, 2001* Tuesday, 7:30 PM Lopped Trees of Long Island young oak trees to produce the curved “compass timber” needed for wooden shipbuilding (Albion John E. Potente: John will give a photo- Philip Marshall, 1965), but this was not likely produced on Long graphic slide presentation on native plants with ex- Yale University Island, despite the historical prominence of that amples of a few local habitat restorations in: “Re- industry here. The salient feature of lopped trees storing the Long Island Genotypes”. One of the curious features of the landscape of Long would appear to be their linear association with the Location: Earth Science Center, Island is what is termed “lopped trees”, old oaks edges of old farm fields and the borders of property SUNY at Stony Brook (Quercus spp., usually Q. alba) strangely deformed and where there is one there are usually others to be with right-angle bends in their boles near the base, found in a straight line on either side of it. November 13, 2001* Tuesday, 7:30 PM found along property boundaries (often on roadsides) It is frequently asserted that lopped trees, under the George Davis: George will present us with a and the borders of farmland, and sometimes in the name of “bound trees” or “line trees”, were intended down and dirty look at our world of middle of the woods. Despite their strange and striking as markers of property boundaries, bent over saprophytes in his talk on: “Mushrooms” form, lopped trees are seldom found alone, and can horizontally at sapling size by farmers asserting their Note: Executive Board Meeting @ 6:30PM usually be found in linear arrangements with other ownership of land (e.g. Murphy, [1964] 1991). All members are welcome to attend. similarly contorted trees. The best known examples However, lopped trees and bound trees are not the Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, are a row of trees on the north side of the Northern same. Bound trees, also known by surveyors as Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich State Parkway just east of Route 110 in Melville, but “witness trees”, are indeed mentioned in many land most are farther east in Brookhaven and on the South deeds from the colonial era as markers of boundaries, December 11, 2001* Tuesday, 7:30 PM Fork. Often familiar landmarks, lopped trees are not but these were single Joanne Knapp: Joanne will present a look at natural but are rather the products of human (continued on page 40) manipulation, a part of the cultural landscape. This rare and unusual east coast native wildflowers in her much is accepted, but what was their purpose? slide show “Neat Places-Neat Plants” Lopped trees bear a striking and uncanny Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, resemblance to “trail marker trees” found across the Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich Midwest, oaks bent over when young by Native Americans to indicate the routes of footpaths *Refreshments and informal talk begin at 7:30. (Jannsen, 1940), but no one has ever seriously Formal meeting starts at 8:00 PM. suggested that lopped trees are part of Long Island’s Directions: 516-571-8500 native heritage, even though some people call them “Indian trees”. Although past attempts at coring lopped trees to determine their precise age have been unsuccessful, owing to heart rot (Richard Stavdal, pers. comm.), it has always been assumed that the trees are relics of the early years of European settlement on Long Island. There are records of British landowners pinning down Illustration: Audrey Watson- Wigley A lopped Tupelo tree (Nyssa sylvatica) in Wading River Page 48 Page 37 Long Island Botanical Society Society News An additional note on the Founded: 1986 Incorporated: 1989 White-fringed Orchid Orient Beach Ordeal: Orient Beach State Park contains a recreational The Long Island Botanical Society area for activity and an area that is protected as a preserve. The protected on Long Island, New York is dedicated to the promotion of area is a pristine area that is environmentally sensitive. For that reason the field botany and a greater under- New York State Department of Parks has designated it a protected area standing of the plants that grow and restrictions have been placed upon it to preserve the integrity of the Eric Lamont wild on Long Island, New York. habitat. Limited access for viewing is provided, however, by foot. Rare plants and breeding shorebirds, which have been disturbed and eliminated Executive Board from other beachfront areas are now limited to this unique refuge. Rare For more than 100 years, orchidologists have President maritime plants do not necessarily grow in one spot. They often require recognized that northern populations of the White- Eric Lamont (631) 722-5542 and grow in migrating areas along the beach. Shore birds need a place Vice President fringed Orchid are distinctly different from southern Skip Blanchard (631) 421-5619 with adequate areas to nest, feed and protect their young. They rely upon populations. Southern plants stand twice to four times Treasurer large areas of open sand along the beach to evade predators such as as tall as northern ones, but more significant are the Carol Johnston (516) 676-6648 crows, foxes and raccoons. Recently, a small group argued that they technical differences in the flower. The spur of Recording Secretary would like to utilize this area of Orient State Park, as well, to pull up and southern plants, for example, is about twice as long Barbara Conolly (516) 922-5935 anchor their boats. The idea of having the luxury to pull a boat up on this Corresponding Secretary as that on northern plants, probably to accommodate John Potente (631) 361-6756 beach may seem harmless, but it will degrade and burden the environment the larger southern butterflies that pollinate it. there. This will result in cornering the rare plants and birds into even The robust White-fringed Orchid with its enormous Committee Chairpersons smaller areas within the protected areas and will further jeapordize their brilliant-white flowers is truly conspicuous in the wet Local Flora welfare. Most individuals and boaters understand this and respectfully meadows of the South and in 1896 George Nash Steven Clemants (718) 941-4044 abide by the rules. Deregulating the park habitat guide rules will add to decided to name the plant just that when he described Field Trips the disruption of the rare plant habitat and the interference of the breeding it as a new species, Habenaria conspicua. In 1908, Jenny Ulsheimer (516) 625-0989 for the shorebirds. The small group is pulling local publicity stunts by Oakes Ames concluded that H. conspicua was Programs bringing their boats to shore deliberately, illegally and actively pressuring Zu Proly (516) 676-4023 indeed different from its northern relative, H. Membership the parks department to forfeit the scope of the habitat protection. You blephariglottis, but was not sufficiently distinct to Lois Lindberg (516) 922-0903 may let the parks department know that you support their ongoing vigilance be recognized as a separate species. Ames recognized Conservation to enforce the restrictions maintaining the status quo H. conspicua as a variety of H. blephariglottis. John Turner (516) 829-3368 by writing to: Today, orchidologists still recognize a northern and Karen Blumer (631) 821-3337 Margaret Reilly, Director Education southern variety of the White-fringed Orchid: var. Mary Laura Lamont (631) 722-5542 New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation Long blephariglottis (northern) and var. conspicua Thomas Stock (631) 727-5250 Island Region (southern), usually included in the genus Platanthera. Hospitality Belmont Lake State Park According to Carlyle Luer, author of The Native Betty Lotowycz (516) 676-2047 Babylon, New York 11702-0247 Orchids of the United States and Canada Jane Blanchard (631) 421-5619 Felling Stony Brook Forest: While members of the Coalition to Save Editor (published in 1975 by The New York Botanical John Potente (631) 361-6756 Stony Brook Forest were helping relieve the NYC tragedy, a court decision Garden) the southern variety conspicua occurs allowed the leveling of the remaining portion of the Stony Brook Forest. “locally along the Gulf Coast and ranges along the Membership Ward Melville Heritage Organization promptly initiated a bulldozing southern Atlantic Seaboard as far north as the pine Annual Dues of $15 payable to: operation to knock down the trees of this vestige of America the Beautiful. barrens of New Jersey.” Photo: John E. Potente Long Island Botanical Society For further information you may contact: In 1993, Paul Martin Brown published A Field and Mail to: Coalition to Save Stony Brook Forest: (631) 751-7549. During the past 20 years, I have observed the White- Lois Lindberg, Membership Chairperson Study Guide to the Orchids of New England and 45 Sandy Hill Road New York. To my knowledge, this is the only fringed Orchid in the field on Long Island and have Oyster Bay, New York 11771-3111 publication that describes the range of variety studied herbarium collections at the New York conspicua as extending north to Long Island, New Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New Article & News Submissions York; variety blephariglottis is described as occurring York State Museum, Planting Fields Arboretum, Long Island Botanical Society Editor’s Note: The final portion of “Classification for Mature “inland” throughout New York and New England. Harvard University Herbaria and Cornell University. P.O. Box 5001 Forests and Related Woody Vegetaion on Long Island, New All Long Island specimens of the White-fringed Orchid Hauppauge, New York 11788 that I have examined have been assigned to the [email protected] York” by Andrew Greller has been postponed and will appear in the next issue of the LIBS newsletter.