Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree Society ISSN: 1933-799X
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BBBuuulllllleeetttiiinnn ooofff ttthhheee EEEaaasssttteeerrrnnn NNNaaatttiiivvveee TTTrrreeeeee SSSoooccciiieeetttyyy VVVooollluuummmeee 333 FFFaaallllll 222000000888 IIIssssssuuueee 444 Colby Rucker Special Issue EEEaaasssttteeerrrnnn NNNaaatttiiivvveee TTTrrreeeeee SSSoooccciiieeetttyyy Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree Society ISSN: 1933-799X Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org/ Volume 3, Issue 4 Fall 2008 Mission Statement: The Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS) is a cyberspace interest group devoted to the celebration of trees of eastern North America through art, poetry, music, mythology, science, medicine, and woodcrafts. ENTS is also intended as an archive for information on specific trees and stands of trees, and ENTS will store data on accurately measured trees for historical documentation, scientific research, and to resolve big tree disputes. ENTS Officers: The Grand Ent—Lord of the Rings, Brother Dave “Stellata” Stahle President—Will Blozan Vice President—Lee Frelich Executive Director—Robert T. Leverett Webmaster—Edward Frank Editorial Board, Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree Society: Don C. Bragg, Editor-in-Chief Robert T. Leverett, Associate Editor Will Blozan, Associate Editor Edward Frank, Associate Editor Pamela Briggs, Production Editor Membership and Website Submissions: Membership is free when you sign up for our discussion group, ENTSTrees, at: http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en. Submissions to the ENTS website in terms of information, art, etc., should be made to Edward Frank at: [email protected] The Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree Society is provided as a free download in AdobeTM PDF format (optimized for version 5 or newer) through the ENTS website. The Eastern Native Tree Society and the Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree Society editorial staff are solely responsible for its content. COVER: Colby Rucker, conservationist and friend. Photo by Edward Frank. © 2008 Eastern Native Tree Society All rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. i VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4 Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree Society FALL 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS COLBY WAS A FRIEND OF MINE, BUT I DID NOT KNOW HIM WELL ...................................................................................................... 1 Edward Forrest Frank, Associate Editor of the Bulletin and Eastern Native Tree Society ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SOCIETY ACTIONS Tentative Date for ENTS Congaree Big Tree Blitz Set..................................................................................................................... 2 New York Passes Heritage Tree Act Honoring Bruce Kershner..................................................................................................... 2 Kentucky Benefit to Help Raise Awareness of Adelgid Threat to Eastern Hemlocks............................................................... 2 World’s Tallest Eucalypt Measured..................................................................................................................................................... 2 ENTS 2008 Rendezvous a Success ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 FEATURE ARTICLES Colby Buxton Rucker: In Memoriam ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Jennifer Troy, Eastern Native Tree Society Great Eastern Trees, Past and Present................................................................................................................................................. 6 Colby Rucker (deceased), Eastern Native Tree Society Maryland’s Tallest Tree Species ........................................................................................................................................................ 41 Colby Rucker (deceased), Eastern Native Tree Society The Rucker Index.................................................................................................................................................................................. 44 Edward Forrest Frank, Associate Editor of the Bulletin and Eastern Native Tree Society POEMS, STORIES, AND MUSINGS Essays on Trees ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Colby Rucker (deceased), Eastern Native Tree Society “A Forest Perspective” and Other Poems ......................................................................................................................................... 53 Colby Rucker (deceased), Eastern Native Tree Society Splitting Firewood and Other Musings............................................................................................................................................ 56 Colby Rucker (deceased), Eastern Native Tree Society Tree Measurement................................................................................................................................................................................ 60 Colby Rucker (deceased), Eastern Native Tree Society SPECIAL BIG TREES The Rucker Tuliptree........................................................................................................................................................................... 63 Will Blozan, President, Eastern Native Tree Society FOUNDER’S CORNER In Remembrance of Colby .................................................................................................................................................................. 64 Robert T. Leverett, Eastern Native Tree Society INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTRIBUTORS ............................................................................................................................................................. 66 Those interested in reproducing materials (articles or photographs) from the Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree Society should contact either the Editor-in-Chief or individual authors directly for permission. ii Announcements and Society Actions Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree Society. COLBY WAS A FRIEND OF MINE, BUT I DID NOT KNOW HIM WELL This issue of the Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree Society is dedicated to the life and works of Colby Buxton Rucker, one of the founding members of ENTS. He passed away from complications of cancer on November 23, 2004. I am serving as a guest editor for this tribute issue of the Bulletin. I first met Colby at an ENTS gathering at Cook Forest State Park in April of 2003. My earliest impression was of him giving a humorous between-session impromptu discussion of tree measuring by a progressively longer and shakier series of poles. He talked of newspaper reporters coming to see his “national champion” trees, which (to their dismay) were of the smaller species. After Will Blozan completed his climb of the Seneca Pine, I had the opportunity to speak with him. We discussed the idea of defining the form of a standard tree, so that trees that did not fit that definition could be documented in a different category and not just be ignored. I don’t believe I ever spoke to him in person again, but this event was the motivation that started my involvement with ENTS, and my becoming the webmaster for the organization a short time later. After the event we began a series of correspondence via e-mail. It got off to a rocky start, but soon we became friends and we continued those e-mails until his death. I know when I was pulling together the website, I reviewed several thousand e-mails posted to the discussion list prior to June of 2003. One of the names I always looked for and read with enthusiasm was that of Colby Rucker. These posts were always well written and thoughtful and presented with a wry sense of humor. They exhibited incredible details of observation reflecting both Colby’s mind of a scientist, and his soul as an artist. He was a remarkable essayist with a wry sense of humor. Most of the articles compiled for this issue are posts made to the ENTS discussion list or to his friend Bob Leverett demonstrating these characteristics. There is a special section of the ENTS website dedicated to these discussions, and his research, essays, and poetry. We all suffered a great loss on his passing. Editing this issue is my personal tribute to Colby. Colby also wrote a number of items that are not included in this issue. Compilations of his big tree lists that are currently out of date are not included, but are available on the ENTS website. Also, the 385-page document A Survey of the Vascular Flora of Anne Arundel County compiled by Colby is much too long for inclusion here, but is available on the ENTS website: http://www.nativetreesociety.org/corner/PLANTS.DOC. He also co-wrote Gems of the Severn, which is currently out of print, but used copies can be found online. A more complete listing of other Colby’s written contributions can be found in his vitae in this issue. Colby Buxton Rucker. Photo by Edward Forrest Frank. I want to end this note with a short poem Colby wrote in 2002: Life Indeed, life is an ecstasy, to be spent freely, to be squandered well. Such moments leave a longer impression, to be treasured, and shared, when possible. Here are ten: To be a child in a world with good mud puddles. A leaf of jewelweed held underwater. Poison ivy foliage on a locust snag on an October afternoon. Cheating the binders on