Walkabout on the Land With a Forest Expert

By Margret Mueller

Several of us (Paul, Hope, Tain, Jeffry, and I) were privileged to explore our land on February 16th with Ken Moore and his wife, Kathy Buck. Ken is the former long-time assistant director of the North Carolina Botanical Garden and clearly knows and loves the woods. We proceeded from Hart’s Nest in balmy weather and made our way to the relatively unexplored “South 40” where the latest trail-building is being done. It soon became apparent that the down-side of walking with an expert is that so much excites them; it can be difficult to make much forward progress!

Here is a sample of some of the interesting facts Ken and Kathy imparted:

• A rather unexpected piece of lore is that Poison Ivy is an important wildlife food plant and should not be cut down unless it is “in the way”, such as in the garden. Wildlife is not affected by P.I.’s toxins. Its flowers are frequented by bees, numerous birds eat the berries, and deer and rabbits browse the twigs.
• We have two types of large trees that have shaggy bark. White Oak has long strips of bark that can be pulled down and off, while Shagbark Hickory’s bark is attached in the middle of each strip and is loose on either end.
• Raspberry canes (yes, we have wild raspberry!) can be easily distinguished from our ubiquitous blackberries because they are round instead of square, are reddish and have a “bloom” (white film) that can be rubbed off, and have fewer, sharper thorns.

Ken’s enthusiasm is contagious and his knowledge prodigious; his contributions to our species inventory are invaluable. Many new tree identification tags have been placed, as well as temporary labeled popsicle sticks and surveyor’s tape. If you come across any of these, take a moment to note what’s alive and well on our land.

 Some of my favorite discoveries were a lovely hazelnut bush right beside the new trail, and a copse of young dogwood trees.