Benchmark Species

theTreeSpyder

TreeHouser
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
Messages
691
Perhaps from working with numbers of distance, force, cosine etc. i always look for a range lo-hi to look at stuff.
For me locally, in trees, the high range benchmark personal fave is the slower, more tenaciously growing, heavy as lead, tough as iron: Majestic Live Oak.
.
i rate wound sealing, beauty, architecture, strength, mistletoe resistance, lifespan, weight etc. against these beauts.
i see fewer codoms, less blowovers in this spiral grain like braided cable it very carefully slowly grows.
Our water Oaks in contrast grow fast/light/weak/thinner bark that mistletoe seems invade easier,more codoms too, lighter wood;but in time more likely to seem to 'collapse' from own weight and quick overgrowth of this 'water oak' .
Sometimes will see a 'lesser' species of Oak etc., that wouldn't expect to be callousing a wound as well as it does.
Some days this might might make the difference in the coin toss to remove or preserve the giant green thing.
But the comparison will always be against the benchmark Live Oak, as the 'master' species that the rest should want to imitate as much as possible,having the best survival characteristics.
Leveraged limbs fail less often allowing this species to be lower CoG /wider balance set in a domestic sole tree setting.
i don't see this type of 'calculating' to maximizing support with given materials so pronounced as in Live Oaks either.
liveoak-leveraged-compression-growth.png

This was kinda a gracefully slightly curving vertically, but mostly flat/parallel to the ground.
Very heavy wood, US quarter at bottom for size comparison!
This shows the central pith not in the center; have seen that attribute in other species easily;
But not so much ellipse generally whereby the growth materials are scheduled so much on the vertical axis, forsaking the horizontal axis.
Using pith as center; this would show more compression, than the primary modified reactionary wood of tension wood pulling up in closer rings of deciduous Oak; whilst more spacing between compression rings to give support.
Most leveraged tension fibers would pull at ~ load / height of supporting ellipse shape for leveraged distance between tension and compression zones, just as in felling.
Definitively due to the loading needs, to necessitate such actions!
(Realizing in many ways, the Redwoods are literally off my local, small pond scale;but not a worry for me!)
.
i'd think everyone would have a species of tree, probably local; that other trees and their properties are graded against the standard?
 
Being in the same geographical area, I agree with your assessment. The Quercus virginiana is an excellent tree. My pet peeve is the ongoing absurdity of filling entire subdivisions with said Live oaks, planting them in four-foot wide strips of turf between the street and sidewalk and/or a 300 square foot patch of lawn in the front yard surrounded by driveway, sidewalk, house, and a plethora of underground utilities.
 
They did the same thing with them here too. Apartment complexes with little squares of grass or zero scape, mixed with concrete sidewalks, plumbing and electrical. What could possibly go wrong :D
 
Oaks are the standard here as well. Mighty old alba but robur are impressive too. Only old sycamores come close to the oaks for longevity here.
 
Back
Top