trees
May 2,2020
Walking along a residential street I was again struck by the question: am I looking at the same plant or different types of plants. This time it was with big plants – trees. I saw dangling hairy catkins on a leafless tree. The bark was smooth, reminding my of beeches. Inaturalist suggested quaking aspens. I think of these as a native Western US species, but being in a suburban neighborhood, anything is possible. A little down the road, another leafless tree with dangling catkins. The bark was slightly rougher, but not a great deal different. Inaturalist suggested a black ash. I looked along the street and saw that there was a row of currently leafless trees with catkin flowers dangling, similar size trees and concluded that these are the same tress, probably planted at the same time to line the street. I think they are more likely to be quaking aspen, but I'll have to check back when the leaves come in.
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I think your observation about the same trees being planted intentionally to line the street is interesting - what are the chances that there are four or five or more trees of the same species in a row that just so happened to grow in that configuration? From what I have observed, when something is too orderly it is almost a giveaway that it is more likely man-made than it is natural. It is also sad to think that we no longer have the same native tree species growing around us that we did in decades past. We are used to our oaks and pines but it is always refreshing to see species that are not so common!
I love trying to figure out what the trees are wherever I'm walking or driving - and it's sometimes much harder than I expect! When I was just starting out trying to learn trees, I found it hugely satisfying that I could identify which trees on my street were maples and ashes just by seeing that they're opposite-branched (and of course checking them against a field guide - like you said, you never know with street trees!).
Actually, I'm a big fan of a book called "A Beginner's Guide to Recognizing Trees of the Northeast," by Mark Mikolas. It truly is a beginner's guide, but I found it to be a great introduction that immediately made tree ID feel much more accessible. Basically it teaches you a few (20) trees you can learn to recognize from distinctive features, rather than IDing any tree you might see. I found that makes a nice foundation for learning more.
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