Horticulture Highlight: Abies balsamea, balsam fir
little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower
who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see I will comfort you because you smell so sweetly…
-e. e. cummings
Abies balsamea, balsam fir is familiar as the traditional, fragrant, Christmas tree among many people. The human nose can detect thousands of different odors – a whiff of the ocean, freshly cut grass, vanilla, coffee, lilacs, roses, – but many of us experience distinct emotions, reaching back to childhood memories of Christmas when smelling a balsam fir. To quote Helen Keller (1880-1968), “Smell is a potent wizard that transports us across thousands of miles and all the years we have lived.” (more…)
Ilex opaca – American holly
Love is like the wild rose-briar,
Love is like the wild rose-briar,
Friendship like the holly-tree-
The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms
But which will bloom most constantly?
The wild-rose briar is sweet in spring,
Its summer blossoms scent the air;
Yet wait till winter comes again
And who will call the wild-briar fair?
Then scorn the silly rose-wreath now
And deck thee with holly’s sheen,
That when December blights thy brow
He still may leave thy garland green.
-Emily Bronte
Many decorations, especially wreaths, include the leaves and fruit of Ilex opaca, American holly. Native to the eastern United States, Ilex opaca may reach 40 to 50 feet tall in its southern range, but in Massachusetts it is more often a smaller tree, 20 to 30 feet tall, with stiff evergreen leaves. The leaves, 1 ½ to 3 ½-inches long, have several sharp spine-like points along the margin. The leaves remain on branches for two to three years before being replaced by newer leaves. The name opaca means opaque or shaded, and refers to the duller sheen of the leaves and fruit compared to the English holly, Ilex aquifolium.
(more…)Juniperus virginiana, Eastern redcedar
If my decomposing carcass helps
nourish the roots of a juniper tree…
-that is immortality enough for me.
-Edward Abbey
In many an old country graveyard, even those with few trees, one may still come across Juniperus virginiana, Eastern redcedar, its evergreen leaves perhaps once providing a metaphor for eternal life. Native from southern Maine to the Badlands of South Dakota, and south to eastern Texas, and back up through the higher Appalachians, this is a small to medium sized tree, forty to fifty-feet tall at a maximum, but often half that size. Despite its common name this is yet another tree that is not a true cedar, or Cedrus, but rather a juniper.
(more…)Bristlecone Pine, Pinus aristata
Up in the mountains that edge the Great Basin
it was whispered to me
by the oldest of trees.
By the Oldest of Beings
the Oldest of Trees
Bristlecone Pine….
– Gary Snyder
Many visitors to Mount Auburn, come not only to be in the here and now, but also to be conveyed to another place, perhaps across time, that includes significant, even spiritual, memories. Thoughts of loved ones often predominate, but for some, memories also may include flora, or fauna. Recently while stopping here at a Bristlecone Pine, Pinus aristata, I was vicariously, transported to yesteryear, across the United States.
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