Sassafras and an Ancient Choctaw Creation Story

Or, How Sassafras Saved the Life of the Last Person on Earth

When the missionaries first came to the Choctaws in Mississippi in 1818, this tradition was told them about as follows: In ancient times after men had lived a long period upon the earth they became very corrupt and wicked, and deluged the earth with so much blood and carnage that the Great Spirit finally decided to utterly destroy them. He, therefore, sent a prophet among them, who went from tribe to tribe and from village to village proclaiming the fearful tidings that the race was soon to be destroyed. No one paid any attention to him, however, and people went on in their wickedness as carelessly as ever. But one year, with the coming of autumn, mists and clouds gathered over the earth, so that there was no sun shining by day nor did the moon and stars light up the gloom of night. The situation grew gradually worse until the earth became shrouded in total darkness. The air was chill and all animate nature became silent. People too became silent and perplexed, but yet they gave no evidence of repenting for their evil deeds. They were compelled to find their way from place to place by light of torches.

The food that they had stored away became mouldy and unfit to eat. Soon the silence of the skies was broken by muttering thunder. As time went on, the thunderings grew louder and spread to almost every quarter of the sky. The wild beasts, overcome with terror, lost their dread of man and crept up around the village fires that gave the only relief from the general darkness and cold. People grew despondent, and the death songs were chanted everywhere. The Medicine Men could offer no explanation and had no hope to offer the striken people. But yet there was no repentance, no turning of a sinful people back to the Great Spirit – only a sullen fatalism.

One day very suddenly there came a crash of thunder much louder than had ever been heard before. The whole earth seemed to shake and tremble with the reverberation. Then, as people looked towards the north, they seemed to see a light – the first they had seen for many a long dark day. But whatever hope may have been aroused in their breasts was dissipated. For what they saw was not the return of the long lost sun, but it was the gleam of a great mountain of water, advancing in great billows from the north, covering the entire earth and destroying everything in its path. With the cry, “Oka Falamah, Oka Falamah” (the returning waters, the returning waters) the doomed people turned away in one last vain effort to escape. But there was no escape. The whole earth was soon covered even to the tops of the mountains by the vast flood, and men and animals alike perished, leaving only a desolate wilderness of waters.

Of all mankind, only one remained, and that was the mysterious prophet who had so faithfully yet vainly proclaimed the warnings of the Great Spirit. This prophet had been directed by the Great Spirit to build a raft of sassafras logs, upon which he floated safely above the destroying flood, while he gazed sadly upon the dead bodies of men and beasts as they floated past him in the dark waters.
The prophet floated aimlessly about for many weeks, until at last one day he saw a large black bird circling over his raft. He cried to it for help, but the bird only uttered a few harsh croaks and flew away to be seen no more. Some days later the prophet saw a smaller bird, bluish in color, with red beak and eyes, hovering over the raft. Again he asked this bird if there was a spot of dry land to be found anywhere in the waste of waters. It hovered over him for a few moments as if trying in its soft mournful voice to give the desired information, and then flew off towards the west where the new sun was again setting in splendor. Almost at once a strong wind arose which carried the raft in the direction in which the bird had gone. All night, it floated on under the moon and stars which shone again with renewed brightness.

When the sun rose the next morning the prophet saw in the distance an island towards which his raft seemed to be drifting. Before the sun went down again, the raft had moved along until it touched the island, and the tired prophet landed, and glad to be on the earth once more, he lay down and slept until the sun rose the next day. Much refreshed, he then began to look about the island, where to his surprise, he found every variety of animal formerly found on the earth (except the mammoth), and all the birds and fowl also. Among the birds he noticed the great black bird that had visited and deserted him upon the waters. This bird he named “fulushto” – the raven – always thereafter regarded as a bird of ill omen by the Choctaws.

He was overjoyed also to find again the little bluish bird that had hovered over him and caused the breeze to blow that brought his raft safe to the pleasant island. Because of its beauty and of its kindly deed he named this bird “Puchi Yushuba” (Lost Pigeon).

The prophet lived on this island for many days, until finally the waters passed away, and the earth once more took its former appearance, with hills, valleys, and grassy prairies. Then the strangest of all things happened Puchi Yushuba was changed by the Great Spirit into a beautiful young woman, who soon became the wife of the prophet, and by their children the world was repeopled. But the Indian people never again became so rashly disobedient to the Great Spirit, and never forgot the lesson of Oka Falamah, the “Returning Waters.”

By W.B. Morrison
For more legends of the Choctaw, see http://mike-boucher.com/wordpress/?page_id=43

Sassafras albidum



Tri-lobed leaves of S. albidum


Is there a more intriguing name than Sassafras?  This eastern North American species is native from southern Maine and southern Ontario west to Iowa and south to central Florida and eastern Texas. It occurs throughout the eastern deciduous forest habitat type, at altitudes of sea level up to about 5000 feet.  It once occurred in southern Wisconsin, but is extirpated there as a native tree.

Sassafras albidum is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 30 feet tall (less in its northern range) with a trunk up to 2 feet diameter (also less in its northern range) and a crown with many slender branches. The bark on trunk of mature trees is thick, dark red-brown, and deeply furrowed.  The shoots are bright yellow green at first with mucilaginous (slippery) bark that turns reddish brown and in two or three years begins to show shallow fissures. The leaves come in three different shapes, all of which can be on the same branch; three-lobed leaves, unlobed elliptical leaves, and two-lobed leaves; there are rarely more than three lobes. In fall, they turn shades of yellow tinged with red. The flowers are produced in loose, drooping, few-flowered racemes in early spring shortly before the leaves appear; they are yellow to greenish-yellow with five or six tepals (petals and sepals) It is usually dioecious, i.e., has male and female flowers on separate trees.  Pollination is by insects. The fruit is a small, dark blue-black drupe containing a single seed that ripens in late summer; the seeds are dispersed by birds. All parts of the plant are aromatic and spicy—like the root beer made from the bark. The roots are thick and fleshy, and frequently produce root sprouts which can develop into new trees.


 

Flowers



Fruit

It prefers rich, well-drained sandy loam, but will grow in any loose, moist soil. Seedlings will tolerate shade, but saplings and older trees demand full sunlight for good growth; in forests it typically regenerates in gaps created by wind. Growth is rapid, particularly with root sprouts, which can reach 15 feet in 4 years. Root sprouts often result in dense thickets, and a single tree, if allowed to spread unrestrained, will soon be surrounded by a sizable clonal colony, as its roots extend in every direction and send up multitudes of shoots.

A colony with many shoots

Sassafras is often grown as an ornamental tree for its unusual leaves and aromatic scent. Outside of its native area, it is occasionally cultivated in Europe and elsewhere. The wood is dull orange brown, hard, and durable in contact with the soil; it was used in the past for posts and rails, small boats and yokes for oxen, though scarcity and small size limit current use. Some is still used for making furniture. An essential oil, called sassafras oil, is distilled from the root bark or the fruit. It was used as a fragrance in perfumes and soaps, food (sassafras tea and candy flavoring) and for aromatherapy. The smell of sassafras oil is said to make an excellent repellent for mosquitoes and other insects,[citation needed] which makes it a nice garden plant. Acids can be extracted from bark for manufacturing perfumes. The essential oil was used as a pain killer as well as an antiseptic in dentistry.  The pith is used to soothe eye inflammation.

The root or root bark is used to make tea, although most commercial so-called sassafras teas are now artificially flavored as a result of the 1976 FDA ban on sassafras oil containing safrole, a potent carcinogen. A yellow dye is obtained from the wood. The shoots were used to make root beer, a traditional soft drink beverage carbonated with yeast, which owed its characteristic odor and flavor to the sassafras extract. Most commercial root beers have replaced the sassafras extract with methyl salicylate, found in wintergreen and black birch (Betula lenta) bark. A safrole-free sassafras extract is now available for flavoring. The dried and ground leaves, which do not contain safrole, are known as filé powder.  

Filé is still used for thickening sauces and soups in Cajun, Creole, and other Louisiana cooking, notably in the dish filé gumbo.  Early Louisiana  settlers learned about filé from the Choctaw Indians.  With an earthy taste that is similar to thyme combined with savory, ground sassafras will lend a unique flavor to stews, sauces and other hearty dishes. It also serves as a thickening agent but should only be stirred in at the end of cooking. If allowed to boil, filé powder will cause a liquid to become stringy and unappetizing.  

Seafood and Chicken Filé Gumbo Serves 3-4

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour

4 Tbsp Creole Seasoning

1 Cup Onions, diced

1/2 Cup Green Bell Pepper, diced

1/2 Cup Celery, diced

1 Cup Andouille sausage, sliced or diced

1/2 Cup Tasso, diced

3 Tbsp Garlic, chopped

8 Cups Shrimp or Seafood Stock

3 Fresh Bay Leaves

4 Chicken Thighs, boned cut into 1″ pieces, then seasoned liberally with Creole Seasoning

2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

Hot Sauce to taste

1 lb. Fresh Shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 Dozen Oysters, shucked

Kosher Salt to taste, if necessary

2 Tbsp Italian Parsley, chopped

1/4 Cup Thinly Sliced Green Onions

Boiled Rice

Fresh French Bread

Filé Powder and hot sauce at the table

Mix your onion, celery, and bell pepper (known down in Louisiana as the Holy Trinity).  Heat the oil in a cast iron dutch oven over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook to make a milk chocolate-colored roux. Add the Andouille, 1 Tbsp of seasoning, and 3/4 of the Holy Trinity, cook, stirring often, for about ten minutes or until the vegetables soften. Gradually whisk in the stock, then add the remaining seasoning, and garlic. Bring to a boil, then down to a simmer for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and simmer until cooked through. About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve add the shrimp, cook until done, then add the oysters and cook until the edges curl. Add the Worcestershire, Hot Sauce, and 1/2 of the Green Onions. Serve with boiled rice and crusty French Bread. Garnish with green onions and parsley.  Pass hot sauce (for those who like it hotter) and filé powder (for those who like it thicker) at the table.

A word of caution:  Commercial filé often contains no sassafras at all and won't taste right or do the thickening job it is supposed to do.  To make your own 100% filé powder, first find a sassafras tree.  Take some branches (traditionally during the August full moon) with young leaves and hang them in the sun sheltered from rain to dry for a week (this can also be done in a low oven at 200 degrees in a shorter time).  When the leaves are dry, remove the leaves from the stems and pulverize  in a mortar and pestle, a spice grinder, or a food processor.  Press the powder through a  fine sieve to remove all of the little twigs, and tough pieces.

Store in the dark in an airtight container.





A yummy chicken & seafood filé gumbo with rice. Pass the Tabasco







Liriodendron tulipifera, State Tree of Indiana, Kentucky, & Tennessee

Liriodendron tulipifera, also known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tuliptree, tulip poplar, yellow poplar (not a poplar at all,but so named for its resemblance to poplar's fluttering leaves), whitewood, or canoewood (Appalachian Native Americans used them for their dugout canoes) is the tallest eastern hardwood.  A member of the Magnolia family, it is native to eastern North America from southern Ontario to central Florida and from Illinois through New England.  A majestic tree, it can grow to as tall as 190' with a 10' diameter trunk in virgin forests of the Appalachian Mountains, often with no limbs until it reaches 80-100' tall, making it a very valuable timber tree. It is fast-growing, but doesn't exhibit the common problems of wood weakness and short lifespan often seen in fast-growing species. It flowers in April in its southern range, June in more northerly areas. The flowers are pale green or yellow (rarely white), with an orange band on the tepals*.  Nectar is produced from the orange areas; in a good nectar-producing year, nectar will 'rain' from the trees in a breeze.  Trees generally start blooming at around 15 years old.

Two of these trees are probably the oldest living things in the New York metropolitan area.  The Alley Pond Park Giant in Queens is more than 135' tall and possibly as much as 450 years old.  The Clove Lake Colossus on Staten Island is more than 120' feet tall with a more massive trunk**.  The oldest known specimen was discovered near Forge Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; its age is estimated to be over 500 years--thus getting its start around the time of Columbus' voyage to the New World in 1492.

Large, beautiful flower of L. tulipifera

Leaf and bark

The tulip tree makes a stately landscape specimen in deep, well-drained loam rich in organic matter.  Grown in full sun, it does not attain maximum height; this is a result of its shade intolerance, so the tallest specimens are found in forests reaching for the sun.  There are several cultivars, some of which are relatively diminutive, such as 'Ardis Dwarf', a mere 12-18' tall, for smaller spaces; there is also a fastigiate (narrow columnar) form.  Because of its beauty, it has been introduced in many parts of the world, including west of the Mississippi River outside its natural range in North America. 

Young specimen showing brilliant fall color

The species is a major honey tree, producing a strongly flavored reddish honey much loved by bakers, but which gets mixed reviews as a table honey.  The soft, fine-grained wood of tulip trees is known as poplar or yellow poplar in the states, but marketed abroad as "American tulipwood" other names. It is very widely used where a cheap, easy-to-work and stable wood is needed. It is the wood of choice for use in organs and commonly used for siding clapboards. Its wood may be compared in texture, strength, and softness to white pine.  It has also been used for the interior finish of houses, for siding, for panels of carriages, for coffin boxes, furniture stock, veneer, pulpwood, and wooden ware. It has a reputation for being resistant to termites, and in the Upland South (and perhaps elsewhere) house and barn sills were often made of tulip poplar beams. 

The fruits provide food for squirrels in the late fall and winter months, and white-tailed deer often browse on the twigs.



Massive trunk of mature specimen near Forge Creek in Great Smoky Mountains NP

Photo copyright:  Neil Pederson

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~adk/oldlisteast/Spp/LITU.html

*The outer part of a flower sometimes referred to as petals and sepals.
**See http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/10/arts/a-rendezvous-with-2-giants.html

Ilex glabra

We've been going by the habitat restoration regularly to check on our planting.  We're now sure it is the deer that have been pulling over our cages intended to protect the trees and shrubs.  A fellow who lives across the street and helps us put the cages back up told us he sees them do it.  The deer regularly visit him, snacking on everything in sight.  There are two young'uns and a doe with a limp.

There are 6 Ilex glabra (meaning smooth, related to the leaf surface) in the planting, a native holly with several regional names, including inkberry, Appalachian tea, dye-leaves, evergreen winterberry, and gallberry (the source of gallberry nectar honey, popular in the plant's southern range).  Native to the eastern and south-central parts of the country especially along the coastal plains, it is one of the very few evergreen shrubs (broadleaf or narrowleaf) that thrive in acidic wet sites, but it will adapt to various soil pHs as well as dry soils.  It is noted for its evergreen foliage and upright, spreading, and suckering shrub growth habit when in species form, but the compact cultivars serve as an alternative to boxwood in situations where a refined but taller and faster growing broadleaf evergreen is needed and an alternative to Japanese holly when a more cold-hardy broadleaf evergreen is needed.

In addition to being an excellent shrub for naturalized and wet areas, Ilex glabra functions well for foundations, borders, group plantings, mass plantings, formal or informal hedges, backgrounds, or specimens.  It takes well to shearing, an asset for a shrub that otherwise has a tendency to legginess, and is adaptable to full sun or full shade.   The foliage has a fine texture and thick density until maturity, when it may become average to open in its density unless it has been periodically sheared.

The flowers are insignificant, well-hidden among the dense foliage.  The fruit is a drupe*, green maturing to reddish, then to inky black, whence the common name.  Unsheared, the shrub may grow to 5-10', but may be maintained at any desired height by shearing any time of year.

  Inky black berries

Dense evergreen foliage

  There may be 5-7 petals

Another desirable feature of this extremely adaptable shrub is its resistance to deer damage.  Although no plant is deer proof, plants in the Rarely Damaged, and Seldom Severely Damaged categories would be best for landscapes prone to deer damage. Plants Occasionally Severely Damaged and Frequently Severely Damaged are often preferred by deer and should only be planted with additional protection such as the use of fencing, repellents, etc. Success of any of these plants in the landscape will depend on local deer populations and weather conditions.  Ilex glabra is is the Seldom Severely Damaged category.  If your garden is plagued by deer, you can look for plants that will best meet your needs at the very useful site http://njaes.rutgers.edu/deerresistance/.  A final reason for planting Ilex glabra:  It is threatened in Maine, New York, and Connecticut and considered extirpated in the state of Pennsylvania.

*A fruit with an outer fleshy part surrounding a pit or stone with a seed inside.  Examples are peach, apricot, mango, olive, coffee, most palms, pistachio, cherry, plum, and almond.  Brambles such as blackberry and raspberry are aggregate fruits composed of clusters of drupelets. If the fleshy outer part of a drupe is actually dry or fibrous, such as the coconut, it is called a husk, and the fruit is classified differently.  In the case of mulberries, their multiple, not aggregate fruits are actually derived from bunches of catkins (flower clusters), each drupelet thus belonging to a different flower.

Meet Amelanchier canadensis

This temperate region native of the Northern Hemisphere has so many common names it is probably futile to search for them all.  Shadblow, Juneberry (because some species' fruit ripens in June), serviceberry,  shadbush, shadwood, sarvisberry, wild pear, saskatoon or saskatoon (derived from the Cree Indian name; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is named after it) berry, sugarplum or wild-plum, Eastern shadbush, amélanchier (derived from the Provencal name for a European species) du Canada and chuckley pear, not to mention  numerous cultivars.  If you know of another local name, please drop a comment.  At least one species is native to every state except Hawaii as well as every Canadian province and territory.  There are a few species in Europe and Asia.
The genus comprises  about 20 species of deciduous-leaved shrubs and small trees in the Rose family (Rosaceae), though there is considerable disagreement about this among experts because hybridization and asexual seed production complicate the identification of species.  The various species grow from extensive, low shrubby patches only a few inches tall to 65 feet tall.  Some are single-trunk trees; some are multistemmed shrubs that may be coppiced, that is, cut back nearly to the ground using a traditional method of woodland management that induces new growth from the base of the plant; plants managed in this way never die of old age, but are maintained in a perpetually juvenile state.  Coppicing also restricts the size a plant can attain in a season, keeping naturally larger specimens from attaining full size so they can be maintained in smaller gardens; such plants are especially suitable for bonsai.  For more on this interesting subject, see  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing.

Amelanchier plants are important to wildlife and are preferred browse for deer and rabbits. Heavy browsing pressure can suppress natural regeneration. Caterpillars such as Brimstone Moth, Brown-tail, Grey Dagger, Mottled Umber, Rough Prominent, Satellite, Winter Moth, Red-Spotted Purple and White Admiral as well as various other  insects feed on Amelanchier. Many insects and diseases that attack orchard trees also affect this genus.
The fruit of several species are excellent to eat raw, tasting somewhat like a blueberry, strongly accented by the almond-like flavour of the seeds. Fruit is harvested locally for pies and jams as well as to flavor wine, beer, and cider.  The saskatoon berry is harvested commercially; Canadian growers are positioning their crops as "superfoods" because of their high nutritional value. One version of the Native American food pemmican was flavored by serviceberry fruits in combination with minced dried meat and fat, and the stems were made into arrow shafts; other forms of pemmican used chokecherries, huckleberries, or cranberries, depending on location in North America, and season.

Amelanchier fruit resembles the blueberry

The wood is brown, hard, close-grained, and heavy. The heartwood is reddish-brown, the sapwood lighter in color. It can be used for tool handles and fishing rods.

Widely used as an ornamental plant, Amelanchier canadensis attracts wildlife to the garden and provides interest in all seasons.  Below, white spring flowers sway gracefully in the breeze:



Fall color is another outstanding feature of A. canadensis; hybrids may be redder; the many and varied stems of this grove will provide winter interest

Propagation is by seed, divisions, and grafting. Serviceberries graft so readily that grafts onto other genera, such as Crataegus (quince) and Sorbus (ash), are often successful.

Meet the River Birch, Betula nigra

Betula nigra (River Birch or Water Birch) is a species of birch native to the eastern United States from New Hampshire west to southern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and east Texas. It is most often found on sandbars and islands in streams. It also grows on stream banks, lakeshores, and floodplains. These trees usually form their own thickets.

A fast-growing deciduous (loses its leaves) tree, it attains a height of 80, rarely to 100’, with a trunk up to 2',  rarely 5’, diameter.  It often has multiple trunks. You can see an example of one nearing maturity in the Community Garden; it is at the end near Artspace right on Terry Street. 

The attractive bark is variable, usually dark gray-brown to pinkish-brown and scaly, but in some individuals smooth and creamy pinkish-white, exfoliating (peeling) in curly papery sheets. The older the tree, the darker the bark.

River Birch Bark

The twigs are smooth (glabrous) or thinly hairy and odorless when scraped. The leaves are alternate, ovate, 1.5–3” long and 1.2-2.4” broad, with a double serrated (double toothed, meaning there are large teeth on top of smaller teeth) margin and five to twelve pairs of veins.

River Birch Leaves

River Birch has two different flowers: male and female. Male flowers grow in the fall. These catkins are reddish-brown and stay on the tree through the winter. In early spring these catkins bloom and produce lots of pollen. Female catkins grow in the spring and get wind-pollinated. The female catkins then turn into fruit, a cone filled with hairy seeds that travel by wind and water. The fruit is unusual among birches in maturing in late spring; it is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts. 

Male Catkins Above a Female Catkin

River Birch Fruit

While its native habitat is wet ground, it will grow on higher land, and its bark is quite distinctive, making it a favored ornamental tree for landscape use. A number of cultivars with much whiter bark than the normal wild type have been selected for garden planting, including 'Heritage' and 'Dura Heat'; these are notable as the only white-barked birches resistant to the bronze birch borer Agrilus anxius.

Other trees and plants found growing with River Birch include: American Sycamore, Red Maple, Silver Maple, Black Willow, American Hornbeam, Yellow Poplar, Blackgum, Black Cherry, American Elm, Sugar Maple, Boxelder, Mockernut Hickory, American Beech, ash, Sweetgum, Pin Oak, American Basswood, and Buttonbush.  

Birch seeds are eaten by many birds, including Carolina Chickadee and Wild Turkey. Voles and shrews also eat seeds.

White-tailed Deer eat leaves and twigs. Beavers eat bark. Rabbits eat seedlings (baby trees).

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers drill holes for birch sap. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, squirrels, and various insects drink sap as well.

Native Americans used the boiled sap as a sweetener similar to maple syrup and the inner bark as a survival food. It is usually too contorted and knotty to be of value as a timber tree, but is used for making children's toys and artificial limbs because of its strength.  It is also used for local enterprises such as the manufacture of inexpensive furniture, basket hoops, and turned articles.   Because of its tolerance to acid soils, river birch has been used successfully in strip mine reclamation and erosion control.

 

Plant Me, Please!

PS  I've been checking the planting each day.  So far the resident deer have not bothered any of the trees or shrubs.  Keeping fingers crossed!

Restoration Begins

Why a native plant restoration? 

Over time aliens have invaded the New World landscape.  Alien plants, that is.  Some made their way naturally via off-course or migrating birds, for example.  Some were no doubt imported from Asia in the time of the land bridge and before the invention of customs and immigration.  Our pioneer ancestors brought with them the things they needed to continue life as they knew it back on the old sod.  Whether herbs, fruits, vegetables, flowers, or trees, along with their livestock came the plant stuff of home.

Some of our best known and loved plants did not originate in the Americas.  The apple, for example, originated in Western Asia.  There are now thousands of varieties growing all over the world; they are not invasive.  Many other alien plants, however, are worse than useless, they are invasive and crowd out native plant species; in doing so, they deprive wildlife of their natural habitats, causing highly specialized species to become endangered.  An example of such an invasive plant is the multiflora rose, originally imported for grafting because of its vigor; its vigor is precisely what is wrong with it, for, although birds enjoy its tasty hips, it swarms over everything in its path.  You've seen it covering acres in June, up to the treetops, dripping small white blossoms, a pretty thing, but devious; it also harbors rose rosette disease, which can quickly infest and kill other roses.  The mighty American chestnut was brought down by a bark fungus that arrived on imported Asiatic chestnuts.  States spend millions of dollar year after year to control purple loosestrife, banned for purchase or sale in many states; it has spread and degraded wetlands across the country since the early 19th century when it arrived as a contaminent of European ship ballast.  Every state but Florida is infested.

In short, the invasion of noxious alien species wreaks a level of havoc on America's environment and economy that is matched only by by damage caused by floods, earthquakes, mudslides, hurricanes, and wildfire. These aliens are quiet opportunists, spreading in a slow motion explosion. Every gardener and every person with an interest in a healthy environment needs to learn to recognize these aliens, avoid planting them, and participate in rooting them out.  For more information and an interim list of invasive plant species, visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/265.html.

Our Story

After much planning and waiting for tree selection and delivery and the right time for planting, the Bay Avenue Native Habitat Restoration Project next to the old Winona Hotel* began.  Several volunteers convened at the site at 7:30 AM on Saturday, September 24, to receive the trees.  Paula Murphy and her little truck had already made two trips to DPW where the trees had been delivered.

The volunteers also included Village Trustee Lori Devlin, who initiated the Tree Committee and got the grant to purchase the trees.  The hard-working planting team included, in addition to Paula and Lori, Lori's husband John; Jo Miller, Jessica McAvoy; Village Arborist Ivan Frank; John Bogack; and Karen & Tom Ferb.  Anyone is welcome to join the committee; just ask Lori Devlin to be put on the mailing list to be notified of events and meetings.

Paula & Tom deerproofing--yes, deer live here!  Covering the trees with netting took longer than the actual planting.  We hope the advice we got was good and works.

Jessica on mulch duty.  Mulching helps conserve moisture in the soil.

Three of the trees were too big for Paula's truck and will be delivered later.  When they go into the ground, the total number of native trees and shrubs on the site will be 60.  A path winding through them has been staked out and will be mulched.  It is our dream to build a raised wooden walkway on it.  Along the way more native plant material will be added.

Liquidambar styraciflua, aka Sweet Gum.  That's Ivan Frank, Village Arborist at the rear right and the Winona at the left rear

Let me introduce you to our new trees, one at a time.  Today's tree Acer rubrum, red maple, also known as swamp, water or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It is the most common deciduous native on Long Island.  It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas. It grows to 30' to 50’ at maturity in 70-80 years and has a lifespan of about 150 years.  It is aptly named since its flowers, petioles, twigs, and seeds are all red to varying degrees. It is best known for its brilliant flaming crimson fall foliage.

Red  maple is adaptable to a very wide range of site conditions, perhaps more so than any other tree in eastern North America. It can be found growing in swamps, on poor dry soils, and most anywhere in between. It grows well from sea level to about 3,000’.  With its attractive fall foliage and pleasing form, it is often used as a shade tree for landscapes. It is used commercially on a small scale for maple syrup production as well as for its medium to high quality lumber.

A young specimen red maple in the landscape

An excellent specimen tree and one of the top five shade trees in use in its range, the red maple is suitable for planting in parks and urban areas (but not near paving) as well as home gardens.  For the smaller garden or in other tight areas, there are narrow cultivars.  The red maple is also suitable for bonsai.  Below is a list of some cultivars**.  Our new red maples are not cultivars; they are the native species, as are all the trees that have been planted in our native habitat restoration.

• 'Armstrong' - Columnar to fastigate in shape with silvery bark and modest orange to red fall foliage
• 'Autumn Blaze' - Rounded oval form.  The fall color is orange red and persists longer than usual
• 'Autumn Flame' - A fast grower with exceptional bright red fall color developing early. The leaves are smaller than the species.
• 'Autumn Radiance' - Dense oval crown with an orange-red fall color
• 'Autumn Spire' - Broad columnar crown; red fall color; very hardy
• 'Burgundy Bell' - Compact rounded uniform shape with long lasting, burgundy fall leaves
• 'Columnare' - An old cultivar growing to 70' with a narrow columnar to pyramidal form with dark green leaves turning orange and deep red in fall
• 'Gerling' - A compact, slow growing selection, itonly reaches 30 ' and has orange-red fall foliage
• 'October Glory' - Has a rounded oval crown with late developing intense red fall foliage. Along with 'Red Sunset', it is the most popular selection due to the dependable fall color and vigorous growth.
• 'Red Sunset' - The other very popular choice, this selection does well in heat due to its drought tolerance and has an upright habit. It has very attractive orange-red fall color and is also a rapid and vigorous grower.
• 'Scarlet Sentinel' - A columnar to oval selection with 5-lobed leaves resembling the silver maple. The fall color is yellow-orange to orange-red and the tree is a fast grower.
• 'Shade King' - This fast growing cultivar has an upright-oval form with deep green summer leaves that turn red to orange in fall.
• 'V.J. Drake' - This selection is notable because the edges of the leaves first turn a deep red before the color progresses into the center.

John Devlin working with Sassafrass, whom you will meet later

*The Winona restoration is ongoing; when complete, the building will house the Patchogue Village Department of Parks and Recreation.

**Cultivar:  A plant variety produced in cultivation by selective breeding and usually designated in the style Acer rubrum 'October Glory'.