On a recent Saturday morning, I took a little time away from the garden, to visit a couple of local natural areas, prompted in part by our Facilites Manager, Nathan Rahrig, who had located a colony of 3’+ tall Arisaema pusillum nearby.
The first stop was a set of narrow streams, carved through a mild ravine. The entire area was a Beech/Oak forest, usually indicating a pH between 5 and 6. The patch of giant Jack-in-the-pulpits, growing in the low swampy drainage (LSD), at the base of the ravine, were indeed amazing. It will be interesting to see if offsets retain the giant size under garden conditions.
Nearby, on a higher plateau was an unexpected sight, an extremely glaucous leaf form of our native white oak, Quercus alba, that we’ve nicknamed Quercus alba ‘Carolina Blue’. We’ve already got grafting help lined up for later this year. In 60+ years of field work, I’ve never seen one with foliage this blue.
Just a short glance away was an amazing clone of American beech, Fagus grandiflora, with weeping tips that resemble the form of a Deodar Cedar…thanks to Doug for pointing out this resemblance.
The pièce de résistance, however, was hanging out on a nearby tree, a gold-foliaged poison ivy. We’ve already christened this, Toxicodendron radicans ‘Gold Bond’, a perfect double entendre for the famed itch relief product.
Fagus grandifolia?
Editing faux pas. Yes, Fagus grandifolia.