Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
I found this 1/2 of a beech tree on my new property today. I couldn't get the lighting right to get a good pic - but basically one side of the tree is gone but it still has limbs and everything on the other side.
Unique trees?
- Thread starter Boll Weevil
- Start date
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
^^^^ Really odd.
Could that beech tree have been hit by lightning ?? I've seen trees that were struck by lightning burn out in the groove made by the strike - which for some reason seem to spiral down to the ground in the trees I've seen. That open side seems to be in a spiral pattern. Is it blackened inside at all like it burned slowly ??
Could that beech tree have been hit by lightning ?? I've seen trees that were struck by lightning burn out in the groove made by the strike - which for some reason seem to spiral down to the ground in the trees I've seen. That open side seems to be in a spiral pattern. Is it blackened inside at all like it burned slowly ??
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
It’s hard to tell Bows. I will examine closer next time over there.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
I have a cousin in the family who was a state forester. He's the one who told me about lightning strikes on trees and the effects they cause. He told me that in most cases, the spiral pattern of damage tells of a lightning strike. I noticed that in your pic of the beech.
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
I couldn't say for sure after looking at the tree again. There were some other old beech snags that looked similar.
Got another cool one:
IkemanTx
5 year old buck +
I couldn't say for sure after looking at the tree again. There were some other old beech snags that looked similar.
Got another cool one:
That burl would make one HECK of a woodturned bowl...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
My son and I were just discussing that same thing a few minutes ago. Some of those burls look incredible inside.
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
On a property owned by a relative.
Growing up we had a cottonwood in the bottom of a ditch which must have had another tree fall on it when it was a sapling, bending the top down into the mud. So as it grew there was the upside down "u" of the tree coming up from the roots three feet, then bending over and going back underground before emerging again and going up 20ft. I should see if it's still there...
Cap'n
5 year old buck +
That bark looks like it’s a Post Oak. Incredible that knee can support all that weight.I went back out and got some measurements on the bent tree pictured above to see if it is in the age range to make it a potential Indian marker tree. It is interesting how small trees can look without a human in the picture for perspective.
I am hoping to hear back from the arboriculturist soon and will post what they say.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
I went back out and got some measurements on the bent tree pictured above to see if it is in the age range to make it a potential Indian marker tree. It is interesting how small trees can look without a human in the picture for perspective.
I am hoping to hear back from the arboriculturist soon and will post what they say.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I was out at our woods today walked past our “Knee” tree and I remembered your Indian marker tree comment. It got me thinking about the tree it’s a white oak so I imagine older with the size of it and the knee does point towards Ft Recovery twenty miles away where two really big Indian battles were fought. The Battle of the Wabash where over a thousand Americans were killed in the largest Indian victory in USA history and the siege of Ft Recovery a few years later that the Americans won. Lots of history with St Clair, Anthony Wayne, Little Turtle, Blue Jacket Tecumseh and others... the newly formed American country lost one third of its Continental Army in two days in the first battle.
There used to be an old tree about a mile outside of our town in a woods that was bent over pointing the way to Ft Recovery.
I looked up some Indian marker trees on the Internet and it is very interesting.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
After Ikeman's post it got me thinking about our "knee" tree so I started checking out what the internet had to offer on the trail marker tree's. This Guy Dennis Downes seemed to have devoted a lot of time and research to the topic over the years and had written some books on it even founding a group that researches them. So I found his link to the Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society who I guess are experts on that sort of thing and sent them a pic and some brief info on our tree just to see what they thought.
Within a couple days they emailed me back asking for some more information on our tree along with more specific pics and a measurement, the wife and I went out last weekend and collected the requested info mostly pics and I sent it back to them yesterday.
They replied right away;
"Stan,
Thank you for getting back to us with additional photos and information. It definitely has the size and characteristics to make it a likely Native American Trail marker Tree.
What a cool tree! It is sad that age and other factors are getting the best of many of these trees. We hope that it continues to stand for years to come.
Dennis is hoping to make it to Ohio within the next year for a lecture, maybe if it is within the area of your tree, would you be willing to show him the tree in person?
Thank you again!
Liz Fox
Downes Studio
Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society"
I gave them my contact info and next year we will see what he says. The least this has been is an informative learning process and we may in the end even have a living piece of American history in our woods?
The bad thing is that the back side of the tree is starting to get a hollow spot with age so it's days are definitely numbered. One thing I had never noticed on the tree (because I never really paid close attention to it other than walking by) was that the knob on the knee part kind of looks a little like a face if you look at it like you look at cloud formations.
With my wife right next to the tree it gives a better idea of the size of it.
Also a couple links on the Ft Recovery stuff I cited in my previous post, it's an interesting read on American history and happened twenty miles from my house.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Clair%27s_Defeat
https://armyhistory.org/the-battle-of-the-wabash-the-forgotten-disaster-of-the-indian-wars/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Recovery
Within a couple days they emailed me back asking for some more information on our tree along with more specific pics and a measurement, the wife and I went out last weekend and collected the requested info mostly pics and I sent it back to them yesterday.
They replied right away;
"Stan,
Thank you for getting back to us with additional photos and information. It definitely has the size and characteristics to make it a likely Native American Trail marker Tree.
What a cool tree! It is sad that age and other factors are getting the best of many of these trees. We hope that it continues to stand for years to come.
Dennis is hoping to make it to Ohio within the next year for a lecture, maybe if it is within the area of your tree, would you be willing to show him the tree in person?
Thank you again!
Liz Fox
Downes Studio
Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society"
I gave them my contact info and next year we will see what he says. The least this has been is an informative learning process and we may in the end even have a living piece of American history in our woods?
The bad thing is that the back side of the tree is starting to get a hollow spot with age so it's days are definitely numbered. One thing I had never noticed on the tree (because I never really paid close attention to it other than walking by) was that the knob on the knee part kind of looks a little like a face if you look at it like you look at cloud formations.
With my wife right next to the tree it gives a better idea of the size of it.
Also a couple links on the Ft Recovery stuff I cited in my previous post, it's an interesting read on American history and happened twenty miles from my house.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Clair%27s_Defeat
https://armyhistory.org/the-battle-of-the-wabash-the-forgotten-disaster-of-the-indian-wars/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Recovery
bigbendmarine
5 year old buck +
Behind a Morton barn I had built last year is a shady area under the canopy of a fairly large live oak. Spot struck me as a good option for future BBQs / wild game and fish cleaning station / guys' hang out with a few chairs for when buddies visit and don't want to interrupt the lady folks of the house.
Had admired the live oak from a distance even before building the barn and probably walked / cut grass / etc within INCHES of it hundreds of times. Embarrassed to admit it, but cleaning around it a bit this weekend I noticed for the FIRST TIME the live oak actually has a decent sized hugging partner -- fair sized water oak with a trunk diameter I'd say is somewhere between 20" to 24"and that has been shooting for the sky for quite a few years.
Base of the water oak trunk sits up so tight and flattened against the live oak trunk for the first 6' or so I hadn't picked up on the fact it clearly is a different tree. Wasn't until I looked up this weekend it struck me, "Wait a second... that's NOT a live oak!"
Serious question for anyone in the know... better off to just finish cleaning up around them and let both trees be? Portion of the water oak that grew against the live oak really is flattened and flared where touching. No huge fans of water oaks, but would rather leave it be than risk any injury to the live oak. But if knew it would be better for the long term health of the live oak to kill the water oak, I'd do it in a skinny minute.
Had admired the live oak from a distance even before building the barn and probably walked / cut grass / etc within INCHES of it hundreds of times. Embarrassed to admit it, but cleaning around it a bit this weekend I noticed for the FIRST TIME the live oak actually has a decent sized hugging partner -- fair sized water oak with a trunk diameter I'd say is somewhere between 20" to 24"and that has been shooting for the sky for quite a few years.
Base of the water oak trunk sits up so tight and flattened against the live oak trunk for the first 6' or so I hadn't picked up on the fact it clearly is a different tree. Wasn't until I looked up this weekend it struck me, "Wait a second... that's NOT a live oak!"
Serious question for anyone in the know... better off to just finish cleaning up around them and let both trees be? Portion of the water oak that grew against the live oak really is flattened and flared where touching. No huge fans of water oaks, but would rather leave it be than risk any injury to the live oak. But if knew it would be better for the long term health of the live oak to kill the water oak, I'd do it in a skinny minute.
Last edited:
Turkeyslayer7
Buck Fawn
This is on our property in Missouri. Y’all can guess what we call this tree.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Turkeyslayer7
Buck Fawn
My ol man sitting on a marked tree in the Missouri ozarks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
John-W-WI
Administrator
I'm going with old mans nose
That's amazing. Hard to believe the tree made it what appears to be a long time!
-John
