Tell ya what. If you like trees and plants and dont know what dendrology means, you better take a lil time and learn about it. I'm not saying "learn Dendrology," I'm saying learn what it means. A little warning, it can lead to excessive tree spotting, questions like "what kind of leaf was it?" & "did it have three needles or five?" and various inquiries like that. BUT, (and I never start sentences with BUT) if you like trees and plants, you'll never look back. It is the education of identifying trees or plants.
Being a Bend native, I'd heard of sage, juniper, and the majestic ponderosa pine. Also in my hunts for an X-mas tree, I had run across the the noble fir, incense cedar, and an occasional spruce tree. Sure we did eventually learn about bitterbrush and rabbit brush and some of the grasses. Woodcutting, I learned how to tell a lodgepole from a Tamarack and others of the PINACEAE family. PINACEAE, he said? What the hell is that? It sounds like Pine with a pretentious flair. Well, it is pine. No pretension. Basically, anything with needles is of the PINACEAE family. Not all but most needled species are PINACEAE.
OK, now that I've gotten you all confused , here is where it gets simple. Everything has an order and in dendro, EVERYTHING has an order. Here's an easy one: Pinus ponderosa. If you can identify that one and post it, you will win a prize. OK, too easy....let's try Pinus Lambertiana. Yea, it's a pine (or needled tree) but what kind is it? That will earn a special prize, think cone. Or this one, Pinus Contorta, its clue is that : it keeps you warm in the winter [in C.O.] See how crazy this can get? I know I'm 'nerdin' out here but I've got to tell you, it's fun. It is an empowering feeling to learn the vegetation that surrounds you and know its effects on its/your surroundings. We all know what a Homo sapien is but what is a Salix babylonica or an Arctostaphylos patula? Hopefully you all aren't saying " F-you Gilly, you're trying to brainwash us." I am.....but I'm not. It's your decision to learn if you should call manzanita, Arctostaphylos or call a willow, Salix. I'm not writing rules, I'm just following rules (for a change) and these 'Greek" sounding things were Greek to me a month ago. Now I can identify alot of plants in their proper (latin) names. I'm not telling you to go there but if the interest is there, DO go there. Did you know there are three different kinds of Ceanothus within Deschutes county. WTF is Ceanothus you say? I say google it. How about 3 different kinds of manzanita in Deschutes county? Yea, buddy, its here. OK, to sum this up, "I'm going off the rails on this crazy train" -John Michael Osbourne (aka OZZY)
I have become the plant geek. I'm not sure that deserves 'title' status just yet, but I'm working on it. Trees and plants kick ass and their benefits are immeasurable. So to coin an old Joy Bus song......I'm all wrapped up, all tied up, all tangled up in Dendro........
Tree fans, check it out. The rest of y'all, just know: "There's more to a plant than meets the eye."
Now that school is out.................."geez, Gilly why you gotta make us learn shit when we just want to melt into Facebook and see what's going on....?"
OK, here's you're Tech Tales for this week:
Who the hell said that the internet was easy?
I don't know. I just thought it was a good way to start a Tech Tales. The internet is a great resource but a major pain-in-the-ass at the same time. Filtering information would be great if I had a tie-in to my brain. I dont, so filtering still sucks. It's as easy as mining gold. Just about one-ton of material to sift through and about 1-ounce of worthy prize. I'm tech'd out for the night, I've still got trees on my mind.....Cornus stolonifera......Amelanchier alnifolia.......Chrysolepis chrysophylla.............red osier dogwood, Pacific serviceberry, and golden/giant chinkapin. AHHHHH, I gotta run b4 I go totally nerdo-matic on y'all.
Thanks for lookin' and I'll be back to tell you why gawd created cowgirls, sagebrush(artemisia tridentata) and all the other relative things pertaining to the title of this blog. It might be a journey but I'm glad you've hung in there and followed.
Carmen, oooooot
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