Work meanderings

Part of why I wanted to do this blog was to break free of my cubicle, give my eyes a break, and get some fresh air.  Around 4 today I went for a quick jaunt around the office parks that surround my work and realized there are a great variety of mature trees to explore- some familiar, some not.  As fall is here I need to work quickly if I'm to identify the deciduous species nearby, so I think they'll be my focus for the next week or so.  I'll be given an extra clue having the autumn color at hand.

On today's walk I came across an interesting tree that is beginning to drop bright red leaves:

The leaves are small, not lobed, and have smooth edges.  They are green to start, arranged densely and alternately, with small, dark fruit about the size of a blueberry hanging in clusters:

The tree stands tall and straight and the bark is deeply furrowed:

After some Googling to find an online tree identification key, I came upon Virginia Tech's Tree ID Tools website: http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/tools.htm.  I used the multichotomous key, a type of multiple-choice questionnaire that led me to several possible species.  I liked that the key encouraged me to answer "I don't know" rather than guess and that it included photos and descriptions for each possible answer.

Of the proposed matches, Black Gum, Nyssa sylvatica, appeared the closest.  It is observed throughout the east coast to mid-Florida and as far north as coastal Maine.  The Black Gum is known in the south as the Black Tupelo, with the word tupelo formed from Native American words for "tree" and "swamp".  Though it is naturally found in marshes, it has seen much use as an ornamental tree, such as in the office park I was in today.  Further Googling of "Black Gum" showed me some photos of  what it may look like later this fall - I'll have to check it out!


To sum up:

Plant, animal, mineral:  Plant
Name:  Black Gum (Black Tupelo), Nyssa sylvatica
Coordinates:  42.452192,-71.23506
Location:  Lexington, MA
Sources:  Virginia Tech's Tree ID, Wikipedia