About 30 years ago, in October 1989, a water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) was planted on the mini-island in the upper pond. Over the past decade it has been out of view, obscured by numerous volunteers that took up residence alongside the tupelo: wax myrtles, a flowering magnolia tree, a clump of elderberry and a yaupon holly firmly situated themselves on the island. Despite the competition, the tupelo thrived. It's now a very tall tree.
In August, Hurricane Laura blew through the arboretum and changed the landscape in the upper pond. A large, heavy water oak limb fell into the wetland area, crushing more than a few understory plants. After the necessary clean-up operation, we were left with a nice view of the island and the tupelo trunk. Below, we have a couple of pictures of the upper pond landscape.
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| Today our 'upper pond' is more of a seasonal floodplain. Professor Leuck made the decision to alter the pond dam, to allow water to drain. During the winter and spring, this area usually stays wet with some standing water. Right now, in November, it's dry. Pictured center is the trunk of our tree of the week, the water tupelo. It's very tall. All of its limbs and leaves are out of view. A volunteer flowering magnolia is pictured to the right of the tupelo trunk; the two trunks have grown together. |
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| It's nice to have a good view of the tupelo trunk, to appreciate its characteristic shape. Water tupelos typically have cylindrical trunks that flare out at the base. At a little over 30 years of age, our tree is still relatively young, and as the tree ages, the trunk is expected to swell out even more. In order to give the tupelo plenty of stretching room, it would be prudent to remove the volunteer magnolia. |
