Today, we added a tree to the arboretum catalogue. Some time in the past few years, a toothache tree (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis) volunteered in a dewberry bed on the west side of Mickle Hall. Although its exact age is open to question, the young tree appears to have been happily growing in this location for at least two years.
The parent toothache tree is not far away, at the southwest corner of Mickle Hall. Professor Leuck planted three toothache trees in this spot, with only one surviving today. You can read about those
trees on an older blog post, found here.
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We first took notice of our volunteer toothache tree during the summer. The little tree had grown tall enough to make itself visible, rising above a tangly, prickly mess of dewberry vines.
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Today, we cleared away the dewberry vines (bring your gloves for this job) from the toothache trunk in order to take a good look at the young specimen. There was a noticeable lean in the trunk.
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Measures were taken to correct the lean: the trunk was secured to a single post in order to encourage good posture. A ruler was stuck in the ground to give us an idea of the tree's height⸺the volunteer toothache is already more than 2 feet tall.
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Our little toothache tree is fully equipped with the characteristic spines. Ouch!
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