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| Our tree of the week is a recently germinated oak seedling. In the above photograph, we can see the acorn, visible at the soil surface. |
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| So, which species of oak is it? Looking at the pointy leaves, it must be in the red oak group. |
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| The acorn germinated this winter, under a Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii), which was featured on the blog this past September for our Acorn Watch 2022 (found here). The hard outer shell of the acorn resembles a Shumard oak acorn. Furthermore, there are two additional Shumards nearby, and the other oak species in the immediate vicinity are either white oaks or their acorns do not resemble the acorn shell found here. So, leaving aside, at least for now, the difficulty of oak hybridization, it seems safe to say that this is a new Shumard oak in the arboretum collection. |
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| Fortunately, this seedling was easy to dig up and it appears that the new taproot is in good condition. The above ground growth measures nearly the same length as the taproot. |
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| The taproot measures approximately 7 inches in length. |
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| During the digging process, the soil fell away from the root. The new tree had not yet full immersed itself in its surroundings. Hopefully it won't be too traumatized by the move. It has now been added to the grassy slope on the north side of Cline Hall, and it has a full-sun location, with plenty of room to stretch up and out. |
