Plants-Trees-Flowers | Information Bravo

Inspired by our Book Club selection for this month, I decided to visit the Fisher Museum in Petersham this afternoon. The Museum and Forest are barely a half-hour’s drive away, but I had never been, so the threat of showers notwithstanding, it seemed as good a time as any. Everyone wants to see the 23 dioramas, and they really are worth the visit. I was fascinated by the models which portray the changes in the landscape of central New England. The dioramas were designed and built in the 1920s and 1930s, but what they teach us about human impacts on the environment is a timeless lesson and perhaps even more relevant today. These are the seven scenes depicted:

Pre-European settlement is characterized by mature forests – 1700
Settlers cut down trees to create small homesteads – 1740
Forests have been cleared for intensive agriculture – 1830
Farms are abandoned as settlers move west – 1850
White pine forests now dominate old farmland – 1910
Hardwoods succeed white pines – 1915
Hardwood forests are now mature – 1930

These 3000 acres of forest, owned by Harvard University (yes, yes, that Harvard) since 1907, are open to the public, and apparently there are miles of trails which can be hiked. I limited myself to the two trails which begin at the Museum, the Natural History Trail Through John Sanderson’s Farm, and the Black Gum Trail.

The Sanderson Farm Trail is a self-guided interpretive trail, and they’ve done a really good job. I had no trouble following the map, and each of the 27 points of interest are so well-marked that I didn’t miss a single one. You can even take a virtual tour online. I learned about such matters as evidence for past land use, tree growth, stumps and sprouts, clear-cutting, measuring wood, the meaning of double stone walls, snags, the best trees for lumber, and tree roots.

My map showed the Black Gum Trail as a longer trail heading uphill toward Little Prospect Hill and then passing through a swampy area before doubling back to the Museum entrance. By this time it was raining, but I had my umbrella with me, and in a little over an hour, I had completed the loop. The Hemlock Forest and the Boardwalk were my favorite parts of this trail. Here are some of the photos I took:

11- White pines love open areas

15 - Forest follows agriculture

16 - Stumps and sprouts

22 - Measuring wood

27 - Tree roots

Instruments measure the physiology of hemlock trees

The boardwalk extends for hundreds of feet

The Oakham Open Space Committee and the East Quabbin Land Trust had invited friends and supporters to join naturalists Caren Caljouw, Ron Wolanin, and Tom Rawinski on a guided tour along one of the Oakham Wildlife Management Area trails this morning, so with a vague notion of where I was going, I headed for the intersection of Gaffney and New Braintree Roads around 8:40. Not surprisingly, though my destination was hardly 7 miles from my home, I got terribly lost and only by sheer luck did I meet up with the group of about 25 shortly after 9 am. Thank goodness we have guides for the hike, I thought to myself.

The naturalists introduced us to a variety of species, both plant and animal, which inhabit this forested tract of land. Here are some names I’m able to decipher from my scribbled notes: Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum), False Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina racemosa), Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus), Woodland Milkweed (Asclepias), Indian Cucumber (Medeola virginiana), Cat Brier (Smilax rotundifolia), Hay-Scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula), Beechnut (Fagus grandifolia), Maple Leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium), Red Eft (Notophthalmus viridescens), Huckleberry (Vaccinium), Partridge Berry (Mitchella repens), Oak-Apple Gall Wasp (Amphibolips confluenta), Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum), Shadbush (Amelanchier), Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia), Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule), Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia), Hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium), Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens), Black Birch (Betula lenta), Yellow Birch (Betula lutea). Woodland lore included these interesting tidbits:

Plants in the Lily family are often edible (commercially grown asparagus is a Lily)
Invasives are also found here but the area is not overgrown with them
A “Wolf Tree” is a large tree which stands by itself and is generally older than nearby trees
The Lady Slipper Orchid requires specific soil conditions; it is not a generalist
Bright red coloring in animals is often a warning coloration signifying “poisonous”
Native Americans made extensive use of woodland plants for food and medicine
The word “aspirin” is formed from “A” in acetyl chloride plus “Spir” from Spiraea ulmaria
Porcupines do not throw quills, which are in fact mildly antiseptic

For me, the highlight of our woodland walk was the sight of magnificent black gums (Nyssa sylvatica) clustered together in a swampy area off the main trail. Cores taken from some of these trees by researchers from the Harvard Forest indicate that they may be 500 years old! The tupelos are known as the longest-lived of the deciduous trees (conifers live to be much older).

We returned to our cars a bit before noon, feeling exhilarated by the sunshine and greenery. Here are some of the photos I took to document these extraordinary sights.