If you need a break in the middle of the madness that is December, you might check out these two walks. Both will focus on a different great piece of Montgomery County, Maryland’s urban forest.On Saturday, December 11, at 10 a.m., arborist Richard Murray will lead a walk in Wheaton Regional which will explore tree architecture and branching patterns. He’ll also discuss how trees compensate for wounding and look at defect patterns in some mature trees in this large urban park. For more info you can contact Richard at treebiologynotebook@shannontree.com or visit the Maryland Native Plant Society website. (MDNPS is sponsoring this event.)
On Saturday, December 18 from 1 – 3 p.m. Diane Cameron will lead a walk for Conservation Montgomery in the McKenney Hills neighborhood. The McKenney Hills Forest is contiguous with an extensive adjacent forest owned by the Montgomery County’s Legacy Open Space Program. Together, the Legacy Open Space Forest and the McKenney Hills Forest constitute an interconnected forest ecosystem totaling 50 acres. This is by far the largest tract of mature forest for many miles around. Public and private experts have noted the uniqueness and spectacular quality of these woods which are within the Capitol View Branch of the Lower Rock Creek watershed. For more information visit the Conservation Mongtomery website or contact them at 240-793-4603. The walk will begin at the end of Hayden Drive, which ends in a cul-de-sac at the site of the future McKenney Hills Elementary School.
2 comments:
Can you tell me the name of the plant in the accompanying photo? I found fallen branches of these dried pods on a walk along a trail in Northern Virginia and they were quite beautiful. I've tried to identify them, but have no luck. Especially since I don't know what the plant looks like before the drying out. I was thrilled to find a photo of them!
The pod in the photo is a seed pod for Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca. Here's a good link to find out more:
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/cm_milkweed.htm
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