A few weeks ago I was looking at a pre-settlement PDF. Sure enough, Waukesha county was mostly oak savanna. The location of this hickory was Hartland, just north and east of you. A whole bunch of huge burr oaks and hickories, remnants of oak savanna. This was the biggest hickory I've seen in a while, probably didn't have much around it until recently. Besides a hill that is being well maintained, sadly buckthorn and honeysuckle was gone crazy at this spot.Branches that spread low are an indication that it spent many years in an open area, vs in a forested area. A lot of woodlands have become overgrown since settlement, but the original inhabitants can still be found by their very pronounced spreading branch structure. Look up open oak savanna to get an idea of what things originally looked like in this part of Wisconsin. Here, we're right on the edge between prairie and the beginnings of denser woodlands. Prairie, and open oak savana both predominate. The brush and smaller trees in the background around the hickory were also probably far less dense or non-existent that they are now. Annual fires would have kept competition reduced. A cross section of the branch will show very tight rings on top, wide rings on the bottom. Amazing how they can extend 50ft or more, searching for the light, totally self suported.
We cut down a "yard" balsam fir recently that had branches going straight up the size of whole trees. Tight rings on top, fat on the bottom. I'll have to snag a pic of the log since I want to try and saw them.Branches that spread low are an indication that it spent many years in an open area, vs in a forested area. A lot of woodlands have become overgrown since settlement, but the original inhabitants can still be found by their very pronounced spreading branch structure. Look up open oak savanna to get an idea of what things originally looked like in this part of Wisconsin. Here, we're right on the edge between prairie and the beginnings of denser woodlands. Prairie, and open oak savana both predominate. The brush and smaller trees in the background around the hickory were also probably far less dense or non-existent that they are now. Annual fires would have kept competition reduced. A cross section of the branch will show very tight rings on top, wide rings on the bottom. Amazing how they can extend 50ft or more, searching for the light, totally self suported.
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