Trunks of Washington

[Cruiser]

Most of my day is spent looking at trunks in the forest. This thread was created to share some of the forms, features, and processes I encounter.

Dragon scale bark on this old Larix.

Flanked by associates Abies lasiocarpa (subalpine fir) and Tsuga mertensiana (mountain hemlock).

These burls appear to be caused from repeated epicormic growth and dieback along the trunk.


Young Picea sitchensis (Sitka spruce) Bark exfoliates as curved scales. Like potato chips.



Mature bark also has scales. Becomes blocky around base.

 

[Cruiser]

The big spruce. Baby for scale.


Sitka wood is incredibly strong but not very rot resistant. New branches are ascendant. With added length and foliage they start to level off and eventually bow downwards.


Sword fern and vine maple below. Hemlock and Douglas-fir above. A common sight around here. In late summer, sword fern releases spores en masse, making fieldwork a dusty affair.


A maturing stand in Snohomish County. Douglas-fir dominant. Mature hardwoods, variable composition, and irregular spacing indicate it was naturally regenerated. Old large cut stumps show that it was previously logged.


Populus trichocarpa (black cottonwood)
Our tallest hardwood. Shame that the wood is so weak and often punky. Bark develops into hard, rugged ridges.



Easy cruising in a timber sale named “Stairway to Hemlock.” Trees on dirt. Most understories are not this clear or flat.


A more challenging understory to navigate. Canopy gaps and thinning can create perfect conditions for dense hemlock regeneration.

 

[Cruiser]

Young Acer circinatum (vine maple).

Trunks become brown and textured with age.



Big-leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) develops lattice-like bark. Trunks often become completely coated in mosses, ferns, and other epiphytes.









Bouquets of big-leaf maple. Vigorous stump sprouting helps to create this form.

 

[Cruiser]

Tsuga in Wahkiakum County. Frosted regeneration below the main canopy. Hemlocks cast a deep shade that prevents most other species from establishing beneath them.


Young western hemlock. Grayish/brown bark with lenticels splits into scales.

As bark ages linear ridges develop.

Which thicken over time…


Becoming chunky in old age.



Hemlock roots aggressively seek decaying organic layers to colonize.



When those layers rot away, unusual root structure can be exposed.

 

[Cruiser]

For western hemlock, old stumps and woody debris are prime locations to begin life. (Nurselogs/nursewood)


Three Tsuga vie for space on this nurse-stump they have quickly outgrown.



Thick-flaking bark or the debris skirt of an old fir will also do. Shade-tolerant species that establish in organic piles that build up around large trees are known as minions.


Thuja plicata (western red cedar) and Picea sitchensis (sitka spruce) also enjoy a good stump.

 

[Cruiser]

Douglas-fir:
12 rings

45

60
90

112

120

158

190

220

300+

 

[Mike Westervelt]

Cool Alan, thanks for the ring counts I've always known deeper furrows can indicate great age in Douglas fir but never seen it delineated so clearly.

 

[Kievnstavick]

Thank you for these pictures.

Do you have any more pictures and information on Sitka spruce? I have many seeds planted for sitka spruce to expirement with. Seeing their natural growth habit is quite helpful and informative.

 

[Cruiser]

Thank you for these pictures.

Do you have any more pictures and information on Sitka spruce? I have many seeds planted for sitka spruce to expirement with. Seeing their natural growth habit is quite helpful and informative.

Growth habit and rate is similar to Douglas-fir. Strong top growth with whorled branching. In favorable settings branches grow proportionally long relative to height.

Branch ends may angle upwards. Combined with pendulous branchlets, they look like hooks or spear tips.

Sitka are more water dependent than other spruce species. They’re mostly found along waterways, wetlands, floodplains, and the coast. They’re fairly shade tolerant, though not as much as hemlock or cedar.

Like Douglas-fir, they’re capable of epicormic growth (backbudding) along branches and trunk. They also seem eager to form reiterations should a top break out.

My experience with them in domestication is that they bud easily, especially if you remove side branches while leaving the apex alone. In the wild it’s common to see back budding even under a closed canopy




Have you been to the west side of the Olympic peninsula? There, you will find some of the biggest and most extraordinary spruces that exist. The Big Spruce is easily accessed in Quinault.
Trees along the coast are battered into fantastic and unusual shapes.


Strong freezing winds and salt spray have created a dense flattened canopy at Kalaloch. Growth is angled away from the water and gets taller the further away a tree is.


Constant damage to apices and branch tips creates a lot of deadwood and very dense canopies.

 

[Cruiser]

Thuja plicata (western red cedar). Juvenile bark is smooth, begins to split early in life.



Develops a soft, reddish-brown, vertically-stripped texture. Very easy to peel. It’s appearance does not change much in old age. Native peoples still utilize cedar bark for all sorts of things.






Leave trees in timber sales are marked with blue rings or bound out with Leave Tree Area tags.



Picea engelmannii (Engelmann spruce)
Shedding scaled bark.







Note the spiraling frost crack.
The tree further back to the right is a true fir. It’s top was blown out. A reiteration further down the trunk is helping it survive.

 

[Cruiser]

Abies amabilis (silver fir)


Smooth, thin, blistered, grey bark thickens and starts flaking. Becomes scaley in old age.
Mosses and lichens colonize. Outer layers with resin blisters shed. Bark color starts becoming purplish brown/mottled white-grey-brown.






Old growth silver fir and Douglas-fir.





Silver fir-noble fir-hemlock stand. These species are often lumped together under the label of “whitewood”. Much of it becomes pulp. Boards are sold as “hem-fir”.
Hemlock produces ok lumber, not our best.
Most true firs are known to produce poor quality lumber.
Noble fir wood is actually pretty good, but its reputation is sullied by its name. Old loggers knew this so they referred to it as “larch”.

 

[Kievnstavick]

Growth habit and rate is similar to Douglas-fir. Strong top growth with whorled branching. In favorable settings branches grow proportionally long relative to height.

Branch ends may angle upwards. Combined with pendulous branchlets, they look like hooks or spear tips.

Sitka are more water dependent than other spruce species. They’re mostly found along waterways, wetlands, floodplains, and the coast. They’re fairly shade tolerant, though not as much as hemlock or cedar.

Like Douglas-fir, they’re capable of epicormic growth (backbudding) along branches and trunk. They also seem eager to form reiterations should a top break out.

My experience with them in domestication is that they bud easily, especially if you remove side branches while leaving the apex alone. In the wild it’s common to see back budding even under a closed canopy
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Have you been to the west side of the Olympic peninsula? There, you will find some of the biggest and most extraordinary spruces that exist. The Big Spruce is easily accessed in Quinault.
Trees along the coast are battered into fantastic and unusual shapes.
View attachment 577154
View attachment 577155
Strong freezing winds and salt spray have created a dense flattened canopy at Kalaloch. Growth is angled away from the water and gets taller the further away a tree is.
View attachment 577156
View attachment 577157
Constant damage to apices and branch tips creates a lot of deadwood and very dense canopies.
View attachment 577158
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I haven't made a trip out to the west side as of yet. It is my hope to one day make a trip to see some of the sights and visit the Tree of Life (which inspired me to try growing Sitka as a bonsai).

Thank you for sharing your observations of the species and knowing they back-bud will help with future branch pruning decisions.

 

[Cruiser]

Abies procera (noble fir)
Young trunks look like those of other true firs. Smooth silvery-grey bark with resin blisters. Popping blisters to smell sap can be an additional tool for distinguishing species.

As bark matures it splits into shallow vertical fissures that start at base of trunk and progress upwards.



Mature bark is purple brown or light brown/grey. Texture is somewhat blocky, even-sized chunks. Not scaley like silver fir. Chunks can be broken off to reveal darker color beneath.

 

[Cruiser]

Abies lasiocarpa (Subalpine fir)
Young bark.

Developing

Mature

Living at a high altitude helps slow decay, preserving deadwood and helping rot-prone trees live longer.




Abies grandis (grand fir)
Our live fast, die young fir species.
As far as I know, no trees over 300 have been cored. Odd for the genus, grand fir is commonly found growing at sea level.

Young trunks.


Developing

Mature



This tree at Rosario Bay has a small reiteration growing just above its base.


Mature trees sometimes develop “dinner fork” tops that can be spotted at a distance.

 

[Cruiser]

Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine)
Vibrant orange plated bark. Sweet fragrance emanating from blackened fissures. A park-like understory. What’s not to love?




Cruise outside of Winthrop, WA. The plan is to thin Douglas-fir to promote better growth and regeneration in the pines, remove mistletoe, and reduce fuel load for wildfire prevention.


Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)


Pinus contorta contorta (shore pine)
Trunks develop thick pleasing bark early in life.

 

[Cruiser]

This one Douglas-fir contains more volume (59,086 bf) than a typical acre of state forest. (35,000ish bf/acre)

The diameter side of my logging tape does not measure high enough for this trunk.
Diameter had to be calculated from circumference.


Arbutus menziesii (Madrone)
Constant peeling/flaking bark reveals gorgeous coloration. Genetics, full sun, and a preference for growing on dry sites helps preserve deadwood.
Old sheltered bark sometimes develops into a textured drab purple brown.








Alnus rubra (red alder)
A riparian tree. Considered an indicator species for delineating wetlands. It can grow almost anywhere, provided there’s enough water and sun.



Raft.


Like other broadleaf trees around here, alder often develops a thick coat of mosses and lichens.

 

[Cruiser]

Tsuga mertensiana (mountain hemlock)
Old trees acquire chunky bark with thick ridges.

 

[Mike Westervelt]

The diameter side of my logging tape does not measure high enough for this trunk.
Diameter had to be calculated from circumference.

8 foot?

 

[DonielDoom]

Thank you for posting your experience and perspective. This thread is inspiring and a gold nugget of reference. I appreciate your efforts to catalogue and share these impressive behemoths!

I sure hope you continue to share.

 

[Cruiser]

8 foot?

Pictures rarely do a trunk justice! This one’s 10’ 10”. Dbh above the debris skirt. Total height is 282’.
Over centuries Doug-firs shed enough bark and debris to create a mound around their bases, effectively raising the ground level around themselves. As far as I know, they do not layer, so the actual root base is probably a good 5’ beneath the mound.