Crawfordsville District Public Library will be offering an offsite Spring Tree ID hike on Saturday. Join us as the Library Naturalist leads us on this hike of trees native to Indiana, and their identifying characteristics. Patrons will meet at the library pavilion (in the parking lot), at which time there will be a brief introduction, and a short walk to the Arboretum on Wabash College campus. There, we will learn tree identification based on not only leaf shape, leaf scar, lenticels, and pith, but also flower arrangement and color, bud scales, bud shape, type of bark and type of branching patterns.
As part of the Library Naturalist series, this program will contain tons of valuable information that participants will use for tree identification through a variety of characteristics. Many common trees may be easily identified based on a few criteria and we will discuss multiple ways to determine species based on these simple observations. You may want to record notes in your nature journal for future reference.
If you would like to test your knowledge of trees, we have plenty of books for you to choose from in our collection. I highly recommend “Trees of Indiana” by Stan Tekeila (582.16 Tek) as a great pocket field guide. “101 Trees of Indiana” (582.16 Jac) is also a good choice as author Marion T. Jackson is a well-known Indiana plant ecologist. You can browse Charles Deam’s “Trees of Indiana” (RL 582.16 Dea) in our Local History collection. Originally published in 1923, its historical importance lies in the inventory prepared by the Forestry Service documenting trees found in Indiana in 1911 (not available for checkout). Other options include “Trees of Indiana” by Maryrose Wampler (582.16 Wam — oversize), with its beautiful illustrations, and “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” (582.16 Sha) by T.E. Shaw in cooperation with the Extension Forestry Staff of Purdue University.
The Spring Tree ID hike will be one of a two-part program followed by a Fall Tree ID hike in September. The follow-up program will focus on non-leaf identification characteristics such as fruits, nuts, samaras, spires, buds, scales, bark, branches and other distinguishing features of common trees of Indiana.
For any tree questions, including pests and diseases, contact the Adult Services desk at 765-362-2242, ext. 3 or email us at ask@cdpl.lib.in.us. The library is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
Stephanie Morrissette is an avid naturalist and a library assistant in the Adult Services Department at the Crawfordsville District Public Library.
