Osage-orange in Harford County, MD. Photo by Dave Webb, Maryland Biodiversity Project
Read about how this is a good time to make plans for 2025. Plus, meet two new UME educators, read about American holly in our "Native Trees of Maryland" feature and about Osage-orange in our "Invasives in Your Woodland" feature. And don't forget the Brain Tickler -- a special end-of-the-year challenge!
Plans
Andrew A. Kling, Branching Out editor
We are surrounded by plans, either those that we make for ourselves or those that have been created by others. While a New Year’s Resolution is a plan for action, if you are a land owner or manager, you don’t have to wait until January. Now is a good time to assess the property and make a plan.
Photo: Golden Autumn Foliage in Cunningham Falls State Park, MD. Liz Albro Photos/Adobe Stock
UME Welcomes Two New Educators
Dr. Stacy Small-Lorenz joined UME as a Residential Landscape Ecologist and Lisa Kuder joined as new Native Plants & Landscapes Specialist.
Native Trees of Maryland: American Holly, Ilex opaca
John Hooven, Cape Atlantic (NJ) Conservation District forester
American holly, Ilex opaca, is a real show stopper of a tree especially during the winter holidays. Among other benefits, it is extremely valuable to wildlife, particularly, birds and migratory birds overwintering in the region.
News and Notes
In the News and Notes roundup for this issue: The tree nurseries in Maryland & Virginia are now taking orders for spring planting projects; the Old Growth Forest Network has a new site; the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation has new species on its invasives roster; and the growth of food forests may help both ecosystems and people.
Conservation Efforts Get Boosts from Maryland Board of Public Works
David M. Higgins II, Southern Maryland Chronicle
In a recent effort to bolster conservation efforts and recreational access across Maryland, the Board of Public Works approved grants totaling $900,000 to local governments and land trusts. The funding, allocated by the Maryland DNR, supports park improvements and land preservation through perpetual conservation easements aimed at protecting critical natural areas.
Invasives in Your Woodland: Osage-orange
Regular readers of this feature will note that the vast majority of species highlighted here are not native to North America. This issue, however, looks at a Osage-orange, a species that is both native to North America and that has been introduced to new environments in such numbers that it is considered invasive in many areas.
This issue's Brain Tickler...
The answer to this issue’s challenge assigns Eastern white pine the number 380, yellow poplar the number 540, and beech the number 1,300. For full credit for this end-of-the-year Brain Tickler, name the scale that assigns these numbers, the scientist who developed it, and what the numbers represent.
Thanks for all the correct answers! Learn more in our Winter 2025 issue, due out in February!
Last issue we asked you to identify the yellowish growth shown on the tree in the photo at Blackwater NWR. The correct answer is fusiform rust. Congratulations to Can Vatandaslar for his correct answer.
Events Calendar
December 12 2024, 11:00 AM –12:30 PM
Prescribed Fire and Wetlands: an Important but Rarely Told Story
Online
Wetlands are the forgotten sibling of the prescribed fire world. While upland ecosystems across the Eastern U.S. have received significant attention for their fire-dependency, wetlands—characterized by their more episodic encounters with fire—rarely receive much attention. This panel discussion will explore the role and challenge of fire in wetland ecosystems. Learn more here.
January 28, 2025, 7:30 PM
Introduction to Winter Tree Identification
Online
Presented by the Maryland Native Plant Society. Join Bradley Simpson, Habitat Manager at Nature Forward, to learn how to identify woody plants using buds, stems, lenticels, leaf scars, bark, and more! We will focus on terminology related to these features and then apply them to a few of our common native tree species. Learn more and register here.
July 20-26, 2025
Natural Resources Career Camp 2025
Garrett County MD
The Maryland Forestry Foundation, in collaboration with Allegany College of Maryland and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources-Forest Service, again offers an immersive, co-educational experience led by industry professionals for high school students seeking to explore exciting career paths and college opportunities in the realm of natural resources.
Applications are now being accepted; visit https://www.marylandforestryfoundation.org/programs/students-educators/nrcc/ to learn more.
Branching Out, Vol. 32, no. 4 (Fall 2024)
Branching Out is the free, quarterly newsletter of the Woodland Stewardship Education program. For more than 30 years, Branching Out has kept Maryland woodland owners and managers informed about ways to develop and enhance their natural areas, how to identify and control invasive plants and insects, and about news and regional online and in-person events.
