The Urban Pantheist

Eastern white pine Pinus strobus


I call this group the three sisters--don't know how appropriate that is, since they all bear male and female cones. They are by far the biggest trees in our yard, and among the biggest trees in the neighborhood. In fact, this species is the tallest tree species in New England. At the time time of colonization forests of them would grow to nearly three hundred feet. The tallest alive today are only about half that tall, the majority much shorter. In dense forests they grow tall and straight, and were highly prized as ships masts by the British navy.

In the suburbs they sprawl somewhat, and frequently drop branches in storms. Weighted by snow and blown by strong winds the two sisters on the right dropped huge branches that caused a lot of damage in our first year. I have used most of the fallen wood up in our outdoor fire--I like the flavor of pine roasted sausages. Charlie lays in the thick bed of pine needles and spots of pine sap drop on him, making nice smelling but itchy scabs of pitch on his fur.

This summer one of the pines held a mourning dove nest, and right now a squirrel is attempting a messy shelter in the branch crotch of sister 3. We are torn between disliking these trees for the labor they generate and appreciating them for their habitat value. Eastern white pine was entry number 049 in the 365 urban species project.

Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston is an active and historic burying ground, and also a sculpture park. These tiny cement houses were new to us, but I bet they've been there for a while. The sculptures used to have plaques identifying them and their artists, but they seem to be gone.

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Urban species #358: Yew Taxus spp.

Yew should be familiar to anyone who grew up in the suburbs or the city. Sometimes cut into gumdrop shapes, sometimes planed into rectilinear hedges, and rarely left in its natural shrub shape, yews grace the front yards of homes and businesses around the world. An evergreen conifer that may, in wild conditions, grow to 50 feet, is exceedingly common as a four to ten foot geometric shape--a small lump of cultivated bush to accent a yard or conceal the front of a building. There are species of yew native to Europe, North America, and Asia--in Boston we see Japanese yew, Taxus cuspidatta, or occasionally European yew, T. baccata, or even a hybrid of the two Taxus x media. What we seldom see is the native yew T. canadensis, a threatened species in several southern states.

Yew bushes are used as shelter by many urban birds. Growing up in the suburbs between Springfield and Hartford, I remember American robins nesting in the yews in front of my house. Robins and other birds feed on the red, fleshy cones of female yew shrubs. Human children may enjoy squeezing these cones to release the sticky juice, and then often throw them at friends and siblings. They are not good for most mammals to eat, including humans. The foliage of yew trees is even worse, and one veterinary source underscores the danger this way: "First aid is usually impractical, since the animals die so quickly." Captive animals in enclosures with yew trees, bored enough to browse something poisonous, are the usual victims. Wild deer and other herbivores may nibble on yew, but will not generally eat enough to hurt themselves. Deer and rabbit resistance is one of the reasons for the popularity of yew plantings.

Photos by cottonmanifesto. Location: Arnold Arboretum, Boston.

Urban species #338: Dawn redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides

This exotic looking tree came to be an urban species along a very similar pathway to that of Gingko biloba. It was discovered as a fossil in 1941, and then as a live specimen a few years later, in what was then a remote part of China. "Discovered," that is, by western scientists. It was already in common use by local people as an ornamental tree. Thanks to the efforts of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, it was brought around the world for study and cultivation. It has become a fairly popular ornamental tree in many countries, valued for its rapid growth, resistance to disease and pests, and its striking pyramidal appearance. Dawn redwood is unusual among conifers, dropping all of its short soft needles every fall. It is the only living species in its genus Metasequoia, and is often referred to by that name rather than the common name. The baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) is a similar-looking relative, native to the swamps of southern North America, and is sometimes used in urban settings as well. The oldest metasequoias outside of China are those trees in the Arnold Arboretum, and the Mount Auburn Cemetery, planted in the forties when the tree was first discovered. No one knows for sure, but they are suspected to live 100 years or so, and may grow to 150 feet tall.


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Urban species #049: Eastern white pine Pinus strobus

Eastern white pine has been a valuable and important tree in New England for centuries. Before the revolution, the British navy found its straight tall trunks perfect for the masts of its ships. During the revolution, the resource was a point of contention, and the white pine was featured on several revolutionary flags of New England.

The twentieth century development of Boston's neighborhoods was fueled by white pine from New Hampshire. Millions of trees were felled from the forests of the White Mountains to build countless wooden triple-decker residences in Cambridge, and especially Somerville, which is still the most densely populated city in the United States.

Despite intensive harvesting, the white pine is still the most common conifer in New England, and it is also the tallest. It towers above the other trees in the forests of the Boston suburban area, and appears in some neighborhoods of the city. The white pine above is in Cambridge near Harvard Square.

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Urban Species #022: Eastern hemlock Tsuga canadensis

Eastern hemlock has been a prominent resident of the mixed deciduous forest that more or less blankets the east coast of North America for millenia. Happily, though much of the forest has been altered into other kinds of habitat, the hemlock has survived. It has adapted to live in the shade of larger neighboring trees, which translates into an ability to live in the shade of tall buildings. Also, because it is attractive year-round, keeping its leaves (needles) in the winter like most conifers, it is a popular choice for urban landscaping. Unfortunately, an aphidlike insect accidentally introduced from Asia, the hemlock wooly adelgid, is threatening this native tree. A healthy hemlock can live up to 1000 years. A hemlock infested with adelgids may die in four years.

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