Two thoughts on the subject of trees:
First, when I lived in Aspen, my constant argument against all those people who kept gushing over how beautiful Aspen was amounted to, “Beautiful? But it only has three kinds of trees!” (aspens, cottonwoods and pines). I would then treat these poor people who were so unschooled in the true meaning of beauty to a lecture about how much more beautiful Virginia is than Colorado thanks simply to the diversity of Virginia’s leafy populace.
Second, I find it very hot when guys know their trees. (Same goes—though to a slightly lesser degree—with bird identification.)
That said, I have only a cursory knowledge of tree identification because, of course, it is always better to expect more of others than you do of yourself. Occasionally, however, I do make a concerted effort to stem such hypocritical tendencies. It’s then that I get online and visit The National Arbor Day Foundation. While Arbor Day 2007 itself has come and gone (it’s in April which makes this column particularly untimely), the Foundation does have a superb online tree identification guide that proves informative 365 days a year.
For the semi-serious tree student such as myself, it’s easy and rewarding to get some branch and leaf samples out in the yard, then sit down at the computer and have the website guide you through the steps to identifying your loot. (That’s not nerdy at all, is it?) With detailed pictures and questions like “Does the tree bear cones that are sometimes berry-like and have leaves that hug the twig and are scale-like or awl-shaped?” you both learn helpful vocabulary words and how to ID your samples through process of elimination.
This may all seem very elementary, but elementary is the first step to expertise, no? And with any luck, this accrued knowledge will one day pay off in the form of excellent cocktail party fodder at a soiree somewhere outside…at a Connecticut country house, perhaps.