6 VIRGINIA FORESTS VIRGINIA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 2023 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS VIRGINIA FLORA First Place, Fred Schatzki Spending a lot of time in the woods as a consulting forester, you might imagine I see a lot of big trees, and I do. This one, however, ranks right near the top of the “big tree memories” I have from decades spent in the forest. Found on an old-field site (evidenced by the hand-dug ditches bisecting the area) in Richmond County, less than a mile outside the Warsaw town limits, this cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda) measured 36” DBH, 127 feet tall, had five clear logs to the first lower limb, and a crown that shades close to a halfacre. It defines the term “dominant” when we’re talking crown classes. Another thing that fascinates me about this particular species is that I was taught in dendrology class that its scientific name was Quercus falcata var. pagodafolia; a subspecies of the familiar southern red oak Q. falcata. I am heartened that the taxonomists finally gave this most valuable of our coastal red oaks its well-earned status as an independent species, and not some shirttail relative of the more well known (but less majestic) southern red oak. WINTER 2024 7 Images & Reflections VIRGINIA LANDSCAPES First Place, Michael Kemp The sun, in its final descent, bathes the sky in warm hues of gold and amber, casting a radiant glow across the Blue Ridge Mountains from Ravens Roost Overlook, Lyndhurst, Va.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTY1NDIzOQ==