GC2RT96 Tree I.D. 16 - Pin Oak (Traditional Cache) in Ohio, United States created by Hook

This cache has been archived.

Backwoods Reviewer: As the owner has not responded to my prior note, I am archiving this listing.

Backwoods Reviewer
Geocaching.com Community Volunteer Reviewer

GC2RT96 ▼

A cache by Hook Message this owner

Hidden : 4/9/2011

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Dust off your climbing shoes, and get your tree identification skills sharpened!

I noticed this Beauty of a Pin Oak while placing a Tree ID cache nearby. I had quite an audience while hiding, and was able to introduce many of the neighborhood kids to roped climbing. The one's that tried it had a blast, and I promised to make a return trip when there is no rain to set up a bunch of ropes for all of them to try.

Leaf Characteristics

broad, flat
simple
pinnately lobed
bristle tips
deeply lobed
middle lobe not narrow
leaves small, 3" to 5" long
side lobes not broad toward tips

Fruit Characteristics

acorn
stalk short, acorn fringeless
acorn up to 1" long
cup scales not swollen, mostly flat
cup shallow
acorn round

Pin Oak
Quercus palustris

The mature tree is distinctive from a distance with its ascending upper branches, horizontal middle branches, and drooping lower branches. The round acorns are the smallest of Ohio's oak trees. The Pin Oak grows in wet, often poorly drained soils of bottomlands and swamps. Although widely distributed throughout Ohio, it probably is most abundant in the southwestern part of the state. The strong, close-grained woods warps and checks badly in drying and has limited uses. Various wildlife, including Wood Ducks, feed on the acorns.