Urban and community forester and founder of the research organization named “local ecology,” Georgia Silvera Seamans ’98 analyzes the leaf litter in Washington Square Park in the wake of Hurricane Sandy for her blog, local ecologist.
“A few days after the storm, we went on a walk through Washington Square Park. We noted sawn wood, fruit drop, hanging limbs, and lots and lots of fallen leaves. I collected leaves from almost 20 different species. The majority of leaves were collected from the southeast quadrant of the park and from the small lawn area adjacent to the flag pole, itself just east of the Arch. It is possible that some of the leaves blew from streets surrounding the park but on a follow-up walk I identified most of the trees for which I had collected leaves.
“A major difference between white and red oaks is the shape of the the lobes. White oaks have rounded lobes while reds exhibit sharp lobes. This marker would not help you to identify the willow oak though which has long, narrow leaves with smooth margins (no lobes). I love the broad spread of the Swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor). The pronounced sinuses of the Pin oak (Q. palustris) distinguish it from the Northern red oak (Q. rubra).”
Image: Yale School of Forestry.