On Undomesticated Trees and Summer Fruits

While wandering around Wyman Woods on a Friday evening, I noticed that there are a number of black walnut trees growing there. Black walnuts are interesting trees, with dark, beautiful wood and an unusual trait: their roots secrete a toxic substance called juglone into the soil around them, which prevents many types of plants from growing near the tree. Ask any gardener who's tried to grow tomatoes anywhere near a black walnut tree: it won't work. Black walnuts are not commonly used in landscaping plans; they're not particular shapely, they cause problems with other plants around them, and they drop extremely hard nuts with green husks that, when broken open, stain hands, concrete, clothing and anything else they touch a startling shade of purple-black. I think of black walnuts as sort of undomesticated trees, as opposed to the perfectly shaped hybrids usually found in city parks. Black walnuts are already bearing fruit in late June. The Wyman Woods squirrels will eat well this winter.

Many of the trees at Wyman Woods are in fruit now. Along with the usual crabapples and redbuds (this is a city park, after all), I spotted some other less common park trees. One is the hackberry, which actually is sold at nurseries as a landscape tree but unfortunately doesn't seem to be used much here in central Ohio. Hackberries have really textural corky bark, a very attractive shape, and are excellent shade trees. They also bear nearly-black berries that birds love, and aren't particularly messy when they fall (if the birds miss any).

The other very undomesticated tree at Wyman Woods is the catalpa. There are several scattered around the park, much to my delight. My grandparents had an enormous catalpa tree, which my grandpa called an "Indian cigar" tree. That was for their long, thin seed pods, which do look a little like a long, thin cigar. (Note: They taste terrible. I advise not using them to pretend you're smoking a cigar. Fortunately, of course, I would never have done anything so stupid as a child.) People who like neat, groomed lawns don't like catalpas for those seed pods, but I love them. They have large, beautiful heart-shaped leaves and spectacular blooms in the spring...and they remind me of my grandpa. The catalpas are in fruit now, too.

And lest the more usual park trees should be forgotten, the redbuds are loaded with seeds now, also...this one appears to have many more seeds than leaves.