As part of the Town of Davidson and Davidson Lands’ ongoing partnership to rewild parts of Fisher Farm to native prairies, we will be conducting a prescribed burn this Wednesday around 11 am.  To learn more about these events and their benefits, please read THIS article on prescribed fire events. The post Prescribed Burn At Fisher Farm appeared first on Davidson Lands Conservancy ..read more

More than 100 supporters joined Davidson Lands Conservancy for its annual Conservation Celebration at the Hurt Hub on January 6 to observe DLC’s 2023 annual meeting and applaud the year’s many achievements. Attendees enjoyed food and drink while Mike Orlando and Gene McIntosh provided live music. Local merchants and artisans provided door prizes for the raffle, including prizes from Main Street Books, Dearness Gardens, Melissa Reddick, Tom Shandley, Gordon Clark, Elizabeth Harris, Ed Harris, John Griffith, Mark Stanback, and Mike Newell. The annual meeting was led by President Ed Harris who ho ..read more

TREES OF BEATY PARK Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) NAME: COMMON – Sweetgum BOTANICAL – Liquidambar styraciflua FAMILY – Hamamelidaceae DERIVATION: Native deciduous trees range from the East Coast to Florida to the Midwest. Introduced 1681.  The name comes from the aromatic gum that is exuded from wounds to the tree. GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: Average height of 60’ – 80’ to 40’ width with pyramidal form. Medium to fast growing. Considered “untidy” because of sweet gum balls which are prickly fruits, however, breeders have introduced a variety that doesn’t produce them. GROWTH LOCAT ..read more

TREES OF BEATY PARK White Oak (Quercus alba) NAME: COMMON – White Oak BOTANICAL – Quercus alba FAMILY – Fagaceae DERIVATION: Introduced 1724. Naturalized Maine to Florida and further West.  GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: Young trees are typically pyramidal, but with age become rounded, 50-80’ tall and wide with wide-spreading branches. Slow growing.  GROWTH LOCATION: Flexible but grows best in deep, moist, but well-drained soil and is fairly drought tolerant once established. Prefers full sun to partial shade. ATTRIBUTES, VALUE, UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS: Long-lived oak that provides ac ..read more

TREES OF BEATY PARK Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) NAME: COMMON – Tulip Poplar BOTANICAL – Liriodendron tulipifera FAMILY – Magnoliaceae DERIVATION: One of the largest native trees in North America, found throughout the Southeast, southern Ontario and central US. GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: Mature height from 90 to 120 feet, and width of 48 feet with pyramidal form. Fast growing at 3 feet a year, it can reach 200 feet; not a tree for the small home landscape. GROWTH LOCATION: Prefers deep, moist, slightly acid soil in full sun. ATTRIBUTES, VALUE, UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS: Spring flowe ..read more

TREES OF BEATY PARK Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) NAME: COMMON – Sugar Maple BOTANICAL – Acer saccharum FAMILY – Aceraceae (also listed as Sapindaceae) DERIVATION: Native to Eastern and Central North America, found from Georgia to Canada. GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: Sugar Maples may reach 50 to 120 feet tall and 45 to 50 feet wide.  They tend to grow at a slow to moderate rate in full sun to partial shade. GROWTH LOCATION: Prefer to grow in cove forests and other rich forests, especially over areas rich in magnesium and iron (mafic) and lime (calcareous). It can be sporadically found th ..read more

TREES OF BEATY PARK Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) NAME: COMMON – Southern Magnolia BOTANICAL – Magnolia grandiflora FAMILY – Magnoliaceae DERIVATION: Native to the Deep South GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: Evergreen, 60’– 90’ tall, 20’ – 40’ wide. Growth rate of 12”-24” per year. The root system is shallow and hearty, spreading in a wide circumference around the planting site. Lifespan is 80 – 120 years. GROWTH LOCATION: Southern Magnolias are native to the bottomlands and moist wooded areas of the central and southeastern coastal plains from North Carolina to Florida to Texas ..read more

TREES OF BEATY PARK Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) NAME: COMMON – Sassafras BOTANICAL – Sassafras albidum  FAMILY – Lauraceae DERIVATION: Native Maine to Florida to Texas. GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: A small deciduous tree of 30′ to 60’ in height and width of 25-40’ with a pyramidal irregular shape that tends to grow in thickets. GROWTH LOCATION: Full sun or partial shade preferably in acid, well-drained soil. Difficult to transplant because of tap roots. ATTRIBUTES, VALUE, UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS: Root bark is used to make sassafras tea. Beautiful orange color in fall, usually in thicke ..read more

TREES OF BEATY PARK Redbud (Cercis canadensis) NAME: COMMON – Redbud BOTANICAL – Cercis canadensis FAMILY – Fabacaea DERIVATION: Native to eastern North America except for coastal areas, it is found throughout the east and in northern Mexico and parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: A small deciduous tree with a maximum height 20 to 30 feet with graceful branches and a rounded shape; early spring blooms are magenta in color and appear on bare branches before the heart-shaped leaves come out. Fruit is in the form of oblong legumes with seeds that stay on the tree i ..read more

TREES OF BEATY PARK Red Maple (Acer rubrum) NAME: COMMON – Red Maple BOTANICAL – Acer rubrum FAMILY – Aceraceae (also listed as Sapindaceae)  DERIVATION: Native to the eastern deciduous forest (Maine to Florida and west to Texas)  GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS: Growth rate from 12” to 18” a year with a mature height of 60’ to 90’ and mature width of 35’ to 40’. Average lifespan is 80 to 100 years. GROWTH LOCATION: A “generalist”, it is the most common deciduous tree of eastern and central North America. It can grow in dry or wet soil, sun or shade but grows best in acidic, deep, mois ..read more