Blackjack Oak, Quercus marilandica

Blackjack Oaks occur on the most challenging sites at the PGT. This morning I photographed this tree at The Point; a high rocky cap along Hillers Creek. It was growing out of what looks to be solid rock. I don’t see how it can get nutrients and water.

As Don Kurz writes in “Trees of Missouri, it has “a tendency to retain dead branches on the mid to lower part of the trunk.” That gives it a messy appearance, but I think pruning the dead branches away might ruin the trees character.

Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida

Flowering Dogwoods are just coming into bloom. I took this picture today in the woods east of the PGT Visitor Center. This shot shows the flowers as they are opening; the large white petals have curved up and out and are about to swing open into the flat position that you normally associate with the flower (see picture below).

Dogwood are my favorite flowering tree. We are lucky enough to have thousands of them in the woods at the PGT. Technically the white petals are not flowers but are bracts. The flowers are the tiny green buttons on the disk in the center.

Prairie Willow, Salix humilis
As the warm weather continues I’m finding new wildflowers in bloom every day. For example, I’m seeing at least four kinds of violets blooming. Also I found this Prairie Willow blooming just east of the PGT Visitor Center. The pattern of the stems reminds me of the minimalist paintings of Agnes Martin.