For the month of March I spent most of my time in the Driftwood TX area so I found it only fitting to document my time there while outdoors. The property that I was caring for was on a pretty large piece of land with a large manicured lawn and surrounding wooded area. One of the defining features of the property was this massive live oak tree just behind the house. Below is a photo capturing the sheer size of the tree–it was almost too big to fit into one photo.
After talking with the owner I found that this particular native tree was estimated to be over 350 years old and was actually the subject of a study at The University of Texas at Austin. This immediately struck my interest. Seeing as this immense producer was almost 18 times my own age I decided this would be the focus of my observations in Driftwood. Some live oak species are said to live to be as old as 500 years or more in the right conditions and are characterized by lower hanging branches that dip down before curving upward towards the sun’s rays.
This second photo I attached gives a closer look at the thick base of the oak, which I roughly measured to be 220 inches or 18.33 feet around. While height is necessary for absorbing more sunlight for photosynthesis, growth in the horizontal direction is also important for stability of the trunk and for more ease of transport of nutrients and water from the expansive underground roots peeking out of the gravel in the above pictures. In Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac he writes in one passage about the “rings of good oak” and how they acted as a “chronology of time” which I found to be relevant when thinking about the life and functions of this particular oak (Leopold, 9). It’s interesting to think that each ring of the tree could be studied to learn more about the species and area in which it inhabits. Although unseen, the inner rings of wood could be analyzed to find the exact age and yearly conditions that it endured–all through samples obtained from an increment borer, which is a fancy tool that is often used to prevent from causing too much harm while giving scientists insight into climate and more. If examining a sample like that, thicker rings would indicate periods of more rain or water availability while thinner rings would indicate periods of drought or water shortage in that area.
Additionally I noticed that certain low hanging branches had lichen species growing on the bark, which were inhabited by a colony of ants and even some quick moving spiders. Some other species taking refuge on this tree were ball mosses, which I noticed higher up in the tree clumped in hoards like they belonged and had become part of the tree itself. These organisms and I’m sure many more that I didn’t spot were taking full advantage of this oak to increase their fitness and adapt to be even more productive in their role to survive.
Lastly, while I didn’t end up finding any published papers or ongoing studies that might tie to this particular oak I did make some unexpected observations during my time there and I am glad I decided to focus on this ancient tree!
Until next time!