Sunday, May 31, 2009

The "BUSH" on our South Lawn


The "bush" on our South Lawn,
pruned in 2008 without realizing
that it was a rare specimin
tree
(planted by Joe Ashen)
has been identified as:

Metasequoia glyptostroboides,

or "Dawn Redwood" a rare deciduous conifer grown from seeds brought from China
where it had been considered an extinct species known only to the fossil record.



Exerpts from Wikipedia explain in detail it's history:

Metasequoia redwood fossils are known from many areas in the Northern Hemisphere; over 20 fossil species have been named (some were even identified as the genus Sequoia), but are considered as just three species, M. foxii, M. milleri, and M. occidentalis (Farjon 2005). During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, extensive forests of Metasequoia occurred as far north as Axel Heiberg Island (northern Canada) at around 80°N latitude. Large petrified trunks and stumps of the extinct Metasequoia occidentalis (sometimes identified as Sequoia occidentalis) also make up the major portion of Tertiary fossil plant material in the badlands of western North Dakota in the United States.

The trees are well known from late Cretaceous to Miocene strata, but no fossils are known after that. Before its discovery, the taxon was believed to have become extinct during the Miocene; when it was discovered extant, it was heralded as a "living fossil".

Metasequoia was first described as a fossil from the Mesozoic Era by Shigeru Miki in 1941, but in 1944 a small stand of an unidentified tree was discovered in China in Modaoxi by Zhan Wang; due to World War II, these were not studied further until 1946 and only finally described as a new living species of Metasequoia in 1948 by Wan Chun Cheng and Hu Hsen Hsu. In 1948 the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University sent an expedition to collect seeds and, soon after, seedling trees were distributed to various universities and arboreta worldwide for growth trials.

In the late 1980s, it was discovered that many of the second generation trees in cultivation suffered from inbreeding depression (extremely low genetic variability) which could lead to increased susceptibility to disease and reproductive failure. This was because most of the trees were grown from seeds and cuttings derived from as few as three trees that the Arnold Arboretum had used as its source. More widespread seed-collecting expeditions in China in the 1990s sought to resolve this problem and restore genetic diversity to cultivated Metasequoia.

Metasequoia has proved an easy tree to grow in temperate regions, and is now widely planted as an ornamental tree. Planted specimens have already reached 25-40 m in height and 1-1.3 m in diameter, despite being in cultivation for under 60 years. This rapid rate of growth has led to consideration for using the tree in forestry plantations. It has been discovered that Metasequoia will thrive in standing water, much like the baldcypress, and if left branched to the ground in full sun, will develop the large, contorted boles that have made it famous.

Limbing at an early age will prohibit this formation later on.

Big tree

The type specimen, in Modaoqi, was in 1980 measured at 241 cm in the buttressed portion of the trunk, and 167 cm above the buttress. I believe this is the specimen pictured here. Several trees about 50 m tall are found in the Shuishaba valley. An isolated tree formerly grew a few kilometers to the north at Wangjiaying, 220 cm diameter and 50 m tall; this was the largest tree yet recorded, but was killed by a lightning strike in 1951 (Bartholomew et al. 1983). A visit to the Hubei population in 1980 found stumps over 2 m diameter, logged between 1950 and 1980 (Hendricks 1995).There is a specimen 36.9 m tall with a dbh of 135 cm at the College of William and Mary,Williamsburg, Virginia (Robert Van Pelt e-mail 18-Mar-1998).

Read more about this fascinating tree by following these links:

http://www.cirrusimage.com/tree_Dawn-Redwood.htm

http://www.conifers.org/cu/me/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasequoia

http://www.metasequoia.org/

http://www.dawnredwood.org/

Friday, May 22, 2009

HAPPENINGS May 2009

The first phase of the Kitchen project is almost done!! Just waiting for the electrician to install the under cabinet lights. Still need to locate another upright freezer. It’s so bright and airy, I can’t wait to do something fleishidic! It has been a long time coming, but the efforts put into it by everyone will be a benefit long into the future.

Joe & Linda Warshawsky, of the Steel Center, have donated all the material for the kitchen’s stainless steel back splash and the heavy pipe necessary to fix the railings around the outside of Shul. The building is a better place for our future generations because you stepped up. How can a simple Thank You suffice?

Nominations to the board closed with ten candidates for the nine positions.
Paid members will be receiving an Election Ballot with a short bio
about each candidate

and a stamped RETURN envelope.
These MUST be postmarked no later than 15 July 2009.
Remember it’s “YOUR” board that serves the Shul.
Please DO NOT sign your ballot.
Election results will be announced at our Annual Meeting
Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at about 1PM.

Starting in 5770, membership cards will be issued
to all members who were Paid-Up for 2008-2009
by the end of September

when dues for the NEW year 2009-2010 will be collected.

Hope to see you and your family there if not sooner!
Join in the discussions!

The next Board Meeting has been moved up
to 10AM Sunday, June 14th
in honor of Father’s Da
y.

A limited number of accommodation referrals
and discounted room reservations

will be available during the summer season.
Please forward written requests to the shul or our e-mail address
in advance and we will send information.


Don’t forget to reserve your Labor Day Weekend LOX BOX as well!

Of note, the house and property on Church St. adjacent to the shul is up for sale again at $129K.
After much discussion, the board has voted unanimously against making a bid, although acquisition of the property would be favorable. We have a full plate in dealing with steam pipes that need to be refinished, re-growing an unruly patch of lawn, purchase of an additional memorial board
and tending plantings at the cemetery.

Donations to the General Fund
Jerold & Naomi Senser
Arlen Tolen
Seymore Padnos

In Memory
of Norman Pearce… Nancy Vilims

Mazel Tov
Congratulations to Debbie and Kevin Merrell
on the birth of Abigail Lucille
April 27th in Holland Hospital,
6lbs.4oz. of all girl to keep Grandpa Irv busy!