| 8. Granary, Stump, and Burl | ||||||||||||
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 Interpretive Stops
1. Along Aptos Creek Additional Information
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Redwoods are Storage Bins, and Building MaterialA redwood granary proves that the redwoods are used by the animals, too. Look at the numerous holes drilled into this large redwood. Acorn woodpeckers drilled holes into this tree in which to cache their harvested coast live oak and tanoak acorns. Living trees with thick bark, like this redwood, are not hurt by the drilling because the woodpeckers rarely drill through the cambium (the layer of plant cells that make the tree grow). Another granary created by acorn woodpeckers in a Douglas-fir snag, a dead tree that still stands, can be easily seen from the Oak Ridge Trail. It is worth the walk to the top of the ridge to see the drilled tree snag since it contains hundreds of holes still used by an acorn woodpecker family. Acorn woodpeckers, a pretty black and white bird with a red crown, form a loose family of up to 15 birds that drill hundreds of holes into oaks, pines, Douglas-firs, or redwoods to cache their acorns. Once an acorn is deposited into the trunk of their granary tree, it becomes community property and can be used by any bird in the family. Although acorn woodpeckers suck sap and eat insects, they are dependent on acorn storage as a food resource, particularly during the breeding season or harsh winter weather. Because the granary is important for survival, much time is spent defending the large cache from other birds. (Use the map to find the "Douglas-fir Granary Tree") Steller's jays, most often seen near the live oak forest above Old-Growth Loop, also cache acorns. But unlike acorn woodpeckers, jays usually bury their acorns. Some scientists have suggested that many of our California oaks may have germinated from the unretrieved acorns cached by steller's jays and other animals that bury acorns such as western gray squirrels and even band-tailed pigeons. Springboards and Chainsaws End this RedwoodThis stop is also one of the few places along Old Growth Loop where you can see a stump bored with springboard holes. Loggers drilled the square holes into the sides of the tree so that boards could be inserted to stand on while cutting. Cut with a chainsaw, this tree was obviously not part of the first timber harvests of the 1880s. It was chopped down much later, perhaps by one of the former property owners. Large Redwood Burl Creates Part of Fairy RingClose to the stump, you can stand inside a half fairy-ring and see the large lignotuber, or burl, that these trees sprouted from. Burls are actually a mass of dormant buds which sprout new redwoods, particularly after damage from a fire or cutting, just as we learned at the previous stop. The swirly, knobby mass of burl is sometimes cut away from the rest of the lignotuber in order to make furniture and gifts. Redwood burl is still popularly used today as a building material because of its beauty and resistance to decay. Gift shops along Highway 9 in the Santa Cruz Mountains sell redwood burl products while several Internet Websites also sell redwood patio furniture, chairs, and coffee tables on-line. Redwoods don't have a tap root as other trees do. Instead they have a laterally branching root system, which usually reaches a depth of only 8 to 12 feet.
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| © 2002 "A Walk Along Old-Growth Loop." All Rights Reserved. |