Forest Communities: Basic Dendrology
Dendrology is a branch of botany that focuses on the identification and taxonomy of woody plants, including trees, shrubs, and vines. Our Forest Communities courses extend this information to include geographic location and habitat type.
Join Phinizy Center Education staff and invited field trip leaders as we offer Forest Communities courses throughout the year! Each class consists of field lecture time, field study, discussion, and home-reading suggestions to help students become more comfortable with skills necessary for basic tree identification in the field. All field trips require long periods of walking and hiking through forest terrain, so have your walking sticks (and sometimes your galoshes) ready!
The courses introduce participants to the fascinating world of Eastern Forest Communities. Each week we visit a different forest community within the CSRA such as Bottomland Hardwood Forest, Cypress/Tupelo Swamp Forest, Mixed Hardwood Forest, Riverine Forest, Deciduous Forest, and Oak-Hickory Forest.
Participants gain a better understanding of these irreplaceable habitats as we explore basic plant diversity and morphology, nomenclature, indicator species, succession, and much more. Participants are required to meet at different forest locations each week and are encouraged to carpool if possible.
All upcoming courses are visible in the calendar below. Please email ruth.mead@phinizycenter.org if you are interested in a course that is not open for registration.
Forest Communities: Basic Dendrology Hikes
This series of hikes focuses on basic tree identification by looking at geographic location, tree structure, tree bark, leaf structure and seed type. You can choose to sign up individually for weekly forest hikes, or you can sign up for the entire series of hikes at once.
Forest Communities: Winter Dendrology Course
This course focuses on tree identification generally without leaves present on the trees. Through exploring community type, geographic location, tree structure, tree bark, twig shape, leaf scars, bud shape, and more, participants learn to use their investigative skills to identify trees in the winter! This is a six-week program.
Forest Communities: Flowers of the Forest
This course continues with basic tree identification but also adds identification of understory wildflowers that exist within each habitat through focusing on flower parts, symmetry, and fruit types! Note: This course does not occur every year.
Upcoming Courses and Events
All upcoming courses and events will be visible here. If there are no results found, then we are in the process of scheduling the next series. For inquires, please email ruth.mead@phinizycenter.org.