Lab 7: Hitchiti Experimental Forest

Hitchiti is a 5000 acre forest located in Jones County, GA. It is the site of the Brender Demonstration Forest, a cooperative effort by the Southern Research Station and the Georgia Forestry Commission to showcase pine management for nonindustrial private landowners. Hitchiti is a part of the Oconee National Forest and was established on 17 September 1938.

Our class at Hitchiti Experimental Forest!

I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Hitchiti. We hiked over a mile through the forest, identifying different trees and plants that we learned about earlier in the semester along the way.

Asarum Canadense - Wild Ginger

One plant that we came across on our hike was wild ginger. Asarum canadense (Western wild ginger) is native to rich moist forests of North America. In the spring, it develops distinct hairy cup-shaped brown-purple to green-yellow flowers which terminate in three long curved lobes, often concealed by leaves. The long rhizomes give rise to persistent kidney/heart shaped leaves. Leaves are found in colonies or clusters (as depicted in the photo above). The leaves emit a ginger aroma when rubbed.

Sassafras

One tree that we came across on our hike was Sassafras. Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous tress in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia. Sassafras trees grow from 30-59 feet tall. The trunk grows from 28-59 inches in diameter with many slender branches, and smooth, orange-brown bark. All parts of the plant are very fragrant. The species are unusual in having three distinct leaf patterns on the same plant: unilobed oval, bilobed (mitten-shaped), and trilobed (three pronged).

Factoid: The largest Sassafras tree in the United States is located in Owensboro, Kentucky, which measures over 100 feet high and 21 feet in circumference.
Factoid: The name "Sassafras," applied by the botanist Nicolas Monardes in the 16th Century, is said to be a corruption of the Spanish word for saxifrage.

This is me hugging my very first tree at Hitchiti Experimental Forest!