The following day, Brent and I continued to the
second ONF site. This site proved a tougher hike than
the first site, but luckily Brent had a key to the front
gate, saving us an extra 2 miles (3.2 km) of hiking. An
hour later and after a little over a mile hike on a steep
incline through poison ivy, catbrier, and loose gravel,
we finally arrived at the maple-leaf oaks. This ridge
is a little wider than the first one, higher in elevation
(up to 2,000 feet/610 m), with about 40 individuals.
Typical of the species, both sites produce multi-
stemmed, shrubby plants around 15 to 20 feet (4.6
to 6 m) tall by 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.6 m) wide, with a
variable maple-like foliage. Associated species include
Amorpha ouachitensis, Q. stellata, and Q. marilandica.
The next day I quickly hit Mt. Magazine State
Park as well as the spot on private property near
the Arkansas border. Magazine has around 20
individuals; I noted their locations and headed
an hour or so west to the other location. After
scouting the last location for only a few minutes,
it became clear it has the largest population I
had seen yet. I didn't stop to count, but I noted
easily over 100 individuals with some very old,
large specimens—one nearing 30 feet (9.1 m) tall
with a stem diameter of over 12 feet (3.7 m).
I returned in September with permits in hand and
collected from three sites. I'd been given guidance
from the members of a 2017 collection trip that
included folks from The Morton Arboretum and The
Dawes Arboretum. They collected in mid-September,
so that's the time of year I went, but as tempera-
tures hit 97°F (36 °C), I wished I had waited. That
2017 group was not aware of the fourth location, so
I collected extra for them as well. In October, >>
In the wild, maple-leaf oak tends to be multi-stemmed and compact, reaching
only 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6 m) tall by 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.6 m) wide.
14 CityTREES
