the architecture of naked trees

with leaves long gone…and a lack of insects thanks to the cold…exploring the forest during winter offers an interesting and new vantage point. on the red maple you can see maroon scales that protect flowers that will bloom at the end of march; chestnut oaks are crooked and angular, lacking lower branches because in the forest, competition for light is steep; and large red oaks display their regal trunks. read the observations of marielle anzelone, botanist, urban ecologist and founder of nyc wildflower week, who has been tracking a patch of forest in inwood hill park through the seasons, in the new york times article a ghostly architecture of naked trees.