The Forest Stump Series

It was a cold, cloudy day at Pack Forest. There was a promise of rain in the forecast. Mason, Duane, and I were sitting around a fire in Pack Hall when Mason turned and said, "You know each plant out there has a story". I knew there must be thousands of plants and that meant there were thousands of stories, this is just one of them.

I was hiking up the Hugo Peak Trail with a group from Mill Pond Elementary when we came upon a tree across the path. Something very strange was going on. Trees fall across the path all the time, but the roots on this one were different. I knew that the roots of a tree spread out about the same length as the branches spread out above ground. I had seen other trees that had been blown over by the wind leaving much longer sections of roots sticking out of the ground. One look at the picture I took showed the roots as short little nubs. The root was soft and wet, and came off in sheets that looked like blistering paint. I took it back to the office and the puzzle was solved immediately. Mason said we have trouble with blowdowns in that area and this wasn't the first Douglas-fir to come down in the wind.

Using the picture, and the description I have given you, tell me what helped the wind bring the tree down? You get extra praise for giving a scientific name.

Duane's hints are to use the symptoms in a Google search.

If you need extra information I will answer any questions asked in the Yes/No format.

Send your questions or your final answer to: ttouse@u.washington.edu