BY LESLIE REGO
I was curious to see if I could tell the difference between leafless twigs from three different types of trees. I collected a twig from an aspen tree, a cottonwood tree, and an alder tree. I placed the three into a bucket, mixed them up, and then pulled one out at a time to see if I could tell from which tree it came.
I was able to identify each one, but I also made some close observations that I found fascinating. The first thing I noticed was the pungent smell coming from the buds on the cottonwood twig. They were by far the largest buds of the three and there was quite a lot of sap that oozed from the blossom. In fact, there was so much sap it left a distinct burnt-sienna color on the paper. I was so intrigued by this I decided to paint the actual bud on my drawing with the sap. It was a beautiful dye, coloring the bud area on the drawing the exact shade of the bud on the plant! It left the paper a bit sticky, but there was a glow to the color.
The branch of the cottonwood is a soft grey with darker grey spots covering the surface. The branch is quite smooth, but the blossom twigs are bumpy with many black striations. The sienna color of the bud continued down the twig for around an inch until it transitioned to grey.
The aspen branch had the smallest buds. Lower on the branch they grew out on twigs, but toward the top of the branch they pressed against the bark. Their color was brown with a touch of sienna. Again, the sienna color traveled down the twig until it turned to a pale green/grey. The green pigment is chlorophyll that the thin bark of the aspen photosynthesizes.
The alder branch was the smoothest of the three branches. It was a soft brown. The buds were the roundest, also sienna in color. The bark had few distinguishing characteristics. I did not choose a section with the male and female catkins, which stay year-round on the tree, because that would have been an obvious clue to the identity of the twig.
Observing carefully before the tree has leaves gives one the chance to recognize peculiarities in growth patterns. As I noted attributes, I recorded them through my drawings. I really enjoyed spending time getting to know each twig intimately.
Leslie Rego is an Idaho Press Club award-winning columnist, artist and Blaine County resident. To view more of Rego’s art, visit leslierego.com.