The odd parasite

[DanG]

This is what I found when I first got out and around after returning from the Pig Roast.  Yep, the old gnarly Chinaberry tree in front of the sharecropper shack had capsized directly onto my lawnmower! >:(




Oh well, no major damage done except for the headlights.  I don't do all that much mowing in the dark anyway. : :D

I hated losing that ol' tree, but it affords me a chance to study something I've been watching for about 10 years.



Ya see those shoots coming out of the crotch, now that I've cleaned things up a bit?  See those leaves?  Well, they aren't Chinaberry leaves, and those aren't Chinaberry branches.  There is a little cluster of Holly that took root in that crotch and has survived for at least 10 years.  At first, I thought it was just rooted in some debris in a hollow spot, but it would never have survived all the droughts we have had.

I have now had a chance to look closely at it, and it is firmly rooted in the wood of the Chinaberry tree.




Now, I gotta figure out what to do with it. ???  I've thought of sawing it and trying to get a few short pieces of CB wood with Holly roots in it.  Ya can't get that at Lowes'! :D  I also thought of trimming up that crotch and standing it in a wet spot, just to see how long the Holly would survive.  It also comes to mind to donate it to some Dendrology or Wood Science school, if they would be interested in such a thing.  I don't know how rare such an occurance is, but I've never seen it before. 

Anybody have suggestions?

[Phorester]

The woodstove might be a good idea. ;D

Actually, if you are a woodworker, I'd saw it up and see what comes out of it.  I would think, though, that the different species of wood would not hold together after seasoning.

[SwampDonkey]

I get red osier and mountain maple growing from a crotch (part time nest site) of one of my sugar maple yard trees. The birds sack the fruit to their young and thus with a little natural 'works' ya got germinating weeds. ;)

We do get dwarf mistletoe germinating on conifers that cause a condition called witches broom. It actually changes the cell structure of the infected wood. The brooms live up to 10 years from what I've observed.

[Paschale]

Hey DanG, whadya end up doing with this?  Any pics?   ;D

[DanG]

Haven't done anything with it yet.  The Holly is still alive, though.  We've been getting a good bit of rain, so the EMC of the Chinaberry is still high, and giving the Holly what it needs.  I'm gonna just let nature take its course, and cut into it when it starts to die.

[Mike_Barcaskey]

DanG, I am not familiar with Chinaberry, is it a fast grower?
The first thing that comes to my mind is that the holly sprouted when there was a cavity/bowl in the crotch filled with decomposing leave litter and moisture. As the holly grew, so did the Chinaberry, until the Chinaberry enclosed the void. Maybe there is a small fisure at the bottom of the area that lets in moisture.