Windsor Castle Park Forest Information

Question:  Do you know other ways to tell the age of the trees you see?
  1. Trees grow approximately 1 inch of new trunk every year. The size of the tree in inches is an estimate of the tree's age in years. For example, if your tree has a 12-inch circumference, it is about 12 years old.
  2. Count the tree's annual growth rings. To make your measurement more accurate, compare a core or cross section of the tree trunk to others from the surrounding area to account for missing or extra rings.
  3. Counting Branch Whorls. Many evergreen trees, like pines, spruces, and firs, have whorled branches that form a circular pattern around the growing tip. Each whorl represents one year of growth, which means that counting the number of whorls can help us determine the age of these trees, especially for young evergreen trees.
  4. Counting the Rings on a Stump. Start in the middle of the stump or cross-section of wood and count the first dark ring you see. Continue counting outwards from the middle ring until you reach the last dark ring. The total number of dark rings represents the age of the tree in years. Don't count the bark of the tree as a dark ring.
Red Heart Fungus - Pathogen. Red ring rot of conifers (also known as white pocket rot, ring scale, red heart and pencil rot) is caused by the fungal pathogen Porodaedalea.  Potential signs include conks (fruiting bodies of the fungus) growing on the tree, often at the site of an old injury or branch removal. On the inside, the wood becomes discolored and degrades, which can sometimes be seen in fallen trees or during tree removal.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5347115.pdf
Understory in forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but above the forest floor.
List of trees in this forest:  Link to a file that lists all the trees in the park
Other Resources
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5347115.pdf
https://www.gardenia.net/disease/heart-rot
​An online guide to the ​natural resources of Windsor Castle Park
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