LIFE

Audubon app takes some work but can identify trees

SAL

About the only thing I remember from my upper-division botany class in college is that trees have a layer of something called spongy parenchyma. And the only reason I remember it is because it sounded funny.

Kind of like Pseudosquilla bigelowi, which is a mantis shrimp, another funny name ... only in invertebrate zoology.

Where was I? ... oh, yes.

Anyway, despite being an outdoor writer, when it comes to trees, I don’t know a walnut tree from a coconut palm.

So despite the relatively hefty price tag for a smart phone app ($4.99), I downloaded “Audubon Trees,” an interactive guide that answers the eternal outdoor question, “What’s that great, green shaggy thing in front of me.”

Or tries to.

Until you get adept at narrowing your search formats using options such as regions and learn how to navigate the tree shapes and leaf shapes from needles to broadleaf, the collection of more than 728 species with photos and descriptions can be really, make that REALLY, frustrating.

And the fact that so many varieties of nonnative trees have been introduced to the Beaver State also can be frustrating when trying to tease out the name of some exotic tree because you click on the map that shows where the tree’s native range is and it’s confined to New England.

So back to square one.

And add search filters such as shape, region, flower color and/or fruit color, and it really narrows the search to a manageable range.

I’ll keep trying with the app.

But as far as simplicity, the best reference in my opinion still is “Trees to Know in Oregon.”

It’s by the Oregon State University Extension Service, and the new edition that I haven’t seen yet says it features 70 new color photos.

It’s $18 plus $5 for shipping at stjr.nl/1f15DsE.

Call me old-school.

Or maybe my head is filled with spongy parenchyma.

— Henry Miller