Under the New Oak Tree

A new and very special oak tree was planted in Olmezer Park yesterday.

The tree was planted in memory of Michael Fuccile. You can read a tribute to Michael here.

I like to take pictures of new trees from various angles so that I can watch the tree grow over the years. This picture is looking south; the photo above this one is looking west.

The tree was dedicated after the Fuce 5k, a fun run in Metuchen to benefit the Fuccile family.

I wasn’t at the event but the pictures of the race, by Tina DiSano, tell the story of a town that has come together to show support for the ideals that Mike exemplified. Click here to see Tina’s awesome coverage of the event.

I will watch this tree over the years, checking the growth, and posting new images now and then.

Obviously, the tree is an oak, but Grex and I were wondering if we could figure out on our own what species of oak it is. We took the tree identification book from the Arbor Day Foundation, “What Tree Is That?” Filled with clear illustrations of tree details like leaves, fruit, twigs and bark, this little book is a must to take along on our many tree walks.

The book is a water-proof field guide with step-by-step instructions for identifying trees. Using a dichotomous design, you select the best of two answers for any question. Then the book guides you to the next step. Some of the questions would be too difficult for Grex to handle on his own. I can see how it might get frustrating for young people without a patient adult helping them discern the subtle differences described in the book.

As an example, we had to answer, “Do the sinuses extend about 2/3 of the way to the midrib with a smooth upper leaf surface and sometimes hairy tufts and yellow to copper color on the underside?”

Ummm, what is a sinus? It helps if you study the glossary carefully before you head outdoors! The book really makes us think and study each characteristic of the tree. 

Unfortunately, we’re going to need to study the acorns (which may not appear this fall — newly transplanted trees sometimes don’t produce fruit in the first few years) to make the best determination of what kind of tree this is. For now, we’re thinking it’s of the red oak family, possibly a black oak, though the “hairy tufts” thing did not appear on this tree at all, so we could be totally wrong.

What do you think?

Check out the one at the top.

Goodnight, sweet tree. May you grow tall to shade the children playing in this park for many decades to come.