![\"Marcescent](\"https:\/\/www.stcnature.org\/good-natured\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Marcescent-Oak-Leaves.jpg\" "\\"Marcescent")
But have you noticed that some trees don\u2019t follow the plan? Oaks, particularly younger ones, come to mind, as do ironwoods a.k.a. American hophornbeam or Ostrya virginiana, and musclewoods, a.k.a. blue beech or Carpinus caroliniana.<\/p>\nMarcescence not only is a great word, but also an interesting phenomenon to observe in the winter landscape.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t you just love a good word? One that lets you immerse yourself in its letters and syllables? One that challenges you a bit with its pronunciation? One that describes a phenomenon that might otherwise take many words or sentences to convey?<\/p>\n
If so, you\u2019re not alone. I\u2019m right there with you! There\u2019s even a word for folks like us: logophile. (For the purpose of this week\u2019s column I was really hoping that logs, and therefore trees, would figure into this term\u2019s etymology. But it actually comes from the Greek logos and philos, which respectively mean \u201cspeech, word, reason” and “dear, friendly.” Oh well. Good enough.)<\/p>\n
We\u2019re in good company too. The internet is loaded with logophiles, and one of the funniest is a blog called Questionable Skills. While not exclusively about words, and featuring more sketches than writing (which creator TedMcCagg calls \u201clexicographic awesomeness\u201d) the site has not once but twice featured multi-week series called The Best Word Ever.<\/p>\n
Using the same sort of tournament brackets seen in, say, the NCAA\u2019s March Madness, Mr. McCagg pits words he\u2019s chosen from the dictionary against one another. The 2012 A bracket, for example, included the words Akimbo, Anathema and Apropos. Then, using his best judgement, along with input from his wife, he chooses a champion for each letter; those winners subsequently compete against each other for all the marbles. (Spoiler Alert: Diphthong won in 2012; in 2023, cattywampus prevailed over skedaddle, moot and wonk.)<\/p>\n
Why do we bring all this up today, in this second week of the New Year? Because I\u2019ve found what I think is The Best Nature Word Ever. Using what are no doubt questionable skills, and eliminating limited-use terms like Myrmecochory (seed dispersal by ants); Potto (my email address AND a \u201cnocturnal, slow-moving arboreal primate\u201d in equatorial Africa); and Frass (insect poop) I\u2019ve arrived at this conclusion:<\/p>\n
The Best Nature Word Ever is\u2026Marcescence. It\u2019s the noun form of the word Marcescent, a Latin word that means withering without falling off. And it\u2019s happening right now, in trees throughout our area.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all been trained to expect leaves to fall off of trees when autumn comes. The alternate name for the season is, after all, FALL. And the definition of deciduous is \u201cfalling off or shed seasonally or at a certain stage of development.\u201d<\/p>\n
But have you noticed that some trees don\u2019t follow the plan? Oaks, particularly younger ones, come to mind, as do ironwoods a.k.a. American hophornbeam or Ostrya virginiana, and musclewoods, a.k.a. blue beech or Carpinus caroliniana.<\/p>\n
Here we are in January, and these trees are still sporting their foliage, which is sometimes called leafage or frondescence\u2014another great word. Yes the leaves are brown, but they\u2019re still intact, clinging tightly even as the cold winds blow.<\/p>\n
The physical reason behind this phenomenon is that the leaves failed to form an abscission layer between their stalks, or petioles, and the branches from which they grew.<\/p>\n
But the bigger question, and one that doesn\u2019t seem to have a firm answer, is Why?<\/p>\n
One theory states that the delayed leaf drop provides the trees with additional nutrients. The leaves begin to decay on the tree over winter, and then when they finally do fall in spring they can continue to break down and feed the roots.<\/p>\n
Another take on marcescence is that it helps deter browsing herbivores. When you look at marcescent trees, you notice that they are on the smaller side; or, sometimes, they\u2019re larger but have retained the leaves on their lower branches. Either way, the boughs are well within the reach of hungry deer (and, in other regions, elk and moose). These animals, which normally seek out the tender buds on winter branches, will stroll right on by the trees with dry, crumbly leaves and seek out others whose delectable shoots are more accessible.<\/p>\n
One undisputable benefit is that snow (if and when we do get some) will collect on marcescent trees more so than on trees devoid of leaves. Tiny pockets of air between the flakes will increase the snow\u2019s insulative properties, which then creates appealing shelter for birds contending with winter\u2019s cold. And when spring comes, that melting snow provides the tree with water.<\/p>\n
As you look out on our winter landscape, how many marcescent trees can you spot? While you\u2019re at it how many surfaces do you see that are pearlescent? Or iridescent? Do you see any shapes that are arborescent? How many plants can you find that are suffrutescent?<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s hoping all your days are logo-nescent!<\/p>\n