Appalachian Society of American Foresters: APSAF

Appalachian Society of American Foresters: APSAF APSAF is one of 31 state/multi-state societies that make up the national body known as the Society of American Foresters. This Society includes VA, NC, and SC.

Natural resource management students and graduates are eligible for membership with SAF.

For this late June , we are checking out a giant conifer native to the foggy Pacific Northwest. This species is the lar...
06/23/2026

For this late June , we are checking out a giant conifer native to the foggy Pacific Northwest. This species is the largest in its genus worldwide and can grow to over 200 feet tall.

The wood has a very high strength-to-weight ratio, which historically made it the ideal wood for early plane construction and musical instruments, like guitars and pianos.

To help you ID this one, look closely at the foliage. The needles are stiff, sharp, and flattened with a white underside. The cones are around 2 to 4 inches long with scales that have distinctly wavy edges.

Good luck and Happy Guessing!!

This week on Forest Floor Friday, we have a perennial species found across a wide variety of different sites. This speci...
06/19/2026

This week on Forest Floor Friday, we have a perennial species found across a wide variety of different sites. This species is often regarded as an early successional, due to its light dependence and tendency to establish in recently disturbed areas. This species can grow up to 2- 3 ft in height and supports several bees in the Macropis genus.

This species is rhizomatous and presents with groups of 4-5 whorled leaves spaced vertically along the stem. The flowers of this species are yellow, most often with 5 petals at the end of an elongated stalk, which bloom throughout the summer months.

Good luck and Happy Guessing!!

Answer: Lysimachia quadrifolia (Whorled Loosestrife)!

This week on Tree ID Tuesday, we have a species common to the coastal plains in dry sandy soils. This species has dark g...
06/16/2026

This week on Tree ID Tuesday, we have a species common to the coastal plains in dry sandy soils. This species has dark grey, furrowed bark when mature. The leaves of this species are alternately arranged, with 3 to 7 lobes and pubescence on the leaf underside.

This species historically would have been a common component in the understory of longleaf pine ecosystems.

Good luck and Happy Guessing!!

Answer: Quercus laevis (Turkey Oak)!

Happy Forest Floor Friday!This week, we have a species that supports a diverse insect community, including the Vulnerabl...
06/12/2026

Happy Forest Floor Friday!

This week, we have a species that supports a diverse insect community, including the Vulnerable monarch butterfly. It has opposite leaves and an umbel flower. They are starting to bloom now and will continue through mid-summer. Later in the season, it produces large seed pods filled with silky fibers that help disperse seeds on the wind.

Happy guessing!

Happy Tree ID Tuesday!This week, we have a deciduous tree found throughout much of the APSAF region. It has opposite lea...
06/09/2026

Happy Tree ID Tuesday!

This week, we have a deciduous tree found throughout much of the APSAF region. It has opposite leaves and branching with uniquely shaped leaves for its genus. Unlike its relatives, the leaves are compound, usually with 3-7 leaflets. It can often be found along streams and other moist sites.

Good luck and Happy Guessing!!

This week on Forest Floor Friday, we have a very strange and mysterious organism of the Appalachian woods. This species ...
06/05/2026

This week on Forest Floor Friday, we have a very strange and mysterious organism of the Appalachian woods. This species is found throughout North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina, and usually pops up right now in early June, especially after a summer rain event.

While it looks like a mushroom or fungus, this species is actually a flowering plant that grows in the dark shade of the forest floor where the sun does not reach. This species has ditched photosynthesis and does not have any chlorophyll.

To help you ID this ghost of the woods, look at the color and shape of the flower. It also gets its energy through underground fungal networks that are connected to tree roots.

Good luck and Happy Guessing!!

For this June , we are looking out west to look at a massive tree of the Northwest. This tree grows extremely tall and ...
06/03/2026

For this June , we are looking out west to look at a massive tree of the Northwest. This tree grows extremely tall and straight, and it is often found on mountainsides that have had previous wildfires.

Even though this species produces cones and has needles like a familiar evergreen, this species is actually a deciduous conifer. To help you with species ID, look at the foliage and how the needles grow in clusters.

Good luck and Happy Guessing!!

This week on Forest Floor Friday, we have a rare wildflower with pink/purple drooping petals and a spiky cone-shaped cen...
05/29/2026

This week on Forest Floor Friday, we have a rare wildflower with pink/purple drooping petals and a spiky cone-shaped center. This species blooms from late spring to mid-summer and is very important to a number of pollinators, especially the wavy-lined emerald moth, for which this species is a host plant, as well as both honey and native bees.

This species grows best in sites with full sun and grows up to 3-5ft in height. The leaves of this species are lanceolate in shape with serrated margins.

Good luck and Happy Guessing!!

Answer: Echinacea laevigata (Smooth Purple Coneflower)!

Do you have any interesting forestry oddities, nature based art, handmade crafts, antique forestry memorabilia, etc. tha...
05/27/2026

Do you have any interesting forestry oddities, nature based art, handmade crafts, antique forestry memorabilia, etc. that you are interested in parting with??

The APSAF 2027 Annual Conference is requesting new, gently used, vintage, or homemade forestry and natural resource goods for our silent auction happening in January 2027

Fill out the commitment form here https://forms.gle/NifACTRwYnAkrAaB6

All monetary proceeds go to the KPF Fund (student funding!!) and the Forester's Fund!

This week on TreeIDTuesday, we have a coastal species, often found growing in moist sites such as pocosins with acidic s...
05/26/2026

This week on TreeIDTuesday, we have a coastal species, often found growing in moist sites such as pocosins with acidic soils. This species has alternately arranged evergreen foliage with finely serrated margins.

The flowers of this species bloom in the summer and are white with five waxy-textured petals surrounding a cluster of yellow stamens. The bark of this species was historically used in the Southeast for tanning leather.

Good luck and Happy Guessing!!

Answer: Gordonia lasianthus (Loblolly-Bay)!

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Florence, SC

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