Mariton: Living Scupture II

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager

A few weeks back I wrote about living sculptures. A normal tree is gorgeous in its own right, but there are some trees that just seem to thumb their noses at human sculptors.  Here is another beautiful tree sculpted by nature that is familiar to walkers at Mariton.  This Black Birch (Betula lenta) started as a seed on a tree stump many years ago.  I remember when that tree fell in 1994.  Black (or Sweet) Birch grows quickly and this one didn’t take long to establish itself on the stump.

Over the years the stump has almost completely disappeared, leaving an even more artistic root structure.

One could study these roots for hours.

The form of the two tree trunks are whimsical and graceful.