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Tree Identification for Geocachers


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I am planning an event on March 3rd 2012 at Spier's Old School Grounds near Beith which will teach cachers how to identify trees and also to become familiar with the common species used to place caches. Runs from 2pm to 3.30pm and it's free.

That would be a very good topic for the March Photo Competition, or perhaps April when the leaves are coming out.

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I hope it is successful for you.

Things are compounded when the tree or bush mentioned in the hint is in Latin. Isn't a hint supposed to be a hint?

I get to a site, cant find the cache and opt for the hint, only to discover that I should've surfed a dendrology website to decipher an already decrypted hint. Having said all of that, even when I'm all dendro'd up, I probably still wouldn't be able to identify the tree anyway :rolleyes: . Thankfully (for me at least), this kind of clue is fairly rare.

Mmmm, if I were closer, I would definitely be attending your event.

Link to comment

I hope it is successful for you.

Things are compounded when the tree or bush mentioned in the hint is in Latin. Isn't a hint supposed to be a hint?

I get to a site, cant find the cache and opt for the hint, only to discover that I should've surfed a dendrology website to decipher an already decrypted hint. Having said all of that, even when I'm all dendro'd up, I probably still wouldn't be able to identify the tree anyway :rolleyes: . Thankfully (for me at least), this kind of clue is fairly rare.

Mmmm, if I were closer, I would definitely be attending your event.

 

Actually, I'd say that Latin / scientific names are especially useful, as they are international, between languages / continents / regions eg what is a harebell in Scotland isn't the same as a harebell in England (OK, not a tree example, but you get the idea)

 

Worldwide, there are approx 600 species in Genus / Subgenus Quercus, but you can narrow down options considerably by location.

 

Admittedly, I'm in perhaps an unusual situation, having gained Latin 16+ (CSE grade 1 / O level grade B) at a bog standard comprehensive in 1982 (can't be many CSEs in Latin), which became useful when I studied Nursing in mid 1980s, then Marine Biology at University 1989 - 92, but anyone can look up such names on internet these days. I work as a ranger at a country park, which includes running / assisting in courses for the public about various topics, including use of GPS, orienteering, tree ID, plant folklore, nest box making etc.

Link to comment

I hope it is successful for you.

Things are compounded when the tree or bush mentioned in the hint is in Latin. Isn't a hint supposed to be a hint?

I get to a site, cant find the cache and opt for the hint, only to discover that I should've surfed a dendrology website to decipher an already decrypted hint. Having said all of that, even when I'm all dendro'd up, I probably still wouldn't be able to identify the tree anyway :rolleyes: . Thankfully (for me at least), this kind of clue is fairly rare.

Mmmm, if I were closer, I would definitely be attending your event.

 

Actually, I'd say that Latin / scientific names are especially useful, as they are international, between languages / continents / regions eg what is a harebell in Scotland isn't the same as a harebell in England (OK, not a tree example, but you get the idea)

 

Worldwide, there are approx 600 species in Genus / Subgenus Quercus, but you can narrow down options considerably by location.

 

Admittedly, I'm in perhaps an unusual situation, having gained Latin 16+ (CSE grade 1 / O level grade B) at a bog standard comprehensive in 1982 (can't be many CSEs in Latin), which became useful when I studied Nursing in mid 1980s, then Marine Biology at University 1989 - 92, but anyone can look up such names on internet these days. I work as a ranger at a country park, which includes running / assisting in courses for the public about various topics, including use of GPS, orienteering, tree ID, plant folklore, nest box making etc.

Mmm, I never thought about that, good point.

However, the CO would have to be sure that he/she had the species correct in the first place, to provide an accurate Latin version.

experientia docet :)

Link to comment

I hope it is successful for you.

Things are compounded when the tree or bush mentioned in the hint is in Latin. Isn't a hint supposed to be a hint?

I get to a site, cant find the cache and opt for the hint, only to discover that I should've surfed a dendrology website to decipher an already decrypted hint. Having said all of that, even when I'm all dendro'd up, I probably still wouldn't be able to identify the tree anyway :rolleyes: . Thankfully (for me at least), this kind of clue is fairly rare.

Mmmm, if I were closer, I would definitely be attending your event.

 

Actually, I'd say that Latin / scientific names are especially useful, as they are international, between languages / continents / regions eg what is a harebell in Scotland isn't the same as a harebell in England (OK, not a tree example, but you get the idea)

 

Worldwide, there are approx 600 species in Genus / Subgenus Quercus, but you can narrow down options considerably by location.

 

Admittedly, I'm in perhaps an unusual situation, having gained Latin 16+ (CSE grade 1 / O level grade B) at a bog standard comprehensive in 1982 (can't be many CSEs in Latin), which became useful when I studied Nursing in mid 1980s, then Marine Biology at University 1989 - 92, but anyone can look up such names on internet these days. I work as a ranger at a country park, which includes running / assisting in courses for the public about various topics, including use of GPS, orienteering, tree ID, plant folklore, nest box making etc.

Mmm, I never thought about that, good point.

However, the CO would have to be sure that he/she had the species correct in the first place, to provide an accurate Latin version.

experientia docet :)

 

I wouldn't want the accurate Latin for species in the UK, mostly because Scientific names are not all in Latin.

 

Incidently, there may be that many species of Oak worldwide but there are very few in the UK, 2 (maybe 3) which can be confused .. which is why this event is a good idea.

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