THE TREES OF ATLANTA

Quercus phellos
I was jogging the other day around Atlanta when I came across a willow oak. Hello, willow oak, I said. How is it that you are among the last of your deciduous brethren to lose his leaves? I admit I did not know that you were always an oak. You do not look oak-ish, what with your willow-like leaves. Haha, that's why you're called a willow oak, I get it. In all my jogging I never once paid attention to your acorn fruit. You start acorn production around fifteen years of age, earlier than many oak species. I have read this. I have read about you. Despite being massively planted in the Southern United States (such as in Washington, DC and in Atlanta, Georgia) around malls, along roads, etcetera, you tend to grow larger than planners expected, which often leads to cracked sidewalks. One intriguing solution being tried in D.C. is to use “rubber” sidewalks, made from recycled tires. Would you like a rubber sidewalk, here in Atlanta, willow oak? I would. I would like rubber sidewalks for all this jogging!