Fusion

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 10-22
Location: North end of campus, south of the tall shiny statue
Time: 1615-1631
Weather: 66˚F, sunny but still chilly

I remembered seeing combination trees at the capital grounds, a mixture of an umbrella like plant with a tree trunk. I found another one, but this one was on Willamette’s campus. A strange fusion of what appeared to be a chestnut tree and an oak. The roots from the oat trunk formed intricate veins of roots along the ground. Along the fusion line, approximately 3 feet from the ground, a few horse chestnuts sprigs started to form. At the branching of the horse chestnut, holes were visible within the trunk, a small cove for insects and such to inhabit. The oak portion was covered with fine white flakes growing on it, perhaps a form of fungus. On closer inspection, the horse chestnut also had a small amount covering it. The oak had peeling bark concavely away from its natural curvature (almost hyperbolic if you really want to get technical with it). A few nuts were scattered on the ground along with many dead leaves. Just looking at the two halves made me wonder as to whether the fusion was intentional or accidental. Did someone chop down the oak that was growing too large for the area? Was a horse chestnut added in as an afterthought? The strange specimen before me exhibited the contrasting horizontal bark of the upper section and the vertical furrows of the oak trunk. There was no unsightly bump as of yet, so perhaps they were well adjusted to the new conditions. Or perhaps it was fairly recently grafted.