Nature Notes
White Spruce, Balsam Fir Christmas Trees Are Native to Island
By Patricia Martin

The Christmas season is here again. So much of Christmas these days seems to be blinking lights, glittery gold and silver ornaments, artificial trees and garland, moving Santas and reindeer, and huge plastic snow globes. These things are all well and good, and in many cases either beautiful and/or fun, but thinking back on the Christmases of my childhood, I realized how many of my memories are associated with the natural world. When I was a child, a group of us would go out with our horse and sleigh to cut down our Christmas trees and drag them back. It was a lot more work than picking one out at a tree lot, but I think a lot more fun, though sometimes I remember absolutely freezing and being soaked through to the skin. We would often sing Christmas carols and have snowball fights, hopping off and on the sleigh. The trees we would get were not perfect, and often you would have to take the top section of the tree. One thing that was always true is that they always look smaller in the woods than they do when you get them home. On Mackinac, we would get

either a white spruce (Picea glauca) or a balsam fir (Abies balsamea), which are the only native species of spruce or fir that grow on the Island. Unlike the pine, both of these species have needles arranged individually along the branches and not in clusters of two to five needles, as is the case with pine trees. To differentiate between the spruce and the fir, we used to say "remember the sharp spruce and the friendly fir." This is because spruce needles have rigid, pointed tips and tend to crowd on the upper surface of the branch by twisting the needles on the lower side. White spruce needles are about one third to three-quarters inches in length and are foursided with a blue/green color, although occasionally they have a whitish cast. The cone is flexible, about an inch to 2.5 inches long, and hanging downward. These trees are heavier to carry out of the woods, and poke you a lot more than the balsam fir. They also tend to lose their needles more quickly than the fir.

If you haven't already figured it out, the fir is my favorite tree for Christmas. It's called the "friendly fir" because its needles are flattened, blunt, and on the lower branches arranged in two ranks. All of these characteristics give it a softer feel to the touch. The cones of this evergreen are two to four inches long and grow upwards on the top branches. These cones do not fall to the ground in one piece, as they do in most of the conifers, but instead they disintegrate on the tree, leaving the central stalk of the cones like candles on the top of the tree. These are easy trees to cut down and are lightweight for hauling out of the woods. One reason I particularly like the balsam fir is that it hangs onto its needles for a month or more, and it smells so wonderful.

Even after the Christmas season is over, you can still enjoy the smell of the balsam. I like to strip the needles off the branches of the Christmas tree and my balsam wreath. They can then be put into small pillows or sachets that will smell wonderful for years. The needles are also great for filling a long tube of fabric to make a door snake to block the wind from coming in under the front door. We often made Christmas ornaments from things found in the woods, and in fact still do. Cones from the spruce and pines, milkweed pods, acorns, birch bark, lichen, bird's nests, and dried flowers can all be used. Milkweed pods can have small dried flowers glued inside them, and then they can be hung on the tree.

It's good luck to put a bird's nest in your tree, and if you find a small artificial bird or bird eggs to put in it, it is particularly nice. Pine cones can be decorated with glitter, paint, small artificial birds, or dried flowers and then hung on the tree. In fact, pine cones can be

used for many things. Using a straw or grapevine wreath form, cones can be wired or glued on, along with acorns and milkweed pods to make a pine cone wreath that can be hung up or set on a table with a pillar candle within. A small "tree" can be made out of cones by making a base of wood with a dowel placed vertically up the center. Cones will then have a wire loop placed on the end, which will fit over the dowel. The cones are arranged along the dowel in ascending order from larger to smaller ones at the top. The "pinecone tree" can then be decorated. Cones can also be made into bird feeders by tying ribbon to one end, spreading the cone with peanut butter or shortening, rolling it in birdseed, and hanging it in a tree.

As a child, I was fascinated by a nativity scene that was made of natural materials. A lady here on the Island would make a pinecone creche every year. Acorns would be used for the heads of Mary, Joseph, and all the others. Their bodies were made of cones and robes were made of birch bark. The wool of the lambs and the ermine of the kings' robes were made of the down of milkweed. Beards were made of lichen and the legs of the camels were made of twigs. I've made several pinecone creches over the years, but they never seem as wonderful as the one from my childhood.

In the house we still make displays of different evergreen branches in vases. Mixing white pine, northern whitecedar, white spruce, and balsam fir in an arrangement creates texture using different greens. For a punch of red, cut twigs of red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) or take a branch that you pruned from an

apple tree and attach small apples to the branch by jamming them on a short shoot or branch. Dried flowers can always be added.

One other cutting that we always liked to include was fresh English holly (Ilex aquifolium). My aunt and uncle in Oregon used to send fresh holly from their garden to us every year. The dark green and the bright red berries really added a special touch to the holiday. Tradition has it that the red berries represent the blood of Christ, the white flowers of the holly the purity of Mary, and the evergreen leaves eternal life.

One legend has it that Christ's crown of thorns was made of holly and that the blood of Jesus turned the berries that were then white to red. Unfortunately, Mackinac is too far north to grow holly, and my aunt and uncle are no longer able to send it, but there are other red berries that you can use. The privet produces red berries and thorns; rose hips and high bush cranberries also can add great color.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, whether you use a real tree or artificial, gold and silver garland or cranberry and popcorn chain, blinking lights or candles.

P.S. On a more somber note, I've recently had word that two or perhaps three foxes have been found dead on the Island from unknown causes. If anyone sees one, please call the Mackinac County Animal Control Officer or the manager of the Mackinac Island State Park.

Trish Martin is a yeararound resident of Mackinac Island, has earned a master's degree in botany from Central Michigan University, and owns Bogan Lane Inn.