Tuesday, August 10, 2010

What is this tree?






Today we are travelling across northern Ohio. Lots of corn, soybeans, some grapes and apples, I think. There is a small farm that we have passed a couple of times and they have the oddest looking trees. These trees are not very big, maybe 15 feet tall, definitely fruit-y looking but we go past them too fast to really focus on what kind of fruit it is. They look like the kind of trees that would live in one of those scary forests in a children's story. The branches come up and then droop down heavily, like they are just too tired to hold themselves up and they look vaguely sinister.

I decided to look up these trees online so I would have some enlightening bit of trivia to tell, but apparently it's a state secret. I have looked and looked on the Google (remember when George Bush called it the Google? I'm stealing that!) under various search terms and have found out lots of things but not what this weird tree is. Ohio's state tree is the Buckeye which is a slightly poisonous nut that should not be eaten. Slightly poisonous? What does that even mean? Isn't that like slightly pregnant? But Buckeyes are way bigger than this. According the Ohio State University website fruit trees in Ohio include apples,  pears, peaches,  nectarines, apricot, plums and cherries. A quick look at those trees on the Google and still no luck with the creepy trees.

I wish that farmers would put a sign on their crops. It would be so interesting to know what that stuff growing on the side of the road is and maybe that would make regular people like us more interested in food and where it comes from. There is a section on I-90 in eastern Washington that does this and we love going by there and seeing the variety. This is the only place in the country that we have seen these signs and there is a lot of country out there believe me and a lot more than boring corn. If you know what this tree is, please tell me and I'll tell the Google!


If you want to know more about food crops and how the variety of what is grown is dwindling, check out Barbara  Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle...A Year of Food Life".

59 comments:

  1. They don't want you to know?!

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  2. I know, but they can't stop me from looking! If we can put a man on the moon, we can figure this out!

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  3. Just wondered if you could send the pic to me so that I could take it to class and ask one of the instructors if they recognize it.

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  4. Just wondered if you could send the pic to me so that I could take it to class and ask one of the instructors if they recognize it.

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  5. I came back to this particular entry just to see if anyone had identified that spooky tree. It was good news and bad news. No one identfied it, but Cari obviously has an inside track with some professional minds that can get us the answer we deserve and demand. I 've been obsessed with that unearthly tree ever since you were gracious enough to make me aware of it's existence. I was just on a short road trip and thanks to you, not only are there horribly, frightening gigantic weeds that grow profusely on the side of the road for me to be on the look out for (in case the RV breaks down next to one) now I have these trees to worry about. Thank God for Cari, she'll get to the root (n intended)of this dilemma ....... she did post her comment twice.
    Mona

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  6. BTW, in that shot of the Jolly Green Giant. were you or himself trying to answer the age old question of what's under that kilt (or tunic in this case)? Just sayin that might not be the best angle to get a really good look/

    Mona










    Mona

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  7. Just want to say that Mona is one FUNNY woman! You really crack me up!

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  8. @Mona, I can tell you from experience that the JGG is smoother than Barbie's boy toy Ken in that department!

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  9. Thank you sincerely, dear Tumbleweed. You saw through to what I really wanted to know and promptly gave me the answer. I had also always wondered about Ken. My darling daughters only played with Barbies, so I had no legitimate excuse to buy a Ken doll.That leaves only one question, who do men wear, if anything, under kilts?

    Thank you sincerely, my dear Cari, for the unsolicited complement.

    As ever, Mona

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  10. hey stacey - where were the trees?? i mean what stretch of highway?? - kim

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  11. @ Kim, they were in Ohio off of I-80 west of Toledo.

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  12. WTF kinda tree is this????? Still no answer... How many sleepless nights am I gonna have until I find out....

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  13. Tumbleweed I am still fighting the drive I did from West Virginia today and starting to loose sleep as well on this tree! I made my husband take a pix of your SAME photo in trying to figure it out...he is thinking a pear tree. I am thinking about Googling the mile marker - 51 on Hwy 80.

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  14. Hi Melissa! Thanks for riding along. I think your husband is on the right track, it definitely looks "fruity". We have been by there several times, but never when there is fruit on the tree!

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  15. I've been trying to figure out the same thing! I saw them on my way to PA and on my way to NY- same spot. No idea what they are!!

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    1. Isn't that weird? I wish they'd put up some signs. Why are they keeping the creepy trees a secret? I should call somebody but I hate the telephone.

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  16. Hello! I saw those trees for the first time today and did a search on the Google (thanks!) . . . please look up references to MacQueens apple orchard near Toledo and photos by Joyce Tenneson. I believe the trees are very old apple trees! Have a great day.

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  17. See the first picture in
    http://smellingsomeroses.blogspot.com/2011/10/apple-picking-adventure.html

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  18. "It's a very old, large scale, family owned apple orchard near Toledo, OH, MacQueens Orchard. They have some of the oldest living, still producing, apple trees that I've ever seen! The branches are eerie, gnarled, and have an almost alien feel to them." http://www.flickr.com/photos/mat4226/6092795680/

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  19. Thank you for posting this! We are driving from IL to PA and saw these trees and were completely perplexed. Now we know they're apple trees :)

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  20. Those are apple trees, they usually hang low like that. Pear trees look more like regular trees.
    Now, can you tell me what these trees are in Arizona that look like a palm tree but they're not plans, they almost look like they're from the Flintstones.

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    1. I believe they are called Palmious Flintstonious Fred. ;)

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  21. It may be that cursed withered tree from the bible.

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  22. I'm late to the party, but someone on this thread said that the apple trees can't be seen from the highway and suggested that they are peach trees https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/toledo/comments/23rnt8/question_about_orchard_from_ohio_turnpike_near/

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  23. I can't believe nobody knows what these trees are. I want to know what these trees are.

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  24. We just drove by them and I'm trying to figure out what they are too. If they're apple trees, shouldn't they be in bloom?

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  25. My family just drove by these trees on our way from PA to Chicago for vacation. We were just as perplexed and took to Google which pointed us right to your post and an aswer. Thank you Tumbleweed for your original AL post so many many years ago. The rest of us that spot them no longer need to be kept in the dark.

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  26. Just drove through Maumee Valley, OH on I-80. Googled the crazy alien sad trees. They look just like the ones at MacQueen's Apple Orchard. I think it's just as interesting that so many people drive by, Google, and end up at your blog. Fun diversion.

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  27. Yes!! Thanks for this post, we were just passing through and wondering the same thing :)

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  28. Haha!! Us too! It's the second time we've passed by them. And I decided to google them this time. So happy we found this thread. Thanks for posting everyone!

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  29. Just drove by as well. They remind me of a Ray Bradbury book called "The Halloween Tree". The orchard would be great for a haunted hayrack ride!

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  30. MacQueens is a great orchard and they host a locally popular Apple Butter festival annually (http://www.macqueenorchards.com). West Toledo (what is actually northwest of present day downtown Toledo) used to all be fruit and dairy farms from about the 1830s until the early 1900s. Specifically, most of the area along Sylvania Ave. west from Lewis Ave.

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  31. Just passed the tree in Ohio off I-80 west of Toledo... Someone's building a house right in the middle of those weird looking trees... Did anyone find out if they are peach trees?

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    1. Roadtripping from CT to CO and we saw the crazy trees and were wondering the same thing as everyone here! Looks like the house you mentioned above is still being built as well. It gave us a nice distraction to read more about these creepy trees and made us laugh that we weren’t the only ones. Thanks everyone!

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  32. Headed across country with the fam, traveling on 90 and just passed them. We were perplexed, thank you for clearing it up!

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  33. They are grafted apple trees. Basically they graft and apple and weeping crabapple trees seeds to make the tree grow that way.

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  34. Thanks for the info, we were very perplexed as well 😉

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  35. I think I found what you were searching for. While still on the I-80, I googled the nearby farms along the highway. I viewed the reviews and pictures for each farm, and eventually, I came across the MacQueen Orchards which is filled with apple trees. Some of the pictures show bent apple trees similar to the ones on the highway. I'll post the link below so you can view it and see if it is really it.

    https://www.google.com/search?ei=g0ZYXfd58qfnAtWwvKAM&q=macqueen+orchard&oq=macqueen+orchard&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.3..0i7i30l2j0l3j0i30l2.10283.15847..16603...0.1..0.274.1008.2-4......0....1.........0i71j0i13i10j0i13j0i10i30j0i7i10i30.FbTDgyCrtSk

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  36. Goodness. We travel this area alot and since 2010 we have had so many conversations about this very ugly tree. We have wished someone would absolutely confirm what it is. Like a previously posted mention,someone get that grower to put agiant sign up to let allof know what it really is.

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  37. Traveling from NJ to Chicago and passed these trees on I-80 west after Maumee — googled “creepy orchard trees” and stumbled on this post. So funny how we all ended up here! 😊

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  38. We just spotted these, too. Thought we saw orange fruit. but are going too fast to be sure. Peaches, apricots or apples?

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  39. This is great! 11year conversation about ‘creepy-fruit-trees’. We just passed them and I mentioned ‘oh that would be a great love to film a horror movie scene’. And just like that you google I90 creepy trees and you wind up here. Safe travels!

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  40. Just drove by on the way to Baltimore from Nebraska. Googled creepy tree west edge of Toledo. Thread still answering questions almost 12 years later.

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  41. Trees are still there and this thread is still helping answer the question 13 years later! Been Googling and trying to figure it out for days now! Thank you!

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  42. We were just trying to figure it out also, and you are right - The Google is no help. We are full-timers and love your idea of signs. I find myself using The Google for Everything. Safe travels

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  43. Just came to add my comment😂 We too also just passed the tree orchard in Toledo. Wondering the exact same thing as everyone else LMAO. "Spooky tree Toledo" Google search for the win lol. Unfortunately we are heading home otherwise we would have stopped to investigate more.. Time to google the Orchard and learn more now! Thanks everyone and Safe/Happy travels!

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  44. Drove by this orchard this week and made a note to Google it when I got access to wifi. Love that this is still perplexing people all these years later and this thread is what people find!

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  45. Just figured I’d add my comment too lol. We drove by today and I jumped down the rabbit hole called google until I found this thread too lol. Thank you for an answer! I love that so many people still use this thread haha

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  46. Driving from NH to MN and we drove buy the “creepy apple trees” and fell down the Google rabbit hole :) did we ever find out what kind of trees they are or why they look so creepy?

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  47. Can’t believe I found this post today only to find a 13 year conversation still going with another curious traveler posting just hours before us! Traveling from NY to Chicago on way back from a family reunion. ✌🏼

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  48. We just drove by this as well and were trying to figure it out. Can’t believe we found this ongoing post! Thanks for the info.

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  49. LOL hi! Just passed the trees on the way from Maryland to Oregon. Saw these epic trees and glad to see others like them too. Thanks for your years Old post OP.

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  50. I’m loving this post. We had a long discussion in the car about what these could be. I did what everyone else did. Combed google. And stumbled upon this post. Thanks for the laughs!!

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  51. Just passed them going from New Hampshire to California. Thanks for the answer!! Great thread. Really fun to know they’ve been “ stumping” people for years!! ( pun intended!)

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  52. This post is amazing!!
    Exactly the same history and the Google still no information about the weird trees. :)

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  53. Just went by them on HW 80 and they were full of fruit in floor and tons of people walking around picking them!! Did a google search for ugly apple trees and stumbled on this thread!! The internet is spectacular !!!

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