Canadian geography: roadside scrub

Self-tutoring about Canadian trees and nature patterns: the tutor shares some thoughts about roadside scrub.

I’ve lived in a few places where land was cheap and/or the terrain was rugged. In such places, the roadside often was let to grow what I’d call scrub – deciduous, wood-stemmed plants, up to 12 feet tall, that you’d describe as small trees. Yet, they almost never became trees, likely because every few years the highway authority would mow them back down to preserve visibility. Along gravel forest roads, the same would be done, but with the purpose simply to keep the road open.

In Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and BC I’ve witnessed such roadside foliage. In my experience, it looks the same everywhere. Yet, I’m realizing that it’s not the same.

Out west here, I’d say that scrub is often alder. Yet, alder doesn’t grow naturally in the Atlantic provinces. There (and perhaps elsewhere in Canada), I’d say the roadside scrub is typically paper birch, which occurs throughout Canada, and only gains its papery bark with age; as a young tree, its bark is brown. Birch and alder both have toothed leaves, and it’s mainly the leaves you notice.

Source:

Brockman, Zim, et al. Trees of North America. New York: Golden Press, 1968.