Mary Jo DiLonardo has worked in print, online, and broadcast journalism for 25 years and covers nature, health, science, and animals. Young trees sometimes have smooth bark that's unbroken by ridges.

Many of nature's treasures have been buried by recent snow. Yet trees offer opportunities for exploration regardless of snow depth or season. Tree bark has many functions, and upon close examination ...

The reddish gray-brown bark of the red oak tree with its darker vertical markings is one of the key features to identifying the tree in winter. (Clay Wollney) Leaves are the most useful and frequently ...

The photo is of a sycamore tree at Red-tail’s McVey Memorial Forest. A walk in the woods this time of year is different. It’s quiet and monochromatic. Other than the crunch of your shoes on frozen ...

The seasons are changing from fall to winter, and one of the major changes to the environment is that the deciduous trees have lost their leaves. Evergreen trees may still have green needles, but all ...

If asked to describe what tree bark looks like, most people probably would say something like: “It’s rough and brown and covers the trunk of a tree.” That is a good description of many trees, but not ...