Dad wanted to look at some property in Nelson County (between Lynchburg and Charlottesville), so we went on a drive out in rural Virginia on Easter Sunday.

I liked the irregularity of the bark, and took this photo as a random shot, here’s the corky sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) in dad’s front yard before we left.

When I was in high school (before my botany major), I thought the tree had something wrong with it like a messed up gall or viral infection. Nope. That’s the way it is.