The trail that leads down to Wellfleet’s cedar swamp, where majestic Atlantic white cedars grow from a bed of standing water, begins up on the heathland. There, the path winds through a grove of Quercus ilicifolia. The scrub oak is more of a shrub than a tree, its low stature perfectly suited to withstand the harsh winds that are characteristic of coastal heaths. Those low branches on either side of the trail afford hikers a front row seat to the fringe festival playing out this month: the multitude of elongating tassels that contain the male flowers. If the wind does its part, pollen will find the female flowers that hug the branches and eventually become acorns. Take note of the shape of the leaves beginning to emerge — the scrub oak’s scientific name means “holly-like.”
