OMG but those are beautiful shots.

horster, you went at a nice time. October is the best season for Williamsburg. I recognize some of the trees, and can tell you that summer finds the root flare covered with people grinding their soles into the dirt. I always marveled that there was any bark left on the roots. The local soil is fine textured to begin with, and a hundred people waiting for the shuttles has the same effect that a herd of wildebeest does on the Acacias in East Africa. Cool shots of the roots, I'll never look at exposed root flares the same way anymore.

the title confuses me ...

of course they do .. they put them where they are needed.. subject to soil and ambient moisture ...

but i presume you knew that ... i am just noting the interesting word use ...

thx for the pix...

ken

There was a huge burr oak on the VA Tech campus right along a pedestrian pathway -- the soil and root-buttress was compacted to concrete hardness. The tree seemed healthy nevertheless.

The last tree is impressive. Looks like an oak, maybe southern red oak. Did you ID it?

The massive oak in the last picture is the national champion Compton oak in historic Williamsburg, Q. x comptoniae, a hybrid between overcup and live oaks.
I didn't specifically ID the trees in the first two pictures but #1 is an oak and #2 is a maple. #3 is a paper mulberry.
hortster

I am amazed by the half exposed roots of trees along streams I might be fishing in. You would think the occasional flood exposes them. Then again maybe it happens gradually and that allows the trees to compensate.

The way farm land modifies the environment and channelizes streams makes this more dramatic I suppose as some of the trees are feet above the water line.

Then again if the streams were not kept to their banks and were lower and wider it would happen more often....but if not for man there would be larger herbivores to keep the trees in check.....

Shucks, who knows. But thanks for the good pics.

I found an image of the burr oak I remember on the VA Tech campus. From the pic it appears they put in a paved walkway nearby & sparing the tree from the root-zone traffic. Still looks quite healthy:

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:454659}}

This magnolia stands in front of the incredibly beautiful Hammond-Harwood house in Annapolis. Notice how someone left the water hose laying there just a little too long? The tree is perfectly healthy, no ill effects whatsoever from exposed roots.
{{gwi:454664}}

I'd rather have those roots than hosta, lol.

I have a pic of the Champion southern red oak. It is about 7 ft from a house near Virginia beach. There is a guy sitting on a bench near it's trunk. I am pretty sure that is the right tree I am thinking of. I must add that the 4 th image of the Quercus Comptonae. Quercus VirginianaX Quercus Lyrata is very impressive. It's branch spread is quite impressive.

I thought that this Zelkova would fit in to this thread nicely kinda like the OP's pix. There is no hindrance from pavement, sidewalks, etc. Notice how far the surface roots extend and help to buttress the mass of the tree. Compare this to the average streetside planting. A Zelkova will never become a large, beautiful tree when it is crammed into a narrow planting strip.

Here's a picture of me standing between the roots of a Moreton Bay Fig on Kauai, Hawaii.

Mike

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i283/Botann/My%20favorite%20pics/2572332830036511179.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i283/Botann/Vacation%20pictures/2394951710036511179.jpg

Aren't they called the "Tree of life" in South America? I know the tree I'm thinking of has those large roots like that, there are spikes up in the higher trunk, they cover huge areas in shade where there are large market places in their shade in Guatemala. I can't recall the name, sigh.

Ceiba is the name I was looking for, but they are called Kapook, not figs. My mistake of course.

The trunk and roots look very similar to the Moreton Bay Fig.

Weird trees!

I agree Mike, they are both very impressive trees. You are lucky to have seen in person those buttressed roots as tall as some people. There is another tree with buttressed roots but they aren't as wide spread outward. It is the "Lophozonia moorei" or "Arctic Beech".