Week 11 Trees

Bignonia capreolata

Bignonia capreolata

trumpet flower, crossvine

Family: Bignoniaceae

Natural history: Favors bottomlands; semi-evergreen. Early flowering provides nectar for hummingbirds. Sometimes cultivated for showy red and yellow flowers. Name "crossvine" comes from cross-shaped vascular tissue (visible in stem cross-section).

Gelsemium sempervirens

yellow jessamine, Carolina jessamine, jasmine

Family: Gelsemiaceae

Natural history: Leaves, roots, and nectar are poisonous to humans, but often cultivated as an ornamental. Flowers are an early spring source of nectar for hummingbirds.

Ilex opaca

American holly, holly

Family: Aquifoliaceae

Natural history: Dioecious. Fruits eaten by songbirds, gamebirds, squirrels, and small mammals, but induces vomiting in humans. Evergreen tree that provides winter cover. Commonly planted for evergreen foliage and drupes - thick growth form screening."

Juglans cinerea

butternut, white walnut

Family: Juglandaceae

Natural history: Attacked and killed by butternut canker, an introduced fungal disease. Butternut has been virtually eliminated from North and South Carolina. Now also threatened by thousand cankers disease, another fungal pathogen. Wood similar to Juglans nigra but not as strong, can be stained to look quite similar.

Juglans nigra

black walnut, American walnut

Family: Juglandaceae

Natural history: Wood is dark, straight grained, and very hard, favored for furniture and architectural woodwork. Highest quality lumber produced in lower Ohio River valley. The husks are used as a dye. Nuts eaten by squirrels and humans prize their intense flavor. Threatened by thousand cankers disease, a fungal pathogen transmitted by walnut twig beetles Thousand cankers disease was first recorded in NC in Haywood County in 2012 and currently confined there. Exhibits allelopathy, inhibited the growth of nearby vegetation by producing the compound juglone from its root system.

Juniperus virginiana

eastern redcedar, juniper

Family: Cupressaceae

Natural history: Wood decay resistant - used in fence posts, red-colored heartwood used for chests and wardrobes. Female cones used to flavor gin; dioecious. Cones eaten by songbirds, especially Cedar Waxwings. Used in landscaping and numerous cultivars have been developed.

Kalmia latifolia

mountain laurel, ivy

Family: Ericaceae

Natural history: Leaves and twigs are poisonous to humans and livestock. Leaves browsed in winter by whitetail deer and ruffed grouse.

Muscadinia rotundifolia var. rotundifolia

muscadine grape, muscadine

Family: Vitaceae

Natural history: high-value wildlife food plant; fruit eaten by most species, including humans. Used in making wine, most notably the scuppernong variety with yellow-green fruits. The growth and care of grapes is called viticulture (culture of Vitis).

Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca

Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir

Family: Pinaceae

Natural history: Grows in the Rocky Mountains. Wood extensively used for pulp, lumber, and plywood, but typically smaller than P. menziesii var. menziesii.

Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii

coast Douglas-fir, Pacific Douglas-fir, Oregon pine

Family: Pinaceae

Natural history: Major timber species of the Pacific Northwest. Wood extensively used for pulp, lumber, and plywood. A popular Christmas tree in the Northwest. Associated with Northern Spotted Owl, a federally listed subspecies that requires old growth stands; led to a major dispute in the 1990s between conservationists and loggers.

Pyrus calleryana

Callery pear

Family: Rosaceae

Natural history: Introduced to research and develop fire-blight resistance in fruit pears. Wild parent of the commonly planted cultivar, Bradford pear (x Bradford), planted widely for its flowers despite their odor. Limbs break easily. Invasive in disturbed areas in the south.

Quercus marilandica var. marilandica

blackjack oak

Family: Fagaceae

Natural history: Low commercial value due poor, short form; used mostly for railroad ties and fuelwood. Only red oak to form tyloses (=tight cooperage). Wildlife value is the same as other red oaks. Associated with sandy soils in dry sites.

Quercus montana

chestnut oak, rock chestnut oak

Family: Fagaceae

Natural history: High wildlife value. Slow growing tree that is not used for wood. Associated with dry, rocky soils.

Rubus sp.

blackberry, bramble

Family: Rosaceae

Natural history: Over 20 species found in the Southeast. Important wildlife food; fruits eaten by upland gamebirds, songbirds, and humans. Foliage browsed by white-tailed deer and rabbits. Thick tangles provide escape cover. Considered one of the more important genera of plants for wildlife in the Southeast.

Smilax rotundifolia

smilax, roundleaf greenbrier, catbrier

Family: Smilaceae

Natural history: A woody monocot. Fruit eaten by grouse, songbirds, bear, raccoon. White-tailed deer browse the shoots.

Ulmus alata

winged elm, cork elm, wahoo

Family: Ulmaceae

Natural history: Fruits mature and are released in spring. A "hard elm," the wood is stronger than other elms but the same use as other elms, typically valued lower because it is a smaller tree. Also impacted by Dutch Elm Disease.

Vaccinium arboreum

sparkleberry, farkleberry

Family: Ericaceae

Natural history: The fruit is pulpy and tasteless. Least valuable blueberry for wildlife.