Southern Trees

Trees in the south

Quercus phellos

Quercus phellos

common, intolerant, fast-growing pioneer on alluvial bottomlands where it attains large size (7 ft. dhb, 130 ft. height) so tolerant of poorly drained and droughty soils

Quercus phellos

valuable timber tree for lumber and plywood, marketed as “red” oak (and in this subgenus)

Quercus phellos

an outstanding shade tree for urban and rural landscapes because of form and texture, often the most abundant planted tree in some southern cities

Quercus phellos

acorns important to wildlife

Quercus nigra

common, intolerant, fast-growing pioneer on alluvial bottomlands and moist uplands

Quercus nigra

also a “red” oak, wood used for lumber, plywood and fuel; widely planted as shade tree

Liquidambar styraciflua

intolerant, fast-growing pioneer on poorly drained uplands and old fields, best growth in alluvial bottomlands

Liquidambar styraciflua

Liquidambar styraciflua

one of more important commercial hardwood species, especially for plywood and pulpwood for paper

Liquidambar styraciflua

planted for mine land reclamation

Liquidambar styraciflua

widely planted as urban and rural shade tree but fruit can be a nuisance

Ilex opaca

very tolerant, slow-growing, subcanopy species of bottomlands and lower slope positions

Ilex opaca

very salt (spray and runoff) tolerant

Ilex opaca

wood is white, very hard, shock resistant – used for veneer, cabinetry, handles, carvings, and specialty uses

Ilex opaca

largest of native Ilex species that include evergreen and deciduous shrubs, depending on region

Ilex opaca

an exceptional evergreen ornamental where hardy, especially female varieties (need both sexes for fruit display); many varieties available

Pinus echinata

moderately shade tolerant to intolerant tree on wide range of soils except littleleaf disease can be a problem on poorly drained sites; best growth on well-drained alluvial soils

Pinus echinata

occurs from the Coastal Plain through Piedmont, into the southern and central Appalachians (the only pine in this group in the mountains, and abundant west of the Mississippi River)

Pinus echinata

can sprout at the base when young and main stem is injured

Pinus echinata

wood important for lumber, plywood, and pulpwood

Pinus echinata

southern pine beetle can be devastating but has high resistance to fusiform rust which devastates many southern pines

Pinus taeda

moderately shade tolerant, aggressive, fast-growing pioneer that dominates cutover and abandoned farmlands in region; prior to such disturbance was mostly found on alluvial bottomlands where it has a large stature

Pinus taeda

extensively planted in plantations for wood products and for land restoration

Pinus taeda

leading commercial timber species in the southern US, wood used for lumber, poles, and pulpwood for paper

Pinus taeda

old-growth stands of this and other southern pines are critical habitat for federally-listed red-cockaded woodpecker

Pinus taeda

fusiform rust and southern pine beetle can be very serious

Pinus taeda

much genetic “improvement” research done on this species to improve its growth and wood quality

Pinus elliottii

intolerant, very fast growing tree on the Coastal Plain of Deep South

Pinus elliottii

prior to fire suppression in region, naturally restricted to wet depressions; now aggressively colonizes cutover and abandoned farm lands

Pinus elliottii

fusiform rust most serious problem

Pinus elliottii

one of two southern pines used for naval stores; wood used for pulp and timber

Pinus elliottii

var. densa, South Florida slash pine, is not important commercially but is common in places like the Everglades (rocklands); exhibits a grass stage similar to longleaf pine

Pinus palustris

intolerant (most of all southern pines), fast growing (once out of grass stage) tree on well-drained, acidic, often sandy soils with low organic matter, primarily on Coastal Plain

Pinus palustris

also found on poorly drained soils on slopes and in depressions (although called “flatlands”)

Pinus palustris

has long (5 to 10 years) grass stage during which there is little height growth

Pinus palustris

a fire-climax, once the dominant in extensive wiregrass-longleaf pine savannas that have nearly all been eliminated from the region; prescribed burning an essential management tool

Pinus palustris

one of two southern pines used for naval stores; timber regarded as exceptional, especially old growth

Pinus palustris

pine-straw also valuable

Pinus palustris

highly susceptible to brown spot needle blight

Pinus palustris

state tree of Alabama

Taxodium distichum

moderately tolerant, long lived (to 2700 years!) fast-growing, very large tree of bottomlands and permanently flooded areas (“deepwater swamps”)

Taxodium distichum

can sprout at base and along the bole if main stem is damaged

Taxodium distichum

under flooded conditions produces “knees” or pneumatophore (“breathing roots”) – their function is not believed to be physiological but they are often a striking feature surrounding the tree

Taxodium distichum

very valuable timber species, wood is rot resistant

Taxodium distichum

planted as an ornamental, including much further north of range, on wet to dry sites

Taxodium distichum

nutria are serious pest where baldcypress is planted for reforestation

Taxodium distichum

pondcypress is either T. d. var. imbricarium or Taxodium ascendens

Chamaecyparis thyoides

intolerant to moderately tolerant species of freshwater swamps and bogs, usually on organic (peat) soils and in pure stands

Chamaecyparis thyoides

usually within a few hundred miles of eastern seaboard although intolerant to salinity

Chamaecyparis thyoides

can reproduce by stem layering

Chamaecyparis thyoides

wood highly rot resistant, valuable for posts and log cabins; logs historically “mined” from swamps

Chamaecyparis thyoides

planted as ornamental, including its few varieties, but deer devastate

Pinus flexis

intolerant, long-lived pioneer of exposed sites near timberline, and other dry sites downslope

Pinus flexis

replaced downslope (in subalpine zone) by subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce

Pinus flexis

important primarily for watershed protection and source of food for small animals (e.g, Clark’s nutcracker – can carry about 125 seeds to 14+ miles away)

Pinus flexis

nice ornamental in eastern US where it grows much larger and more upright

Pinus ponderosa

intolerant, fast-growing, long lived, drought tolerant tree of lower montane and upper foothill zones where it often occurs in savanna-like stands; has deep taproot

Pinus ponderosa

one of largest Pinus species in world, biggest in California and Oregon forests (will revisit)

Pinus ponderosa

most widely distributed Pinus species in North American, at relatively low elevations in western mountain ranges

Pinus ponderosa

most economically important Pinus species in U.S., furnishing more lumber of any other pine species

Pinus ponderosa

due to fire suppression over its range, many stands have become stagnant and are now potentially catastrophic fire hazards

Pinus ponderosa

at least three varieties recognized, i.e., var. scopulorum (Rocky Mountain pp), var. ponderosa (typical variety, of Oregon, California, and adjacent areas), and var. arizonica (Arizona pine)

Pinus ponderosa

mountain pine beetle especially serious problem

Pinus ponderosa

State tree of Montana

Pinus contorta

intolerant, fast-growing, aggressive pioneer following fire in the montane and subalpine zones

Pinus contorta

occurs over greatest range of ecological conditions of any conifer in North America

Pinus contorta

very dense stands that form following fire subject to overcrowding and stagnation

Pinus contorta

a fire climax, cones persistent and (usually) serotinous

Pinus contorta

four geographical varieties recognized, including var. latifolia, the Rocky Mountain lodgepole (will revisit others in appropriate regions)

Pinus contorta

bark beetles (especially mountain pine beetle) are very serious pests, and in dense stands create a significant fire threat; dwarf mistletoe and Comandra blister ruts also a serious threat

Pinus contorta

common name refers to use for tipi structures made by Plains Indians

Pinus contorta

provincial tree of Alberta

Picea engelmannii

named after George Engelmann (hence the spelling), a noted German-American physician and botanist of 19th century

Picea engelmannii

shade tolerant (but less so than its common associate, subalpine fir), long-lived climax of subalpine zone with subalpine fir, becoming prostrate near timberline where it is maintained by stem layering

Picea engelmannii

important for watershed protection

Picea engelmannii

abundant, often in pure stands throughout the Rockies at higher elevations, really the “blue spruce” of the Rockies

Picea engelmannii

Engelmann spruce bark beetle can be very damaging

Picea engelmannii

beautiful conifer for northeastern landscape but rarely planted outside of botanical gardens and arboreta

Picea engelmannii

hybridizes with white spruce where their ranges overlap (Canadian Rockies)

Picea pungens

moderately shade tolerant tree found primarily on lower slopes and not far from streams in the montane zone, typically on site that are not as dry as those dominated by ponderosa pine

Picea pungens

geographical range restricted to region around Colorado, not nearly as abundant as Engelmann spruce in the Rockies

Picea pungens

in natural stands often green and developing an open crown, not silvery blue and dense like the varieties (grafted) planted in the eastern US

Picea pungens

not commercially important for timber but important for protection of riparian (streamside) habitats

Picea pungens

well adapted to eastern US climate so an important landscape tree, especially the silvery-blue varieties

Abies lasiocarpa

very tolerant, slow-growing climax of the subalpine zone, usually with Engelmann spruce, often on soils that are too wet or too dry for this spruce; ecologically similar to balsam fir but much bigger and longer lived

Abies lasiocarpa

maintained by stem layering at timberline

Abies lasiocarpa

little commercial value; important for watershed protection

Abies lasiocarpa

the exclamation mark of the subalpine zone (referring to its tight, spire-like form)

Abies lasiocarpa

corkbark fir, of southern Rockies, is A. l. var. arizonica

Abies concolor

tolerant, long-lived, drought tolerant, large tree of montane zone, often with ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir, eventually replacing these species if fire is absent in these stands

Abies concolor

like most firs, fire sensitive

Abies concolor

much bigger in the Sierras (will revisit), but smaller than associated giant sequoias

Abies concolor

can be seriously damaged by mistletoes and fir engraver beetle

Abies concolor

wood used for construction lumber plywood; occasionally planted for Christmas trees

Abies concolor

most heat and drought tolerant Abies for planting in eastern US

Pseudotsuga menziesii

moderately tolerant, fast-growing, long-lived tree on moist but well-drained sites

Pseudotsuga menziesii

subclimax in montane to mid subalpine zones in Rockies; can form pure stands following disturbance

Pseudotsuga menziesii

two varieties, i.e., glauca of the Rockies and menziesii of PNW and California; glauca more modest size compared to menziesii

Pseudotsuga menziesii

harvest of menziesii in PNW makes this species the single most important lumber producing species in U.S.; old-growth here is subject of much debate among natural resource managers

Pseudotsuga manziesii

glauca commonly planted variety in eastern US for landscaping and Christmas trees