Week 2 Trees

Acer floridanum

Acer floridanum

southern sugar maple, Florida maple

Family: Aceraceae

Notes: Fruit type = samara. Specific epithet = of or from Florida. Aceraceae = Maple Family. Fruits mature in the fall. Low commercial value. Used for paneling, furniture, and flooring. Fruit eaten by upland gamebirds, songbirds and small mammals. Commonly used in landscaping as a street tree.

Albizia julibrissin

mimosa, powderpuff tree, silktree

Family: Fabaceae

Notes: Fruit type = legume. Fabaceae = Pea, Bean, or Legume Family. Native from Iran to China and cultivated in North America for its showy pink flowers. Pollinated by hummingbirds. Invasive in disturbed areas, such as roadsides and stream channels, especially where road salts are used in winter. Colonial habit can lead to even-aged stands produced from root sprouts.

Benthamidia florida

flowering dogwood, dogwood

Family: Cornaceae

Notes: Fruit type = drupe (red). Specific epithet = flowering (referring to the large white bracts). Cornaceae = Dogwood Family [Formerly Cornus florida]. Wood dense and one of the hardest in N. America; formerly used in making shuttles for weaving. Gamebirds, songbirds, and mammals eat the fruit. Rabbits eat the inner bark. Trees impacted by fungal pathogens, spot and dogwood anthracnose. State flower of NC.

Cercis canadensis

redbud, eastern redbud, Judas tree

Family: Fabaceae

Notes: Fruit type = legume. Specific epithet = of or from Canada. Fabaceae = Bean, Pea, or Legume Family. An understory tree in moist forests, also commonly used in landscaping. Flowers edible. Seeds eaten by songbirds and squirrels. Cauliflory - flower/fruit from the main woody stems, which is bred for in cultivars.

Chionanthus virginicus

old man’s beard, fringetree

Family: Oleaceae

Notes: Fruit type = drupe (dark blue). Specific epithet = of or from Virginia. Oleaceae = Olive Family. Planted widely for showy flowers. Drupes eaten by songbirds, woodpeckers, and turkey. Host plant for several sphinx moths and swallowtails.

Fagus grandifolia

American beech, beech

Family: Fagaceae

Notes: Fruit type = nut. Specific epithet = large-leaved. Fagaceae = Beech Family. Raw nuts toxic to humans, eaten by gamebirds, Wood Duck, songbirds, mammals (incl. deer). Porcupines eat the inner bark. Wood used for flooring, paneling, and woodenwares (bowls, etc.). Beech bark disease is affecting and killing many beech trees from the Northeast to western NC.

Liquidambar styraciflua

sweetgum, redgum

Family: Altingiaceae

Notes: Fruit type = multiple of capsules). Specific epithet = storax-flowing. Altingiaceae = Sweetgum Family. Although planting has stopped, sweetgum ranks first in the number of acres of hardwood plantations. Commercially valuable as lumber, paneling, and plywood. Songbirds and squirrels eat the seeds. Inner bark eagerly eaten by beaver.

Liriodendron tulipifera var. tulipifera

tuliptree, yellow-poplar, tulip-poplar

Family: Magnoliaceae

Notes: Fruit type = aggregate of samaras. Specific epithet = bearing tulips. Magnoliaceae = Magnolia Family. Bee-tree; nectar used to make a dark honey. A very important timber species, sold as yellow-poplar, with most commercial production occurring in the South. Wood used for furniture, plywood, and wood composites. Grows naturally in moist areas (site demanding), sometimes used in landscaping.

Morus alba

white mulberry

Family: Moraceae

Notes: Fruit type = multiple of drupelets (purple or rarely white at maturity). Specific epithet = white. Moraceae = Mulberry family. Native to China, introduced during Colonial times as a food source for silkworms, now naturalized in disturbed and wet areas. Fruits eaten by humans and many wildlife species.

Morus rubra

red mulberry

Family: Moraceae

Notes: Fruit type = multiple of drupelets (purple at maturity). Specific epithet = red. Moraceae = Mulberry Family. Fruit has high wildlife value; eaten by small mammals and songbirds. This is our native mulberry, as compared to the white mulberry. Native Americans used the sap as an emetic (induces vomiting).

Nyssa sylvatica

blackgum, black tupelo

Family: Nyssaceae

Notes: Fruit type = drupe (dark blue). Specific epithet = of the forest. Nyssaceae = Tupelo Family. Very important for wildlife; large trees are hollow and provide nesting/den cavities. Drupe eaten by song birds, game birds, small mammals, and bear. Bee tree; flowers provide nectar for honey. Flowers on one tree are bisexual and either male or female (polygamo-dioecious). Commercial value of wood low; used for pulpwood, crates, pallets, etc.

Oxydendrum arboreum

sourwood, lily-of-the-valley-tree, sorrel-tree

Family: Ericaceae

Notes: Fruit type = capsule. Specific epithet = tree-like (referring to the form). Ericaceae = Heath Family. Sourwood is a “bee tree,” producing nectar that is turned into honey by bees. Due to sub-par growth form, often forms cavities used by smaller animals.

Pinus edulis

pinyon pine, nut pine, two-needle pinyon

Family: Pinaceae

Notes: Cone scale shape = flat. Specific epithet = edible (referring to the seeds). Pinaceae = Pine Family. Common tree of low elevations in the Southwest, very drought tolerant. Seeds large; eaten by songbirds, mammals, and humans. The Pinyon Jay has evolved to specialize on this species and is a major seed disperser. Sold as “pine nuts," the use and sale of these "nuts" are very important to local Native American tribes.

Prunus caroliniana

Carolina laurel cherry, laurel cherry

Family: Rosaceae

Notes: Fruit type = drupe (black). Specific epithet = of or from Carolina. Rosaceae = Rose Family. Native to the Maritime Forest (on our coast), but now naturalized elsewhere - salt and drought tolerant. Often used in landscaping; evergreen. Fruits eaten by songbirds, gamebirds, and small mammals. Host plant for many butterfly species.

Quercus velutina

black oak, yellow oak, quercitron oak

Family: Fagaceae

Notes: Fruit type = nut. Specific epithet = velvety (referring to the hairs on the leaf underside). Fagaceae = Beech Family. Inner bark produces a yellow dye, called quercitron. Wood and wildlife value similar to other red oaks.

Robinia pseudoacacia

black locust, yellow locust, locust

Family: Fabaceae

Natural history: Wood resistant to decay and does not shrink/swell. Used for fence posts, railroad ties, and mine timbers. Foliage poisonous to livestock. Widely planted in mine spoil bank reclamation (hardy). Naturalized from the Appalachians and Midwest.

Viburnum prunifolium

blackhaw, nannyberry

Family: Viburnaceae

Natural history: Fruit eaten by gamebirds, songbirds, small mammals, and humans.