Tree Trail Project 43-48

Tree Descriptions 43-48 (Eagle Scout Project by George Atkinson) 

43) Blackjack Oak (Quercus marilandica)
The Blackjack Oak is a deciduous tree that grows between 15 and 45 feet, but can reach heights of 95 feet. Its leaves are glossy green in the summer and spring, and turn red in the fall and winter. The oak grows from New York to Iowa out to Florida and Texas, and usually grows in poor, dry, or sandy soil.

44) White oak (Quercus alba)
The White Oak is both a deciduous and evergreen tree, depending on what region of the U.S. it’s growing in. They grow from 50-80 feet high and are found from Maine to Florida west to Minnesota and Texas. Its leaves change a brownish-red/orange in the fall, and it has a short stocky trunk with large horizontal limbs. The White Oak is mainly used to make wine/whisky barrels, five-string banjos, and can serve as food for surrounding wildlife. An interesting fact about the White Oak is its male flowers are called ‘catkins’.

45) Pignut Hickory (Carya glabra)
The Pignut Hickory is a deciduous tree that can grow from 50-60 feet in height and 25-35 feet in width. The bark has ridges in a vertical pattern. The Pignut Hickory is found in the eastern United States and serves as food to wildlife such as black bears, foxes, rabbits, and raccoons. Early European settlers made black dye out of the bark.

46) Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
The Eastern Cottonwood is a deciduous hardwood tree, and grows 65–195 ft. tall. They live for a long time, and have the potential to live to 400 years old. Its bark is silvery and its fissures deepen with age. It has green, triangular, toothed leaves. The flowers are purplish-red, or green. The seeds are attached to cotton-like strands that catch the wind. One tree can release up to 40 million seeds. It is one of the fastest-growing trees in North America (commonly found in the eastern half of the US) and is used in plywood and furniture.

47) Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii)
The Slash Pine i s a conifer tree native to the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. This tree is fast-growing and lives to around 200 years old. It generally reaches a height of 50-98 feet with a trunk diameter of 2.6 feet. This tree is found mainly in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, as well as in Louisiana. It can grow in a variety of soils but prefers to grow in moist soils to avoid wildfires. Once these trees take root it can be difficult to get rid of them due to how fast they grow and controlled burning of these forests have been going on since the 12th century to combat this. The Slash Pine is related to the Loblolly Pine (#33).

48) Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum)
The Bald Cypress is a classic deciduous tree of southern swamps, and generally grows between 50-100 feet tall, but can grow upwards of 125 feet. It has green leaves during the spring and summer that turn yellowish-brown in the fall. The Bald Cypress is grown everywhere in the U.S. (though it is native to the Eastern/Southeastern US) and is a very important plant because of its ability to suck up floodwaters and prevent erosion. It also traps pollutants and prevents them from spreading into the environment. Frogs, toads, salamanders, and other amphibious wildlife use this tree as a breeding ground. The Bald Cypress is one of the few deciduous conifers in present day.