R E

T E S
n
atur
est
udy
 TYPES OF TREES
ASH (
fraxi
nus)
Green and whi te ash are the m ostcom m on
speciesofash tr ee and can be f ound throughout
m uch ofthe East ern Uni t
ed Stat esand Canada.
Otherspeci esl i
ke the blue ash,Cal i
fornia ash,
and Carol
ina ash ar efound i n the Midwestand
Southern states.

These large shade tr eesgr ow up t o about70 feet

tall
.Atone ti m e theywer e the m ostfrequently
planted tree i
n citiesacr ossthe U. S.astheycan
grow in a vari
etyofsoi lcondi tionsand theyar e
forgivi
ng ofthe pol lution,salt,and other
challenging condi tionsf ound i n ur
ban set ti
ngs.

Ash tr
eesar e known fortheiropposi te br
anchi
ng,m eaning branchesand
budsdevel op dir
ectlyacr ossfrom each otheri
n pair
s.W hen looking f
or
opposite br
anchi ng,rem em berbudsorl i
m bsm aydie,so noteverysingl
e
branch orbud m aystillhave itsm at
e.

Ash treeshave com pound l eaveswi th 5t o9l eafletson each stem .They
com m onlyhave grayish bark thatisfur rowed wi th a di
stinctpat
tern of
diam ond-shaped ridges.Ash seedsar ef ound in clusters
ofslender,paddl e-shaped wi ngsknown assam ar as.
Ash wood isstrong,l i
ght weightand pl iable,m aking
itperfectforfurniture m aking,basketweavi ng,and
producing sporti
ng goodsl ike baseballbatsand
snow shoes.

ASPEN (
popul
us)
Mostofthe aspen tr eesin the United Stat
escan
be found i n Utah and Color ado,although they
are scat t
er ed throughoutthe r estofthe W est ern
Statesaswel l
.The Aspen isthe stat e tr
ee ofUtah.
Aspen tr eesr equi reful
lsunl ightto produce seeds
and gr ow wel l,so theyaret ypicall
yf ound in open
areasl ike the slopesofm ountai ns.Theyar e consi der
ed
pioneertr ees,m eaning theyar e one ofthe fir stspecies
oftreest o spring up wherel and hasbeen cl eared or
disturbed.
Aspen tr
eesoft
en dom i
nat
e the l
andscape i
n ar
easthatexper
ience
fr
equentwi l
dfires.

Aspen l eavesar er ounded and have t eeth along the edges.Theygr ow i n

an i nterl
ocking fashion along a branch l i
ke the t
eeth ofa zi pper.Aspen
leavesm ove fr eelyeven in a verylightwi nd,giving a disti
nctive rustli
ng
sound and m aki ng the aspen tr ee appeart o tr
em ble.Aspen l eavestur n
ar adi antgolden yel l
ow colorin the fall.Aspen treeshave sm ooth,pal e
bar k thatgrowsdar kerand r ougherwi th age.The wood i sverysof t.Itis
of t
en pr ocessed into pulpform aki ng paper .Aspen treeshave sm al l
,
hai ryseedsthatar e carri
ed awayi n the wi nd.Aspensgr ow quickly,but
live fora rel
ativelyshortti m e(about60 year son aver age).

BI
RCH (
betul
a)
Birch tr
eescan be f ound acr ossthe Norther n
Uni t
ed Statesfr om Alaska to Mai ne and asf ar
South asthe m ountai nsofVi rginia and
Tennessee.The W hi te Birch isthe state tree
ofNew Ham pshi re.Birch treesar e another
pioneerspeci es.Theycol oni ze grassy,open
spacessuch asabandoned f arm land orar eas
cleared bya fir e.Theypr efercool ,m oistsoiland
often grow in groupsoft wo orthr ee trees.

Birch tr eeshave egg- shaped leaveswi th poi nted

tipsand t eeth along the edges.Theygr ow in an
interlocki ng f
ashi on along a branch li
ke the t eeth of
a zipper .Birch tr eeshave sm ooth,whi te,paper -l
ike
bar k thatpeel sfr om the tree.Theyhave ti nyseeds
thatgr ow inside a nar r
ow cone aboutthe si ze ofyour
thum b.The seedsar e scat t
ered on the wi nd in the
wi ntertim e.Bi rch treesgr ow to be about60 f eethi gh and l
ive f
or
around 60 year s.Nati ve peoplestraditional l
yuse bi rch tr
eesin canoe
m aking,wi th the t ough,l i
ght weightbar k used to coverthe canoe
fram e.

CEDAR (
cedrus)
The Cedari sa coniferoustr
ee closel
yr el
ated t
o the firtree.Itisnative
to the W ester
n Hi m al
ayasand the countriesofthe Mediterranean r
egi on
such asLebanon,Syr i
a,and Turkey.True cedartreesare notnative to
the United Stat es,buttheyhave been br oughtin overthe yearsasa
popul aror nam entaltree.
The Cedarcan gr ow to around 1 00 feeti n height,som etim eshigher
.It
hasgr een needl e-like l
eavesand br own conesthatdi sperse wi
nged
seeds.Cedarwood hasa di stinctive spicyfragr ance.Cedarwood and
cedaroi lare known t or epelm oths,so cedarwood has
often been used t o m ake chestsorcl osetsforst ori
ng
clothes.Cedarwood i salso extrem elydur abl e,m aking
ita good choi ce f
orconstructi on wor k and furniture
m aking.Resin der ived from the cedartr ee has
traditi
onallybeen used f orm edi cinalpur poses.

In anci
entti
m esthe Egyptiansused cedaroil
forem bal
ming and cedarwood forbui l
ding
coffinsorsarcophagi.The Phoenici
ansused
cedarwood forbuil
ding shipsand houses.

The cedarsofLebanon ar e frequently

m entioned in the Ol
d Testam entasa sym bol
ofweal th,luxury,and str
ength ( forexam ple,
2 Chronicles1:15)
.Cedarwood wasused i n the
buildi
ng ofKi ng David’spal ace (
2 Sam uel5:11
)and
King Solom on’stem ple(1Ki ngs5: 6)
.

COTTONW OOD (
popul
us)
The Cottonwood tr
ee isa deciduoustr ee thatgr owsthr oughoutthe
Eastern,Centr
al,and Southwest ern Uni t
ed States.Itisthe stat
e tree of
Kansas,Nebraska,and W yom ing.Cot tonwoodst end to gr
ow besti n
open areaswi th fullsun.Theypr eferm oistsoiland
can often be f
ound al ong stream sand creek beds.

Cot
tonwoodsar e of
ten planted asshade tr
eesor
windbreaks,so look f
orthem ar ound fieldsand
f
arm houses.The Cot tonwood can grow up to
100 f
eettal land l
ive m or
e than 1
00 years.

Cottonwood tr
eeshave large,gl ossy,
tr
iangular-
shaped leaveswi th toothed edges.
The l
eavesm ake a di
sti
nctive rustli
ng sound
when a br
eeze blowsthr ough.

The Cot t
onwood tr ee getsitsnam e fr
om the
white fluffysubstance thatsur roundsi tsseed
pods.I n the sum m erm onths,the ripe podsofthe
fem ale treesbur stand r el
ease these fluffyfiber sto be
dispersed on the wi nd.Thi sfast-growing tr
ee isan
i
nexpensi ve source oftim berforpr oducing newspaper ,
palletsand shi pping crates.
 CYPRESS (
cupr
essus)
Cypresstr eesgr ow thr oughoutthe wor ld.In the Unit
ed
Stat estheyar e frequentlyf ound nearpondsand wetl ands
along the Souther n and East er
n coasts.Theypr ef
era warm
cl
im ate and swam py,m oi stsoilwith f
ullsunl i
ght.The Bald
Cypressi sthe state tree ofLouisi
ana.

The Cypressi sa coni feroustree with narrow,feathery,

evergreen leavesand br own woodyconesthatl ook l
ike
nutsoracor ns.Itsgr acefulshape m akesi ta com m on
ornam entalchoi ce forgar densand par ks.Cypresstreesar e
known forpr oducing a lightweightand dur abl
e wood thati s
popul arwi th car
pent er sand arti
sts.Cypr esswood i soften
used forfur nitureli
ke tabl es,bed fram esand cabi nets.Iti
s
al
so used in the constructi on ofshingles,siding,por ches,and
barns.

DOUGLAS FI
R(pseudotsuga m enzi
esi
i)
The Dougl asfiri san evergreen tr
ee thatisnative t
o the W ester
n Uni
ted
States.Itisthe stat
e tree ofOregon and one ofthe m ostpr eval
enttr
ees
in the Paci
ficNorthwest.

Dougl asfir shave flat,shortneedl esthatar e aboutan i

nch l
ong and
dark green in color.The bark on a f
ull
ygr own Dougl asfir
can be overa f ootthick.The barki sred-
br own in col
or
and often hasdeep gr ooves.Dougl asfirtr eeshave
reddish-colored cones.Each cone hasthr ee-pronged
tonguescal led bractsthatsti ck outbetween the
scal
es.

The Dougl asfiri spopul arwi th f

orestersbecause
ofitsrapid growth.Dougl asfir sare com m only
used f
orwood fr am e house construction and
forChristm astrees.Near l
yhal fofal lChristm as
treesgrown in the Uni t
ed Stat esare Dougl as
firs.

Itisnotuncom m on fora Douglasfirt oli

ve
over1000 years.The oldestDouglasfiron
record gr
ew nearMountVer non,W ashington
and wasar ound 1400 yearsol
d when itwas
cutdown i n1913.
EASTERN W HI
TE PI
NE (
pinusstr
obus)
The East ern white pine i
snati ve to the Uni t
ed States.Itcan be f
ound
throughoutNew Engl and and acr ossthe UpperMi dwest.Its
range ext endsasf arSouth asVi rgi
ni a,North Carolina,and
Tennessee.I tgr owsbesti n sandy,wel l-
dr ai
ned soil.The
Easter n white pine i
sthe stat e tr
ee ofMi chigan.This
tree t
ypi call
yl i
vesar ound 400 year sand can gr ow
m ore than 100 feettall.

The Easter n whi t

e pi ne hasneedl esthatar e bl
ue-
green in colorand gr ow in bundl escall
ed fascicl
es.
Each fascicle contai ns5needl es.Itsconesar elong
and narrow,usual l
yabout3t o6i nchesl ong.They
have l
ightbr own paperyscal esand ar e often
coated wi th sti
ckypi tch.

The Eastern whi te pi

ne haspaperylightgr aybar k
thatgr owsdar keri n col
orand m or
e deepl ygrooved
asthe tree m atures.The wood ofthe Eastern white
pine i
sl i
ght,sof t,and easyt
o use f
ort oys,crates,and
m anyotheri tem s.

Native Am ericanshave l ong val

ued the Eastern white pine asa
m edicinalplantusi ng the i
nnerbar k,needl es,and rootst o ward of
f
coughsand col ds.The needl escan be boiled t
o m ake a tea thatsoothes
sore throats.The sap ofthe Easter
n whi te pine i
snatur allyantibacteri
al,
so i
thastr aditi
onallybeen used to tr
eatwoundsand cuts.

ELM (
ulm us)
There are severalspeci esofelm tree native
t
o North Am er ica.These speciescan be
f
ound thr oughoutthe East ern and
Mi dwest ern United Stat
esand i nto the
South.The El m isthe state tr
ee of
Massachuset tsand North Dakota.

The elm i sa deci duoustr ee wi th a

disti
ncti ve um brella shaped canopythat
providesl otsofshade.Forthi sr eason,
elm treesar e of
ten plant ed in parks,along
resi
dentialstr eets,ori n backyar ds.Elm tr ees
have oval-shaped l eaveswi th jagged edgesand
a pointatthe ti p.The leavestur n yell
ow i n
autum n.
The bark ofthe elm tr
ee i sgrayish-brown and hasdeep,r ough ridges
and furrowsthr oughout.El m treesf orm sm al
l,round seedsencl osed i
n
a paperycasi ng cal
led a sam ara.The tim berofthe el
m tr ee i
sstrong,
butal so flexi
ble,m aki
ng i ta good choi ce f
orproductsl i
ke ship keel
s,
archerybows,and m usi cali nstrum ents.

HI
CKORY (
carya)
Hickorytreescan be found throughout
the East
ern halfofthe United Stat
es.
Hickorytreeslive about250 yearsand
can grow to be ar
ound 100 feettal
l.

Hickorytr eeshave long,nar row l

eaves
thatgr ow along each stalkin opposite
pairswi th one l
eafatthe veryend ofthe
stal
k.The l eavesin the finalpairatthe
end ofthe stalk wil
lbe noti ceabl
yl ar
ger
than the others.Hickoryl eavesoften feelhai
ryon
the edges.

The seedsofthe hi ckoryar e nutsencased i n a thi

ck
shell.Manyspeci esofhi ckoryhave edi ble nutsthat
are a val
uabl efood sour ce.These include the shagbar k hickory,the
shellbark hickory,and the pecan tr ee.Hickorynutsar e also an
im portantsour ce offood forani m alssuch assqui rrel
sand deer .The
hickorytr ee producesa dense,shock- r
esistantwood thati sgood f or
handl esoft oolslike axesand shovel s.Itisalso used inf urniture and
architecture.

Andr ew Jackson,the seventh Pr

esi
dentofthe Uni ted Stat
es,wasgi ven
the nicknam e Ol
d Hickorybythe m en who served underhi m i
n the W ar
of1812because he wasast ough asan ol
d hickorytree.

M AGNOLI
A(m agnol
ia)
The Magnolia tr
ee i
snative t
o the Southeast
ern United Statesand
growsbesti n a war
m cl
im ate.Itisoften f
ound on the edgesofswam ps,
str
eam s,orotherbodiesofwat er
.The Magnol i
aisthe stat e tr
ee of
Missi
ssippi
.

The Magnoliai sbestknown foritsverylar

ge,fr agrantflowers.In som e
speciesthese bloom scan gr
ow up to 1f
ootin diam eter.Magnoli
a
blossom sare m ostoft
en white,buttheycan also be pi
nk,red,pur pl
e,
oryellow.
Magnol ia treesar e m edi um -sized,gr owing to be
about60 t o 90 feettal l.Magnol i
a tr
eeshave
large,point ed,dar k gr een l eaves.The l eaves
stayon the tr ee yearr ound.The bar k of
the Magnol i
ai sgr ayand sm ooth.
Magnol ia bar k hastradi tionallybeen
used foritscal mi ng ef fects.I tis
believed to help wi th sleep,anxi ety,
and stress.

M APLE (
acer)
Mapl e treescan be f ound in alm ost
everypartofthe Uni ted States.Som e ofthe m ost
com m on var i
etiesin Am er ica are the sugarm apl e,the
red m apl e,and the silverm apl e.Altogetherther e ar
e over1
32di ff
erent
speciesofm apl e tr
ees,m ostofwhi ch ar
e nati ve t
o Asi
a.Mapl escan
also be found in Eur ope and Norther n Africa.The sugarm apleisthe
state tree ofNew Yor k,Verm ont,W estVi rginia,and W i
sconsin,while
the red m apleisthe stat e tree ofRhode I sland.

Maplestypicallygrow t
o be ar
ound 60 f
eettalland
can l
ive f
or300 yearsorm ore.Maple tr
eeshave
palm ate(orhand-shaped)leavesasseen on
the flag ofCanada.

The wi
nged seeds( orsam aras)ofthe m apl
e
tr
ee resem ble the bladesofa heli
copter.
Theycan of ten be seen t
wirl
ing t
o the
ground in sum m er.

The sugarm aplei stapped f oritssap whi ch

can be boil
ed into m aple syrup.Mapl e wood
isknown f ori tsbeautifulgr ain and is
frequentl yused in flooring and fur ni
tur e
producti on.

OAK (
quer
cus)
Oak treesgrow alloverthe United Statesand throughoutthe r estof
the Norther
n Hem isphere aswel l.I
n 2004 the Oak waschosen asthe
OfficialNationalTree ofthe United States.Iti
salso the state tr
ee of
Connecticut,Georgia,Il
linoi
s,Iowa,Maryl and,and New Jer sey.
 Dependi ng on the species,oak treest ypical
ly
gr
ow fr om 40 t o 80 f
eettal l
.On aver age
an oak tree l
ives100 to 300 year s,
al
though som e speci m ensar e thought
to be over1000 yearsol d.

Oak leaveshave a di
sti
ncti
ve l
obed
shape with r
ounded edgesand a
leatheryfeel.

Oak seedsar e cal

led acorns.
These br own,r ound nutshave a
saucer -shaped cap on the t op.A
m ature oak can pr oduce asm anyas50, 000
acornsi n one season.That’ sabouthal fa t
on of
acorns!I n addition t
o sprouti ng new oak tr ees,acor nsar e an i
m portant
source off ood forani m al
sl i
ke raccoons,squi rrels,foxes,rabbits,deer,
and blue jays.Oak i sa beauti fuland har dywood,m aki ng ita great
choi
ce f orconstructi on,floor ing,and f urnitur e m aking.

PALM (
acer
aceae)
Palm treesgr ow besti n hotregionsand can be found
throughoutthe wor ldin tropicaland subtropical
cli
m ates.I n the United Statespalm treesthrive
in Ari
zona,Cal i
for
nia,Florida,Georgia,Hawai i,
Louisiana,South Car ol
ina,and Texas.The Pal m
isthe stat e tr
ee ofFlorida,and the Palm et
toi s
the state tree ofSouth Car oli
na.

The differ
entspeci esofpal m tr eesvarywi del y
in si
ze.Forexam pl e,coconutpal m swi th theirl ong
slendertrunkscan gr ow t o be 100 feettal l
.Otherpal m sare
sm allshrubsthatonl ygr ow to about6 f eettal l
,and som e
dwarfpal m sar e sm al
lenough t o grow indoor sina
container.Som e t ypesofpal m shave fiber scover i
ng the
trunkswhi ch m akesthe trunk l ook hairyorspi ky.Pal ms
have large evergr een l
eaves.Theycan be pi nnat e(feather
-
li
ke)orpal m ate(fan-li
ke)dependi ng on the speci es.

Coconutpal m spr oduce coconutswhi ch are fibrous,

single-seeded fruits.In the wild a coconuthassever al
layers:the sm ooth greeni sh outerl ayercall
ed the exocarp,
a fleshyhusk i n the m i
ddl e call
ed the m esocar p,and a
hard woodyshel lcalled the endocar p.Insi
de the endocarp
isthe whi t
e m eatofthe coconutaswel lascoconutwat er.
Beyond using coconutsforf ood,palm tr
eeshave m any
otheruses.Forexam ple,pal m leavescan be used for
thatched roof
s,baskets,and clothing.Palm oilisused
forcooking.The wood ofthe pal m tr
ee i
san i m portant
constructi
on m ater
ialin m anypartsofthe wor ld.

PI
NE (
pinus)
Pine treesar e tallconif
er sthathave scal
ybar k and
evergr een needl es.Theypr oduce pinecones.Ther e
are m anyki ndsofpi ne tr
ees,such asthe eastern
white dine and Dougl asfir ,previ
ouslydiscussed.

REDW OOD (
sequoi
a sem pervi
rens)
Redwoodsonce gr ew throughoutthe norther n hem i
spher e,butt oday
theyare onlyfound along the coastfrom centr alCalifor
ni ato souther n
Oregon,no m ore than 50 m i
lesinland.Redwoodsr equire pl
entifulwat er
and have veryshallow rootsystem s,so the coolcoastalai rand frequent
fog in thi
sarea isessenti alto keep the redwood f orests
dam p and protectthe tr eesfr om dryspel l
s.The
redwood isthe stat e tr
ee ofCal i
fornia.

Iti snotunusualf ora redwood t olive f

or500 t o
1000 year s.Theycan gr ow up t o 24 feeti n diam et
er
and over350 f eettall. The tall
estknown l iving
tree i
sa coastalr edwood cal led Hyper ion,whi ch
wasl astm easur ed at380.1f eettall.Hyper i
on’s
exactl ocation iskeptsecr ett o pr
ot ectthe tr ee
fr om dam age.

Redwoodsar e nam ed f orthei

rthick,reddish br
own bark.
Theyhave taper ed trunksthatgr ow nar r
owernearthe
t
op ofthe tr
ee.The l eavesofthe coastalredwood grow
i
n a cone-
shaped cr own.

I
n spi
te ofthei
rgreatsize,coastalredwoodshave ti
ny
cones,onlym easur
ing about1i nch l
ong.

Coastalredwoodshave hi stori
cal
lybeen valuabl efor
theirtim ber.Due to heavyl oggi
ng starti
ng in the
1850s,95% ofold growth redwoodshave been cut
down.Mostofthe r edwoodsthatr em ain ar
ei n
protect
ed forestsand par ks.
SEQUOI
A(sequoi
adendr
on gi
gant
eum )
The gi
antsequoia growsal ong the western sl
ope ofthe Sierra Nevada
Mountains,usual
lybet ween 5,000 and 7,000 feetabove sea leveland
fari
nland.Sequoia tr
eesgr ow atsuch hi gh el
evati onsbecause they
require drym ountain airin orderfortheircones
t
o open and disper se theirseeds.

Li
ke the coastalr edwood,atone ti m e the
giantsequoi a could be f
ound thr oughout
the Northern Hem ispher e,butt odaythey
existonlyin 77 grovesthr oughoutNorther n
Calif
ornia,m ostlyin protected parksand
forests.

Giantsequoi asgr ow to be about30 f eetin

diam eterand m or e than 250 feettall
.The largest
l
iving tree byvol um e i
sa giantsequoi a known
asGener alSherm an.Gener alSher m an islocated
in Sequoi a NationalParki n Cali
fornia and is
estim ated to be atleast2,300 yearsol d.The tree
m easur es36.5f eetin diam eteratthe base and
274.9f eettall.

Giantsequoiascan l i
ve to be over3,000 year
s
old,m aki
ng them som e ofthe ol destli
ving
organism son the planet.

Simi l
art o the coastalredwood,the gi ant
sequoia hasr elativelysm al
lcones,onl y
about1t o 3inchesl ong.One tree m ay
produce asm anyas1 1
,000 cones.The wood ofthe gi antsequoi ai snot
good fortim berasitisqui te br
ittl
e and the tr eesoften br
eak apart
when fell
ed.Neverthel ess,the giantsequoi a washeavilylogged ar ound
the tur
n ofthe 20th century.

W ALNUT (j
ugl
ans)
The walnuti sa deciduoustr ee thatgr owsthr oughoutm uch ofthe
Eastern halfofthe Uni ted States.The m ostcom m on speci esi n Am eri
ca
isthe black walnut.W alnuttr eescan t olerate m osttypesofsoi land
preferfullsun.The bl ack walnuti san al
lelopathi ctr
ee,m eani ng it
releaseschem icalspoi sonoust o otherplantssuch asappl e trees,pines,
li
lacs,and tom ato pl
ants.Thi st oxicit
yhel pspr otectthe tree from other
plantsencr oaching on itster r
itoryand hel psensur e thatthe wal nut
tree can getenough sun.
W alnuttreesgr ow t o about50 t o 75f
eettal
land can l
ive t
o ar
ound
150 year
sol d on aver age.Ittakesabout1 2
to15year sbef ore the tree startsto
produce walnuts.

W alnuttreesgr ow verydeep roots,

m aking them a dif
ficultspeciesof
tr
ee to transpl
ant.

W alnuttr eeshave t oothed leaves

with a pinnat e( orfeather -l
ike)
shape wi th an odd num berof
leavesat tached t o each stem .The
fruitofthe wal nuttr ee isvaluablef or
food.The US i sthe wor ld’ssecond lar gest
producerofwal nutsbehi nd Chi na.The vast
m ajorit
yofwal nutsgr own f orfood in Am eri
ca are
cultivated in the valleysofCal if
orni a.W al
nutsare
also an im portantf ood sour ce f
orf oxes,squirr
els,and woodpecker
s.

WI
LLOW (
sal
ix)
The willow tree i
snati ve t
o China,butitcan be found thr
oughoutthe
Norther n Hem isphere.Ther e ar
e about80 di
fferentspeciesofwi l
lows
found in the United States.Atleastone t
ype ofwi ll
ow growsin each of
the 50 states.

Willow treeslike a l
otofm oi sture.Theyof ten grow along riverbanksor
nearpondsand l akes.In som e partsofthe wor l
d,wi l
low treeshave
been plant ed al
ong wat erwayst o pr eventsoilerosi
on because thei r
str
ong r ootshel p hold the soilin place.W i
llowscan al so be pl
anted in
flooded ar easthatneed t o be drained.

Will
ow treest ypical
lygr ow to be
about30 t o 60 f
eettall.Theyhave
arelati
velyshortl i
fespan,usual l
y
l
ivi
ng ar ound 50 to 60 years.

The wi ll
ow isa deci duoustree.
Ithasl ong,nar row l
eavesthat
are green on the top and
whi ti
sh under neath.The
leavestur n yellow i
n autum n
bef oref al
ling t
o the ground.
Willowshave a distinctive shape with flexi bl
e branchesthatbend down
toward the ground and swayel egantlyi n the br
eeze.W ill
ow leavesand
bark have m anym edi ci
naluses.Tr aditional l
ytheyar e used t
o tr
eatfever
,
pain,and inflam m ation.

YEW (
taxus)
The yew tree i
snati ve to Eur
ope,North Africa,Ir
an,and SouthwestAsi a.
The speciesofyew m ostcom m on i n North Am erica i
sthe pacificyew,
which growsal ong the W estCoastfr om Alaska to Calif
ornia.The yew
tr
ee can gr ow in a wi
de range ofconditions:war m orcol d,hum i
d ordry,
and acidicoral kaline soi
l.

Yew treesgr ow to be about30 to 60 f

eethigh.Theyl i
ve about400 t
o
600 year son average,although severalyew tr
eesin the Unit
ed Ki
ngdom
are beli
eved to be over3,000 yearsold.

Yew treesare ever

gr een.Theyhave flat,dar k green,needl e-li
ke l
eaves
and ti
nyseed cones.Each seed cone i ssur r
ounded bya br i
ghtr ed,
fleshycovering called an ar
ilthatresem blesa berry.The arilsare of
ten
eaten bybir
dswhi ch then disper
se the t
ough seed.

Yew wood i sverydur able.In the Mi

ddle Agesthe
English used yew to m ake longbows.One of
the oldestwooden arti factsin the wor
ldi s
a spearhead m ade ofyew thatwas
found in Essex,Uni t
ed Ki ngdom and
isbelieved to be 450,000 year sold.
TREES
f
las
hcar
ds
as
h as
pen

b
irc
h c
edar
c
ott
onwood c
ypr
ess

e
aste
rn
dougl
asf
ir whi
tepi
ne
 e
lm h
ick
ory

magn
oli
a mapl
e
oak pal
m

pi
ne r
edwood
s
equoi
a wal
nut

wi
ll
ow y
ew
 SHAPES OF TREES

SPREADI
NG VASE
Wi
de and open tr
ees Arching brancheson a
wi
th spl
otchyshade centraltrunk,widest
atthe top
PYRAM I
DAL
Wide cone- shaped trees
with a l
ar ge trunk and
hor
izontalbr anches;good
forChr i
stm astrees

ROUND COLUM NAR

Ovalshaped treeswi th Tal
land thi
n tr
eeswi th
al
arge trunk and dense upri
ghtbr anches
fol
iage thatcreates
heavyshade W EEPI
NG
Characteri
zed by
f
l exi
ble,long branches
thathang down wi th
cascading f
oliage
 SHAPES OF TREES
Draw a l
ine from each tree to i
ts shape:

W EEPI
NG

VASE

SPREADI
NG

ROUND

COLUM NAR

PYRAM I
DAL
SHAPES OF TREES
Check youranswers:

W EEPI
NG

VASE

SPREADI
NG

ROUND

COLUM NAR

PYRAM I
DAL
 TREE CATEGORIES

DECI
DUOUS CONI
FEROUS
“
Har
dwoods” “
Sof
twoods”

Hasbroad leavesthat Ever

green (
staysgr
een
change col
ori n the f
all al
lyear)

Losesl eavesin the wi

nter Hasneedl
esand cones
to conserve energy
Can gr
ow i
n poorsoi
l
Needsr
ich soi
lto gr
ow
Li
ttl
e sunlightreaches
Lotsofsunli
ghtreaches the ground
the ground
Usual
lytal
l
Can be tal
lorshort
Doesnotproduce flower
s
Pr
oducesflower
sand frui
t orfrui
t

Gener
all
yround shaped Gener
all
ycone-
shaped

Exam pl
es:m apl
e,bi
rch,ash Exam pl
es:dougl
as- fir,cedar
,
easter
n white pi
ne
DECIDUOUS VS.CONIFEROUS
TREES
Labelthe tree characteri
sti
cs “C”forconi
fer
orD f or“deci
duous”accordi ngly:

Ci e the deci
rcl duous trees:

Cottonwood Eastern
Pi
ne white pi
ne
Aspen

Cedar Dougl
as fir M agnol
ia
Sequoi
a
DECIDUOUS VS.CONIFEROUS
TREES
Labelthe tree characteri
sti
cs “C”forconi
fer
orD f or“deci
duous”accordi ngly:

Ci e the deci
rcl duous trees:

Cottonwood Eastern
Pi
ne white pi
ne
Aspen

Cedar Dougl
as fir M agnol
ia
Sequoi
a
 LIFE CYCLE OF A
CONIFER

1.POLLEN CONE & SEED CONE

Poll
en travelsthr ough the airfr
om the m al e pollen
cone up to the f
em ale seed cone.The pol l
en gr ain
entersthe pollen tube and ferti
lizesthe egg cel l
.

2.FERTI
LIZED CONE
The egg cel
lsi
n the f
ertil
ized cone gr
ow i nt
o seeds,
which are di
spersed int
o the wind.

3.SEED
The seed f
allsinto good soiland gr
owsint o a new pl
ant,
spr
eadi ng rootsand begi nning t
oform a stem .

4.SEEDLI
NG
The seedli
ng gr ows,car ryi
ng nutri
ents
thr ough the trunk t
o the r
estofthe
plant.

5.M ATURE TREE

Once the tr
ee i
sf ul
lym atur
ed,itform sitsown
pol
len and seed conesand repeatsthe process.
 LIFE CYCLE OF A
CONIFER

Poll
en &
seed cone

Ferti
lized
Tree cone

Seedl
ing Seed
 LIFE CYCLE OF A
CONIFER
Labeland draw each step ofa coni
fer’
sli
fe cycl
e:
 LIFE CYCLE OF A
DECIDUOUS TREE

1.SEED
Seedscom e from tr eespr oducing fruit.Theycan
have a pr
otective shell,l
ike the acorn ofan oak tr
ee.
The seedsare disper sed thr
ough wi nd,wat er,or
anim al
s.

2.SPROUT
The seedsthatl and in conditi
onsf avor
abl efor
ger
mi nation willsproutand gr ow.The rootsgr ow into
the soilto search f
orwat erand nutr i
ents,and the
sproutem er gesfr om the ground to find li
ghtt o
begin the photosynthesisprocess.

3.SEEDLI
NG
The stem devel opsinto a trunk wi
th itsown thi
n,
protective bark.The seedling fightsfornutrients,
wat er,sunlight,and space foritsroots
to grow.

4.SAPLI
NG
The seedli
ng gr
owsi nto a sm al
ltr
ee cal
led
a sapl
ing,about4. 5feettal l
.Atthisstage
the tr
ee gr owsveryrapidly.

5.M ATURE TREE

Once the tr
ee isfull
ym atured,i
tpr oduces
flowersand fruits.Itthen di
spersesitsown
seedsand r epeatsthe pr
ocess.
 LIFE CYCLE OF A
DECIDUOUS TREE

Seed

Tree Sprout

Sapl
ing Seedl
ing
 LIFE CYCLE OF A
DECIDUOUS TREE
Labeland draw each step ofa deci
duous
tree’
slif
e cycle:
 ANATOM Y OF A TREE
Labelal
lthe parts ofa deci
duous tree:

BRANCH

CROW N

TRUNK
LEAVES

ROOTS
 ANATOM Y OF A TREE
Labelal
lthe parts ofa deci
duous tree:
 PARTS OF A TREE TRUNK

OUTER BARK
Protectsand i nsulates
the tree aswel las
r
egul ating m oistur
e.

I
NNER
BARK PI
TH
Movessugarysap Core ofthe tree;
to the r
ootsto transported
f
eed the rest nutrientsto the
ofthe tr
ee. restofthe
sapli
ng

ANNUAL
RI
NGS
CAM BI
UM Ringsofsapwood
Helpswi
th cr
eated each year
out
ergrowth ofgrowth

SAPW OOD HEARTW OOD

Thirdlayerofvascular Dead cell
sthatstrengthen
tissue,helpstransports and supportthe trunk,
sap t
o the r
oots st
orehouse forsugarsand oil
s
PARTS OF A TREE TRUNK
Labelal
lthe parts ofa tree trunk:
 FRUITS THAT GROW
ON TREES

Orange
M ango
Appl
e

Grapefrui
t

Pom egranate

Lem on Apri
cot

Coconut

Avocado Pl
um Cherry

Pear

Starfrui
t Peach Fi
g
 TREES IN EACH SEASON
(
Deci
duous)

SPRI
NG SUM M ER
The tr
ee startsgrowing and The tr
ee keepsgrowi ng and
f
lower
ing,and spr outsnew leaves. bearsfruit.

FALL WI
NTER
The tree st
opsgrowi
ng, The l
eavesfalloffto hel
p the
and the l
eaveschange col
or. tr
ee conserve energyin the
cold weather.
M Y TREE IN SPRING
Record observati
ons ofone tree
i
n allfourseasons.
M Y TREE IN SUM M ER
Record observati
ons ofone tree
i
n allfourseasons.
M Y TREE IN FALL
Record observati
ons ofone tree
i
n allfourseasons.
M Y TREE IN W INTER
Record observati
ons ofone tree
i
n allfourseasons.
 CROSSW ORD PUZZLE

ACROSS DOW N
5.Tropi caltree thatcan pr oduce 1.Leavesofdeci duoustr eeschange
coconuts colori n thi sseason
6.Dead cel l
sthatstr engthen and support 2.The stat e tree ofKansas,Nebr aska,
a tree trunk,st orehouse f orsugarsand and W yom i ng
oils 3.The st ep in the deci duousl if
e cycl e
9.Treesstartgr owi ng and flower i
ng wher
w e the seed gr owsr ootsi nt o soi
l
in thisseason to sear ch forwat erand nutr ients
10.Out erl ayerofthe tr ee trunk that 4.W i ll
ow tr eesar e thisshape
prot ects/insulatesthe tr ee and 7.Thi st ype oftr ee haspeel ing,whi te,
regul atesm oi sture paper -li
ke bar k
13.Tree wi th r
eddi sh-colored conesand 8.A sm al ltree thatgr owsr apidly
dar k green needl es 11.Chr istm astr eesar e thisshape
14.Cor e ofa tree trunk 12.Thi str ee hassap thatcan be boi led
16.Treesthatstaygr een al lyearand can into syrup
grow i n poorsoi l 15.Coni fers’seedscom e fr om f ertil
ized
________
 CROSSW ORD PUZZLE

ACROSS DOW N
5.Tropi caltree thatcan pr oduce 1.Leavesofdeci duoustr eeschange
coconuts colori n thi sseason
6.Dead cel l
sthatstr engthen and support 2.The stat e tree ofKansas,Nebr aska,
a tree trunk,st orehouse f orsugarsand and W yom i ng
oils 3.The st ep in the deci duousl if
e cycl e
9.Treesstartgr owi ng and flower i
ng wher
w e the seed gr owsr ootsi nt o soi
l
in thisseason to sear ch forwat erand nutr ients
10.Out erl ayerofthe tr ee trunk that 4.W i ll
ow tr eesar e thisshape
prot ects/insulatesthe tr ee and 7.Thi st ype oftr ee haspeel ing,whi te,
regul atesm oi sture paper -li
ke bar k
13.Tree wi th r
eddi sh-colored conesand 8.A sm al ltree thatgr owsr apidly
dar k green needl es 11.Chr istm astr eesar e thisshape
14.Cor e ofa tree trunk 12.Thi str ee hassap thatcan be boi led
16.Treesthatstaygr een al lyearand can into syrup
grow i n poorsoi l 15.Coni fers’seedscom e fr om f ertil
ized
________