Tree Trail Project 37-42

Tree Descriptions 37-42 (Eagle Scout Project by George Atkinson) 

37) Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica)
The Blackgum is a deciduous tree, and can grow up to 30-50 feet tall. The national champion is 141 feet tall and 93 feet wide. It commonly grows in the northeastern regions of the USA. It is known for its very bright fall colours. It is commonly used for wooden agricultural tools and furniture. It is very twisty in the trunk with very narrow leaves.

38) Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
The persimmon tree is a deciduous tree, and commonly grows up to 60 ft. tall. The leaves are green in the spring and summer, and in the fall they turn a reddish-yellow color. It has small, edible fruits that are usually red or orange in colour. The persimmon is a native species along almost the entire east coast (from Florida up to Connecticut). The Persimmon’s fruit makes this tree unique with its tomato-like appearance.

39) Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
The Eastern Red Cedar is an evergreen tree that grows to about 30-40 ft. tall, but can reach heights of ~90 feet. Its needles stay green all year, except in the winter when it browns. The Red Cedar has soft, silvery bark, and is resistant against droughts and extreme heat/cold. It was once used for furniture and railings for the colonists in Roanoke. The Red Cedar is very common in the eastern USA, growing in all but 13 states. When broken, it releases a resin with a fragrant odor.

40) American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
The American Beech is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme south-eastern Canada. It is a deciduous tree growing from 66-115 feet tall with smooth, silvery-gray bark. The American Beech is a shade-tolerant species, and is commonly found in forests and grows in areas that have well moistened and well-drained soil, and thus cannot grow in urban areas. The nut it produces is small, grows in pairs, and is sharp and angular while also being its main form of reproduction. The wood is hard and difficult to cut or split, although at 43 pounds per foot it is not exceptionally heavy and rots relatively easily. It is used for a wide variety of purposes, most notably bentwood furniture as beech wood easily bends when steamed. It also makes high quality, long-burning firewood.

41) Virginia Pine (Pinus virginiana)
The Virginia Pine is an evergreen tree that can grow between 15 to 40 feet tall and 10-30 feet wide. It has a pyramidal shape with spread-out branches containing bunches of needles 1 to 3 inches long and can be found with small spiny cones. The needles tend to appear yellowish-green and turn gold in the winter. The Virginia Pine is great for landscaping use and can grow in a wide range of soil.

42) 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’.

Tree Descriptions 43 - 48