We are learning and growing along with SAFF. For the first several months, we thought our loblolly pines were long leaf pines. ☺️ Luckily, we were gently guided to their true identity. We were also gifted a helpful booklet called Important Forest Trees of the Eastern United States by the US Department of Agriculture-Forest Service. It was clear we did indeed have loblolly pines! We admire these trees for their beauty and hope to nurture and serve them as long as we can.

This is only the beginning of our list of trees. We will add more as we identify them.

Tree Identification

This species is easily confused with some of our native trees that have compound leaves and numerous leaflets, such as staghorn sumac, black walnut, and hickory. The leaflet edges of these native trees all have teeth, called serrations, while those of tree-of-heaven are relatively smooth. The foul odor produced by the crushed foliage and broken twigs is also unique to tree-of-heaven.

American beech trees are one of our most magnificent native trees, beautiful in every season, especially winter. They are also one of the most easily recognized of our eastern deciduous trees, with their silvery gray bark that appears cast from “molten pewter”. The massive trunks appear smooth to the eye but are slightly rough to touch and sometimes likened to elephant hide. American Beeches are slow growing but reach heights of 60 – 80’ and are known to grow as tall as 120’. This tree has massive smooth trunks with fluted bases that give way to a tracery of fine silvery branches accented with rich brown narrow pointed buds. Oval leaves alternate down the fine branches and are lined with small regular teeth along the margins and distinctive parallel veins on either side of the mid-rib. The lustrous leaves are almost translucent when held up to the sun, casting a dappled light under the trees. The leaves emerge a glowing chartreuse in spring, and light up the woodlands once again in fall when they turn a rich copper which glows against the silvery gray trunks. In winter, some of the leaves curl and fade to a light parchment color and hang on the branches, especially on younger trees and on lower branches of older trees, creating a lovely contrast with the gray trunks and surrounding forest.

In spring, their small yellow-green flowers are rarely noticed but give rise to distinctive three-sided nuts held in a ½” long prickly capsule. Beechnuts have been reported as the primary food source for more than 30 species of wildlife including: squirrels, flying squirrels, chipmunks, deer, foxes, and black bears as well as many birds such as wild turkey, grouse, ducks, blue jays, grosbeaks, woodpeckers, including red headed woodpecker, and nuthatches. Many of these animals cache the seeds helping to disperse them widely. In bygone times, the abundant nuts were readily eaten by pigs who could roam free under the beech trees. The nuts were also a favorite food of the now extinct passenger pigeon who descended to feast on them in such great numbers their weight caused massive branches to break off! The thin smooth bark was also once used for writing paper, and the unfortunate habit continues today with folks still loving to carving their initials into the smooth bark, potentially harming these long lived trees. The bark and leaves have been used historically to dye fabric and a poultice of boiled leaves has been used to treat burns, frostbite, and poison ivy and a tea made from the bark has been used to treat various respiratory ailments.

We found this Sugar Hackberry while we were clearing out around large pines on top at edge of clearing. It was covered in leaf cutter bees that had cut out little notches in the leaves to use for their young.

Uses
Conservation: Sugarberry is used in native landscaping and habitat restorations, and windbreaks.
Ethnobotanic: Sugarberry was used by a variety of Native American tribes. The Houma used a concentrate made from the bark to treat sore throats and a decoction made from the bark and ground up shells to treat venereal disease. The Comanche would beat the fruits of sugarberry to a pulp. The pulp was then mixed with animal fat, rolled into balls, and roasted in the fire for food. The Acoma, Navajo, and Tewa all consumed the berries for food. The Navajo boiled the leaves and branches to make dark brown and red dye for wool.

Wildlife: Many species of songbirds including mockingbirds and robins eat the fruit and use the tree for nesting habitat. It is a larval and nectar host for two butterflies: hackberry emperor (Asterocampa celtis) and American snout (Libytheana carineta). White-tailed deer browse the leaves and fruit.
Other Uses: Sugarberry is used for furniture, athletic goods, firewood, and plywood. It has limited use for flooring, creating, and for wood posts. It is used as an ornamental and as a street tree in residential areas in the lower South