Pinnacle Park Tree Tour

River Birch is a medium to large tree found primarily in the Eastern U.S. in floodplains along streams.  It has papery exfoliating (peeling) bark and often has multiple stems.  The tree grows best in full sunlight.  River birch sap can be fermented to make birch beer or vinegar. The wood is used to manufacture inexpensive furniture. Many species of birds eat the seeds including wild turkey and grouse.  The leaves are browsed by whitetailed deer. 

A member of the rose family (Rosaceae), the Black Cherry is native to much of the U.S. and grows prolifically in Georgia.  Black cherry wood is a rich reddish-brown color and is strong, hard, and close-grained – one of the most valued cabinet and furniture woods in North America.  The fruits are important food for numerous species of passerine birds, game birds, and mammals, including the red fox, black bear, raccoon, opossum, squirrels, and rabbits.  The inner bark was used historically in the Appalachians as a cough remedy, tonic, and sedative.

Native from Massachusetts to Florida and west to Texas, this tree is common in the understory of the southern forest and is well known for its white flowers in the spring.   Several varieties have been propagated that produce red and pink flowers.  A favorite in America for centuries, both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson planted it at their homes. Early Native Americans made medicinal teas from its bark, and Civil War doctors used this tea as a quinine substitute.  The tree is slow growing and produces dense, hard wood.  The fruits are eaten by many types of animals including birds, chipmunks and foxes.  

The Inkberry is a type of native evergreen holly bush that is found wild in many Southern bogs and damp woodlands. It is also known as gallberry shrubs. While the berries are not edible for humans, many birds and small animals like them in the winter. The dried and roasted inkberry leaves were first used by native Americans to brew a black tea-like drink and it became know as Appalachian tea among settlers.

Inkberry holly’s dense round shape forms a thick hedge when it is grown in a row. Singly it can grow to an almost tree-like eight feet.

The creature that enjoys this plant the most is the honeybee. Southern bees are known for making gallberry honey, an amber colored liquid that is prized by many gourmets.

The Yellowwood tree is native to the Southeastern U.S. The yellowwood name came about because the tree’s heartwood is yellow and can be used to make dyes.

The renowned eighteenth-century botanist, Andre Michaux, first discovered the yellowwood in Jackson County, Tennessee in 1796. Two popular historical uses were made of this wood by settlers in southern Appalachia: yellow dye made from the inner bark of the roots, and gun stocks. The wood remains popular for specialty woodworking projects because of the unusual color.

Although the Yellowwood tree grows slowly its mature tree size can grow to 30 to 50 feet high. It is a lovely shade tree with a showy floral display in the spring, and the leaves turn bright yellow and orange in the autumn.

The Yellowwood flowers that come in the late spring have intensely fragrant, wisteria like flowers that droop in long clusters about 10 to 15 inches long. These flowers attract honeybees and other pollinators. After the blooms are pollinated they form brown leguminous pods.

Yellowwood trees will naturally decline after 30 to 40 years if unpruned. With regular attention to the tree, however, it can live at least twice that long.

The sweetgum is a very common tree in the southeast and has earned a poor reputation because of the spiky seed pods that cover driveways, patios, and lawns.  The tree is often found on floodplains and tolerates wet soils.  Full sun is its preferred exposure.  The fall color can be spectacular with various shades of reds and purples. American sweetgum seeds are eaten by eastern goldfinches, purple finches, sparrows, mourning doves, northern bobwhites and wild turkeys. Small mammals such as chipmunks, red squirrels and gray squirrels also enjoy the fruits and seeds.  The first historical reference to the tree comes from the author and soldier, Don Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who witnessed a ceremony between conquistador Hernan Cortes and the Aztec ruler Montezuma, who drank liquid amber extracted from a sweetgum tree.

The American elm is a tall mighty tree, native to the eastern United States. It is also called the Ulmus Americana, water elm, or white elm. This is a fast growing tree (up to 3 feet a year) and it can attain a height of 100 feet with a 30 to 60 foot canopy spread. It is a long-lived tree with a lifespan of over 150 years.

Unfortunately, the American elm is susceptible to Dutch elm disease. A deadly fungal disease, brought to the tree by bark beetles in the early 1900s, caused this tree species to be nearly wiped out. They were once the quintessential American shade tree and were planted along streets, parks, and yards all over the Eastern U.S.

Many famous Americans have either grown or been associated with American elms. Abraham Lincoln, Henry David Thoreau, George Washington, Daniel Boone, and William Penn are among the names on the list.

George Washington was a fan of the species and had many of them planted at Mount Vernon, some of which are said to be still alive today. Two famous elm trees can be found in Massachusetts. The Washington elm is said to be the location where George Washington took command of the American Continental Army, while the Liberty Tree is said to be the site of American resistance to England.

Kitchen furniture, flooring, baskets, and woodenware are all made from American elmwood. Because steamed American elmwood bends easily, it is also used to make barrels and baskets. Because of its spiral grain, elmwood burns slowly and is difficult to split. It emits a foul odor when burned over an open fire.

Disease resistant cultivars are being developed and before you is a “Princeton” cultivar. It is a bit smaller that the native American elm but hardier and believed to be more resistant to disease. We hope you will visit this iconic American shade tree often and witness the success of its survival.

The red maple is the best named of all trees because it is resplendent in red during all four seasons, showcasing red buds in the winter, red flowers in the spring, red leafstalks in the summer, and brilliant red foliage in the fall.    This pageant of color, along with its tolerance for a wide range of soils and relatively fast growth, make it the most widely planted landscape shade tree.  The red maple is the most common and widespread of deciduous trees in eastern and central North American forests. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most commonplace and adaptable tree in North America.  Dozens of varieties of the tree have been propagated for its wide range of attractive fall colors. It is commercially used on a small scale for maple syrup and lumber. We love and enjoy our red maples here in Georgia!  

The Sawtooth Oak, which is an Asian species of oak native to China and other parts of Asia, has been planted in many lands and has become naturalized in parts of North America. Introduced to America in 1862, this oak derived its name from the distinctive sawtooth-edged leaves it produces. It is a medium sized deciduous tree and can grow to a height of 60 to 80 feet in less than10 years. They are a long-lived tree though, and can live up to up to 100 years.

The acorns this tree begins producing after the first five to seven years of the tree’s life are very bitter and eaten only by some birds and squirrels when other food sources have run out. The wood from the Sawtooth Oak has many of the characteristics of other oaks but is very prone to crack and split. This wood is used for fencing, fuel, and the making of charcoal.

American sycamore is one of the most common trees in lowlands and floodplains but is adaptable to a wide range of conditions.  The tree can grow to heights of over 100 feet with 10-12 foot diameter and live for up to 200 years.  It is a fast growing tree and often colonizes cleared sites especially along streams.  Trees produce spiked seed balls containing many hundreds of seeds that disperse in the wind.  American sycamore is most commonly found in a mix of sweetgum, boxelder, silver and red maple, cottonwood, and willows.

Also known as Black Tupelo, this tree is medium sized growing to 30-50 feet.  The dark green leaves of summer turn multiple shades of red, yellow or purple in the fall providing spectacular color to woodlands or yards.  The fruit are eaten by many animals including birds and squirrels.  Honey produced from the Tupelo flowers is highly prized.

The serviceberry is found throughout N. America and is a genus of about 20 species of leaved shrubs and small trees belonging to the rose family. The serviceberry tree before you is an Autumn Brillance cultivar, aptly named for its particularly beautiful autumn colors.

The serviceberry tree has a beautiful show for all four seasons: beautiful white blossoms in the spring, apple-like fruits in summer, colorful leaves in the fall, and bark color in the winter. The trees can reach a height of 30 feet at maturity.

The common name “Juneberry” is sometimes used for this tree because its fruit starts to ripen in the late spring. The purple apple-like fruits are edible, and they can be eaten fresh or used to make jams and jellies. Serviceberries are generally resistant to deer browsing, however, the birds particularly love them.

This lovely small tree is an attractive addition to any landscape for wildlife and humans as well!

The pecan tree is of the hickory species and is native to the Mississippi River Valley and Georgia. Its nuts were a food source for Native Americans and were consumed and traded between the tribes.  These nuts can provide two to five times more energy per unit weight than wild game, require no preparation and can lie on the ground for a year and still be edible.  The Algonquin Indians called the “Paccan,” meaning hard nut that takes a rock to crack. The U.S. provides more than 80% of the world’s pecans with Georgia being the number one pecan producing state. The tree produces nuts every year and also provides great shade and sports an amazing wood grain that makes it highly prized as wood for furniture and flooring as well. It can live up to 200 years and grow to a height of 100 to 130 feet. 

Loblolly pine is the most important timber species in the Southeast, and can often be seen in large plantations. The species name taeda is Latin for “torch” because of the woods flammability.  Loblolly pines provide shelter and food for many southeastern animals, including birds such as Carolina chickadees, brown-headed nuthatches, rufous-sided towhees, northern bobwhites and wild turkeys. The seeds are also consumed by chipmunks, squirrels and other small rodents.  The red-cockaded woodpecker excavates nest cavities in old pine trees in the process of succumbing to heart-rot. It is the only North American woodpecker to exclusively use living trees for nesting sites.

The box elder tree is a species of maple and is native across much of N. America and south central Canada and is found as far south as Guatemala. It is a fast growing, short lived, and sometimes considered a weedy or invasive species. It can mature from 35 to 80 feet tall and often has several trunks that can form impenetrable thickets. The typical life span of a box elder tree is 60 to 75 years.

Because its leaves are similar to poison ivy’s, box elder saplings are often mistaken for the allergenic plant. Although its branch leaf pattern is different, it is often referred to as the poison ivy tree.

It has brittle weak wood which has no commercial value. However, it does help to shelter wildlife and can stabilize stream banks. Unfortunately, box elder bugs are attracted to female box elder trees and the bugs like to over-winter indoors – such as your home. This is not a popular landscaping tree!

This classic, graceful tree with long arching branches and silver tinged leaves enchant every space they are found. An ideal shade tree that grows very quickly and loves water. It is typically planted near ponds or damp areas. They can live up to 30 years.

The weeping willow originated in China and was found along ancient trade routes between Europe and China. It is now found in N. America and the world over. The ancient Chinese believed that willow branches would ward off evil spirits and were often carried or they were placed over doorways. An ancient Celtic custom was to knock on a willow tree to send away bad luck, and that is where the custom “knock on wood” originated. Native Americans tied willow branches to their boats and lodges to protect them from storms.

Willow wood is flexible for making things and willow branches make great baskets. A willow branch is believed to be best choice for divining water and the making of wizard wands! (Harry Potter fans already know this.)

Willow bark contains salicin, a natural form of aspirin. It has been used for thousands of years as a pain reliever and to reduce inflammation.

N. American willows are a host plant for the Mourning Cloak butterfly, and the catkins that boom in the very early spring are one of the first pollen sources for honeybees. The willow was one of the most useful plants of early peoples.

The green ash is native to the entire eastern half of North America.  It can adapt to a wide range of soil and climate conditions, and it has fast growth and provides ample shade. It also has a tolerance for pollution and road salt thus making it a popular choice as a street-side tree. The white and green ash trees have superior survival traits and they are used as living national monuments.  The National Park Service is protecting Thomas Jefferson’s 200+ year-old green ash and George Washington’s 250-year-old white ash which have a 600-year potential lifespan!  

Green ash wood, because of its strength, hardness, high shock resistance and excellent bending qualities is used in specialty items such as tool handles and most famously for baseball bats.  

Unfortunately, the green ash is being threatened by the emerald ash borer, a beetle introduced accidentally from Asia and to which it has no natural resistance. 

Sweetbay is a woody, flowering, native tree that can grow up to 60 feet tall.  It may be deciduous, semi-evergreen, or evergreen.  The bark is aromatic when crushed. Sweetbay is similar in appearance to southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), but it has a smaller circumference and shorter height than the latter.  It is generally found in wet, sandy, acidic soils along streams, swamps, and flatwoods but can grow in pine and hardwood forest.  It often grows in the sweetbay/swamp tupelo/red maple forest complex and is associated with black tupelo (gum trees).

The Water Oak is a bottom land species of oak found all across the southeastern U.S. It is a native tree that has shown tremendous potential in its adaptability to thrive in a variety of soil types, and it is most frequently used to restore bottomland forests. It grows 60 to 70 feet tall and to a diameter of 2 to 3 feet. The water oak has been used for timber and fuel by people in the southern states since the 17th century. The biggest fans of the water oak are the wide range of wildlife who enjoy the abundant fall crop of acorns. These acorns are an important food for deer, gray squirrels, raccoons, wild turkeys, mallards, wood ducks and bobwhite quail.

The water oak has a lot of other names too: spotted oak, duck oak, punk oak, orange oak and possum oak. It is short lived compared to other species of oaks, with only about a 60-to-80 year life expectancy.

The pawpaw tree, sometimes called the Indian Banana, is a favorite across the Southeast because of its dark green foliage, tropical appearance, and abundant fruit. It grows the largest edible fruit native to N. America. Pawpaw trees thrive in the South’s temperate and deciduous climates. They can grow about 30 feet tall, and their oval-shaped fruits are about 3 to 5 inches long – starting as a yellowish-green and ripening to brown. Eat one and you will be enjoying one of America’s best-kept-secret fruits!

The first recorded mention of pawpaw trees dates back to the 1541 expedition to the Mississippi basin led by the explorer Hernando DeSoto. The tree’s scientific name comes from the Powhatan word Assimina. A Jamestown settler described the fruit as a wheat plum in 1612. The Lewis & Clark Expedition consumed pawpaws during their travels. Thomas Jefferson planted them at his Monticello plantation in Virginia.

The pawpaw is a small understory tree that favors partial shade and can grow in a “patch” connected by underground roots. With leaves and branches that deer avoid, the fruit is loved by all. The pawpaw is a fascinating native tree!

Arrowood Virburnum is a native deciduous shrub that dramatically changes throughout the year, moving from showy blossoms to glossy leaves to berry- laden branches . It is a native shrub to the Eastern U.S. and Canada.

They grow very tall – from 10 to 15 feet. Birds and pollinators love them but deer not so much. They are considered deer resistant. Arrowwood Viburnam is named for its wood, which grows very straight and was used by native Americans to make arrows. This strong flexible, durable wood was also often used to make tool handles.

Arrowwood Viburnam is the perfect shrub to grow in a wide range of environments, especially if you like birds!

Bald cypress is a large, slow-growing but long-lived, deciduous conifer, which frequently reaches 100 to 120 feet in height and 3 to 6 feet in diameter.  Its trunk is massive, tapered, and buttressed.  The bark is thin and fibrous with an interwoven pattern of narrow flat ridges and narrow furrows. It develops a taproot as well as horizontal roots that lie just below the surface and extend 20 to 50 feet before bending down.  It develops knees that grow above water providing additional support.  Found primarily in southern swamps and other waterways, it is adaptable to drier conditions even in urban environments and is used as attractive street trees.  Many types of birds eat the seeds and use the trees for nesting sites.

This tree is native to the southern piedmont and coastal plain of the U.S. from Texas to Delaware.  It is one of the few evergreen oaks but may lose most of its leaves during the winter in the Atlanta area.  The tree grows best in sandy soils commonly reaching heights of 60 to 65 feet but may reach over 100 feet.  The leaves are similar in shape to water oak or willow oak.  

The black willow tree and the weeping willow tree are related to one another as different varieties of the salix genus. While the weeping willow originated in Asia, the black willow is native to the U.S. It is the largest and the only commercially important one of about 90 species of willows native to N. America.

The most distinguishable difference between the two trees is the black willow branches grow outward and the weeping willow branches droop downward to the ground. Black willow trees grow to an average of 50 to 75 feet and thrive in moist environments but do require full sunlight for optimum growing. They are often planted along river banks for soil stabilization.

The black willow has many medicinal uses and holds a treasure chest of unique chemicals. Ancient aboriginal peoples recognized the bark and leaves of the black willow as useful for the treatment of rheumatism. Salicin, the basic ingredient of aspirin, comes from the bark of this tree. Uses and benefits of this ancient tree are numerous for mankind, wildlife, and the environment.

The Shumard oak is a large fast growing red oak, native to the eastern U.S. This native shade tree is adored for its outstanding fall color, generous shade and extreme adaptability. A handsome and sturdy tree that can stand up to floods, pollution, and drought, which is why it is a popular urban street tree.

The Shumard oak grows quite large and its average size is 60 to 80 feet tall at maturity with a wide spreading crown. They can live up to 200 years and prefer moist soils near creeks, lakes and rivers. It produces acorns every two to four years, and these acorns serve as food for numerous species of birds and mammals. They are considered an important source of food for deer.

Commercially, the Shumard oak is marketed with other red oak lumber for flooring, furniture, interior trim and cabinetry. A beautiful and versatile tree!

Japanese maples are not native to the U.S. but have become extremely popular as landscape trees because of their beautiful form and color.  Acer palmatum includes hundreds of named cultivars with a variety forms, colors, leaf types, sizes, and preferred growing conditions. Some tolerate sun, but most prefer part shade, especially in hotter climates. As with most non-native plant species, Japanese maples do not support native wildlife as much as native plants do but they have earned their place in the landscape as attractive specimens. 

The windmill palm is a favorite palm landscaping tree. It is easy to maintain and can survive temperatures as low as 10 degrees. It can reach 10 to 40 feet in height depending on the location.

These unique trees originated in East Asia, specifically the Chusan Islands. Robert Fortune, a Scottish horticulturist, smuggled Windmill palm plants from China into the Kew Horticultural Gardens and into the Royal Garden of Prince Albert of England in 1849. The windmill palm is now the world’s northern most palm tree.

It is a hardy exotic tree that can add a tropical flavor to temperate gardens and arboretums. It has a thin trunk covered with hair like fibers and long fanned shaped leaves on branches that suggest the shape of windmill blades.

Named for its propensity to grow in bottomland soil and a leaf shape similar to American chestnut, the swamp chestnut oak grows to over 100 feet tall with a diameter exceeding 6 feet.  The acorns are large and usually produced singly or in clusters of 2 or 3.  There are 85 acorns per pound that are eaten by white-tailed deer, wild hogs, wild turkey, black bear, squirrels, and chipmunks.  Wood from the trees is used for tools, wheels, barrels, and baskets. 

Hickory trees, of which there are several varieties, are found mainly in the Eastern U.S. The water hickory, a deciduous tree, inhabits the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains from SE Virginia to Florida. The nuts of most hickories are edible and the most widely known is the pecan. However, the water hickory nut has a bitter meat and is enclosed in a thin conspicuously four-winged husk. The squirrels, deer and birds don’t mind the bitterness and actually love them!

The water hickory is most common in moist to swampy soils where it can grow from 60 to 100 feet tall. They are a major component of wetland forests and considered important in cleansing drainage waters. Hickory wood is strong and resilient and is used to make tool handles and athletic equipment. Green hickory is used to flavor meat in smoking and barbecuing.

Water hickories are also known as swamp hickory, river hickory or water pecan. This is an important tree for humans and wildlife.

Also known as tulip tree or yellow poplar, these trees are actually members of the magnolia family and the flower is very similar to Southern Magnolia.  This tree is rapid growing, attaining heights of 80 to 120 feet and a trunk diameter of 2 to 6 feet.  Some of the largest trees in the Eastern U.S. are the poplars in the Joyce Kilmer forest of North Carolina and may be over 400 years old.  The wood of tulip poplar is moderately light, soft, brittle, and is very easily worked.  It is used for furniture stock, veneer and pulpwood.

The American persimmon tree mostly grows wild and ranges primarily in the southeastern U.S. It has been cultivated for its fruit and wood since prehistoric times. The common persimmon tree is a generally a small to medium tree, usually 30 to 80 feet tall at maturity. It has a short slender trunk and spreading, often pendulous, branches. The wood is heavy, strong and very close-grained. Its heartwood is almost black in color and considered a true ebony wood. It is not harvested commercially – mainly because the heartwood does not develop until the tree is nearly 100 years old.

The persimmon fruit is a round or oval, juicy, berry like fruit. They are pale orange in color and often red-cheeked. Its flesh is very astringent while green, sweet and luscious when ripe. Fruit production requires both a male and female tree. The seeds from the fruit were used as buttons during the privation of the American Civil War in the south. Today, persimmon trees are grown on small farms as heritage trees and also for landscaping uses.

The Deodar cedar is a large evergreen coniferous tree that, at maturity, reaches 130 to 160 feet tall and is considered to be one of the most graceful of conifer trees. It grows into a loose pyramid shape with branches that are both level and drooping with 2” long whorled needles that cover the tree year-round. It is also a long-lived tree, documented to live up to 1,000 years old in some places of the world. It is a native tree of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, and now thrives in the coastal regions of the U.S.

In the ancient cultures of India, the deodar forests were regarded as a sacred place where sages used to meditate. People with asthma and other respiratory troubles were recommended to sit under this tree in the early mornings for aromatherapy.

Deodar cedar wood has antifungal and insect repellent properties which make it popular for making furniture. The lumber is straight grained and strong and has many uses, from the making of pencils to building lumber to railroad ties. A truly beautiful and useful tree!