American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) In 1900, the American chestnut was the most abundant tree in the eastern United States. Today, it’s almost gone. The problem? A fungus called chestnut blight. Chestnut blight is a type of mold that was likely introduced to America from an Asian species of chestnut. Once here, it ran rampant through…
Fraser fir The Fraser fir is one of the most popular Christmas trees in America. Most people choose this type of tree because it has excellent needle retention, meaning it will keep its needles for a long time without dropping them. It also has sturdy branches that can hold heavier ornaments, and doesn’t drop as…
Know your tree species There are many ways to identify a tree. It’s important to know the types of trees that grow in your area so you can learn how to spot them. To identify a tree, look at its leaves, flowers and fruit. The shape of the leaves is often enough information to tell…
The first step is understanding. The first step in any learning process is understanding. Understanding a tree involves having an appreciation of how it grows, how to identify it and also how it interacts with its environment. A good way to start would be to learn about the local climate and geology – both of…
Loblolly Pine The most common tree in North America, the loblolly pine is a fast-growing, popularly used for lumber and pulpwood. The tree grows up to 100 feet in 30 years, with a straight trunk that can be 80 percent of its height. The name “loblolly” refers to the species’ low-lying habitat—namely wetland areas. Slash…
Tree identification can be a fun way to learn more about what lives and grows all around you, even the trees in your back yard. When you are learning about tree identification you will begin to look at the trees in your yard, at your school, and at the local park in a whole new…
Dendrology is the study of woody plants; typically trees but there are other things such as shrubs and vines that bear similarities to trees so they are studied as well. Dendrology is a science that studies, identifies, and even names plants that have woody structural systems. These woody systems hold a lot of information about…
A tree looks simple when you take just a quick look. You might not see anything remarkable when you look at the trees in your yard, for we have begun to take them for granted. A tree is actually quite complicated and could be defined as a large woody plant with a substantial root system….
Four hundred and seventy million years ago the earth was likely a very barren place without plants and animals, which is quite hard to imagine now because there are different types of plants and animals just about anywhere you look. The tree was one of the lucky living things that evolved from that time to…
Trees are something that we often take for granted because we really don’t have to think much about them because rain or shine, there they are. It isn’t until a tree dies or has to be cut down that we might take notice of it and realize how much we appreciated its presence. Face it,…