Trees of Warren County

American beech is a distinctive and elegant forest tree in Kentucky and throughout eastern North America. In early spring new leaves emerge from buds as feathery tassels. Winter, however, emphasizes this tree’s other notable attributes – its long, thin, pointed, brown leaf buds and its smooth, thin, light gray, “wrinkled” bark that resembles an elephant’s hide.

The American elm was the most popular tree to plant in the booming cities of the 19th century, so that by the 20th century many streets were lined with only elms and were shaded in summer by a cathedral-like ceiling of their branches. When Dutch elm disease (which actually originated in Asia) spread to the US in the 1950s, it was able to mow down elm after elm through their grafted root systems or with the help of a beetle.

The trunk and branches of this tree have ridges that look like muscles. Songbirds are attracted to its forked branches, dense crown and tasty seeds. The hard wood of American hornbeam is used to make golf clubs, tool handles and mallets. The bark of the American Hornbeam is irregularly fluted which gives the tree the distinctive muscular appearance.

This massive tree has large attractive leaves and interesting fruit clusters that remain on the tree into winter. The long, stout trunk has beautiful exfoliating bark. The planetree’s large leaves are maple-like although there is considerable variation in leaf shape and size. Fall color is not showy.

Amur maple is a deciduous small tree or large shrub in the Sapindaceae (soapberry) family native to Asia that prefers cool summer climates and is one of the hardier maples. The leaves have a distinctive 3-lobed pattern with the central lobe being elongated. Fall color is red to orange.

Apples are predominantly grown for sale as fresh fruit, though apples are also used commercially for vinegar, juice, jelly, applesauce, and apple butter and are canned as pie stock. The simple leaves are roughly oval in shape and usually have fine teeth along the margins. Apple flowers are showy with five white petals, often tinged with pink, and numerous stamens.

The species epithet, occidentalis, means from the Western world.1 Arborvitae was the first North American tree to be introduced to Europe.2 Native Americans made baskets from the roots and used the leaves in tea. Arborvitae are narrow, pyramid shaped trees that come to a point at the top. The foliage of the arborvitae grows in flat sprays with tiny scale-like leaves.

This ornamental tree has stiff dark green needles that occur in bundles of two. The cones are pointed directly out and away from the stem and are oval and brown at maturity. The bark of the tree is dark brown to black, furrowed, and plate-like. The branches are stout and spreading, and the trunk is straight.

Bald cypress’ native range includes the southeastern U.S., where it is the dominant tree in swampy environments. The natural range of the bald cypress is limited by two factors: the need for constant moisture until a sapling root reaches the water table and the need for seasonal flooding to eliminate invading hardwoods. Around water, bald cypress produces characteristic “knees” that grow up from the root system.

It has large, compound leaves, a 1 inch, four-part nut, and yellow fall color. The gray-green bark has tight narrow ridges which become scaly on older bark. The bright yellow terminal buds are showy in winter. The alternate, compound leaves have 7 to 11 lance-shaped leaflets.

Black cherry is the largest cherry native to Kentucky. It is a valuable forestry plant because the wood is prized for carpentry. The fruit of black cherry has a bitter sweet flavor and is used to make jelly and wine. Birds, squirrels, deer, raccoon, black bears, ruffed grouse, opossum and turkey are among the animals that eat the fruit of black cherry.

From waxy spring foliage and brilliant fall color to beautiful winter form, the black gum shows great ornamental value. It has unique, thick bark that is arranged in six-sided plates. Flowers are small and insignificant.

Black Maple is a large deciduous tree in the Sapindaceae (soapberry) family native to Eastern and Central USA. It differs from A. saccharum (sugar maple) by having darker bark, leafy stipules at the base of leaf stems and leaves that are 3-lobed and a darker green. This maple species has green leaves with three or five lobes, deeply grooved bark, and clusters of yellowish-green flowers.

The black oak is a stately oak that was introduced to commerce as early as 1800. It can reach a height of more than 100 feet. The very prominent tap root of black oak ensures this species’ survival under poor growing conditions. The specific epithet, velutina, is derived from the Latin word for fleece, wool or down, vellus, which refers to this species’ velvety winter buds and young foliage.

Black walnut is a common tree throughout Kentucky. The outer covering on the fruit is lemon scented and the nut is edible. The tree produces an open, rounded crown. Leaves are compound having approximately 16 leaflets with fine teeth along the margin.

The bark of black willow is dark brown to black, developing deep grooves and a rough texture with shaggy scales as it ages. The wood is soft and weak, but is used for building crates, the cores of furniture, wooden utensils, and formerly used for building prosthetics. This tree also attracts pollinators!

Blue Atlas Cedar is a showy evergreen conifer that needs plenty of room to grow. It originated in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. A waxy coating on the needles gives them the bluish cast for which Glauca is known. Blue Atlas Cedar have short blue needles in clusters up to 45. They have barrel shaped cones and a fragrant aroma.

Blue spruce is a columnar or conical evergreen conifer with densely growing horizontal branches. They have waxy gray-green leaves, up to 3 cm are arranged radially on the shoots which curve upwards. The pale brown cones are up to 10 cm long. Genus name is reportedly derived from the Latin word pix meaning “pitch” in reference to the sticky resin typically found in spruce bark.

‘Blue Star’ Singleseed Juniper is a cultivar that is a dwarf conifer, an evergreen, and slow-growing shrub that may reach from 1 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 4 feet wide. The leaves are blue-gray, awl-shaped needles with a white band that overlap and are densely arranged in whorls of three. The fruits are bluish berry-like seed cones.

Box elder, (Acer negundo), hardy and fast-growing tree, of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae), native to the central and eastern United States. The box elder was widely planted for shade by early settlers in the prairie areas of the United States. Female trees affected by attack from boxelder bugs in mid summer.

Bur oak is named for the characteristic fringed cup around its acorn. Bur oak offers large, beautiful leaves and acorns. During winter, it fully reveals its rough, gray bark. The massive root system of the bur oak is said to be a mirror reflection of the trunk and branch system above ground.

The Callery pear is a member of the Rosaceae or rose family and is native to portions of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. In the 1950s, this promising tree was introduced into the landscape in the United States. Concerns for overplanting and structural weakness of the branches began to emerge in the 1980s. Now the concerns are regarding invasiveness, escaping cultivation, and naturalization.

The cherrybark tree has heavy strong wood that makes it an excellent timber tree for furniture and interior finish. This tree is also a pleasant shade tree and is a fast growing oak tree. Many wild animals and birds use the acorns of the cherrybark as food. Within the range of this oak, animals and birds include acorns as a substantial part (10 percent or more) of their diets.

The chestnut oak is noted for growing on steep, rocky hills where other oaks cannot survive. Its well-developed tap root makes this tree sturdy and adaptable under these unfavorable conditions. Acorns of chestnut oak are produced singly or in pairs. They are a wildlife staple.

‘China Boy’ Blue Holly is a living fence when planted 4 ft apart due to its dense nature. The kelly-green foliage is spiky, which discourages animals from munching on it; in fact, as the plant detects damage from deer or rabbits, it will make its’ spines sharper near the bottom of the plant to protect itself.

This rugged female Holly needs a pollenizer for fruit. However, with or without fruit, it is excellent hedge material and a perfect candidate for formal gardens. Its dense habit takes oval or pyramidal forms. If left unsheared it makes an ideal screen for planting strips between driveways, where it can take reflected heat and reduces glare.

Chinese elm is a large ornamental deciduous shade tree in the Ulmaceae (elm) family native to China, Korea, and Japan. Chinese Elm makes a shade-resistant street or urban tree that is resistant to Dutch elm disease and air pollution. The bark is lacy, exfoliating bark in shades of brown, tan, olive, and cinnamon.

The wood of the chinkapin oak has been used for split-rail fences, railroad ties and construction lumber. It is noted historically for its role in fueling steamships along the Ohio River. While this durable wood made excellent fences in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, when farms fell by the way, the wooden fences were collected and placed on the river bank to sell to passing engineers.

Persimmon is native throughout Kentucky in dry woodland settings. The fruit is an important wildlife food and is edible. Persimmon wood is very hard and nearly black. It is used to make golf club heads, billiard cues and parquet flooring.

This tree has an alternate leaf arrangement with 2 to 5 inch long, simple, triangle-shaped, deciduous leaves. These leaves have a toothed margin and an elongated tip. The tree has yellowish twigs, light to medium green, triangular shaped, coarsely toothed leaves, and gummy-ended buds that easily distinguish it from other species of poplar.

The heartwood is light brown and aromatic, in contrast to the white sapwood, and is commonly used for cedar chests. The wood is also often used to make fence posts and rails, as it is naturally rot-resistant. It also repels insects, lending to its appeal for use in clothing storage and pet bedding.

The genus name Cercis comes from the Greek word kerkis, which means weaver’s shuttle, referring to the fact that the seed pod resembles the size and shape of a weaver’s shuttle used to move thread back and forth on a loom.

Although common in the landscape, eastern white pine makes an excellent specimen plant or background plant for smaller trees because of its evergreen foliage. This evergreen is an excellent ornamental tree but will not thrive if growing conditions are not optimal.1 The quality of the wood and the long straight stems have made it ideal for many uses, particularly as shingles and ship masts.

The ruling majesty of the woods, the wise old English oak holds a special place in our culture, history, and hearts. It supports more life than any other native tree species in the UK; even its fallen leaves support biodiversity.

This tree is noted for its white bark, which exfoliates in papery strips. It is also noted for its drooping or pendulous branches. Specific epithet means “hanging” in reference to the growth habit of the branches. Noted for its white bark, which exfoliates in papery strips and for its drooping or pendulous branches.

Most crabapples are considered four-season trees. Crabapples are best suited to zones 4-8. They enjoy 6 hours of sun a day to look their best, Flowering crabapples are available in pink, white or magenta blooms, and all fruiting trees will have tiny fruits that look like berries but can be up to 2 inches wide. That’s the crabapple itself!

The Kentucky champion tree is in Warren County and is about 35 feet tall. Flowering dogwood is a beautiful native tree with four-season appeal. The wood of dogwood has a high resistance to sudden shock, making it a popular choice for making golf club heads and chisel handles. It is also used for mallet heads and wedges, as it can be hammered on the ends without splitting and mushrooming out.

Foster Holly is a cultivar of Ilex x attenuata and is an evergreen shrub or small tree that has a fine texture, and a dense, slender, conical, or pyramidal shape. It is slow growing and may reach up to 20 to 30 ft tall and 10 to 15 feet wide. An abundance of small, pea-sized orangish-red-to-red berries ripen in the fall and persist through the winter.

Fraser fir is a needled, evergreen tree in the Pinaceae (pine) family native to the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States. It is named for John Fraser (d. 1811), Scottish botanist and plant collector. The needles are fragrant and long-lasting making the fraser fir an excellent specimen tree for a garden for the blind, a children’s garden, or a recreational play area.

It is slow-growing and can get 3-5 feet tall and 5-6 feet wide. Globe blue spruce is a flat topped, conifer ornamental tree, prized for its blue needles. The rigid branches provide excellent rain protection and nesting areas for birds. There are recorded globe spruces that are 600-800 years old. They’re in it for the long haul.

The green ash genus name, Fraxinus, is from the Latin name for the Old World ash species. The wood of green ash is used for baseball bats, tennis rackets, tool handles, oars and picture frames. Green ash undersides of leaves are completely green.

Green hawthorn is an adaptable, urban tolerant tree that offers winter interest with its abundant and attractive orange red fruit. It has pretty red to gold foliage in fall and handsome silver-gray peeling bark that shows orange underneath. Leaves are dark green foliage in the summer that changes to red to gold in the fall.

Erosion control: Common hackberry is included in windbreak plantings to control wind erosion. Additionally, its deep root system makes common hackberry useful for preventing soil erosion on disturbed sites. Native Americans valued common hackberry for medicinal, food, and ceremonial purposes.

The leaves are alternate, pinnately or bipinnately compound, 6-8″ long with 20-30 leaflets. Leaves are bright green in summer; fall color is yellow. Fruit is a reddish-brown to brown pod from 7-18 inches long and about an inch wide. It contains hard, oval seeds and is often irregularly twisted. The pulp inside the seed pod is edible which makes the tree an attractant for bees, moths, butterflies, and small mammals.

The Japanese maple is a short tree in the Sapindaceae (soapberry) family, native to southeast Korea and central and south Japan, and noted for having many aesthetically pleasing forms. Weeping as well as upright varieties exist, and the species is well noted for its beautiful deep red and orange summer color that deepens into the fall.

This tree is native to East and South China, Japan, and Korea. Cherry blossoms are the national flower of Japan and symbolize life, good health, and happiness. The epithet, serrulata, means saw-like teeth and likely references the serrated leaves of this species. Birds relish the fruits, though they are not plentiful.

It is noted for its graceful vase shape when young, green textured foliage, and attractive honeycomb bark. It is native to Japan, Taiwan and eastern China. Zelkova has in fact been promoted in recent years as a substitute for American elm (Ulmus americana) because of its resistance to Dutch elm disease.

The common name comes from the seeds being used by pioneers as a coffee substitute. With its bold form, contorted branching, unique bark and decorative clusters of large pods rattling in the wind, Kentucky coffeetree is an exceptional winter ornamental.

This tree blooms with abundant clusters of double pink blooms in the spring and is considered one of the showiest of the Japanese cherries. When the leaves fill out they provide excellent shade. This plant is the domestic cherry in Japan and is called ‘Sato Zakura’ which means ‘domestic cherry’.

It is multi-stemmed, spreading, and rounded. This plant is one of the smaller species found in the Magnolia genus. In the spring, goblet or lily-shaped flowers appear and have 6 to 7 tepals that are purplish-red on the outer surface and white on the inside. The genus name, Magnolia, is in honor of Pierre Magnol, a French botanist from the 17th century. The specific epithet, liliifora, means flower like a lily.

Loblolly pine is a needled evergreen tree in the pine family (Pinaceae) and is native to the southeastern United States. It has the most rapid growth rate of all pines and may grow 60 to 90 feet tall with a 20 to 40 foot width.This an important timber tree whose wood is used for paper pulp, plywood, and general construction. Its wood value and rapid growth rate make it an important tree for forest management.

London plane tree is a hybrid cross of American sycamore and Oriental planetree. It is believed that this hybrid was developed in the 1640s by an accidental cross of the Oriental plane and American Sycamore either in Spain or London. The hybrid was recognized and categorized in 1789 by a Scottish botanist,

The trees have a great color during summer hence it turns to red foliage during the season. The foliage is an excellent source of food for wildlife and squirrels.2 The tree also has durable wood, which is beneficial to residents of these regions. The wood of the Northern Red Oak is excellent for making furniture.

Norway maples have invasive traits that enable them to spread aggressively. While these trees have demonstrated invasive traits, there is insufficient supporting research to declare them so pervasive that they cannot be recommended for any planting sites. Norway maple can be distinguished from other maple species by the milky white fluid that oozes when the stem of a leaf is broken.

Like most spruce trees the Norway spruce prefers a cooler climate. This species will grow faster than some of the other spruce, but it is not as desired as some of the others. It works well as a windbreak or a buffer and has moderate tolerance to urban conditions. It can be a wonderful specimen tree for a yard or park.

It gets its common name from the distinctive bur-like acorn cup that typically encloses 2/3 to almost all of the nut. This renders it buoyant in flood areas. Birds and small mammals eat the acorns. The overcup oak has smaller acorns and slightly smaller leaves than the similar Bur Oak.

Pignut hickory’s nutritious nuts attract wildlife. Pignut hickory is best planted in a park-like area where its large size, leaf litter, fruit and twig drop will not be problems. Pignut hickory fruit has a small kernel with variable flavor, usually bitter and is fit to be eaten only by “pigs and other animals.”

Pin oak’s common name comes from the many short or pin-like branchlets on the main branches. Unlike most oaks, it does not have heavy horizontal branches. Instead, it has many slender branches that arch out, with the lower branches bending down. One of the few oaks not used for lumber; it warps badly so it is used for pellet wood for smokers.

Oak trees will attract a variety of birds, moths, butterflies and mammals to your yard, providing them with food and shelter. Post oak is a valuable contributor to wildlife food and cover. Acorns provide high energy food during fall and winter and are considered important in the diet of wild turkey, white-tailed deer, squirrels, and many other rodents.

Red maple is one of the most recognized trees with some part of the plant red all season long. From red flowers to its beautiful bark, red maple offers a variety of interests for the landscape in all seasons of the year. Pioneers used red maple bark to make ink and cinnamon-brown and black dyes.

River birch wood is hard, strong and knotty. Ox yokes, wooden shoes and furniture have been made from its wood. River birch was first cultivated in 1736. River birch can be used as a screen or shade tree, and as a street tree with irrigation.

Aromatic leaves are bright green in summer and yellow to orange to brilliant red in fall. Dark blue berries on female trees hang from bright red stems in September. The name sassafras was derived from the Spanish word salsafras, referring to the tree’s alleged medicinal value. The specific epithet, albidum, refers to the light or whitish color of the undersides of leaves.

Magnolia × soulangeana, commonly known as saucer magnolia, is a deciduous hybrid magnolia (M. denudata × M. liliiflora). It is the most commonly grown deciduous magnolia. Fragrant flowers (to 8” across) bloom in early spring. Flowers are pink with white interiors.

The leaves are alternate, lance-shaped, and have bristly teeth along the margins. The acorns are bitter and not a favorite of wildlife. This tree is no longer recommended in the United States because of its invasive tendencies, particularly in the eastern United States. The Sawtooth Oak has simple, alternately arranged leaves. The many parallel axillary veins on either side of the midrib that end at the margin in bristles.

The shagbark hickory is the symbol of the Pioneer Age. Shagbark hickory’s most prominent ornamental feature is its unique, smoke-gray bark that warps away from the stem in foot-long plates. The edges of long plates of bark curl away from the trunk, giving this tree a very rugged appearance. Its savory nuts attract squirrels and other animals.

The common name comes from the early practice of making shingles from the wood. The species name – imbricaria – is derived from the Latin word imbricatus, which means overlapping. The shingle oak is most recognizable for its combination of oak-exclusive acorns and unusual lobed leaves.

Silver maple has been heavily planted as an ornamental in many urban areas because of its ease of transplanting and establishment, adaptability to a wide range of sites, rapid growth, and good form. The species also has been used for vegetative rehabilitation of surface mined lands as well as for bottomland reforestation.

If space is available, a grove of crabapples provides for a multitude of wildlife ranging from birds and pollinators to multiple small mammals and deer. The native Southern crabapple is a shrub or small tree, 20 to 30 feet in height. Leaves are elliptical or oblong with a blunt tip and wavy saw-toothed margins and hairy when young. They are dull green above and paler underneath.1

Southern magnolia, is a large, broadleaf evergreen tree that is noted for its attractive glossy dark green leaves and its large, extremely fragrant flowers. It is the only evergreen in the Magnoliaceae (magnolia) family and typically grows to 60 to 80 feet tall with a pyramidal to rounded crown, a spread of 20 to 40 feet wide, and a trunk diameter of 3 feet.

Sugar maple, with its beautiful form and brilliant, multicolored display of fall color, is a popular shade tree in eastern North America. A stylized sugar maple leaf, which is Canada’s national symbol, truly reflects its value. Sugar maple is best known for its outstanding fall color that is so characteristic of New England states.1

Typically, the swamp white oak is found in swampy areas, lowlands, floodplains, and along streams and lakes. The epithet, bicolor, references the twotone or two-colors of the upper and lower surface of the leaves. The swamp white oak has less flakier darker bark than the White Oak and a lighter leaf underside.

Native to the eastern United States, the tree also attracts butterflies and serves as a caterpillar/larval host. Birch sap can be boiled the same as maple sap, but its syrup is stronger Sweet Birch Tree.’ (like molasses). This tree is characterized by shiny black- brown bark and foliage that turns yellow in the fall months. Considered to have the best fall color among all birch species.

This is a larval host plant to Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). You may see three flights from February November in the deep south and two flights from May-September in the north. Leaves are toothed on the margin with 2 small red or green glands at the base of the blade. Prunus avium is generally grown as an ornamental cherry tree. It is native to Europe and Asia and has been cultivated in the U.S. since colonial times.

The leaves are shiny, and dark green on the upper surface, and the undersides are pubescent and silvery. The flowers are solitary, and fragrant, measuring 2 to 3 inches in diameter, with creamy white blooms that have 9 to 12 petals. The flowers will open in the morning and close during the night for up to 2 to 3 days. After flowering, cone-like fruits of aggregate follicles appear and contain bright red seeds.

Sweetgum is an excellent urban tree provided it has a large area for root development. It has an attractive, uniform habit, dense, glossy green summer foliage and unique fall color, with several rich colors developing on a single tree.

It is named and noted for its cup shaped, tulip-like flowers that bloom in spring. Flowers are yellow with an orange band at the base of each petal. Four-lobed bright green leaves (to 8” across) turn golden yellow in fall. Wood is used inter alia for furniture, plywood, boatbuilding, paper pulp and general lumber. Native Americans made dugout canoes from tuliptree trunks.

This plant works well as a specimen plant in woodland landscapes as it has an interesting, scraggly form and numerous persistent cones. It is also suitable for native, nighttime, and winter gardens. The seeds are a food source for many birds. Virginia pine is not considered particularly attractive by many people, but it can be a popular Christmas tree species in the South.

Its graceful habit is effective as a specimen at the edges of ponds and lakes or any low spot in the landscape that retains water. It works well on slopes to prevent erosion. This tree has weeping, pendulous branches, stems are reddish-brown to yellowish-brown.

The tough, elastic wood has a pleasing grain and is used to make tennis racquets, hockey sticks, oars, furniture, interior floors and the Louisville Slugger baseball bat. The juice from leaves relieves the swelling and itching of mosquito bites and has a folkloric use as a prophylactic measure for snake bites.

Escaped from cultivation and found in old fields, pastures, fence rows, and low, wet ground along streams. An Asian species, white mulberry was introduced by early settlers, who cultivated it for its berries and as fodder for an attempted silkworm industry. White mulberry is the favorite food of the silkworm caterpillar and in Asia is an important part of the silk-making industry.

It draws its name from its ash-colored bark. White oak wood has been traditionally used to make baskets and is widely used for making barrels for aging bourbon. The white oak has flakier lighter bark than Swamp White Oak and a darker leaf underside.

Willow oak’s common name comes from the shape of the leaves and its specific epithet, phellos, is the ancient Greek name for the cork oak, Quercus suber. The willow Oak can be distinguished by its smaller and much more narrowly elliptic leave. It has a distinguishing combination of bristle-tipped leaves, narrowly elliptic leaves, and relatively large tree size.

The mast from winged elm is eaten by birds and animals, and the twigs and leaves are important for white-tailed deer (16). Both twigs and leaves are most succulent, nutritious, and digestible during spring and are less useful as food the rest of the year because after abscission, the leaves lose most of their quality and digestibility.

This cultivar was introduced in 1925 by W.B. Clarke Nursery in San Jose, California. In the 1930s, seedlings of this cultivar were donated and planted around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. ‘Akebono’ is a stunning flowering Japanese cherry tree cultivar that has soft pink flowers that fade to white when they fully open. This is a deciduous cherry tree with snow-white spring flowers. The leaves are serrated.