Tennessee Hardwood Trees

Many native trees are already used in tennessee home landscapes.

Tennessee hardwood trees.

Hackberry genus celtis. Welcome to the university of tennessee arboretum tree identification guide. Trees that require close examination s. Much of middle tennessee was covered with a great virgin hardwood forest when it was first settled.

For this guide we have chosen some of the trees commonly found on the trails at the arboretum. Softwoods are gymnosperms meaning they do not have flowers and use cones for seed reproduction. Beech genus fagus. Red oak southern red oak southern red oak is one of tennessee s most common trees.

Hickory genus carya. While some areas contained natural barrens or grass lands the land that was forested showed an amazing variety of trees and bushes. Basswood genus tilia. Common north american hardwood list.

A to z list by scientific name pine pincaceae pine pinus spruce picea larches tamaracks larix hemlocks tsuga douglas firs and true firs pseudotsuga and abies. Check the following guides to find the trees most likely to be encountered on any given site in tennessee. Oaks maples dogwood yellow poplar and oth ers are common. Elm genus ulmus.

Many more exist that are seldom used. Black cherry genus prunus. The value to landowners of these pine plantings 11 000 acres when mature is conservatively estimated to be over 22 million in current dollars. The blend of the soil s minerals and nutrients the amount of rainfall and the stable rotation of seasons assist in gradual growth and contribute to a superior quality of lumber.

Examples of softwoods include pines spruces firs and hemlocks. Most of the hardwood plantings 3 400 acres will be tailored to provide environmental benefits. Ash genus fraxinus. Cottonwood genus populus.

Some river and creek bottoms were choked with canebrakes. Trees likely to be found growing on well drained land ash beech black cherry black oak black walnut blackgum. The bark is very rough but thin less than thick. Birch genus betula.

It usually has a round well pruned trunk with a slight swell at the base and good form up to strong well spaced limbs at the top. Most important being streamside buffers and wildlife habitat. Black walnut butternut genus juglans. If you would like to know the common name scientific name or characteristics of a tree at the arboretum but you only know the shape of the leaf perhaps this guide will.

Trees are most likely to be encountered in different parts of tennessee and on given sites can help speed up proper identification. Oaks maples birches and fruit trees are examples of hardwood trees.