Trees on the Yale Nature Walk

Tree ID: 142
Date of tree entry: February 23, 2021
Don't let the naming fool you: despite it being called the Eastern red cedar, this tree is actually a juniper. In fact, it is the most widespread juniper across the eastern United States! It then comes at no surprise that we see this massive 45 foot tree towering over the Undergraduate Admissions Office. An additional fun fact: the eastern red cedar was the choice of wood in manufacturing pencils up until 1920, due to the material being soft and aromatic. This process stopped due to them cutting down all the trees! Thankfully, the tree is no longer endangered; the eastern red cedar's population is rising across the U.S.
Tree ID: 127
Date of tree entry: February 6, 2020
Tree ID: 127
Date of tree entry: February 6, 2020
Full image of the Red osier dogwood.
Tree ID: 112
Date of tree entry: February 24, 2021
The red osier dogwood is a deciduous thicket-forming shrub with dark red winter stems, and it can grow up to 1.4-6 m tall. This shrub is mostly known for its stunning dark red winter stems which in winter often stand in stark contrast to the surrounding snow. Beyond that, this shrub is monoecious with perfect flowers, that are pollinated by short- and long- tongued bees, wasps, and butterflies, and its white-blue drupes are consumed by a variety of bird (~95 species) and mammal species. Its presence on science hill actually is somewhat out of place as these shrubs prefer riparian areas and often are good indicators of wet, basic soils for surveyors. However, its presence on the hill may help stabilize the soil around it, as the plant can be used to reinforce stream and river banks.
Tree ID: 112
Date of tree entry: February 6, 2020
Staghorn sumac outside of Kroon Hall, home to the Yale School of the Environment
Tree ID: 108
Date of tree entry: February 23, 2021
The staghorn sumac is a large, deciduous tree native to the eastern half of North America and produces edible fruit known as "sumac berries." The name of the tree derives from the resemblance of its branches to the antlers of a stag, both in structure and texture. The flowers of a staghorn sumac tree form distinctive, upward-pointing, cone-like clusters, and the lemon-like berries are consumed by birds and humans alike.
Tree ID: 109
Date of tree entry: February 6, 2020
Despite its name, the Eastern Red Cedar is not a cedar at all. It is actually a juniper, as is indicated by its scientific name juniperus virginiana. This tree is the most common eastern conifer and can be widely found in 37 states across the country. First observed in 1564 in Roanoke Island Virginia, this tree can be identified by its soft bark, its fragrant and scaled foliage, and its small berry-like cones that have a distinct blueish-purple color. Due to its high prevalence in the United States, the eastern red cedar has been adapted for a variety of uses. For example, its berries can be used for tea and a wide range of medicinal purposes, while its bark can be used for perfumes, fenceposts, and pencils.
Tree ID: 107
Date of tree entry: February 23, 2021
Witch hazel is a small, vase-shaped shrub. It's a late blooming bush with distinct yellow flowers. It is well known for its medicinal uses.
Tree ID: 119
Date of tree entry: February 5, 2020
Shrub
Hydrangea quercifolia (04/21/2001)
Tree ID: 113
Date of tree entry: February 24, 2021
Hydrangea quercifoli, commonly known as oakleaf hydrangea, is a flowering plant of the Hydrangraceae family. It is a vase-shaped, deciduous shrub with showy flower heads. It grows to 3-12 feet or 0.91-3.66 meters tall with an open crown. Young stems are covered in a felt-like brown bark and larger stems have a cinnamon-tan bark that shreds and peels in thin flakes. The leaves are yellowish green to dark green on top and silvery-white on the bottom. Plants in shade have larger leaves than those grown in sun. The leaves turn shades of red, purple, and bronze in autumn. H. quercifoli flowers age in color. They age from creamy-white to pink to a dry, papery, rusty-brown in the autumn and winter. H. quercifoli is native to the southeastern United States. More specifically, it is native to woodland habitats from North Carolina west to Tennessee, and south to Florida and Louisiana. It grows in mixed hardwood forests, along streams, and on forested hillsides. H. quercifoli usually grows on calcareous soils, and often where limestone is at the ground surface. H. quercifoli is an undershrub, and often grows in the shade of trees such as large oaks and magnolias.

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