Trees on the Yale Nature Walk

Tree ID: 169
Date of tree entry: February 4, 2025
Known colloquially as the only type of wood that could kill all vampires in The Vampire Diaries, the white oak is indeed as magical and powerful as it sounds! Not only does bark from the tree form stakes to kill vampires, but it is also used for barrels (called staves, so sometimes the tree is called a stave oak), Japanese martial arts (bokken = wooden swords), and even the US Constitution! White oaks are eudicots and quite old! Some can live past 450 years old. This is not without reason, as white oak trees are the most resistant to disease and insects, and the wood from these trees very rarely splinters when broken. Keep reading to learn more about this amazing tree!
Tree ID: 173
Date of tree entry: February 5, 2025
This Sassafras tree stands beside a hilly walkway, blending in with other young trees, including magnolias. Sassafras will always be distinctive, however, due to its aromatic smell. Unique to North America, the sweet and spicy scent of Sassafras may entice you to take a bite. But fear not, you can purchase Sassafras tea or root beer at your nearest market. Its bright green twigs and buds assert its vibrancy even in the cold of winter. Sassafras has kept us warm for centuries as a spicy addition to our cuisine. Every part of the plant is useful: its bark, leaves, and roots have found their way into Native American and US life.
Tree ID: 175
Date of tree entry: February 5, 2025
True Northeast icon, this Sugar Maple is even more gorgeous alone on Halloween, although in reality, its gorgeous cascade of blazing reds, golds, and oranges makes it one of the continent's most hallowed trees. Autumn is their season, here an absolute spectacle, reducing landscape to living paintings and drawing locals off-branching tourists by the droves for one look at New England's seasonal magic. This specific tree, however, is more than just eye candy. Early spring, when warm weather arrives but nights still snap with cool, this Sugar Maple works behind the scenes: dripping sap that, boiled, is converted to that rich, gold syrup that sweetens breakfasts across America. Some 40 gallons of sap yield one gallon of maple syrup, a testament to nature's slow, generous rhythms. Its sweet offering aside, Sugar Maple is an admirable member of local landscape citizenship. Its wide leaves offer dappled summer shade, creating cool microclimates for ferns and in-dwellers below. Its limbs offer nesting to birds, seed rewards to squirrels, and nutrient-rich components to soil when it falls. Its hardwood is also prized for strength and beauty, and is used from floor wood to fine violins. Deeply rooted in North American culture and ecology, Sugar Maple is more than all its components in total, it's not simply a tree, but an icon for strength, bounty, and cycles as well. Whether traveling to see it for leaf-peeping, syrup, or simply sitting in its shadow, there's an aspect that this tree offers in every season of the year.
Tree ID: 174
Date of tree entry: February 5, 2025
The American Beech tree is a medium sided tree that is native to eastern parts of North America. It produces beechnuts, which are eaten by squirrels, deer, and birds. When it grows, it has a large, sprawling canopy of green leaves. In the winter, it retains many of its leaves, now a curly, brown shell of their former selves, as seen in the pictures from the winter. Soon, the male reproductive flowers, called catkins, will bloom and fertilize the female flowers to produce beechnuts. American Beech trees are monoecious, meaning they have male and female flowers on the same tree.
Tree ID: 172
Date of tree entry: February 5, 2025
The ancient warrior of myth and more popularly known Disney princess Mulan (木兰) got her name from the magnolia blossom, a flower that represents beauty, nobility, and strength in Chinese culture. And so represents the magnolia family of flowering plants, which has survived events such as ice ages, continental drifts, and large-scale mountain formations -- they are so ancient that they were pollinated by beetle because bees hadn't evolved yet! In the winters, these trees may be barren, but in spring, they show their full beauty in explosions of large bowl-shaped or star-shaped blooms of whites and pinks. Besides its beauty, magnolia has also long been used for other functions like in traditional Chinese medicine (with its bark used to treat anxiety, bloating, and inflammation), cooking (leaves are broiled and eaten as vegetables in Japan), and fragrances (stop and smell for a sweet, rose-like aroma!)
Tree ID: 171
Date of tree entry: February 5, 2025
This River Birch is situated towards the Eastern end of Sachem's Wood, and can most easily be identified by its peeling, mottled bark. It exhibits a distinctive growth pattern that is typical of its species by splitting into five trunks that sag outwards, which benevolently shade a nearby bench. Its leaves are contoured by double serration, and are painted a stunning shade of green, taking on a beautiful golden hue in the autumn. However, this tree did not foliate during the entire Spring semester, preventing its surveyors from witnessing these entrancing structures or colors.
Tree ID: 168
Date of tree entry: February 4, 2025
This flowering dogwood tree is situated at the bottom of a staircase by path at the bottom of Sachem's wood. Given its small stature, it is frequently overlooked by passers by; however, it is sure to turn heads when in full bloom.
American sycamore
Tree ID: 167
Date of tree entry: February 4, 2025
The American Sycamore is one of the great American classics. Most people have heard of it and probably seen them, though their large stature can sometimes blend in and appear indistinguishable. These large, deciduous trees are best known for their broad leaves and distinctive mottled bark, peeling in patches to reveal a smooth and pale surface underneath. Sycamores are commonly found in temperate regions and thrive in wetland, floodplain, and riparian (riverbank) habitats. Beyond providing canopy cover, friendly shade, and a welcoming presence, sycamores offer a valuable ecological role in stabilizing soil to prevent erosion, and providing a habitat for birds and small mammals.
Tree ID: 170
Date of tree entry: February 4, 2025
This red maple, although a late bloomer, is a seasonal showstopper. Located in Sachem's Wood, it brings a burst of fall flair to Science Hill. What it lacks in age and size, it makes up in its bright, red leaves and fiery presence that turns heads and lights up the campus. Stop by in the fall to witness its beautiful foliage.
Tree ID: 166
Date of tree entry: February 4, 2025

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