Trees on the Yale Nature Walk

River Birch
Betula nigra
Tree ID: 147
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 17, 2022
The tree is very large with two bifurcations, causing it to have three main trunks. The branches were of the alternating pattern, and seed pods were observed on the ends of the branches. The bark was scaly.

River Birch
Betula nigra
Tree ID: 147
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 17, 2022
The most important thing about river birches is that they were declared by Prince Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, to be the most beautiful of American trees -- a sentiment we definitely agree with. Some other things to know about river birches is that they are deciduous, upright, flowering trees with exfoliated, light brown bark. In the fall, the leaves turn yellow and quickly drop off the tree. This type of birch is the only native birch that thrives in low elevations in the south. In general, river birches grow in wet sites with moist, acidic, sandy, rocky, or well-drained loam (meaning there are equal proportions of sand, silt, and clay. The specific tree we studied is very large with two bifurcations, causing it to have three main trunks. The branches were of the alternating pattern, and seed pods were observed on the ends of the branches. The bark was scaly.

Northern Red Oak
Quercus rubra
Tree ID: 148
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 17, 2022
This young red oak tree lives just off of the Farmington Canal Heritage trail behind Pauli Murray College. This tree is both a grower and a show-er, growing over two feet per year and sporting beautiful orangey-red leaves in fall. Its wood is valued for its attractive grain and durability, and its acorns are food for various birds, squirrels, and other wildlife. It is a bit clingy though; it holds onto many of its dead leaves for most of the winter. This does make it a good place for wildlife to seek shelter, and it is also used by many cavity nesting birds. Red oaks tend to be straight and tall with a long round head, but their size varies with geography. Red oaks range across most of the eastern United States and southeast Canada. They can even thrive in the Appalachians thanks to a shallow root system that can handle the rocky terrain, and they are relatively tolerant of pollution, allowing them to survive well in cities too.

Flowering Dogwood
Cornus Florida
Tree ID: 145
Date of tree entry: February 17, 2022
Our tree (Cornus florida) is the flowering dogwood. Flowering dogwoods are small deciduous trees; while our tree is only 9 feet tall today, flowering dogwood trees grow to 33 feet high and are often wider than they are tall when mature. The trunk diameter will grow up to one foot. Flowering dogwoods are native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. They are beautiful trees -- with flowers in the spring, beautiful leaves in the summer, and red fruit and foliage in the fall. Our tree, in particular, is the best tree in the nation!!

Evergreen azalea
Rhododendron indicum
Tree ID: 143
Date of tree entry: February 16, 2022
The evergreen azalea is a green shrub planted next to Yale Health along Lock Street.. Similar to other shrubs in the area, it is small but wide. During the winter season, the bulbs for flowering are not activated, but holds promise for a beautiful array of colors come springtime.
A seven point five meter vase shaped elm tree covered in green flower buds in bright sunlight beside the western wall of Grove Street Cemetery and in front of Benjamin Franklin College.

American Elm
Ulmus americana
Tree ID: 142
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 16, 2022
Found exteriorly bordering the western wall of the Grove Street Cemetery on Lock Street across from Yale Health, this tree may be identified by its snapped, still attached branch. Its canopy spans over the cemetery wall and shades the sidewalk for passerby. This is a relatively young elm with a narrow trunk and height of only twenty four feet.
Photo of Honey Locust tree taken in mid spring

Honey Locust
triacanthos
Tree ID: 139
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 16, 2022
This Gleditsia tricanthos, or Honey locust, is located in a small green walkway between Winchester Ave and Lockstreet behind Yale Health. The honey locust is a deciduous tree native to central North America. However, it is highly adaptable to different environments, and has been introduced worldwide as an aggressively invasive species, considered as a nuisance by farmers as they grow quickly and outcompete grasses and crops. They can reach a height of around 20-30m; considering our tree is only 7.70m, it is most likely very young. Honey locusts have bright green, pinnately compound leaves which turn yellow in the autumn and are shed in the winter. They leaf out relatively late in the spring (May), when strongly scented, off-white-colored flowers appear. The fruit of honey locusts are flat legumes, which are eaten by herbivores who then excrete the seeds in droppings. The pulp on the inside of the fruit is sweet, where the name Honey locust originates, and has been used for food and traditional medicine as a sweetening agent by several Native American tribes.

Maidenhair Tree
Gingko bilboa
Tree ID: 141
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 16, 2022
Ginkgo biloba, also known as the maidenhair tree, is considered one of the oldest plants on Earth. This tree is native to China and is often looked at as “living fossil” since it is the last living species of the Gingkoales, an order which appeared over 290 million years ago. The actual maidenhair tree appeared later, almost 180 million years ago during the Jurassic period. These large trees reach heights of up to 50m in China, but in North America, their average height is between 20 and 35m. As a large, deeply rooted tree, the maidenhair is very resistant to extreme weather changes, making it the perfect tree to be planted between Yale Health and Science Hill. The tree watches over the stressed students rushing to Science Hill and it greets the hospital’s daily visitors, rain or shine.

Bur Oak
Quercus macrocarpa
Tree ID: 138
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 16, 2022
The bur oak is a large, deciduous, slow-growth tree with simple leaves and a uniform crown of thick, spreading branches. Bur oaks are extremely resilient, displaying high levels of fire-resistance (thick bark), cold-tolerance, aerosol and soil salt tolerance, and drought resistance (deep taproot), surviving even in mineral-poor soil. The Bur oak has monoecious character with imperfect flowers, with a strategy of masting. This means acorns are produced in large quantities every few years in order to overwhelm consumption by wildlife. Bur oaks have a lifespan exceeding 200 years, approaching 1000 years. It has a wide distribution in North America, being native to Eastern NA. Bur oaks initial height growth is normally slow for the first 3 - 5 years, dependent on environmental conditions (sun exposure in particular). Based on the height, diameter, and growth factor, this individual is approximately 12 years old.

Common Boxwood
Buxus sempervirens
Tree ID: 144
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 16, 2022
The common boxwood is a beautiful, thick shrub that provides clear aesthetic value to its surroundings. This particular shrub is displayed individually outside Yale Health, though they are commonly planted in close proximity to other common boxes to form a continuous hedge. We have named this shrub Penelope, and she adds great character to the landscape through her unpredictable and jagged form.

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