Trees on the Yale Nature Walk

White Fringetree
Chionanthus virginicus
Tree ID: 135
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 15, 2022
The White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) is a dicot, deciduous tree with grey bark. During the spring and summer the tree blooms with dark green leaves small white flowers that don nicknames such as "Snowflower Tree," "Flowering Ash," "Old Man's Beard," and "Grandfather Graybeard." The the height of our tree is 2.9 meters, but adult Fringetrees can grow up to 10 meters tall. The DBH is 0.040 meters (measuring the four bottom, thickest pieces of the trunk). The fruiting bodies appear as dark blue, oval shaped clusters of drupes. The Fringetree is related to the olive family, and the fruiting bodies reflect this similarity. As White Fringetrees tend to be late bloomers, we won't expect flowers on our tree until April or May, but are excited to smell the famously sweet fragrance when it blooms.

Wych Elm
Ulmus glabra
Tree ID: 133
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 15, 2022
Have you ever seen such a beautiful sight? If you answer that question with a yes, but you haven’t made it to the cross-section between Sachem and Prospect street, then you are lying. You will not see true beauty until you reach Ingalls rink. There lies, Petunia. This Wych Elm can be found outside "The Whale", a hockey rink located in New Haven, Connecticut. It thus can be referred to as the Guardian of the Whale, overlooking this ice rink's parking lot as well as the food trucks camped outside of Sachem St. The Wych Elm is a rather rare sight as it has been decimated by Dutch Elm Disease, a fungal disease that plagues elms since it arrived in the UK in the 1960s [1]. This tree can grow to a height of 30m [1] but currently stands at a small 2.5m. Make sure to swing by and take a look at it!

American Hophornbeam
Ostrya virginiana
Tree ID: 134
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 15, 2022
Beautiful little tree located outside of Pauli Murray, perfect size to hug. Friendly tree
picture of an eastern redbud

Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Tree ID: 136
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 15, 2022
The eastern redbud is a deciduous tree with a central leader and round/oval form. Its leaves are alternate, simple, heart-shaped, and range from 3-5 inches high and wide. The leaves take on an alternate form, and have entire margins. The apices are emarginate. The bases are cordate. This tree sits outside the Murray gate facing Sachem St and the food carts. 13.1 units DBH

American Bittersweet
Celastrus scandens
Tree ID: 131
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 15, 2022
This American Bittersweet is located outside the 'Whale' an ice rink considered a work of architectural majesty designed by Erno Saarinen. However, the real work of architectural splendor is this tree (a.k.a. Lillian) designed by nature.
Photograph of the red maple with full summer foliage

Red maple
Acer rubrum
Tree ID: 132
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: February 15, 2022
This red maple calls the patch of grass outside Ingall's Rink home, but its species can be found along the East Coast. Red maples have the greatest north-south range of any species that lies exclusively on the East coast of North America, growing in forest from Newfoundland down to the southern tip of Florida. Stop by in the autumn to see the red maple's signature flame red foliage.

Crab Apple Tree
Malus sp
Tree ID: 5034
Date of tree entry: April 27, 2021
This blossoming crab apple tree is the main character of Berkeley College's North Court. Malus trees are a group of 42-55 small, deciduous trees or shrubs that grow 4-12 meters in height. Malus trees are native to the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Malus trees are often self-sterile which means that cross-pollinators like bees are recruited to spread pollen from the stamen of one Malus flower to the stigma of another Malus flower. However, it is common that Malus species freely hybridize, which can make it difficult to categorize a unidentified Malus tree based solely on its physical characteristics.

Kousa Dogwood
Cornus kousa
Tree ID: 136
Date of tree entry: April 27, 2021
The kousa dogwood, which belongs to the Cornales order and the Cornaceae family, is an angiosperm. It is one of the sixty-five dogwood species that belong to the Cornus genus. This kousa dogwood is located in Bethesda, Maryland in an area with a large tree population. Several other kousa dogwood trees live nearby.

Northern Red Oak
Quercus rubra
Tree ID: 139
Date of tree entry: April 26, 2021
The northern red oak, Quercas rubra, is native to North America. The northern red oak can be found in forests throughout the Great Lakes region, Midwest, up to Nova Scotia, down to Mississipi, and all the way up to Maine. As the most common species of oak in the Northeast, one can expect to run into this majestic tree fairly often. The champion oak, as it is sometimes called, grows up to 43 m (141 feet) tall and can live up to 400 years. Its name is derived from the beautiful red foliage it displays in the fall.
Benjamin Franklin College, Stone Courtyard

Maidenhair Tree, Ginkgo Bilboa
Ginkgo
Tree ID: 132
Prospect and Sachem
Date of tree entry: April 26, 2021
My window looks right onto the fullest part of this tree and I have lived in rooms that surround this courtyard for most of my Yale Undergraduate time. It has been lovely to see it grow into the magnificent tree we see today.

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