Trees on the Yale Nature Walk

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.

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.

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.

The bur oak is a large deciduous tree that possesses alternately arranged simple leaves and a wide, uniform crown. Bur oaks are among the most fire-resistant, cold-tolerant, and drought-resistant of all oak species; thus, they are distributed over a wide geographical range in North America. The plant is monoecious with imperfect flowers, a quality that reduces the chances of self-pollination and is thus advantageous for promoting genetic diversity within the population. The lifespan of bur oaks generally exceeds 200-300 years.