Trees of Virginia

Trees of Virginia

Introduction • Trees are a renewable resource • Numerous environmental, economic, and cultural benefits • Improve our quality of life

What trees do • Moderate our climate • Provide clean water • Provide fresh air • Homes for wildlife • Beauty • Recreation • Provide jobs, wood products • Quiet places to observe nature

Forests constantly change • Swift change • Fire • Ice • Wind • Timber harvest

Forests also change slowly • Succession • Climate change

Virginia Forests • Hardwood forest covers over 20% of the total forest of VA • If left undisturbed, most if not all of VA would be forested • We have at least 3 tree harvests in most areas • Only a few remote areas still have virgin forest • Pines are mostly pioneer species

Tree Identification 101 • Trees can be identified in a variety of ways • Parts, types and position of leaves • Shape of leaves • Types of buds • Types of leaf margins • Types of flowers • Types of fruits

Conifers aka Gymnosperms • Have needles not leaves • Photosynthesize all year long • Are very flexible to withstand heavy snowfall

Deciduous trees • Lose leaves in fall • Go dormant during the winter • Actively grow spring, summer, fall • Adaptations for life in the temperate zone

Simple versus compound

Pinnate versus palmate

Opposite versus alternate

Smooth versus toothed margins

Identify common trees at BRHS • For each tree use the tree guides • Cut out the tree picture and paste it in your nature journal • Identify the tree by its common name • Identify the tree by its common name • Identify its habitat • Height at maturity • One interesting fact about the tree

Green Ash

Eastern red cedar

Red bud

Red mulberry

Eastern white pine

Black locust

Sweet gum

Red maple

Sugar maple

Pin oak

Trees of Virginia