Most Common Tree
A unique and easy-to-grow edible landscaping plant, the White mulberry is prized for its tasty fruits as well as its exquisite ornamental appeal. Originally native to China, this plant was valued for its role in silk production: silkworms will only eat the leaves of White mulberry trees, making them crucial for the product’s creation. Ultimately, the trees were sold around the world and are used today in different countries that produce silk.
The Red maple is a common North American tree with distinctive red leaves and flower buds. Its sap can be made into maple syrup and the wood is good for furniture. Though non-toxic to humans, the leaves are very toxic to horses. According to the U.S. Forest Service, Red maple is the most common tree in eastern North America.
Callery pear is a species of pear tree native to China and Vietnam. Although the small fruit is unfit for human consumption (but loved by birds), Callery pear is planted as an ornamental tree for its spring blooms and showy autumn colors. The fast-growing cultivar ‘Bradford’ is especially popular in the United States, to the point of becoming an invasive species.
Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) is a small understory tree native to North America. In spring or early summer clusters of purple-pink flowers appear on bare branches and sometimes on the trunk. The characteristic seed pod reveals that Eastern redbud belongs to the legume family, which makes it a cousin to peas, and locust trees.
White ash is a species of ash tree native to North America. It’s leaves turn distinctly bright yellow or red in the autumn. Fraxinus americana is a fast-growing pioneer species that often inhabits riparian zones, and fragmented and disturbed habitats. It is similar in appearance to Green ash (F. pennsylvanica) and sometimes it is hard to tell between the two.
Black cherry (Prunus serotina) is a medium-sized, deciduous forest tree native to the Americas, but also naturalized in parts of Europe. It features inflorescence with small white blooms that become clusters of dark cherries, edible when pitted. Mature trees have gray-to-black, distinctly crackled bark. The glossy leaves are poisonous to livestock. It is a highly reproductive pioneer species with invasive potential.
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is a small North American tree renowned for its wide canopy and plentiful spring blooms. Individual white or pink “flower” is actually a flower head that contains four oval bracts and a cluster of tiny yellow true flowers. Because of its decorative canopy, prolific spring blooming, and attractive red autumn leaves and berries, it is the most popular native tree in US gardens.
Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a medium-to-large tree native to warm temperate regions of North and Central America. It puts on a brilliant autumn display – the leathery star-shaped foliage turns orange, red, and burgundy, with multi-colored individual leaves. Decorative foliage and an elegant straight trunk earned Sweetgum a prominent place in parks and treelines around the world.
Box elder (Acer negundo) is a type of maple tree native to North America, but which is now found throughout the world. It is a hardy, medium-to-large tree that grows quickly and has a relatively short lifespan of up to 60 years. Older trees are prone to storm damage. Box elder wood is relatively flimsy because the tree grows so fast.
Cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) is a deciduous small tree or a shrub native to Southern Europe and Western Asia. It is one of the most common wild fruits of its native region, producing numerous, rounded, yellow, red, or burgundy-colored, sweet, juicy fruit in summer and autumn. Cherry plum is also used as an ornamental tree, and as rootstock for other Prunus species.
Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) is one of the most common deciduous trees in the United States and southeast Canada. It is a 15–25 m tall, fast-growing, sun-loving tree. Its leaves have deeper angular notches between the five lobes than many other maple species. Silver maple is often found along waterways and wetlands, earning it an alternative name “Water maple.”
Acer platanoides is a maple tree species native to Europe and West Asia. It is 20–30 m tall and has bright green, lobed leaves which turn yellow or red in the autumn. Introduced as an ornamental shade tree in the United States, it is now considered invasive. Outside of its northern range, it can be short-lived and susceptible to disease and damage.
Eastern red cedar is a coniferous evergreen tree that is native to North America. The fruit of this tree, juniper berries, is an important food source for birds in the winter. The wood of the Eastern red cedar is used in fencing as it is resistant to rot, and it is also used to line closets and chests since it also resists moths.
Prunus domestica is a small deciduous tree and the most common orchard plum in Europe and other regions of the world. It is a hybrid species that had most likely evolved from the wild Cherry plum, Prunus cerasifera. The fruit is elongated, fleshy, and usually sweet. Dried fruits of European plum are called prunes.
Sweet cherry is a well-known species to fruit lovers worldwide. This stone fruit varies in flavor from sweet to tart, depending on the specific cultivar. Sweet cherry is also used for lumber and is a preferred wood type for furniture.