What is your favorite tree and why?

Woodpuppy said:

Favorite? No… too many to like for various reasons.

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Mississippi Mud said:

Favorites are tough to pick.

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GeoBoy said:

I like all trees

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My sentiments exactly. I'll throw in Kentucky Coffeetree and Honey locust. Both legumes appeal to me for their connection to the era of
mammoth and mastodon.

The KY coffeetree produces a sweet pulp around their seeds to attract the charismatic megafauna to eat the seed pods. The seeds pass unharmed but scarified through the digestive tract and only then can germinate.

The honey locust grows thorns of mega-proportions to prevent the same megafauna to feed on them and strip their bark off.

how to pick, how to pick...
I like all trees because every one has something special about it, Tamaracks for their golden blaze come the end of october that seems to light up an otherwise drab forest, pines for their lofty goals and wonderful timber, oaks for their strong boards, tight grains and beautiful character, as well as their ability to bring in squirrels and deer and the predators that feed on them, birch for it's wonderful, waterproof, papery bark and ability to burn down to nothing but ash, and a whole host of others that have some very specific qualities that make them unique in some way.
But my favourite if I had to choose would be the white cedar, with it's ability to live for hundreds of years in a crack smaller than my thumb in solid rock- one famous one near me called Methuselah is close to 900 years old and the entire tree could fit in a wheelbarrow, talk about tenacity...
Larger, younger ones make beautiful wood for carving or outdoor projects, the bark can make a decent cordage or tinder, the inner bark can be an emergency food source, and the entire tree, with it's rich resins, is almost rot and pest proof.

Sassafras: Beautiful and interesting branch architecture, and their canopies have an open interior, so it's like sitting under a vaulted ceiling in the summertime with dappled light streaming through. A little breeze and the whole ceiling dances.

My favorite wood (different question) is red cedar for some of the same reasons referenced above: smell, weight, rot resistance, and the smell, which is worth mentioning twice.

Very interesting thread, especially for the reasons why particular trees are liked.

Wolf trees. Of whatever species they happen to be. Because they are big, and are a throwback to before the forests were logged.

clemency said:

Wolf trees. Of whatever species they happen to be. Because they are big, and are a throwback to before the forests were logged.

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Right! Can you imagine the forests that yielded the original roof beams for Notre Dame cathedral? They were one piece! After the fire the replacement beams had to be made from more than one / several pieces.

I like cedar and ash for all the pleasure they have given me in this canoe life. Cedar for the planking and ribs of my canoes, ash for the gunnels, thwarts, seats, decks, and paddles. They both are easy to split and make fine campfires.
I do like Tamarack for its beauty in the fall northern forest.

I stand corrected on my wolf trees as throwbacks to old growth:

“Wolf trees are testaments to a property’s former life in agriculture. Often, farmers would leave a few nut-bearing trees to provide shade and free food to their livestock. Pasture would surround the tree, so it would grow wide, capturing as much sun as possible. There was no need to grow straight and tall because there were no other trees around to compete for space and sunlight. Later, when the farmer abandoned the field, trees would move in around the tree. Because there was now great competition for sunlight, they quickly grew tall and straight, eventually surpassing the height of the pasture-grown tree. With the increased shade begins the decline of the wolf tree.”

clemency said:

I stand corrected on my wolf trees as throwbacks to old growth:

“Wolf trees are testaments to a property’s former life in agriculture. Often, farmers would leave a few nut-bearing trees to provide shade and free food to their livestock. Pasture would surround the tree, so it would grow wide, capturing as much sun as possible. There was no need to grow straight and tall because there were no other trees around to compete for space and sunlight. Later, when the farmer abandoned the field, trees would move in around the tree. Because there was now great competition for sunlight, they quickly grew tall and straight, eventually surpassing the height of the pasture-grown tree. With the increased shade begins the decline of the wolf tree.”

Defining Our Landscapes: What Is a Wolf Tree? - Heritage Conservancy

What’s the first thing that would come to mind if we were to tell you that we have “wolf trees” on some of our preserved properties? Would you assume that this meant the tree resembled a wolf in one way or another? Or that perhaps it’s often used as a source of shelter for roaming [...]Read More...

heritageconservancy.org

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We have similar trees here but for the opposite reason. This is (was) the prairie so trees were few and they were widely spaced. The Bur Oak would branch low and wide in the open and is a majestic looking tree. Once fires were suppressed "forests" grew up around lakes and rivers where the land wasn't cultivated and now they grow tall and skinny. But there are still a few of the old ones left and it's always fun to see them. A big old gnarly tree with wide spreading branches that has created it's own clearing in the woods.

Alan

Ponderosa pine, ppine, Pinus ponderosa.
Most widely distributed conifer in the US, tolerates heat and drought, long lived, lives to old age, forms open stands under natural conditions., valuable timber tree, beautiful form, smells good and beautiful to look at.

I really like sugar pine, Shasta red fir, Douglas fir, western white pine, western red cedar and Alaska yellow cedar. Walking in a forest is like visiting old friends.

Glenn MacGrady said:

Man, that was hard for me to spot, and even after that still seems to disappear.

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A crop:

I've never given any thought to a favorite tree. Could be the white oak that graces the edge of my property. A strong and stately tree that thrives in our poor soil. Maybe the tall sumacs that are presently the primary forage for my apiary. Or the quaking aspen, who's high mountain groves I've sat at the edge of while watching for big game over clearings... their leaves fluttering in the gentle breeze. When it comes to furniture wood, I especially love maple. And of course, there's the syrup. Honey locust is high on my list for its sweet smelling blossoms, which have been the best part of some of my motorcycle rides back in the day.

But I think I'd have to say the coastal redwoods that were so near to me in my youth. Growing up in northern California, I always did (and still do when I visit) feel at complete peace in the shade of a redwood "fairy ring", surrounded outside by giant ferns, and the musty smell of redwood bark mixed with ocean fog. Yeah.... that's it.

My favorite Species of tree would be Birch because of all the things you can do with them, bark and most of all harvest Chaga.

My Favorite Tree is the massive Butternut (Juglans cinerea) Tree in my front yard the only problem is something is falling out of it 42 weeks a year especially the first Hard Frost of the year. The first picture was taken at 7:46 the second at 10:36 on the same day


It takes most of the day to clean up

Another year 7:38

6:06

Ooops, forgot about mulberry…. Messy but sooo delicious when fruit is ripe!

stevet said:

mulberry…. Messy but sooo delicious when fruit is ripe!

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Yep, got them too. Fruit is just starting to come in now around here. Much of it is out of reach without equipment.

Stevet, good call on the mulberry. I forgot to add that one, Jake and I just love to eat the fruit!

Shagbark hickory... Also provides a food crop...

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Two, in fact. You can take the peels of the bark and make Hickory syrup which, if you've never tried it, is a nice alternative to Maple. Best part is that, like Birch, the trees naturally shed those bark peels so you don't even risk damaging the trees.

My Favorite Tree is the massive Butternut (Juglans cinerea) Tree in my front yard the only problem is something is falling out of it 42 weeks a year

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I also have a love / hate relationship with the massive Butternut that shades my entire back yard. It starts dropping leaves in the Koi pond about 2 weeks after it greens up in the Spring & finishes the year by dumping around 500 lbs of nuts in the yard. (the leaves drop soon thereafter but they don't bother me as they rot by next Spring. I might mow them in the Fall but I usually let them lay... makes the neighbors look like better gardeners).

I've actually been thinking about a favorite since Glenn posted this and I just can't pick one. Even if I go all-out "Grammy awards" and pick by category, I'm still indecisive.

Our winner in the Favorite Ornamental category... Dogwood. Wait, Yellow Chain tree or maybe Magnolia. Redbud perhaps?
Favorite Nut Tree: Butternut (or Pecan or Hickory or Almond)
Favorite Wood for Construction: Hemlock (or Poplar) unless you'll see it, then Cherry or White Oak, Larch (Tamarac) or, again, Butternut.

You get the idea...

I think I prefer live trees to dead ones but paddles & canoes, bookshelves & cabinets... even firewood is better from dead trees so I think I'll remain indecisive. I will, however, continue to enjoy my fellow tripper's opinions and the reasoning behind their choices. Valid entries all.

stevet said:

Ooops, forgot about mulberry…. Messy but sooo delicious when fruit is ripe!

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Oh yeah, we had a mulberry that unfortunately was too close to the house and eventually had to come down. Loved the berrys..... until they got ahead of us and started covering the ground where we had to walk.

Like Sweeper's butternut, it dropped its leaves al in one day. I actually appreciated that, since cleanup could also be done all at once before the snow hit. But no....not on my list of favorites trees.

I find big pines to be the most impressive to look at on a trip, plus they have a nice soft bed of needles underneath.

Oaks are probably the most important tree for wildlife in the forest. The Pa. game commission has a project called "open canopy" where they go through the woods cutting down anything under a certain diameter that isn't an oak. They don't use any heavy equipment. It's just guys with chainsaws who then leave the fallen trees where they lie, making a mess out of the woods. The goal is to get more young oaks to grow.

The Pa. game commission has a project called "open canopy"...

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Interesting. If the hardwood market weren't so bad right now, I'd contact the local critter cops and see about snaking out any Sassafras, Hickory or other good saw logs. As it is, it seems wasteful but, then again, it's government.

Thankfully, we don't get all of the governance that we pay for.