Varieties of American Native Trees

Maples

• The striped maple, Acer pensylvanicum, is a native maple tree of most of New England, New York and Pennsylvania. Growing to 20 feet with large, bright green leaves, striped maple takes its name from the longitudinal stripes of green and white that adorn its branches. Striped maple requires partial shade for best growth in the landscape. Acer saccharinum, the silver maple, possesses silvery undersides on its foliage that become apparent when the breezes blow. Adapted to wet sites in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9 in eastern North America, silver maple grows between 50 to 80 feet on average.

Oaks

• Shumard oak, Quercus shumardii, is a native oak of the southeastern and southern central portions of the U.S. It matures to 80 feet, with multi-lobed foliage that turns to a showy red-orange color in autumn. Shumard oak -- which generates copious amounts of acorns for wildlife consumption -- works as a buffer tree, a specimen tree or a shade tree.

  Gary oak, Quercus garryana, has the alternate name of Oregon white oak within its range from Southern California to British Columbia. It grows wider than tall, with some individuals having widths of 125 feet. Crooked limbs, dark green foliage and bark featuring a fissured, checkerboard pattern, make this an interesting ornamental native tree.

Pines

• The Rocky Mountains are home to the limber pine, Pinus flexilis, a native evergreen tree for USDA zones 4 through 7. Thriving in habitats that feature full sun, limber pine grows to mature heights between 30 and 50 feet, making it useable in small to medium sized landscapes as a specimen or privacy screen. The jack pine, Pinus banksiana, may not be tall and majestic, but this scrubby evergreen grows in cold to USDA zone 2 and in poor quality soil. Use jack pines, which grow to 50 feet, to form windbreaks on your acreage.

Birches

• Bright yellow fall foliage is one aspect of the paper birch, Betula papyrifera, which endears it to landscapers. Its peeling white bark is another, with black patches mixed in. Paper birch grows to 70 feet in zones as chilly as USDA zone 2; it has the widest geographic distribution of any North American native birch, notes the University of Connecticut Plant Database. Known as one of the birches with the most tolerance for heat and humidity, the river birch, Betula nigra, grows into USDA zone 9 in the east. Its peeling, colorful bark, with colors ranging from salmon to gray, give it great ornamental value. It grows to 70 feet and is one of the most disease resistant of the birches, states the Missouri Botanical Garden.