The 10 Common Types of Trees in Kentucky
- 1. Tulip Tree Image Credit: martin_hetto, Pixabay ...
- 2. Hickory Image Credit: ForestSeasons, Shutterstock ...
- 3. Red Maple Image Credit: HeungSoon, Pixabay ...
- 4. Black Gum Image Credit: Peter Turner, Shutterstock ...
- 5. American Basswood View this post on Instagram ...
- 6. Black Cherry Image Credit: Irina Iriser, Pexels ...
- 7. White Oak/ Quercus Alba Image Credit: Dee Browning, Shutterstock ...
- 8. American Beech Image Credit: Couleur, Pixabay ...
Full Answer
What trees are native to Kentucky?
Native Trees of Kentucky. Allegheny Serviceberry - Amelanchier laevis. American Beech - Fagus grandifolia. American Holly - Ilex opaca. American Hophornbeam - Ostrya virginiana. American Hornbeam - Carpinus caroliniana. American Linden - Tilia americana. Bald Cypress - Taxodium distichum. Bigleaf Magnolia - Magnolia macrophylla.
What type of trees are in Kentucky?
What type of trees are in Kentucky?
- Allegheny Serviceberry - Amelanchier laevis.
- American Beech - Fagus grandifolia.
- American Holly - Ilex opaca.
- American Hophornbeam - Ostrya virginiana.
- American Hornbeam - Carpinus caroliniana.
- American Linden - Tilia americana.
- Bald Cypress - Taxodium distichum.
- Bigleaf Magnolia - Magnolia macrophylla.
What fruits grow in Kentucky?
What fruit trees can grow in Kentucky? Kentucky has the climate for growing multiple fruit trees, including apples, pears, paw paws, cherries, and peaches. The stone fruits can be a bit finicky but don’t forget about the fruiting shrubs like berries and figs. These are great additions to the edible garden.
What are facts about Kentucky's state tree?
The Kentucky State Tree is the tulip poplar, also called yellow-poplar. The State Heritage Tree is the Kentucky coffeetree. Leaves change color as the amount of sunlight wanes and their fall brilliance is determined not only by the genetic characteristics of the parents but by other environmental factors including temperature and soil moisture.
What is the most common tree in Kentucky?
Red mapleRed maple is the most common individual tree species accounting for 12.2 percent of all trees in Kentucky.
How many types of trees are there in Kentucky?
120There are more than 120 native tree species in Kentucky; including 20 different oak species and 10 different hickory species. The dominant forest type in Kentucky is oak-hickory.
How do I identify a tree in Kentucky?
Tree and wildflower identification can be obtained directly from the UK Herbarium housed in the Department of Forestry. Rob Paratley, Research Specialist and Curator of the Herbarium handles tree I.D. for county agents, landowners, and the general public.
What trees are best for Kentucky?
Kentucky Trees. Kentucky enjoys a moderate climate with warm, moist weather. ... The Best Trees for Planting in Kentucky. Native Kentucky trees include Black Oak, Tulip Poplar, Sourwood, American Holly, American Beech, Red Maple, and Green Ash. ... A Large Variety of Trees for Kentucky.
Are there redwoods in Kentucky?
DAWN REDWOOD (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) The Dawn Redwood is one of the most historically interesting trees in Cave Hill. The Dawn Redwood is in the same family as the Giant Sequoias from the California coast and the Bald Cypress, which is native to Kentucky and grows all over the South in swampy areas.
What is the biggest tree in Kentucky?
The tallest champion tree in the state is a 163 feet tall yellow-poplar in McCreary County. The largest recorded champion tree is a bald cypress in Ballard County that is 415 inches in circumference! Kentucky's State Tree is the yellow- poplar. Kentucky's State Heritage Tree is the Kentucky Coffeetree.
How can I figure out what kind of tree I have?
The starting point for most people when identifying trees species is the leaves. There are three basic leaf types: needles, scales and broadleaf. Most evergreens have needles or scales, while most broadleaf trees are deciduous, meaning they drop their leaves when dormant. However, there are exceptions.
What are the white trees in Kentucky called?
The Bradford pear was introduced, and rightly so, to be about as bomb-proof a tree as you'll find. It reliably produces masses of white flowers in spring, glossy green summer foliage and intense burgundy fall color.
Can I take a picture of a tree to identify it?
One of the more popular photo identification apps is Leafsnap. Leafsnap was developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution. This app uses visual recognition software to identify trees from photos of leaves.
What is the fastest growing tree in Ky?
The oak tree is one of the fastest growing trees in Kentucky. It can grow up to 80 feet tall and only takes a few short years to provide shade for your yard.
What zone is Kentucky for trees?
Kentucky Hardiness Zones Most of Kentucky is located in USDA Hardiness Zone 6, with an average minimum low temperature of about -10F (-23C), though the far western section of the state falls in Zone 7 (with an average minimum of 0F or -18C).
What grows wild in Kentucky?
Edible fruits can also be found in Kentucky, including blackberries, persimmons, and pawpaw. "Wild blackberries are everywhere," Brockway says. "That's a great wild edible to start with because it's a familiar fruit that you might've seen in the store before, but you can also find it growing out in the wild.
What is the oldest tree in Kentucky?
The oldest tree dates to 1611 and is currently the oldest-documented tree in Kentucky; it is also the second-oldest documented chinkapin oak globally.
How old is the oldest tree in Kentucky?
It is a chinkapin oak tree that has been documented and studied by scientists. Tree-ring analysis dates the tree to the year 1611 which means that it predates Daniel Boone and is currently about 400 years old.
How many types of oak trees are there in Kentucky?
10 native speciesAccording to the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, there are 10 native species of oak trees in Kentucky: six members of the red oak group and four of the white oak group. Typically, it takes an oak tree about 20 years to start producing acorns.
What tree zone is Kentucky?
Zone 6Kentucky Hardiness Zones Most of Kentucky is located in USDA Hardiness Zone 6, with an average minimum low temperature of about -10F (-23C), though the far western section of the state falls in Zone 7 (with an average minimum of 0F or -18C).
1. Pin Oak (quercus palustris)
The pin oak is a native tree to Kentucky with a pyramid shape that becomes oval as the tree gets older. These trees can reach heights of over 100 feet and have a spread of 40 feet. They produce dark green leaves that are around 5 inches long and have three to five lobes. These leaves only fall in autumn season once the tree reaches maturity.
2. Chestnut Oak (quercus michauxii)
Also called the basket oak, the chestnut oak grows the best under a full sun and well-drained soils. This tree reaches heights of 65 to 70 feet and develops a beautiful round canopy after maturity. The chestnut oak has dark yellow-green leaves that are over 8 inches long and coarsely toothed.
3. Willow Oak (quercus phellos)
The willow oak’s most outstanding feature are the lust green, lance-shaped leaves that resemble willows, giving the tree its name. These leaves grow about 2 to 5 inches long and transform into a beautiful shade of bronzey red in the fall. The willow oak tree grows to heights of 70 feet and has acorns that are half an inch long.
4. Shingle Oak (quercus imbricaria)
The shingle oak is also called the laurel oak. These trees are found all across Kentucky, growing to heights of 60 to 75 feet. They develop oval, gum-drop or round shaped crowns at maturity. The shingle oak has dark green leaves that are around 6 inches long and an inch wide.
5. Northern Red Oak (quercus rubra)
The Northern red oak is a signature tree of the red oak family. It is a native of North America and found most commonly in the eastern and south eastern regions of the country. This deciduous tree has a straight trunk growing over 95 feet tall. It has plump branches growing at right angles to the tree, creating a rounded head.
6. Bur Oak (quercus macrocarpa)
The bur oak are large, stately trees that grow in horse pastures and open old states all across Kentucky. These trees generally acquire heights of 80 feet, but the tallest one in Kentucky is in Bourbon Country and reaches over 95 feet in length. Also called the scrub oak or blue oak, these trees have massive trunks of diameters more than 3 meters.
7. Chinkapin Oak (quercus muehlenbergii)
With the national champion chinkapin oak tree being over 110 feet tall and boasting a 92 foot spread, these are among the tallest trees in Kentucky. It is a monoecious oak tree with flowers emerging in April and late May. The leaves are typically rounded and its acorns are found on short stalks. These acorns turn a chestnut brown color in the fall.
How to tell a tree apart?
Fortunately each tree species has distinctive characteristics to help you tell them apart. For example, our red oaks have bristle tips on the leaves and the white oaks haverounded tips. Learning to recognize the various characteristics of trees is a critical step in successfully identifying them.
What trees are commercially important in Kentucky?
Oaks, walnuts, maples, yellow-poplar, and hickories are some of the most commercially important but many other trees also have commercial value. In fact, about 50 Kentucky tree species have some commercial value depending on what part of the state you are in.
How many trees are there in Kentucky?
There are more than 120 native tree species in Kentucky; including 20 different oak species and 10 different hickory species. The dominant forest type in Kentucky is oak-hickory. Kentucky owes a great deal of its tree diversity to our geographical location (in the middle of the country) and our wide variety of habitats from the mountains of eastern Kentucky to the bottomlands of western Kentucky.
What type of tree has feathery leaves?
The Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) has soft, feathery evergreen leaves that form a flat, horizontal spray on the twig. Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) is classified as a conifer, but drops its bright-green, feathery leaves in the fall. Much of Kentucky's hilly terrain is populated by dense forests of hardwood trees.
How to identify toothless simple leaf trees?
Toothless simple-leaved trees growing in Kentucky are identified by their round or elongated leaves that grow one leaf to a stem.
What trees have yellow leaves?
American beech leaves turn bright yellow in the fall. American holly (Ilex opaca) only grows in the Mississippi and Appalachian Plateaus regions and is characterized by its red winter berries. Toothless simple-leaved trees growing in Kentucky are identified by their round or elongated leaves that grow one leaf to a stem.
What is the color of dogwoods in Kentucky?
Flowering dogwoods (Cornus floridus) are bronze-green to yellowish-green in the summer, with brilliant purple or red fall foliage. Two magnolias are native to Kentucky, the bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla), which produces leaves 24 inches long, and umbrella magnolia (Magnollia tripetala).
What is the terrain of Kentucky?
Much of Kentucky's hilly terrain is populated by dense forests of hardwood trees.
What are the leaves of a Kentucky tree?
Kentucky trees with toothed, simple leaves are identified by oval or round leaves with a textured edge. The black cherry (Prunus serotina) grows wild throughout Kentucky and produces black fruits. The American beech (Fagus grandifolia) also grows throughout the state. It is recognized by the well-defined veins that run through the leaves. American beech leaves turn bright yellow in the fall. American holly (Ilex opaca) only grows in the Mississippi and Appalachian Plateaus regions and is characterized by its red winter berries.
What type of trees are found in Kentucky?
Identify Kentucky's trees by determining if the tree is deciduous or evergreen.
How to identify Kentucky hickory trees?
Identify the Kentucky hickory trees by their bark. Study the bark of the shellbark and shagbark hickories and look for thin, narrowed scales of bark with outward curving ends all over the trunk. Inspect the bark of the bitternut hickory, looking for gray bark with shallow furrows. Pignut bark is smoother than most Kentucky hickories, while mockernut hickory bark is grayish and features shallow ridges and furrows.
How tall do butternut trees grow?
Observe the form of the butternut trees in Kentucky. Butternuts have a short straight tree trunk and stout lower branches. Butternuts can grow to 70 feet in height and have leaves with from 11 to 17 leaflets. Examine the nuts growing in clusters of as many as five. You will see they are egg-shaped with pointed ends and that the nut inside the husk is very oily.
How tall are black walnuts in Kentucky?
Look at the many leaflets on a black walnut leaf to help you identify this Kentucky nut-bearing species. Each leaf contains about 16 separate leaflets, notes the University of Kentucky site. The nuts have a thickened green husk around them. Notice that when you handle the nuts, a brown-yellow dye will seep out and stain your hands. Black walnut trees can be as high as 100 feet, but most mature walnuts in Kentucky top out at about 60 feet tall.
Is there a nut tree in Kentucky?
Kentucky has no scarcity of nut-bearing trees. Several species occur throughout the entire state, according to the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees." Among them are the butternut, black walnut and many types of hickories, including the pecan tree. The key to identifying these nut-bearing Kentucky species is to look for specific features on each tree, with very close attention being paid to the leaves and the nuts.
