166 Varieties of
Trees in the State
Which places us third in I lie I is! of
all the stales in Ilie Union. Anil when
you count vines, shrubs anil oilier
foliage, the iiuinher jumps to more
than 450.
By TRAVIS TUCK JORDAN
TREES are one of God’s greatest
masterpieces, and in the
pastels of nature's paintings
North Carolina is both blessed and
proud, for the beauty and number
of her native trees surpass that of
most of her sister states.
Many of us take it for granted
that the trees with which we are
most familiar are just a happen-so,
that they grow here and there at
most any place. In this we are
wrong. The soil, climate and
altitude affect the growth and
living places of trees; and Flora,
the Goddess of Flowers and Grow¬
ing Things, seems to have endowed
the state of North Carolina with
its full share of richness and
beauty.
In the different states of the
Union there are trees that adhere
almost entirely to one definite
section of the state. There are trees
that lift the jade peaks of their
tents high above the mountain
tops, spreading a green heaven be¬
tween earth and sky. There are
trees that cling to sandy coastal
plains, raising the slim greenness
of their arms up to the blue of the
sky and out to the still deeper
blue of the sea. Some of the more
timid trees seek to hide their
loveliness in the swamps and
marshy places, and there arc
others that spread their beauty in
the deep soundless hollow of the
valleys.
In the number of native trees in
the states. North Carolina comes
third in the list for supremacy.
Florida stands first with 328 native
trees. Texas second with 198, and
North Carolina third with 166. Be¬
sides this number of shrubs that
grow to full tree size, there are
quite a variety of small plants that
often reach the growth of small
trees. Counting all woody plants,
vines, shrubs and other foliage.
North Carolina has between 450
and 460 varieties.
North Carolina has 24 species of
oak trees. They range in size from
the small scrubby post oak of the
coastal plains to the magnificent
grandeur of the white oak that
towers in the Piedmont and lower
mountains, often reaching a cir¬
cumference of 21 feet a short
distance from the ground, with a
gorgeous spread of 120 feet.
There are pines, nearly a dozen
species, that live on the hills and
down in the valleys, whose voices
are never still; always there is the
faint whisper among the boughs as
of some one asleep and breathing
softly. Willows blow in the wind
with the slow movements of a
sensuous dancer, their long droop¬
ing branches glistening in the sun
like strings of emerald beads.
Poplars, dressed in limpid green
for summer and bright canary
yellow for fall, etch their youthful
slimness against the horizon.
Hickory, birch, black gum, sour-
wood. beech and elm are plentiful.
There is scattered about almost a
dozen species of thorn, and almost
that number of maples. White
dogwood banks the snow of its
blooms against the new green frock
of April. Blue dogwood grows up
and down the banks of the streams
where in winter the hectic blue of
its berries star the reeds and
brown marsh grasses.
Of the evergreens, besides the
pine, there are the spruce, fir,
hemlock, bay, cypress, juniper,
cedar, balsam, holly and arbor-
vitae. We find the cucumber tree,
a species of magnolia, in the
western part of the state. It has a
narrow red fruit shaped very much
like a cucumber. The pawpaw tree
is a small tree of the low grounds.
The crabapple tree with its shower
of pink blossoms as airy as a bridal
veil, grows, some varieties in the
eastern and others in the western
part of the state.
The toothache tree or prickly
ash lives only on a strip of sandy
loam along the coast. It is a small
tree with pungent bark of healing
qualities that will ease toothache.
The loblolly bay sounds in¬
significant, but it is a lovely
evergreen tree of the low grounds
and swamps. It has masses of white
blooms, smooth and silky, with a
fragrance that the wind catches
and carries far afield.
There is a sparkleberry tree, a
tupelo gum, buckeye, wild cherry,
basswood and laurel. The sweet
loaf or horse sugar tree is found
along the bluffs of the Piedmont.
The snowdrop tree grows along
the mountain streams. This, too, is
a small tree, but it is a thing of
breath-taking beauty when the
warmth of April covers the bare
nut-brown branches with thick
clusters of pinkish-white bell-
shaped blooms; bells with yellow
clappers that make no sounds, but
sift out upon the breeze a faint
sweet perfume that lingers like old
memories.
We have eight or nine different
species of ash. There is the hack-
berry and the red mulberry of the
lowgrounds, the black locust of the
mountains, and the sycamore. This
tree is distributed rather evenly
over a good portion of the state, ft
follows the curves of the rivers and
streams.
There are several varieties of
haw. The catalpa is a native of
the Gulf states, but now it is a
naturalized citizen of North Caro¬
lina, and grows along the water¬
ways. It has large white purple-
dotted flowers and long narrow-
podded fruit. We find the persim¬
mon. walnut, cottonwood, china-
berry, sweet gum. witch hazel, and
the sassafras with its aromatic
taste and leaves of lighted flame.
In the spring the wild cherry,
dogwood, redbud, wild plum, and
the fringe tree or white ash vie
with each other in glorifying the
woods and hills, but in the fall
there is no competition. The woods,
hills, valleys and stubble fields
each have their own place at the
loom of nature, helping to weave a
mosaic pattern of color and beauty.
There is a hushed air of expectancy
as summer dons her grave clothes
of scarlet and gold and stands
waiting the coming of winter.
Against the setting sun autumn
walks on the crown of the hill
pushing a red wheelbarrow filled
with purple grapes and somber
eyed daisies, and the trees lift their
glorious arms upward, ever reach¬
ing for the blue of North Carolina
skies.
THE STATE. NovEMfilR 12. 1949
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