Please join us on a virtual tour of some of the beautiful and historic trees on campus.

• native
• 70-80 feet tall
• zone 3-8
• large tree, developing corky ridges on bark

2)  Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.)

• native
• 15-20 feet +, depending on species
• zone 4-9
• showy white flowers, sweet black fruit, good wildlife species
• also called juneberry, shadbush, or shadblow referring to how its blooming time corresponds to when shad ascend rivers to spawn

3)  Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

• eastern China
• 50-80 feet tall, varying spreads
• zone 4-9
• virtually pest-free
• good, tough city tree; plant male trees to avoid the smelly, messy fruit
• nice yellow fall color in its unique fan-shaped leaf
• g. biloba extracts often taken for medicinal values
• also known as maidenhair tree

4)  American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) 

• native
• 75-90 feet tall, massive tree
• zones 4-9
• gray to green brown lower trunk; exfoliating upper trunks reveal white to creamy white patches
• anthracnose (a fungus that kills young shoots and distorts leaves) can be an issue
• plant London planetree (Platanus x acerifolia), a resistant cross between oriental planetree (P. orientalis) and American sycamore (P. occidentalis), if concerned

5)  Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

• native
• 40-70 + feet tall
• zone 3-8
• evergreen
• PA state tree
• used singly or often planted as a hedge
• important for construction timber and as a source of tannic acid for tanning leather
• hemlock woolly adelgid, a small aphid-like insect that feeds on hemlock is a problem; often recognized by white-cottony masses on the undersides of twigs at the base of needles

6)  Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica)

• native
• 30-50 feet
• zone 4-9
• slow to medium growth rate
• beautiful red fall color; one of the first natives to change color in the fall
• wildlife use the fruit, twigs, and leaves for food
• fine specimen tree in the landscape
• also known as black tupelo

7)  Hybrid Elms (Ulmus cultivars)

• Dutch elm disease resistant cultivars
• most 60-80 feet, a few smaller, typically spreading
• varying forms, some are more similar to the traditional “flowers in a vase” form of American elm (Ulmus americana)
• zone 3-9
• ‘Homestead’ and ‘Accolade’ are U. carpinifolia (smoothleaf elm) cultivars
• ‘Valley Forge’, ‘Princeton’, and ‘American Liberty’ are U. Americana cultivars

8)  Amur Maackia (Maackia amurensis)

• Manchuria
• 20-30 feet tall
• zone 4-7
• slow growing
• bronze-colored peeling bark, somewhat snakeskin-like
• dull white flowers, ½ in. long in late summer
• virtually pest-free

9) Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum var. dissectum)

• Japan, China, Korea
• 10-12 feet tall, 12-14 feet wide
• zone 5-8
• cutleaf variety; many cultivars of dissected (cutleaf) and non-dissected varieties
• slow growing
• excellent red fall color
• unique growth habit

10)  Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)

• native
• 60-75 feet + tall
• zone 3-7
• fast grower
• red fall color
• very important timber species; furniture, veneer
• wildlife favor red oak acorns

11)  Katsuratree (Cercidophyllum japonicum)

• ‘Pendula’ weeping form
• China, Japan
• zone 4-8
• medium-fast growth
• no serious pests
• leaves emerge reddish-purple, change to blue-green in summer
• 40-80 feet tall (non-weeping form)
• distinct spurred stems

12)  Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

• native
• 30-60 feet tall
• zone 4-9
• medium-fast growth
• beautiful fall color; deep orange to scarlet reddish-purple
• often three leaf shapes on same tree (entire, 2-lobed, 3-lobed)
• sassafras tea (October Festival in Rockville, IN includes sassafras bread, candy, and tea)

13)  Amur Corktree (Phellodendron amurense)

• northern China, Manchuria, and Japan
• 30-45 feet tall
• zone 3-7
• medium growth rate
• older trunks develop cork-like bark
• usually pest-free

14)  Japanese Cryptomeria (Cryptomeria japonica)

• China, Japan
• 50-60 feet tall, 20-30 feet wide
• zone 5-6
• evergreen
• medium growth rate
• major lumber tree in Japan
• many cultivars to choose from

15)  Lacebark Elm (Ulmus parvifolia)

• northern and central China, Korea, and Japan
• 40-50 feet tall
• zone 4-9
• mottled bark exfoliates in patches exposing green, gray, orange, and brown inner bark
• good resistance to DED, elm leaf beetle, and Japanese beetle
• tough tree; transplants well

16)  River Birch (Betula nigra)

• native
• 40-70 feet tall
• zone 3-9
• medium to fast grower
• bark exfoliates into papery sheets and plates exposing salmon-pink to reddish-brown inner bark
• a trouble-free birch; lacking rhodendrol, a chemical that attracts borer-insects which is present in many white-barked species of birch
• can be used clumped or as a single-stemmed tree

17)  Willow Oak (Quercus phellos)

• native
• 40-60 feet tall
• zone 5-9
• lanceolate, willow-like leaf
• not many serious pests

18)  Himalayan white-barked birch (Betula utilis var. jacquemontii)

• western Himalayas
• zone 5-6
• supposedly is the whitest-barked birch with age

19)  Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor)

• native; moist bottomlands
• 50-60 feet tall
• zone 4-8
• tough tree
• usually marcescent (brown leaves persist through winter)

20)  ‘Green Pillar” Pin Oak (Quercus palustris ‘Green Pillar’)

• columnar, upright form
• zone 4-8
• 30 feet + tall
• prefers slightly acidic soils, as does straight species pin oak (Q. palustris)

21)  Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata)

• Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Manchuria
• 50-80 feet tall
• zone 4-8
• vase-shaped
• good foliage, interesting growth habit, exfoliating
• high-quality timber species in its native range

22)  ‘Winterking’ Hawthorn (Crataegus viridus ‘Winter King’)

• native
• 20-25 feet tall
• zone 4-7
• dark green foliage, white flowers, 3/8” diameter red fruit
• exfoliating gray bark on older stems exposes grays, greens, and orangish-browns
• watch for thorns

23)  Horsechestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)

• Greece, Albania, Bulgaria
• 50-75 feet tall, large tree
• zone 4-7
• showy white flowers, 5-12 in. long and 2-5 in. wide in mid-may
• fruit is a spiny capsule with one or two seeds, about 2 in. in diameter
• good wildlife tree

24)  Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

• native
• 40-60 feet tall
• zone 3-9
• develops corky ridges in bark with age
• fruit is a 1/3 in. dark purple drupe favored by birds and wildlife
• medium-fast growth
• performs well in adverse conditions

25)  Black Cherry (Prunus serrrotina)

• native
• 50-60 feet + tall
• zone 3-9
• very common over much of eastern United States
• high-value timber species; much of the worlds highest-quality black cherry is grown in northwest PA.  Sheffield, PA is known as the “black cherry capitol of the world”
• great for wildlife

26)  Carolina silverbell (Halesia tetraptera)

• native
• 30-40 feet tall
• zone 4-9
• white flowers ½ to 1 in. long borne on pendulous ½ to 1 in. long stalks in April-May
• pest-resistant

27)  Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica)

• central and southern Europe, western Siberia, central Asia
• 30-50 feet; spreading
• zone 2-8
• 250+ species of willows worldwide
• roots easily from cuttings
• messy, but still a beautiful tree in the right location
• thrives in wet sites

28)  Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

• native
• 20-30 feet tall
• zone 4-9
• flowers rosy-red to reddish-purple in about April
• flowers at a relatively young age (4-6 years)
• heart-shaped leaf

29)  Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana)

• hybrid
• 20-30 feet tall, often wider than tall
• zone 4-9
• flowers from white to pink to purple
• can flower as soon as 2-4 feet tall
• many cultivars (30+) to choose from
• late frosts can devastate spring blooms

30)  ‘Purple Fountain’ Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purple Fountain’)

• Europe
• upright and weeping to 25 feet tall
• zone 4-7
• purplish foliage

31)  Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)

• Japan, Korea, China
• 20-30 feet, some spreading
• zone 5-8
• many cultivars to choose from
• exfoliating bark
• its true flowers are inconspicuous, the white to rose colored bracts are showy in about June
• fruit is a pink to red drupe, ½ to 1 in. dia. in late August through October
• fairly pest-free

32)  ‘Waterfall’ Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum ‘Waterfall’)

• 10 feet tall, 12-14 feet wide
• leaf is green, of dissected form

Click here for printable PDFs of the map and tree descriptions or for a list of other notable trees on campus.

For questions or more information about our trees, please contact:

Randy Nenninger, Grounds and Landscaping Manager
or
Cory Deniker, Arborist

Dickinson College, PO Box 1773, Carlisle, PA 17013