A GPS Guide
to a Selection of Southern Appalachian Native Trees
that live at the Botanical Gardens at Asheville
By Rebecca Priddy
Community Partnership Project
NC Environmental Education Certification Program
N.C. DENR Office of Environmental and Public Affairs
You only need to sit still
long enough in some attractive spot
in the woods that all it’s inhabitants
may exhibit themselves to you by turns.
Walden, by Henry David Thoreau
The Trees
This booklet contains a list of 32 Native trees* of the Southern
Appalachian Mountains. All 32 of these trees live at the Botanical Gardens
at Asheville, located at 151 W.T. Weaver Boulevard in Asheville, North
Carolina. These 32 species of trees are members of 12 different families of
trees.
This booklet has been written as a guide to challenge you to find all the
trees listed; and then, to get to know the trees by observing them. You
can get to know the trees by visiting the Botanical Gardens in every
season to observe the many changes that the trees go through.
I encourage you to find every one of these trees. It is rewarding to be able
to know the name of each tree that you encounter in your own yard, park
or city street.
There are many more tree species that live at the Botanical Gardens.
There are over 150 tree species representing 32 different families of plants
that live at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville. I encourage you to seek
out and find trees that are not included in this booklet.
There are many excellent field guides for you to read about identification
techniques and terminology and features of each species. I have listed
some of my favorites in the reference section of this booklet.
*I am defining a native tree as a tree believed to have been living in the
Southern Appalachian region prior to Columbus.
I am defining a tree as being a woody plant, with a trunk 3 inches or more
in diameter that grows up at least 15 feet and has branches and leaves or
needles.
How to complete this guide:
You will be able to locate the tree using GPS coordinates. A GPS
coordinate is given for each species.
You can use a phone with a GPS Application or a GPS unit for finding the
trees. To learn more about explaining what GPS coordinates represent
and how to find them, I recommend you go to the websites listed in the
Reference section at the end of this booklet.
Write in the dates you visit the tree and initial the date in the table under
the name of the tree. You can also log in the Sycamore tree at
www.waymarking.com where I have entered that tree as a waymark.
Example:
12
Carpinus
caroliniana
American Hornbeam
N 35° 36.845
W 082° 33.506
Scientific
Name/Date
Found/initials
Common Name
Acer negundo
Box Elder
GPS Coordinates
Aceraceae - Maple Family
1
N 35° 36.749
W 082° 33.975
Acer
pensylvanicum
Striped Maple
3
Acer rubrum
Red Maple
4
Acer
saccharinum
Silver Maple
Acer saccharum
Sugar Maple
2
5
N 35° 36.804
W 082° 34.058
.
N 35° 36.767
W 082° 34.057
N 35° 36.764
W 082° 33.940
N 35° 36.738
W 082° 33.954.
Scientific
Name/ Date
Found/Initials
Common Name
GPS Coordinates
Betulaceae – Birch Family
6
Alnus serrulata
Tag Alder
N 35° 36.776
W 082° 34.090
7
8
Betula
alleghaniensis
Yellow Birch
Betula lenta
Black Birch
N 35° 36.770
W 082° 33.928
N 35° 36.778
W 082° 34.099
9
Betula nigra
River Birch
N 35° 36.737
W 082° 33.967
10
Betula cordifolia
Mountain Paper
Birch
N 35° 36.797
W 082° 33.940
Scientific
Name/Date
Foun Found/initials
11
Carpinus
Carolniana
Common Name
GPS Coordinates
American Hornbeam
N 35° 36.845
W 082° 33.506
Cornaceae – Dogwood Family
12
Cornus florida
Flowering Dogwood
N 35°36.732
W 082° 34.008
13
Nyssa Sylvatica
Black Gum
N 35° 36.755
W 082° 34.018
Ericaceae Family
14
Oxydendrum
Aerboretum
Sourwood
N 35° 36.794
W 082° 33.967
Scientific
Name/Date
Found/initials
Common Name
GPS Coordinates
Fabaceae – Bean Family
15
Cercis
Canadensis
Redbud
16
Cladrastis
kentuckea
Yellowwood
17
Gleditsia
triacanthos
Honeylocust
Gymnocladus
dioicus
Kentucky Coffeetree
18
N 35° 36.765
W 082° 33.955
N 35° 36.771
W 082° 33.988
N 35° 36.757
W 082° 34.025
N 35° 36.787
W 082° 33.907
19
Scientific
Name/Date
Found/initials
Common Name
Robina
pseudoacacia
Black Locust
GPS Coordinates
N 35° 36.804
W 082° 33.918
Hippocastanaceae – Buckeye Family
20
Aesculus flava
Yellow Buckeye
N 35° 36.816
W 082° 33.929
21
22
Aesculus
parvaflora
Bottlebrush Buckeye
Aesculus pavia
Red Buckeye
N 35° 36.768
W 082° 33.976
N 35° 36.761
W 082° 33.940
Magnoliaceae – Magnolia Family
23
Lirodendron
tulipifera
Yellow Poplar
N 35° 36.809
W 082° 34.091
24
25
Scientific
Name/Date
Found/initials
Magnolia
acuminate
Common Name
Magnolia fraseri
Fraser Magnolia
GPS Coordinates
Cucumbertree
N 35° 36.789
W 082° 33.939
N 35° 36.784
W 082° 33.947
26
Magnolia
tripetala
Umbrella Magnolia
N 35° 36.752
W 082° 33.973
Oleaceae – Olive Family
27
Fraxinus
americana
White Ash
N 35° 36.790
W 082° 33.963
Scientific
Name/Date
Found/initials
Common Name
GPS Coordinates
Plantanaceae – Sycamore Family
28
Lirodendron
Tulipifera
Sycamore
N 35° 36.790
W 082° 34.137
Rosaceae – Rose Family
29
Prunus serotina
Black Cherry
N 35° 36.798
W 082° 34.057
30
Prunus americana
American Mountain
Ash
N 35° 36.7790
W 082° 34.118
Scientific
Name/Date
Found/initials
Common Name
GPS Coordinates
Tiliaceae – Basswood Family
31
Tilia americana
Basswood
N 35° 36.777
W 082° 33.976
Ulmaceae – Elm Family
32
Ulmus
americana
American Elm
N 35° 36.800
W 082° 34.112
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace
will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow
their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while
cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” John Muir
References:
A Guide to the Botanical Gardens at Asheville. Wildflower Blooming
Dates Throughout the Southeast.
Copyright 1999 The Botanical Gardens at Asheville.
The Botanical Gardens at Asheville. Labor of Love . . . The First 50
years.
Copyright 2010. The Botanical Gardens at Asheville.
Native Trees of the Southeast an Identification Guide
By Katherine Kirkman, Claud L. Brown and Donald J. Leopold
Copyright 2007 Timber Press Inc.
Trees of the Smokies, Steve Kemp, Photographs by Ken Voorhis,
Great Smoky Mountains Association, 2006.
www.waymarking.com
www.nationalatlas.gov
www.geography.about.com/cs/latitudelongitude/a/latlong.htm
ABOUT THE WRITER
I am a naturalist, who writes about, draws, photographs, and studies
nature. You can see my work at
www.AYearWiththeTrees.Blogspot.com and
My first naturalist certification is from the Tremont Institute in the
Great Smokey Mountain National Park
The booklet is my community partnership project in association with
the NC Environmental Education Certification Program
N.C. DENR Office of Environmental and Public Affairs.
You can read about this program at:
www.eenorthcarolina.org
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to Jay Kranyik, Heather Rayburn, Robert Priddy, and
Brooke Priddy, who helped me locate all these trees. Thank you
to Jay and the many volunteers who take care of these amazing
trees at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville.
Without the trees in our world,
life as we know it would not exist.
Trees keep our air and water clean.
Trees provide shade, food, and shelter
for humans, animals, insects, birds, and reptiles.
By getting to know the trees,
you will most likely care about them.
By caring for them,
you will probably take care of them.
By taking care of them,
we can do our part to insure a clean earth
for future generations.