Category Archives: Trees

Know Your Natives – Alder

Alder (Alnus serrulata) of the Birch (Betulaceae) family is a deciduous shrub found in the U.S. from Texas to Kansas to Maine and thence east and south to the borders.  This shrub, the only species in the Alnus genus in … Continue reading

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Trees of Arkansas Is Now User-Friendly with Full Color Pictures

The tried and true handbook of the Arkansas Forestry Commission, Dwight Moore’s Trees of Arkansas, has been reissued (2014) in a smart, new, user-friendly, and full-color edition. Moore’s book dates back to 1950, when the author revised Lewis M. Turner’s … Continue reading

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Know Your Natives – Overcup Oak

Overcup Oak Overcup Oak (Quercus lyrata) is a species of oak in the White Oak Group. It favors bottomland forests and is tolerant of wet, clay soils. This oak is identified by the cup, which often completely encloses the acorn. … Continue reading

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Know Your Natives – American Hazelnut

American Hazelnut American Hazelnut (Corylus americana) is a medium to large spreading shrub that produces edible nuts in the fall. The nuts ripen in September and October and are a favorite of small game and birds. As fall progresses male … Continue reading

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Ash Tree Threat Invades Arkansas

Arkansas joins the growing list of states affected by the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis), or EAB for short, an invasive Asian beetle devastating North American ash trees. The beetle was first discovered on the continent in Michigan in 2002, … Continue reading

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Field Trip Exploring the Capitol Campus

On a crisp sunny fall morning seven hearty souls gathered on the Capitol steps to begin a most interesting tour, an Arkansas Native Plant Society  (ANPS) field trip, of the trees adorning the campus of the State Capitol grounds. Our … Continue reading

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Ouachita Huckleberries in the Rain

A group of die-hard native plant lovers met in Crystal Springs on a rainy May 16 in pursuit of black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), the only true huckleberry in Arkansas.  Arkansas Native Plant Society (ANPS) members in attendance were Susan Hooks, … Continue reading

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Dripping Springs Field Trip a Perfect Ten on the BOP Scale

May 11, 10 a.m., a Saturday morning that couldn’t have been prettier, we gathered for the Ouachita Mountain Boys’ walk to Dripping Springs just north of Hot Springs. The rendezvous place was across the road from Kai Schulz’s house, and … Continue reading

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Neat Plant Alert: Old Red Buckeye Across From Clinton School

What a welcome sight the red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) is in a spring season of so many colorless, wind-pollinated trees and shrubs. The common, cheerful plants grow nearly statewide, leafing out well before the spring starting gun is fired and … Continue reading

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Meet the Tree: Toothache Tree

Toothache tree, Zanthoxylum clava-herculis, is surely one of Arkansas’ most intriguing native plants. If you haven’t been introduced, chew on a twig or a piece of bark for a few minutes and feel your mouth and tongue start to tickle … Continue reading

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