Markers showing common and scientific names will be put with the plants over the summer. A site map with locations of these trees is available online at: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=106401060954678835205.00044ac972c03e10fed31&ll=39.839539,-86.196268&spn=0.001396,0.003369&z=18

WET SOILS

Overcup Oak – Medium sized tree (40ft tall) on flooded soils; leaves are long and broad, deeply lobed, lyre shaped, dark green above, paler and often finely hairy beneath; flowers are catkins; may take 30 years to produce acorns.

Yellow buckeye – wet soil to 60 ft; Ohio pioneers thought the split capsule of the fruit looked like the half-opened eye of a deer, hence the name; Native Americans took advantage of toxins in crushed branches to stun fish for harvest.

Sycamore (disease resistant hybrid London planetree) – Fast growing, massive trunk girth, reaches ages of 500-600 years; upper branches shed, becoming mottled white and green; round fruit remains on tree through winter; purple finches and goldfinches eat seeds; wood ducks, owls and flickers nest in holes. Native Americans used trunks for dugout canoes.

American beech – Smooth, steel gray bark; moist soil, shade tolerant; to 60 ft; lives 300-400 years; blue jays, wood ducks, turkeys, rose-breasted grosbeak birds, squirrels, and chipmunks devour the sweet triangular nuts produced in small bur after the tree reaches 10 years of age. The words “beech” and “book” derive from the same Anglo-Saxon root; bark provided one of the earliest writing surfaces.

Northern catalpa – moist soil, full sun; to 50 ft; medium-sized tree with large heart-shaped leaves, flowers and long thin seed pods; lumber does not rot easily, in earlier years it was used for fence posts and less than successfully as railroad ties. Modern usage highlights the beautiful wood grain in furniture, interior trim and cabinetry.

Cucumber Tree – moist soil, protected from wind and heat; large, cold-hardy magnolia; to 75 ft or more, trunk up to 7 ft in diameter; less showy small yellow green flower, cucumber-shaped fruit matures to red color. Soft wood timber used like tulip poplar.

Paw paw – small tree / shrub grows as a thicket in shady wet areas; often called Hoosier Banana because of the banana-like creamy texture and flavor of the nutritious fruits. Fruits not cultivated because they do not store or ship well. Native Americans used powdered seeds to control lice.

Kentucky Coffeetree – wet floodplains; to 100 ft tall with 2-3 ft diameter trunk; immense bipinnate leaves emerge late in spring and are conspicuous because of the varied colors of the leaflets; the youngest are bright pink, older leaves vary from green to bronze. Roasted seeds used as a substitute for coffee in times of poverty.

Bigleaf magnolia – moist well-drained rich soil, protected from wind, sun to light shade (understory); to 60 ft tall; boasts the largest simple leaf and single flower of any native plant in North America; very rare and widely scattered in the wild.

Bald Cypress (Taxodium sp.) – occurs along rivers from Southern US to Indiana, losing its leaves in winter in northern areas but evergreen in the south; especially prized for its heartwood, which is extremely rot and termite resistant due to a natural preservative which builds up in old-growth trees; formerly used for shingles and currently for mulch, although often harvested at an unsustainable rate; ancient species found in fossils from the age of the dinosaurs.

American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) – shrubby growth 15-20 ft tall in dry areas (grows taller in moist soils); flowers and 1-2 inch edible yellow to orange fruit attract birds, butterfly caterpillars, and deer; produces more fruit in sunny sites but tolerates light shade; not easily transplanted due to deep tap root. Tops of orchard grown trees should be thinned to allow for better fruit production. Found with sweetgum, overcup oak, sumac, and bald cypress. Persimmon flowers are useful in the production of honey. Because of its hardness, smoothness, and even texture, the wood is particularly desirable for turning, shoe lasts, shuttles, and golf club heads. Fruit is harvested in autumn, sweetening after a frost, and is added to baked goods, pies, and puddings. The dried, roasted, ground seeds have been used as a substitute for coffee. Tea from leaves is flavored like sassafras and high in vitamin C. Inner bark used as mouth wash and for sore throats.

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) – wetland shrub, 6-8 ft tall when pruned; sweet fragrant globe-like flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds, turning into round nutlets that hang on through the winter; seeds are important wildlife food, especially for ducks; dense thickets provide nesting and escape cover for many wetland birds.

Red-osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) – thrives in wet soils; berries white with bluish tint; attractive year-round with robins, finches, wild turkeys, grouse, and many others seek shelter among the reddish branches.

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) – found at the edge of woods or in swamps; fruits better in sunny areas; slow growing to 3-10 ft tall; loses leaves in winter, revealing showy red berries only on female plants; fruit eaten by small mammals and 48 species of birds.

Nannyberry Viburnum (Viburnum lentago) – adapted to many soil conditions in sun or shade along wet forest borders; taller shrub at 12-15 ft; white flower clusters in mid-May; fruit changes from green to pink to black eaten by wildlife.

Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) – medium sized shrub in wet soils; stems used by Native Americans as shafts on which to set spear points and arrowheads. It is the last of the native viburnums to bloom in late spring.

DRY SOILS

Hop Hornbeam (Ironwood) – dry soil, in shade among oaks; shredded bark, birchlike leaves, catkin flowers, clusters of papery sacs containing single nutlet. Food source for grouse and other wildlife in winter. Very hard wood, named after major use for ox yokes.

Northern red oak – Bristle-tipped leaves, acorns require two years to mature; range of soils; fast growing to 100 ft; lives 200-300 years; oak bark used for tanning leather. Strong lumber for flooring and furniture.

Tulip tree – Indiana state tree from magnolia family; tallest eastern tree to 150 ft or more; tulip-like flowers; cardinals, purple finches and squirrels eat seeds; soft lumber doesn’t split readily and is used for paneling and veneers; tulip tree honey is a delicacy. Fossils of tulip trees date from dinosaur times (70-100 million years ago).

Sugar maple – dry soil, shade tolerant, sensitive to road salt; to 100ft or more; found with Beech, Ironwood and Red Oak; prized for furniture, flooring and maple syrup.

Sourwood (string of flowers) – moist, well-drained soil, often growing with oaks in sun to light shade; 30-60 ft; fragrant white flowers on long drooping stalks, bright scarlet leaves in autumn; juice from blooms used for jelly; shoots used by Native Americans for arrow shafts.

Blackgum (black tupelo) – moist, well-drained soil in sheltered location with beech and red oak; 65-80 ft tall; brilliant glossy red to purple leaves in autumn; bark flaky when young, furrowed with age. Numerous birds feed on fruit, hollow sections of trunk used to house bees, dens for mammals. Wood hard, cross-grained, difficult to split. May be difficult to find in nurseries. Scientific name means water nymph of the woods (Nyssa sylvatica).

Sawtooth oak – well-drained soil in full sun; to 60 ft; provides roosting and one-inch acorns for variety of animals.

Shingle oak – uplands with good drainage; to 60 ft; leaves oblong, laurel-shaped; wood used to make roofing shingles. Cherokee used bark as an antiseptic.

Redbud (Cercis canadensis) – small tree found along forest edges with pinkish purple flowers in spring and yellow leaves in autumn.

Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) – Occurs in dry thickets and road edges as a handsome shrub; 2-12 ft high with very long leaves consisting of many leaflets; from June to August the plant bears greenish yellow flowers in dense pyramidal clusters at the ends of the branches, followed by round edible fruits covered with short, crimson hairs that make a very refreshing lemon-tasting drink; used medicinally by Native Americans due to antiseptic qualities; parts of the plant used for dyes, oils, and to make candles.

Grey-osier Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) – similar to red-osier but found in drier soils including prairies; small shrub at 8 ft; red and gray twigged shrub; white flowers in May-July; red leaves in the fall; clusters of white berries on red stems.

Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium) – found in well-drained upland woods; medium sized shrub at 6-10 ft; showy flat-topped clusters of white flowers in May-June; edible pink fruit maturing to blue-black color; reddish purple leaves in autumn.