What is your favorite tree species and why?

Question

Mine is the coast live oak in No. Calif. where I live. Its leaves are a deep green all year long and it's the signature tree of coastal California.

Answer 1

Mine has always been Cypress Trees. The wood is resistant to rot, and insect infestation. They are also trees that protect our swamp land in Louisiana. People want to harvest the lumber, because the wood is so strong and durable. Cabinets, shingles, outdoor furniture are best when they are made of Cypress. However it upsets our Eco system, for the Cypress trees purify the water and protect our lands from flooding.

Answer 2

The White Pine of Minnesota. They are homes for the Bald Eagles and they have the ability to survive many lightening strikes. Even when they've been struck and their top is taken off, it lives. Unless of course it is damaged beyond repair or burned. I went out hunting three years ago and there were two White Pines on either side of the road. One had got struck by lightening and it's top was off. The other one was fine and seemed to be blowing in the wind in kind of a teasing way to the other tree. I went out the following year and they were both the same size, each missing their tops. It was almost as if Mother Nature put the other tree in it's place. :)

Answer 3

I have two favorites- Eastern Hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, and Carolina Hemlock, Tsuga caroliniana, not the poison hemlock of Socrates, but rather stately trees of the eastern US. Members of the Pine Family (Pinaceae), Hemlocks are evergreen with short needle-like leaves and very small cones. It's fragrant foliage makes the hemlock popular as an ornamental and as a Christmas tree. The hemlock-rhodendron-mountain laurel forests in the Georgia mountains, where I spent considerable time as a child, are among the most beautiful forests I have seen from the Northeastern US to Hawaii, and are definitely my favorite place to be.

Answer 4

Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva), considered the longest living non-clonal organism on the planet. The oldest known non-clonal organism was Promethius, which was cut down in 1964 at almost 5000 years old!!! Another Great Basin Bristlecone Pine is still living today, at about 4644 years. Its located in Nevada, where most of these species are, as well as in other west coast states. Pretty interesting in my opinion : )

Answer 5

Apricot tree. Beautiful most of the year, strong enough to climb around for kids, nice fruit. When I was a kid, I used to roast the seeds and eat them like nuts -- they tasted like almonds, only better. (I'm not recommending anyone try eating apricot seeds, they're supposed to be poisonous, I don't know how I survived).

Answer 6

The Weeping Willow. We had one in our backyard as a kid and it just seems like nearly every childhood memory of mine includes the tree in one way or another.

Answer 7

mine is the English Oak, symbol of strength. I love the acorns that grow on it, the cups that hold the acorn on, my Mum used to tell me when I was little that the cups were what fairies drank out of and also used them for hats!

Answer 8

Weeping Willow...beautiful and graceful...especially when it's draped over water

Also redwoods in Muir Woods, northern California...something mystical about it, so beautiful and massive, never felt so connected to nature as when I was there

Answer 9

The silver birch - no, honestly. A beautiful tree.

Answer 10

Oak Tree, because it reminds me of my grandparents. They had one in their yard when I was a kid and now they are buried under one at the cemetery.