Parks, Recreation & Leisure

Parks, Recreation & Leisure / Parks & Forestry

Tree Treks

Fancyburg Park | Northam Park | Thompson Park

Click here to download a pdf version of the Northam Park Tree Trek

Although Northam Park is best known for its tennis courts, playing fields, and community events, it also hosts over 50 different kinds of trees. These trees range from relatively common species such as Sugar Maple to unusual types such as an English Oak which is a descendant of a tree in Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest. Many of the park’s trees were donated to the City of Upper Arlington by individuals, families and community groups.

This Tree Trek brochure is intended to introduce many of these trees to park users. Trees are numbered on the map and are tagged on a low branch. The self-guiding walk begins and ends at the main Upper Arlington Public Library building on Tremont Road.

We hope that you enjoy the walk and learn more about the trees of Northam Park. For additional details about the trees, consult:

www.oplin.lib.oh.us/products/tree/index.html
www.dnr.state.oh.us/forestry/Education/ohiotrees/treesindex.htm

1. Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) is a fast-growing oak that has a distinctive shape due to its ascending upper branches, horizontal middle branches, and drooping lower branches. This species is susceptible to chlorosis from iron deficiency caused by alkaline soils. Leaves are deeply lobed with bristle tips.

2. White Pine (Pinus strobus) grows rapidly in appropriate soils but dislikes dry or wet soils. It was originally confined to Appalachia, New England, and southern Canada at the time of European settlement, and occurred in northeastern Ohio. Today, it is widely distributed throughout eastern North America, including all of Ohio. Under optimum conditions, it can grow to 80 feet tall and 40 feet wide, or larger. Its needles are in bundles of five.

3. Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) is an oak primarily of the Midwestern and Great Plains states. It is found in all of Ohio except the far southeastern corner of the state, although it is most common in western counties. It has simple leaves with a deep center sinus, and the leaves are broader at the top than at the base. It is also known as Mossycup Oak because of the fringed appearance of the acorn cap. One of the longest-lived trees in Ohio, it can live to be 200-300 years old. Mature trees have interesting bark and twig character, and the fall color is deep russet.

4. Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a fast-growing member of the legume family that tolerates poor soils. It has a compound leaf, small thorns and an attractive white flower. It was once native only to the southern Appalachian region of the eastern U.S., but has now spread throughout the world, including all of Ohio. Black Locust can quickly grow to 50 feet tall by 25 feet wide, when found in the open. High winds coupled with several diseases and pests often limit its height, however.

5. Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) gets its scientific name from the fact that smaller limbs have exfoliating bark revealing a second color. Also, the undersides of the lobed leaves are lighter than the upper sides. It is found throughout most of Ohio, although it is not abundant in the southeastern Appalachian counties. It is frequently found in wet woods, swamps, wetlands, bottomlands, and near bodies of water, although it is very drought tolerant and can be planted in soils that are dry in summer.

6. Lacebark Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) is a native of China, Korea and Japan. The distinctive bark is smooth, mottled brown, and sheds in thin flakes, exposing orange to reddish brown inner bark. It is very resistant to Dutch elm disease and usually grows 30-40 feet tall.

7. 'Selkirk’ Crabapple (Malus sp.‘Selkirk’) is a pink-flowering crab with medium sized bright red fruit and moderate disease resistance. This tree’s new growth is red; the leaves turn bronze-green when fully opened. It has a rounded, upright habit and grows to 20' high by 25'-30' wide.

8. Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata) is a member of the elm family. It is often used because it has the classic vase shape of the American elm but is very resistant to Dutch elm disease. It can reach 45-50 feet in height and will spread almost as wide. The bark becomes attractively mottled and flaky with age. It is fairly tolerant of heat, drought, wind, and urban conditions.

9. Red Maple (Acer rubrum) has bright red flowers which make it conspicuous in the spring. Later, the leaf petioles are red and in autumn the leaves become scarlet to orange. It is a fast growing tree and numerous cultivars are available. Some cultivars do not do well in dry or alkaline soils. It can reach a height of 60 to 80 feet with a diameter of one-to-three feet.

10. Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis) is a fast-growing Ohio native with compound leaves and yellow fall color. It gets quite large and native trees are heavily thorned on trunks and branches. Thornless and seedless cultivars are available in nurseries. It is adaptable to a wide range of soil types and moisture levels.

11. Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) is a favorite shade tree that has brilliant orange, red and yellow fall color. It can reach 60’ in height and is found in forests and meadows throughout all of Ohio. Mature trees do not respond well to root disturbance or compaction of the soil above the roots. Sugar Maple is the source of “real” maple syrup.

12. Red Oak (Quercus rubra) is a native oak that becomes quite large. Its bark is darker than that of white oaks. The tough, heavy wood has a reddish-orange coloration, and is an important hardwood for the Ohio timber industry. Its large acorns mature earlier in the season than those of most other oaks, thus providing a source of food by late summer and throughout autumn and winter for many forms of wildlife.

13. Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus) is an unusual bipinnately compound leafed tree. It has an open habit in winter and a full, tropical look in summer. It is a member of the legume family, and female trees produce thick pods containing bean-like seeds. Early settlers used the beans as a coffee substitute. Leaves turn yellow in fall, and the bark develops an interesting furrowed texture.

14. White Ash (Fraxinus americana) is one of the most common and fastest-growing trees in Ohio. It grows to 60’ in height and has excellent red to purple fall color. It has compound leaves with toothed margins. Several seedless cultivars are available.

15. European Beech ‘Tricolor’ (Fagus sylvatica ‘Tricolor’) is a striking cultivar with rose-colored foliage and horizontal branching habit. European beeches come in many cultivars and varieties. They are magnificent slow growers with smooth gray bark. ‘Tricolor’ has dark reddish green leaves with light and dark pink margins.

16. Yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea) is a medium-sized tree with alternate compound leaves and beech-like bark. It bears panicles of white flowers in late May. It is a member of the legume family, and has bright yellow heartwood which dyemakers have used to make an effective dye. Its natural range is western North Carolina and northern Georgia westward to parts of Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

17. ‘Molten Lava’ Crabapple (Malus sp. ‘Molten Lava’), situated at the Northam Park sign, is a weeping crab with pink flowers and small red-orange fruit which persists through much of the winter. The leaves have good disease resistance. It grows to a height of about 15’ and a width of about 20’.

18. Japanese Tree Lilac (Syringa eticulata ‘Ivory Silk’) is a small tree with cherry-like bark and ivory-colored flower spikes in early June. The leaves are similar to the common lilac shrub, dark green and oppositely attached to a shiny brown, stout stem. Its mature height is around 20 feet, making it suitable for use as a street tree and under utility lines.

19. Japanese Pagodatree (Sophora japonica) is a native of China and Korea. It has been introduced into Japan where it often is planted around Buddhist temples for its showy August flowers, hence the common name. It is also known as “Scholar Tree” for similar reasons. It is a legume, the same family of trees as the Yellowwood, but in the case of the Japanese Pagodatree, a yellow dye is made from its flower buds rather than from its wood. An extract of the pods is sold as an herbal remedy.

20. European (Black) Alder (Alnus glutinosa) is another member of the legume family. It tolerates poor and wet soils. It has an oval, finely serrated leaf and retains ornamental cone-like fruits throughout the winter. The small leaves turn yellow in the fall.

21. London Planetree (Platanus x acerifolia) is a cross between the Sycamore and the Oriental Plane Tree, developed to withstand the polluted air in 19th Century London. It tends to be more disease resistant than our native sycamores but still has the interesting mottled bark and large broad leaf. Planetrees grow relatively quickly and become sizeable.

22. Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a large tree with star-shaped leaves. Its outstanding fall color ranges from red to yellow to purple. The tree has excellent structure but the fruit, a round seed ball, is messy. A new seedless cultivar is available.

23. Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa) is an Asian dogwood that tolerates urban environments better than the native species. The cream-colored flowers appear in May and are followed by a raspberry-like fruit. The bark becomes ornamental as the tree matures. It is resistant to dogwood anthracnose and borers, and the fall color is red to maroon.

24. The Historic Grove was donated by the Upper Arlington High School Class of 1949 in honor of the 50th anniversary of their graduation. All the trees in the grove were propagated from trees that witnessed historic events. Enjoy reading the history of each tree at the kiosk.

25. European Beech ‘Riversii’ (Fagus sylvatica ‘Riversii’) is a majestic slow-growing tree with grey bark and burgundy leaves. The leaves hold their color throughout the summer.

26. ‘Winter King’ Hawthorn (Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’) is a small native tree which reaches 25’ in height and width at maturity. It has white flowers in the spring and bright orange fruit in the fall. A mottled pattern develops on the bark, and it has very few thorns.

27. Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra) has a palmately compound leaf with large buds and white flowers. It is the Ohio state tree. The well-known buckeye nut is covered by a green spiny husk until it ripens in late summer. When planted in the open, it can reach 60 feet tall by 30 feet wide but often occurs as an understory or creek-side tree half that size.

28. Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvania) is similar to White Ash in that it grows rapidly and becomes quite large. It is more tolerant, however, of wet sites and has more of a golden fall color. Several cultivars are available, some of which are seedless.

29. Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana ‘Aristocrat’) is a fast-growing ornamental with excellent white flowers in spring and good fall color. It has small inedible fruit. Many cultivars are available; the most popular is ‘Bradford’ which has a weak structure and is not recommended.

30. Littleleaf Linden (Tilia cordata) is a European species related to the American Basswood. The leaves are simple and heart-shaped, and turn yellow in fall. Small fragrant flowers bloom in June. Japanese beetles feed on the leaves in some locales.

31. Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) or Tupelo is an Ohio native that reaches 50-60 feet in height. It is difficult to transplant. The glossy, dark green leaves turn crimson in fall. The small berries are popular with birds. The smooth, gray bark of younger trees darkens with age, breaking into rectangular blocks separated by deep crevices.

32. Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia gylptostroboides) is a deciduous conifer from China. Its needles turn dark orange before falling off each autumn. Almost all U.S. trees come from three trees found in a remote Chinese village in the 1940s. It is called a “living fossil” because it was thought to be extinct until then. It was native to North America 15 million years ago.

33. Corneliancherry Dogwood (Cornus mas) is a small tree that has yellow flowers in early spring. It can be pruned to be either a large shrub or a small tree. It is quite tolerant of wet soils. The bright red fruits produced in late summer are edible.

34. River Birch (Betula nigra) is a medium sized Ohio native with peach colored exfoliating bark. It will not tolerate drought or alkaline soils well. It is resistant to bronze birch borer and is a better choice than any white-barked birch in Ohio.

35. Baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) is a deciduous conifer native to the southern U.S. It tolerates wet soils but does not require them. It has a nice orange fall color and grows rapidly, remaining narrow even with age. Root “knees” develop only in wet sites.

36. Austrian Pine (Pinus nigra) is a two-needled pine that grows rapidly and tolerates poor soils well. After about 15 years, however, it is susceptible to sphaeropsis fungi (formerly “diplodia blight”) that can be fatal.

37. Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is a slow-growing Chinese native that reaches a very large size. Its unique fan-shaped leaf turns intense yellow in fall. Several cultivars are available including upright and fruitless males. Female trees produce a foul-smelling fruit. It is quite tolerant of urban conditions.

38. Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) is a five-needled pine native to the western U.S. Its needles appear contorted and have silvery lines, which adds landscape interest. It reaches up to 40’ tall.

39. Hardy Rubber Tree (Eucommia ulmoides) grows to approximately 40 feet at maturity. Its glossy dark green leaves contain latex and are very resistant to pests and diseases. Inconspicuous blooms are followed by small, 1.5 inch long flat winged seeds.

40. Norway Maple (Acer platinoides) is a European maple that reaches 40-50 feet and casts dense shade. It is prone to girdling root problems in our soils. The bark becomes rough and fissured into narrow ridges on older trees. It is very tolerant of city pollutants, but seedlings can be overly prolific.

41. Sawtooth Oak (Quercus acutissima) is an exotic oak that grows rapidly. Its narrow leaves with bristled margins turn brown in fall and frequently stay on the tree all winter. The bark develops interesting vertical striping in mature trees. It is a great source for wildlife food because it begins to produce acorns early, in its fifth year. It is planted throughout most of Ohio, and may reach 50 feet tall by 50 feet wide at maturity, when found in the open.

Updated 4/08

Parks & Forestry Division
Parks & Recreation Department
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Phone: 614-583-5340