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Arboretum
Stoevers Dam Park Trees
Sugar Maple:
Leaves opposite, simple, with 5 lobes (rarely 3 lobes) and smooth to wavy margins. Leaf color a medium to dark green in summer and turning orange-red to golden yellow ir the fall, depending on frost, soil type and rainfall.
Fruit is similar to that of Red maple, paired seed;with wings, but in a horseshoe shape.
One of the best of the larger shade and lawn trees, Sugar maple is also known as Rock or hard maple. Growing to 80 ft., it is best known for its sweet sap for maple syrup, but the wood is also important. It is often used for furniture, musical instruments and flooring. In the arboretum, Sugar maples can be found in the Shultz Memorial bed and at the southern end of Memorial Trail.
Boxelder (maple):
Leaves opposite, compound with 3 to 5 coarsely and irregularly toothed leaf margins, each 2-4 inches long and 2-3 inches wide. Fruit is that of all your maples, a paired winged seed, 1.5 to 2" in length and in drooping clusters, often remaining on the tree well into winter.
Boxelder is a medium-sized tree typically found in low moist areas, floodplains, and streambanks. Here in Eastern Pennsylvania, the Boxelder is considered a "weed tree", much like the Ailanthus or "Tree of Heaven". Its abundant seeds and the black and red "BoxeldeiBugs" that are often found on the warm, sunny side of homes, makes this tree quite a nuisance. The unusually-shaped leaves are not your typical maple leaf. But the opposite branching and winged seeds reveal its true identity.
Aspen:
Leaves are simple and alternate with distinct teeth along the edge of the leaf.
Quaking Aspen is the most widely distributed tree in North America. It is fast growing and relatively short-lived. Mature height is 40-50 ft., spreading 20-30 ft. The leaves flutter in the slightest breeze because of its flat leaf stem; hence the name Quaking or Trembling Aspen. The fall color is a good yellow. The wood is often used for pulp wood in making paper and cardboard. Aspens (Quaking and Bigtooth) are especially important in revegetating recently cut or burned areas. It is known as a "pioneer species" because it is often the first tree to inhabit an open area. A Quaking Aspen can be found at the west edge of the parking lot as well as the south end Lake Trail.
ASH:
Leaves opposite, compound, 8-15' in length with 5 to 11 leaflets, depending on the variety.
Fruit is singularly winged seeds, 1-2" in length and hanging in clusters.
There are three types of ashes within the arboretum. They include White, Green, and Black ash. These large trees are a valuable timber resource. The wood of White ash is used for baseball bats, handles of many tools such as axes, hammers, hoes, and rakes, as well as furniture. The juice from the leaf has been reported to relieve mosquito bite itching. Black ash is often used for basket weaving and its seeds are often eaten by Wood ducks, gamebirds, songbirds, and many mammals. Fall colors range from brilliant yellow to dark maroon.
Beech, American:
Leaves alternate, simple, 3-4" long, and have leaf-leathery texture with a tapered tip and sharply toothed margins. One "tooth" per leaf vein.
Fruit is a prickly 4-valved husk containing a triangular, nut. These nuts are a very important food source for wildlife, including bears, squirrels, turkeys, and grouse.
The American Beech is a handsome, native tree of of PA. Due to its size, it's restricted to large, open areas, but is underutilized in the home landscape. It's smooth, light gray bark, pointy buds, and slender, drooping branches gives this tree much character. A Beech is planted southwest of the Shultz Memorial planting.
| SOURCE: Lebanon County Conservation District for Stoevers Nature Barn. Information Compiled by: Leigh Beamesderfer/Lebanon Co. Forester Special thanks to Bill Wunderlich/Park Ranger for his assitance. |