50 Atlanta Trees: Spot them around town
Read Full Article at TreesAtlanta.org
You may recognize the common names of many of these trees, but try to learn some of the botanical names of 50 Atlanta tree types, too. Botanical names are in the Latin language, and are used by tree and plant professionals to identify different tree species and varieties more accurately than with common names. Once you familiarize yourself with the trees below and how they look, you may even find that you pass some of these trees every day on your way to work or school!
Learn more about the 50 most frequently-seen trees in Atlanta. Soon, you’ll know the common and botanical names of tree, interesting tidbits, and be able to recognize them by sight.
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Acer buergerianum
Common Name: Trident Maple
This deciduous, medium sized tree (maximum height of approx 45 feet) has orange-brown peeling bark. Its leaves are 3-inch-ide and tri-lobed, a glossy green color above and paler underneath. This maple’s roots have a high moisture content, and are susceptible to frost damage.
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Aesculus flava
Common Name: Yellow Buckeye
The Yellow Buckeye can grow to more than 110 feet in height. Its leaves are broad, flat, and palmately compound, usually with five leaflets each with a short stalk. The fruit of this tree is poisonous to humans, and often is eaten by squirrels.
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Amelanchier arborea
Common Name: Downy Serviceberry
This deciduous tree grows in partial shade to full sun, and has alternate, simple, oval to oblong, 5-13 cm long leaves. Squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, mice, and at least 40 bird species either eat the fruit or browse the twigs and leaves.
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Aralia spinosa
Common Name: Devil’s Walkingstick
This small tree can be identified by its huge bipinnately compound leaves (an average leaf has over 100 leaflets!) and stout prickly trunk (hence the name Devil’s Walkingstick). Butterflies and wasps love the tree’s flowers in late summer.
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Asimina triloba
Common Name: Pawpaw
Pawpaw grows less than twenty-five feet, with feather-veined leaves in leaflets arranged in a wedge-shape. In shade, it grows tall and more widely branched. Some trees produce fruit that is like a papaya, and tastes like a blend of banana, mango, and melon.