1/3 of the official state trees belong to the family Pinaceae.
Links on the state names in the list below lead to an official state symbols page. Links of the Latin tree names lead to the USDA Plants database.
- Alabama - Longleaf Pine - Pinus palustris
- Alaska - Sitka Spruce - Picea sitchensis
- Arkansas - "Southern" Pine - Genus Pinus
- Colorado - Blue Spruce -Picea pungens
- Nevada - Bristlecone Pine and Piñon/Nut Pine - Pinus aristata and Pinus edulis
- New Mexico - Single leaf Piñon - Pinus monophylla
- North Carolina - Native Pines -Genus Pinus
- Idaho - Western White Pine - Pinus monticola
- Maine - Eastern White Pine - Pinus strobus
- Michigan - Eastern White Pine - Pinus strobus
- Montana - Ponderosa Pine - Pinus ponderosa
- Minnesota - Red Pine - Pinus resinosa
- Oregon - Douglasfir - Pseudotsuga menziesii
- Pennsylvania - Eastern Hemlock - Tsuga canadensis
- South Dakota - White Spruce - Picea glauca
- Utah - Blue Spruce -Picea pungens
- Washington - Western Hemlock - Tsuga heterophylla
I was disappointed with the images -- if any -- that most of these states showed for their state tree. Students would never be able to learn the identifying characteristics of their state trees by looking at most of those photos.Read more about the pine family (Pinaceae) at Conifers.org.
3 comments -- please add yours:
Genevieve,
With your knowledge of trees it would be great to see a series on native trees of Kentucky or any other state with good ID photos. I am interested in native trees in Ky but have a difficult time identifying them with the books available. Any suggestions to us on how to approach identifying our native trees? Your site has been helpful. -- Barbara
Barbara, if you don't own a good tree field guide, you should get one (or preferably two or three). I also suggest buying Trees & Shrubs of Kentucky by Mary E. Wharton and Roger William Barbour. There are a number of copies on Abebooks. It's not a field guide, but it's a good reference. because it contains photographs of Kentucky trees. (Sometimes leaves and bark of a species vary a little from region to region, so it is helpful to see a Kentucky example.)
Start with a few trees that you see frequently. Take your field guides and see if you can make a tentative ID. Verify your identification with pictures on the internet tree sites. Collect some leaves from the trees, press them, and mount them. Look for other specimens of the same species. Read on the internet about that tree -- where does it like to grow, how tall does it get, what is it's general shape? These things help in identification, too. It's really just a matter of devoting time to the study.
Don't be critical of yourself if you can't identify every tree you see. If you learn to recognize ten native trees common to your area, that's a whole lot more than most people can do.
There's just something about a pine tree -- and nothing says summer to me like the scent of pine sap warmed up by the sun.
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