# What is/are you favorite kind(s) of Tree(s)?



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I am very fond of the very tall everyday conifers we find in the Pacific Northwest: Douglas Firs and Western Red Cedars.

I am also very fond of big midwestern Oak trees, and the Birch trees to be found in norther Minnesota and any variety of Cycad, though they technically aren't trees.


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## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

It's a toss-up between English Oak_ Quercus robur_ and Beech _Fagus sylvatica_. Many interesting fungi grow under these, either as parasites or saphrophytically on the leaf litter. Beech is also host to several orchids in UK including the exceedingly rare and elusive Ghost Orchid _Epipogium aphyllum_:


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Around here, I'm particularly fond of Sycamores. They get to be about 40 m tall here - a sapling in the Pacific Northwest, but impressive in a place that gets about 90 cm of rain a year, rather than a month. They have a lovely peeling bark, enormous leaves, and twigs that actually look attractive in winter, unlike most deciduous trees. They also tend to hollow out as they age, providing lots of places for wildlife to hang out. I've seen sycamores with holes small enough for wrens and big enough for black bears.


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## Mephistopheles (Sep 3, 2012)

Damn it, I can picture what my favourite looks like but I have no idea what it's called.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Im very fond of African Acacias (although officially they are no longer called Acacias).

They show an amazing variety of defensive mechanisms, but the one thing they have in common are true thorns.

But the real winner is the bizarre Welwitschia found only in the Namib desert:










They live for up to a thousand years.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

We have some lovely colourful endemic trees here.

Kowhai:










Pohutukawa - flowers rather aptly at Christmas


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

When I get to a proper computer with an actual left click feature(haven't figured out how to work the "image adress" feature without left clicking), I will post pictures. More pictures. I love trees.


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## Ramako (Apr 28, 2012)

I love so many of them. They are wonderful things, so inspiring...


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

My favorite tree: ash
Note the lovely ridged bark.








They turn an unusual bronze colour in the autumn. Some are also yellow.








Unfortunately, the ash trees in my area are ALL dying because of a invasive beetle called the emerald ash borer. As you drive along roads and highways, you can easily spot the skeletons of dead ash trees and sad strugglers with just a few leaves left. Without expensive insecticidal protection, all the ash trees will be gone in a few years. I have seen estimates that ash comprises up to 30% of our native tree cover.








They die from the top down.

On a happier note, I also like a tree called the redbud. This smaller tree (approx 9 meters max) is seen everywhere in the spring and it is quite attractive. It has heart-shaped leaves and grows readily from seed.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Mine's the Lebanese cedar - when viewed from a distance I like the funky horizontal-like pattern the clumps of needles make.

Sadly missed - the English elm. There used to be hundreds near us in the 70s and I had to ask my mum why they all ended up having crosses painted on the trunks.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Maples of several species; shade and syrup. White ash; axe and maul handles. Beech; mast. Lilac; spring perfume. Apple; apples.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

When I moved from Iowa to Washington at age 8, one of the few pleasures I got from moving from my beloved home and social climate in Des Moines was bragging to the kids about how big and ancient the trees were when I vacationed back in Des Moines.


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

Apple, plum, pear, mulberry, cherry.... 

Of non-fruiting types, probably Red Alder or Western Red Ceder.


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## Mephistopheles (Sep 3, 2012)

Yay, I just remembered - it's the Bristlecone Pine. Say hello to Middle Earth.










There is a specimen in California called Methuselah which is the oldest non-clonal organism on earth at over 4800 years old.


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

Mephistopheles said:


> Yay, I just remembered - it's the Bristlecone Pine. Say hello to Middle Earth.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh, right! I forgot about those. I have a piece of one (it was already dead and on the ground).


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I like the one from Stanford.


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

Any conifer is my favorite, really. Love the _wssshhhh_ing sound they make in the wind. So peaceful.


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## TrazomGangflow (Sep 9, 2011)

Sycamore, Aspen, and Willow are my favorite.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I love trees. Unfortunately I am terrible at remembering the different names/species of trees, so yeah - I love trees. 

edit - I remembered the name of a type of tree I really like - the Redwood, those huge trees in California.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Absolutely Douglas Firs and Ponderosa Pines. My parents have retired to a cabin in Washington on Highway 410 and they are surrounded by them. Spectacular trees.


For least favorite, it is the cottonwood. Lots of cottonwoods here in Albuquerque and when they all shed their cotton, it is a fairly miserable time. Big mess.


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## Mephistopheles (Sep 3, 2012)

EricABQ said:


> Absolutely Douglas Firs and Ponderosa Pines. My parents have retired to a cabin in Washington on Highway 410 and they are surrounded by them. Spectacular trees.
> 
> For least favorite, it is the cottonwood. Lots of cottonwoods here in Albuquerque and when they all shed their cotton, it is a fairly miserable time. Big mess.


Although the black cottonwood looks very interesting as it potentially demonstrates a capability for genetic variation within a single organism.


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