Velvet Mesquite is a perennial, deciduous, thorny tree that grows to 25 by 25 feet. Pollinators are attracted to its yellow catkins in spring and summer, while livestock enjoy its sugar-rich seed pods. This plant provides good nesting habitat for birds; it is low maintenance, requiring little water and highly tolerating drought.
Also known as Algarroba, this perennial, thorny shrub with thick, brown or blackish bark can grow up to 40 feet tall. It has compound leaves and produces greenish-yellow, sweet-scented, spike-like flowers. This plant grows well in full sun and in a variety of soils including sandy, rocky, and saline soils, and its roots are able to reach deeply into the ground in search for water.
This small to medium-sized, deciduous, perennial tree also goes by the names Trembling Poplar, Alamo Blanco, and Golden, Trembling, or Mountain Aspen. It can reach 30 to 50 feet in height, with smooth, white bark. The tree grows silvery catkins before the leaves appear, and the foliage turns a bright yellow in the fall. It grows in full sun to shade, and is common along streams and wetlands, or on cool slopes with moist soils.
Also known as Western Swordfern and Pineland Swordfern, this perennial, evergreen fern has glossy, leathery, toothed foliage. Many long fronds form in clumps and grow up to 4 feet long in cool, shady sites. It is deer resistant and tolerates drought, but grows best in moist soils.
Virginia Pine, otherwise known as Jersey or Scrub Pine, is a medium size evergreen tree that grows 15 to 40 feet tall. It grows from a single, round trunk and has an irregular crown of long, spreading, ascending to descending branches. The young bark is smooth, aging to thick, shaggy, and gray-brown. This tree can grow in poor, well-drained soils, and requires full sun.
Also called Weymouth Pine, this large, perennial evergreen grows to 120 feet tall. The crown is full and spreading, and the trunk is generally branchless for over half its height. The trunk bark on young trees is thin, smooth, and gray-green in color, later becoming thick, red-brown to gray-brown with prominent broad ridges and furrows. It grows in full sun to shade, in dry to moist, well-drained soils.
Otherwise known as Torch Pine, this evergreen tree grows 40 to 70 feet tall. It has an irregular form with twisting, gnarled, drooping branches, and scaly, reddish-brown bark which eventually becomes black. Its cones occur in whorls of 3 to 5, while its needles occur in clusters of three, later turning dark-green. Pitch Pine is a hardy tree, resisting injury and fire, and growing in dry, rocky or sandy soils that other trees normally would not tolerate.
Ponderosa Pine or Western Yellow Pine is a large, evergreen tree the reaches a height of up to 150 feet with an open, rounded crown and spreading branches. The bark of old trees is thick and furrowed with scales that resemble puzzle pieces. The most common pine in North America, this tree is drought resistant, growing in full sun to shade, and in dry to moist, sandy, gravelly, or clay soils. A wide of variety of wildlife eat its seeds, including ground birds and small mammals.
Short-Leaf Pine, also called Southern Yellow, Arkansas, Longtag, or Spruce Pine, is a perennial, evergreen tree with needle-like leaves that occur in bundles of two or three. Its cones are up to 3 inches long, with thin scales and a short prickle. This pine can grow 50 to 100 feet tall and is attractive to birds and small mammals for its seeds, nesting sites, and cover. It does best in partial shade and dry, sandy soils.
Lodgepole Pine or Beach Pine can reach heights of up to 150 feet tall, with lower branches that are often descending while the upper branches are spreading or ascending. Its bark is red-brown and scaly, and its needles yellow-green to dark green. This tree grows in full sun and in dry, rocky soils, and though not especially drought tolerant, Lodgepole Pine can withstand salt spray and strong winds.
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