Treemendous Tree Hunt

Treemendous Tree Hunt
Montgomery Hall Park, Staunton VA
#1 Ginkgo
The bark is gray in color and becomes broken by deep furrows on
older trunks.
Bark Rubbing
Fossil records show this tree species to be nearly 270 million
years old, making it the oldest known species on earth. That
means these trees were around when the dinosaurs roamed
the earth. Look for it by the purple dinosaur. How old do you
think this tree is?
#2 White Oak
The bark of the white oak is light gray and fissured into scaly
ridges
Bark Rubbing
The acorns from this tree are valuable wildlife food, notably for turkeys,
wood ducks, pheasants, grackles, jays, nuthatches, thrushes, rabbits,
woodpeckers, squirrels, and deer. These trees can live to over 200 years
old and do not produce large crops of acorns until its 50th year. Because
of the younger age of this particular tree it is not a big acorn producer.
How old do you think this tree is?
#3 Fraser Fir
Find a pine cone. Crush the needles in your hand to get the best
scent. What do the needles smell like to you?
Bark Rubbing
This species of fir is native to the Appalachian Mountains of the
Southeastern United States.
Fraser fir has been used more times as the
White House Christmas tree than any other tree
#4 Buckeye
The leaves are palmately compound with five (rarely seven)
leaflets, 8–16 cm long and broad. The flowers are produced
in panicles in spring, yellow to yellow-green.
Bark Rubbing
The Ohio buckeye is the state tree of Ohio, and its name is an
original term of endearment for the pioneers on the Ohio frontier.
Native Americans would blanch buckeye nuts, extracting the tannic
acid for use in making leather. What clothing items do you have that might
be made of leather? (Hint- you wear them on your feet)
#5 Catalpa
Sometimes known as the “bait” tree or “cigar” tree. The Catalpa
grows 39–59 ft. tall. It has long fruits, which resemble a slender
bean pod; these turn dark-brown and drop in late summer. The
dark brown bean pod resembles a cigar. This tree is the sole
source of food for the catalpa sphinx the leaves being eaten
by the caterpillars. These caterpillars are excellent live bait for
fishing.
Large, heart-shaped to three-lobed leaves. Due to their large
leaf size, catalpas are a popular habitat for many birds.
If you can reach a leaf, touch one & rub it, what does it feel
like?
#6 Tulip Poplar
See if you can find a flower (June) or look for a seed pod from
the spent flowers.
Bark Rubbing
The Tulip Poplar is one of the largest of the native trees of the eastern
United States. The external resemblance of its flowers to tulips named
it the Tulip-tree and the soft, fine-grained wood of tulip trees is known
as "poplar". The wood of this tree is used for furniture stock, veneer and
pulpwood.The wood is also used in a special product on the playground,
what do you think it is and what is it used for?
#7 European Larch
If you can reach- touch the leaves and find a cone
Bark Rubbing
The needles on this tree actually aren’t needles at all, they are leaves;
light green, 2–4 cm long which turn yellow before they fall in the autumn,
leaving the pale yellow-buff shoots bare until the next spring.
This tree is also called a deciduous conifer. What makes a conifer
different from a fruit bearing tree?
Thank you for participating in our Treemendous Tree Hunt with the
Montgomery Hall Park trees. Please show us your tree guide with the bark
rubbings for a prize.
Additional Activity:
Collect a leaf or draw a leaf from your favorite tree around the playground.
(This can be any tree)
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