The Native Trees of Newfoundland
Naturally
occurring trees in Newfoundland.
Trees that spread to Newfoundland by natural means following
(or toward the end of) the last glacial period about 12,500 years ago.
The name immediately following the name of each tree
is the person (botanical author) who first described that tree in
botanical literature.
Black
spruce (Picea mariana)
and seed cones (handsaw for scale)
Black spruce (Picea
mariana) is
the provincial tree of Newfoundland and
Labrador. Seed cones are very hard when new, however fire (or high oven
heat) will cause
them to open quickly. Black spruce is not a large tree, but
it is hardy, largely resistant to insects, and it grows on both wet and
dry lands.
Conifers
- cone bearing trees
- oldest fossils about 300 million years old
Balsam
Fir, Abies balsamea (Linnaeus)
Miller, quite common, very susceptible to balsam woolly aphid (Adelges piceae)
insect attack and most
trees
aren't very healthy past 30 years, the wood rots quickly outdoors but
is okay for indoor construction, makes a good fast firewood when dry
however the burning wood produces many sparks which can be troublesome
White
Spruce, Picea glauca
(Moench)
Voss, quite common, Newfoundland's toughest native evergreen
conifer, needles
will roll between fingers (needles of Balsam fir are flat and won't
roll between fingers), White spruce doesn't self-prune well and as a
result its lumber often has many knots
Larch, Tamarack, Larix
laricina
(DuRoi) Karl Koch, quite common and very resistant to adverse weather,
known locally in Newfoundland as juniper,
needs full sunlight to grow well (larch is shade intolerant), 100% of
the
seeds are often attacked and destroyed
in the cones by cone maggots, the wood has a natural resin which acts
as a preservative making larch a good choice for fence posts,
Black
Spruce, Picea mariana (Miller)
Britton, Sterns, and Poggenburg, common, long wood fibres make it a
favourite for paper making, Black spruce is the provincial tree of
Newfoundland and Labrador, needles will roll between fingers (needles
of Balsam fir are flat and won't roll between
fingers),
Red
Pine, Pinus resinosa
(Aiton),
rare, slow growing, confined to fewer than perhaps 20 public and
private stands on the
island of Newfoundland, shoots have 2 needles per bundle, needles will
snap cleanly when bent in two (needles of White pine will not snap
cleanly when bent in two), new shoots are
damaged by hard late spring frost
Image
1 - P88 Red pine in southwestern Newfoundland (August 16,
2009). Note bottle
for scale.
Image
2 - P88 stand of Red pine in southwestern Newfoundland
(September 5, 2009)
White
Pine, Pinus strobus (Linnaeus),
rare, shoots have 5 needles per bundle, susceptible to white
pine
blister rust fungi (Cronartium
ribicola) which uses currants (Ribes sp.) as the
intermediate host
Broadleaves
- flowering trees
- oldest fossils about 120 million years old
- ancestors diverged from the gymnosperms 200-250 millions years ago
White Birch, Betula
papyrifera(Marshall),
quite common, excellent firewood when dry (after 6-9 months),
susceptible to birch case borer which eats leaves, grows in attractive
groves sometimes with 6-8 large trees growing from one stump, generally
will grow again from its stump when cut down
Speckled
Alder, Alnus rugosa
(DuRoi) Sprengel, quite common, fixes atmospheric nitrogen and
hence can quickly colonize poor/marginal sites
Pin
Cherry, Prunus pensylvanica
(Linnaeus), common, excellent firewood with a pleasant
odour, the embers form distinctive patterns in fire, they are
attacked by a fungus (Black knot fungus - Apiosporina
morbosa)
and die relatively
young
Dogberry, Showy Mountain
Ash, Sorbus decora
(Sargent) Schneider, common, the berries are a favourite autumn food
for birds
Black
Ash, Fraxinus nigra (Marshall),
very rare
Yellow
Birch, Betula
alleghaniensis
(Britton),
rare, prefers a northerly facing growing site, the most dense native wood (~705 kg/cubic metre, ~44
lbs/cubic foot) and hence the best firewood in Newfoundland, easily
distinguished from White birch by the wintergreen odour of a cut twig
when brought near the nose, birch bark is somewhat bright shiny
yellowish or 'golden' in colour and naturally peels from the trunk, the
tree trunk often partially covered by green moss
Image
1 - Yellow birch (trunk/bole)
Trembling
Aspen, Populus tremuloides
(Michaux F.), uncommon
Choke
Cherry, Prunus virginiana (Linnaeus),
uncommon, they
are
attacked by a fungus (Black knot fungus - Apiosporina
morbosa)
and die relatively young
Mountain
Maple, Acer spicatum (Lamarck),
uncommon
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Related
Links:
Heating values of common woods of Newfoundland
A country log ditty
Working
list of trees at arboretum and breeding sites
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