#build5

Needle Juniper

Juniperus rigida

Family: Cupressaceae Native Range: Japan, Korea, northern China Zone: 6 to 7 Height: 15-25 feet Spread: 10-20 feet Bloom Time: Non-flowering Bloom Description: Non-flowering Sun: Full sun Water: Dry to medium Maintenance: Low

BUILD/BEAUTY

This tree is located in the Arnold Arboretum in the evergreen section. One thing I found online is that this exact tree has a bonsai version, which is the same tree except scaled down to merely a foot tall in some cases. I enjoy the form of this tree, and its needles as well. The needles are spaced far apart, giving the fronds a unique airy look. The needles are arranges in 360 degrees around the twig, and continue all the way up and down the frond. This tree is exceptionally old, being planted in 1892, and still cooking. I will award this tree a 3 out of 4 for its needles, and a 2 out of 3 for its landscape uniqueness. The bark like many other junipers is a smooth and veined, similar to a bald cypress of metasequoia. I will award a 2 out of 3 for its bark, resulting in a respectable 7 out of 10 for its beauty score. 

Bark: (1-3) 2

Leaves: (1-4) 3

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 2

Total: 7

This tree has great rot resistant wood, but it is a slow growing plant, and takes ages to gain a height of that seen in the example above. For the most part, people use this tree as a decorative bonsai tree, but its lumber uses include carvings, turned objects, as well as moisture resistant building items such as fence or sign posts, anything that will be in the ground, sopping up water. since there isn’t a plethora of information about this tree’s specific wood qualities, I will only award this tree a 5 out of 10 for buildability, when I know this wood is good in large sections, rather than just as small ornamental garden trees.

Source:

1. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=279596&isprofile=0&

2. https://conifersociety.org/conifers/juniperus-rigida/

Tree of Heaven

Ailanthus altissima

Type: Tree Family: Simaroubaceae Native Range: Northern China Zone: 4 to 8 Height: 40-80 feet Spread: 30-60 feet Bloom Time: June Bloom Description: Greenish Sun: Full sun to part shade Water: Dry to medium Maintenance: High

BUILD/BEAUTY

This tree is an invasive tree that can be seen almost anywhere. It can even thrive in a crack in the pavement. Sometimes called the ‘ghetto palm’ for this reason, often growing in neglected parts of town. The bark of this tree is smooth, and a nondescript gray with plenty of little lenticels dotting its skin, looking pock marked. The bark gets a 1 out of the possible 3. The leaves are a compound leaf, almost looking fern like, or that of a honey locust, except more broad. The Leaves get a 2 out of 4, as they don’t look half bad. The landscape uniqueness is a high scorer too, with a 3 out of the possible 4. I know its invasive and frowned upon, but I enjoy the shape and form of this tree, even without its leaves. It earns a spot of 6 out of 10 for beauty. 

Bark: (1-3) 1

Leaves: (1-4) 2

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 3

Total: 6

The wood of this tree is surprisingly quite hard, at 1,420lbs of force for its janka hardness rating. The wood of the tree of heaven is easy to work with, despite its trunks never getting to a size that might be useful for a building material. Some of the uses for this tree include cabinetry, paper, and turned objects. The tree has not been used for construction framing uses, but has considerable hardness, gaining a score of 5 out of 10 for buildability. 

Source:

1. https://www.wood-database.com/ailanthus/

2. https://extension.psu.edu/tree-of-heaven

Sweet Gum

Liquidambar styraciflua

Family (Botanic): Hamamelidaceae Planting Site: Residential and parks Tree or Plant Type: Tree Foliage: Deciduous  Native Locale: Illinois, North America Landscape Uses: Shade tree, Specimen Size Range: Large tree  Mature Height: 60-75 feet Mature Width: 40-75 feet Light Exposure: Full sun  Hardiness Zones: Zone 5-9 Soil Preference: Acid soil, Moist, well-drained soil, Wet soil

BEAUTY/BUILD

This sweet gum tree is located in the Arnold Arboretum, and its a beautiful, albeit late season example, of a sweet gum tree. There are a few unique characteristics of this tree, firstly being its spiked fruiting bodies. These resemble cherries from hell, but its how this tree lets out its seed, they act as the seed pod. I would avoid planting this anywhere there is heavy foot traffic as these fruiting bodies are everywhere. Although this particular example is out of leaves, they have a lovely star shaped leaf, that changes great colors in the fall. Clearly I had just missed it. There is nothing striking about the bark, as it gets a 1 out of 3, but it seemed to be a good home for moss. The leaves (and fruiting bodies) get a 4 out of 4, due to their uniqueness. For landscape placement, I will award a 2 out of 3, due to its uncommon nature, and uniqueness. The total score is a 7 out of 10 for beauty.

Bark: (1-3) 1

Leaves: (1-4) 4

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 2

Total: 7

Sweet gum is a relatively hard wood, scoring an 850lb janka hardness. The wood is easily workable when fresh, but can warp pretty good when drying out. The heartwood is more good looking than the sapwood, so its more expensive, as the sapwood is much larger in this type of tree. This means that the tree has to be much older in order to get a good yield on the inner pretty sapwood. The MOE of this trees wood is 1,640,000 lbf/in2, which is an OK score, not the best not the worst. The uses of this tree include veneer, plywood, furniture (speaker/acoustic cabinets), interior trim, boxes and turned objects. The sweet gum tree scores a 5 out of 10 for buildability, because it is not used in commercial applications for building.

Source:

1. https://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?ItemID=928

2. https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/sweet-gum

Downy Birch

Betula pubescens ssp. tortuosa

Type: Deciduous Native Range: Sweden Zone: 5 to 7 Height: 30.00 to 60.00 feet Spread: 20.00 to 40.00 feet Bloom Time: none Bloom Description: none Sun: Full sun/partial when young ok Water: medium Maintenance: Low Leaf: Deciduous

BUILD/BEAUTY

I thought that this tree originally was just one of the normal white birch that you would commonly find in the woods of New England, but it had to be some obscure Swedish variant of course. The bark, like most, scored highly a 3 out of 3 and the leaves were low scoring at 1 out of 4. I find birch leaves quite unexciting, although in the fall they do look great when they turn that distinctive yellow. The landscape uniqueness was on the higher end due to its papery bark, making it a 2 out of 3 for a total score of 6 for beauty

Bark: (1-3) 3

Leaves: (1-4) 1

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 2

The good news is that my primary database did test the downy birch, which is what this tree is, but it is ssp. tortuosa, making it somewhat different but I will analyze the downy birch anyways. Like most birch, this tree is good at being plywood, so it does have some building qualities. Some other uses include boxes, crates, turned objects, interior trim, and other small specialty wood items. I will award this tree a 5 out of 10, as it is a relatively strong wood with great properties but still, isn’t used enough in structural means to score higher.The MOE of this wood is 1,745,000 lbf/in2, which is not bad for a birch derivative.

Source:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17210030

2. https://selectree.calpoly.edu/tree-detail/betula-pubescens

Narrow Scale Dragon Spruce

Picea asperata var. notabilis

Type: Needled evergreen Family: Pinaceae Native Range: Asia Zone: 5-7 Height: 40.00 to 60.00 feet Spread: 15.00 to 25.00 feet Bloom Time: Non-flowering Bloom Description: Non-flowering Sun: Full sun Water: Medium Maintenance: Medium

This specific dragon spruce is called the narrow scaled dragon spruce, because of its pine cones, that form a delicate gorgeous form that i have not seen on any other conifer. The pine cones are bright green when young, almost looking like the inside of a sunflower, that geometric swirl of its ‘scales’. I will award this tree a 2 out of 4 for its needles are medium length, and 360 degrees around the twig. The bark gets a 2 out of 3, as the scales of the bark are overlaid beautifully in various shades of grey. As for form, this tree looks gaunt and kind of weak, but I personally like the form of this tree, I would like a forest filled with them As it turns out this tree is especially endangered, and does not occur in the wild often if at all. The total score of this tree is a 7 out of 10 for beauty.

Bark: (1-3) 2

Leaves: (1-4) 2

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 3

Total: 7

This tree cultivar has almost no information about it, but the main plant the dragon spruce has plenty of info about its wood. its main uses include construction wooden members, railway sleepers, furniture, and wood fiber. The trunk is used for producing resin, and the roots, branches, and leaves for producing aromatic oils, for perfumes and colognes. This tree i will award a 5 out of 10, as it is a hard wood that has some uses in native China, but not much here. I couldn’t find much info about this cultivar’s uses.

Source: 

1. https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/12929/i-Picea-asperata-i-var-i-notabilis-i/Details

2. https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/image-search/?keyword=Narrowscale+Dragon+Spruce

3. https://books.google.com/books?id=szv6CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA254&lpg=PA254&dq=picea+asperata+var.+notabilis&source=bl&ots=ct9koNLgkE&sig=ACfU3U2ZtG5oGGiK3o-hmMImCA-eQk6rrQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiG2r2C75XmAhVsqlkKHRrxDAY4ChDoATABegQIBxAB#v=onepage&q=picea%20asperata%20var.%20notabilis&f=false

European Alder

Alnus glutinosa

Family (Botanic): Betulaceae Tree or Plant Type: Tree Foliage: Deciduous  Native Locale: Non-native Size Range: Large tree  Mature Height: 40-60 feet Mature Width: 20-40 feet Light Exposure: Full/partial sun Hardiness Zones: Zone 4-7 Soil Preference: Wet soil

BUILD/BEAUTY

This European Alder is located near the bald cypress I logged before, off the Maple trail. The tree sure does like its feet wet, as its in the same swamp that the cypress was. The bark is plated heavily, looking like an armored pine rather than a typical birch. The bark earns a 2 out of 3 score, for its color and form. The leaves like most alders have deeply set veins, and are a nice deep green, earning a 2 out of 4. This tree’s uniqueness in its landscape is defined by its form, which branch structure mostly resembles a pine rather than a deciduous tree. The branches come almost straight out, making a great climbing tree. The landscape uniqueness is a 2 out of 3, for a combined score of 6 out of 10

Bark: (1-3) 2

Leaves: (1-4) 2

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 2

Total: 6

The European alder isn’t the hardest wood around, at 650lbs on the Janka hardness scale. It is easily workable, and will hold nails well, but you have to be careful not to dent it, as it can easily be dented if dropped or mishandled. The wood is commonly used for veneer, plywood, charcoal for gunpowder, clogs, piles/supports, and other lathable items. The MOE of this tree’s wood is 1,303,000 lbf/in2 , not a bad score. This tree will get a 5 out of 10 for a building score, as it does have some building uses, although the wood is rather soft and doesn’t resist moisture well, its susceptible to expansion and contraction from moisture.

Source:

1. https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/european-black-alder-not-recommended

2. https://www.wood-database.com/european-alder/

River Birch cultivar. (located at Northeastern University)

Betula nigra

(Since the actual cultivar is unknown, I will be documenting actual river birch instead)

Family: Betulaceae Tree or Plant Type: Tree Foliage: Deciduous  Native Locale:  Size Range: large tree Mature Height: 40-70 feet Mature Width: 40-60 feet Light Exposure: Full sun Hardiness Zones: Zone 4-7

BUILD/BEAUTY

The River birch is a tree that was not sought after when settlers came looking for wood to sell, they thought it to be too knotty and spindly to be viable, so were left to grow high in the river valleys where they had erosion control. The most recognizable feature of almost any Birch tree is its flaky peeled bark. This specimen above is from Northeastern University, near the Veterans memorial and Egan Research center. The bark gets a 3 out of 3 for its beautiful flaky appearance, and the leaves get a 1 out of 4 due to them being not very exciting. They turn a nice yellow in the fall months, but besides that, they are a simple basic leaf. The landscape uniqueness is up there with a 3 out of 3 due to its different appearance of the bark, as well as the color. This gives this tree a 7 out of 10 on the beauty scale, and I believe this to be my favorite type of birch that I have classified.

Bark: (1-3) 3

Leaves: (1-4) 1

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 3

Total: 7

The river birch’s wood is similar to that of other birches that are local in the area. The janka hardness scale is right at 970lbs of force, making it not exactly the hardest wood in the area, but right in the middle of the pack. This wood was not sought after by settlers, as they found them to be to small and scruffy to make useful wood. The wood was used in ox bows, turned objects, veneer, and cabinets. The wood print is often copied in fake vinyl veneer, as its a popular choice for many. The wood is also used in plywood, and boxes, which can have some usefulness in building, so this tree will get a 5 out of 10 on the buildability score.

Source: 

1. https://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?itemID=792

2. https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/354/river-birch/

Tulip Tree

Botanical name: Liriodendron tulipifera All Common Names: tuliptree, tulip poplar, yellow poplar, tulip-poplar, tulip tree Family (English): Magnolia Family (Botanic): Magnoliaceae Planting Site: Residential and parks, City parkway, Wide median Tree or Plant Type: Tree Foliage: Deciduous (seasonally loses leaves) Native Locale: Chicago area, Illinois, North America Landscape Uses: Parkway/street, Shade tree, Specimen Size Range: Large tree (more than 40 feet) Mature Height: 70-90 feet Mature Width: 35-50 feet Light Exposure: Full/partial dun Hardiness Zones: Zone 5-9

BEAUTY/BUILD:

The tulip tree in my opinion is an aesthetically pleasing tree. The leaf shape as well as the overall composition of the tree is pleasing to the eye, with the broad thick leaves creating a nice shading pattern (see first picture). The bark is pretty typical, not too deeply scaled bark patterns and a normal color although this specimen observed at NEU collected lichens on its NW side. The tree does get a nice fall yellow, as well as in the spring makes truly unique and beautiful flowers as seen below: They resemble tulips to some extent.

I will award this tree a 7 out of 10 for beauty, as the plant has some great spring/fall qualities, while maintaining a lovely mid season form as well.

Bark: (1-3) 1

Leaves: (1-4) 4

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 2

Total: 7

For building quality, this particular poplar is used quite often, although not for building. This tree is cultivated for its wood, and it is mildly soft, with good straight grain. Its common uses include pallets, crates, upholstered  furniture frames, paper (pulpwood), and plywood. Here is a look at the wood:

(Photo Source: https://www.wood-database.com/poplar/)

I will award this tree only a 5 out of 10, as it has some uses, but still isn’t a viable building material. It does have some uses as plywood, so it can contribute to the building process, gaining some traction for points there as well

Source:

https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/tuliptree

https://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/treedetail.cfm?itemID=930