Rarest Native Trees of Georgia
Dr. Kim D. Coder, Professor of Tree Biology & Health Care, Warnell School, UGA
Georgia has an abundance of trees -- a number are wetland trees, and a number grow in upland areas. The diversity of tree species in their highly varied habitats, is immence across Georgia. Among Georgian trees are a few species of great rarity. These rare native trees are hidden ecological treasures. Rare trees are difficult to find in the field and have small populations. The federal and state government lists a number of these rare trees as endangered, threatened, or rare. Below is a table showing the distribution of rarity values among Georgia’s se- lected rare trees. The species list which follows gives the rarest native trees in Georgia, listed by scientific name, common name, and relative rarity value of 1-6, with 1 being the rarest. Figure 1 provides a county distribution map for species (other than Crataegus) with rarity values 1, 2, and 3. Figure 2 shows the total number of the rarest tree species found in various Georgia regions. A roadtrip to find all these tree species would be a wonderful tree adventure!
Rarity Value Number Of Species Of Species
least 67 rare 5 9 4 8
38
most 2 5 rare 1 4 relative # scientific name common name rarity value
1 Acacia farnesiana sweet acacia 5 2 Acer spicatum mountain maple 6 3 Aesculus glabra Ohio buckeye 6 4 Aesculus parviflora bottlebrush buckeye 4 5 Alnus maritima Georgia alder 3 var. georgiensis
6 Carya laciniosa shellbark hickory 6 7 Carya myristiciformis nutmeg hickory 3* 8 Chamaecyparis thyoides Atlantic white-cedar 3* 9 Cotinus obovatus American smoketree 3 10 Crataegus pulcherrima beautiful hawthorn 3 11 Crataegus triflora three-flower hawthorn 2*
12 Elliottia racemosa Georgia plume 2*
13 Franklinia alatamaha Franklin tree 1X 14 Fraxinus quadrangulata blue ash 4
15 Ilex amelanchier serviceberry holly 5 16 Illicium floridanum Florida anise-tree 3* 17 Illicium parviflorum yellow anise-tree 5
18 Juglans cinerea butternut 4
19 Leitneria floridana corkwood 2*
20 Magnolia pyramidata pyramid magnolia 5 21 Morella inodora odorless bayberry 3*
22 Prunus mexicana Mexican plum 5 23 Prunus pensylvanica fire cherry 6
24 Quercus arkansana Arkansas oak 5 25 Quercus austrina bluff oak 4 26 Quercus chapmanii Chapman oak 6 27 Quercus imbricaria shingle oak 5
Dr. Kim D. Coder Warnell School University of Georgia State Arboretum of Georgia 2 relative # scientific name common name rarity value
28 Quercus oglethorpensis Oglethorpe oak 2* 29 Quercus prinoides dwarf chinkapin oak 6 30 Quercus similis swamp post oak 4 31 Quercus sinuata bastard (Durand) oak 4
32 Salix floridana Florida willow 1* 33 Sambucus simpsonii Southern elderberry 6 34 Sapindus marginatus wingleaf soapberry 4* 35 Sideroxylon alachuense silver bumelia 2 36 Sideroxylon thornei swamp bumelia 3*
37 Sorbus americana American mountain-ash 5
38 Torreya taxifolia Florida torreya 1** 39 Tsuga caroliniana Carolina hemlock 1*
40 Ulmus serotina September elm 4
41 Zanthoxylum americanum Northern prickly-ash 5
symbol key: * = State of Georgia listed species; ** = federally listed species; X = extinct.
Dr. Kim D. Coder Warnell School University of Georgia State Arboretum of Georgia 3 DADE CATOOSA FANNIN TOWNS 9 RABUN 9 MURRAY UNION WALKER WHITFIELD 39 GILMER WHITE 39 CHATTOOGA LUMPKIN 39 GORDON 39 STEPHENS 7 PICKENS 39 HABERSHAM DAWSON FRANKLIN HALL BANKS HART FLOYD CHEROKEE GEORGIA BARTOW 7 5 FORSYTH JACKSON MADISON ELBERT POLK 28 BARROW 28 COBB GWINNETT CLARKE OGLETHORPE PAULDING OCONEE HARALSON 28 WALTON DEKALB WILKES LINCOLN DOUGLAS FULTON 28 CARROLL ROCKDALE MORGAN GREENE NEWTON 28 COLUMBIA CLAYTON HENRY TALIAFERRO 12
COWETA WARREN McDUFFIE 12 FAYETTE HEARD JASPER PUTNAM RICHMOND BUTTS SPALDING 28 28 HANCOCK GLASCOCK PIKE JEFFERSON TROUP BALDWIN BURKE LAMAR MONROE JONES 12 MERIWETHER WASHINGTON UPSON
BIBB WILKINSON JENKINS HARRIS 12 TALBOT CRAWFORD JOHNSON SCREVEN 8 TWIGGS EMANUEL MUSCOGEE TAYLOR PEACH 8 LAURENS HOUSTON CHATTA- BLECKLEY TREUTLEN 12 BULLOCH HOOCHEE MARION MACON CANDLER EFFINGHAM 12 8 32 SCHLEY PULASKI DOOLY DODGE EVANS STEWART WHEELER TOOMBS SUMTER 36 BRYAN 35 CHATHAM WEBSTER WILCOX MONTGOMERY TATTNALL CRISP TELFAIR 12 LIBERTY QUITMAN TERRELL 12 LEE JEFF RANDOLPH BEN HILL DAVIS APPLING 12 35 TURNER 12 LONG 12 CLAY IRWIN CALHOUN DOUGHERTY WAYNE 35 WORTH COFFEE BACON 19 19 McINTOSH 36 TIFT 12 EARLY BAKER19 13 PIERCE BERRIEN 32 36 ATKINSON MITCHELL 36 21 GLYNN MILLER COLQUITT BRANTLEY COOK WARE 21 21
16 LANIER DECATUR CLINCH GRADY THOMAS LOWNDES CHARLTON CAMDEN BROOKS SEMINOLE 21 38 21 ECHOLS
Background map from Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia.
Figure 1: General county distribution of Georgia’s rarest trees with rarity values of 1, 2, or 3. Numbers from rare species list.
Dr. Kim D. Coder Warnell School University of Georgia State Arboretum of Georgia 4 DADE CATOOSA FANNIN TOWNS RABUN MURRAY UNION WALKER WHITFIELD GILMER WHITE CHATTOOGA LUMPKIN GORDON STEPHENS PICKENS HABERSHAM 4DAWSON FRANKLIN HALL BANKS HART FLOYD CHEROKEE GEORGIA BARTOW
FORSYTH JACKSON MADISON ELBERT POLK BARROW COBB GWINNETT CLARKE OGLETHORPE PAULDING OCONEE HARALSON WALTON DEKALB WILKES LINCOLN DOUGLAS FULTON
CARROLL ROCKDALE MORGAN GREENE NEWTON COLUMBIA
CLAYTON HENRY TALIAFERRO
COWETA WARREN McDUFFIE 0FAYETTE HEARD JASPER PUTNAM RICHMOND SPALDING BUTTS HANCOCK
GLASCOCK PIKE BALDWIN JEFFERSON BURKE TROUP LAMAR MONROE JONES
MERIWETHER WASHINGTON UPSON
BIBB WILKINSON JENKINS HARRIS 3 TALBOT CRAWFORD JOHNSON SCREVEN TWIGGS EMANUEL MUSCOGEE TAYLOR PEACH
LAURENS HOUSTON CHATTA- BLECKLEY TREUTLEN BULLOCH HOOCHEE MARION MACON CANDLER EFFINGHAM
SCHLEY PULASKI DOOLY DODGE EVANS STEWART WHEELER TOOMBS SUMTER BRYAN CHATHAM WEBSTER WILCOX MONTGOMERY TATTNALL CRISP TELFAIR 6 LIBERTY QUITMAN TERRELL LEE JEFF RANDOLPH BEN HILL DAVIS APPLING TURNER LONG
CLAY IRWIN CALHOUN DOUGHERTY WAYNE WORTH COFFEE BACON McINTOSH TIFT EARLY BAKER PIERCE BERRIEN ATKINSON MITCHELL GLYNN MILLER COLQUITT7 BRANTLEY COOK WARE
LANIER DECATUR CLINCH GRADY THOMAS LOWNDES CHARLTON CAMDEN
SEMINOLE BROOKS
ECHOLS
Background map from Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia.
Figure 2: Number of rarest tree species (rarity value 1, 2, or 3) by areas in Georgia.
Dr. Kim D. Coder Warnell School University of Georgia State Arboretum of Georgia 5 Thompson Mills Forest & State Arboretum of Georgia
Citation: Coder, Kim D. 2018. Rarest native trees of Georgia. Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Thompson Mills Forest & State Arboretum Outreach Product. ARBORETUM-18-08. Pp.6.
ARBORETUM-18-08 July 2018
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