Common name | Variants | CaCO2 tolerance | Scientific Name | Comment
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American Holly | American Holly, Possum Haw | Low | Ilex opaca | cabinetry? Berries are consumed by white-tail deer and 18 species of birds. The dense foliage also provides cover and nesting habitat for various songbirds. Rarely a very large tree in modern times, but trees up to 100ft have been recorded.
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Basswood | Lyn, Linn, Linden, Lynn | Low | Tilia americana | Wood is soft, easily carved, but shrinks considerably when dried; poor durability.
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Black Oak | | Low | Quercus velutina. | Bark used for tanning hides
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Cane | Giant Cane, Southern cane, Switch cane | Low | Arundinaria gigantea | A native bamboo, grows up to thirty feet, once formed nearly impenetrable thickets in Southwest Virginia valleys
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Eastern Hophornbeam | Ironwood (many spp called this) | Medium | Ostrya virginiana | "Wood tough, close-grained, unsplitable. One of the strongest,
heaviest, and hardest of timbers. A cubic foot weighs over
51 lbs. Used for fence posts; also used where strength is required, as for use in making levers, hence the common name of ""Leverwo"
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Paw Paw | Pappaw | Medium | Asimina triloba | edible fruit, used by early settlers to make bread and puddings.
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Sourwood | | None | Oxydendrum arboreum. | Wood was used for tool handles, sled runners; The leaves are said to have medicinal qualities . The Flowers are attractive to bees, makes good honey
|
Sassafras | | High | Sassafras albidum. | Soft wood; bark, twigs, and roots used as a tea, medicinal; bark used to make an orange dye; bark also used as a cooking herb (as in "File Gumbo", though that’s a Lousiana usage
|
Black Cherry | | High | Prunus serotina | fine furniture, cabinets. Edible fruit, preserves and wine
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Black Walnut | | High | Juglans nigra. |
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Dogwood | Flowering Dogwood | Low | Cornus florida |
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Red Mulberry | | Medium | Morus rubra | The wood is used in fencing & boatbuilding. The fruit is used for hog and poultry feed.
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Eastern Redcedar | | High | Juniperus virginiana. | Used for fence posts, etc
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Crab Apple | Southern Crab Apple, Sweet Crab Apple | X | Malus spp |
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Common Chokecherry | | High | Prunus virginiana. |
|
Red Maple | | High | Acer rubrum |
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Common Service Berry | Serviceberry, Sarvis berry, Downy Serviceberry | None | Amelanchier arborea; | many species of Amelanchier called "Service Berry"
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Black Locust | | High | Robinia pseudoacacia. | A very durable wood. Often used as the base or lowest logs in log cabins.
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Tuliptree | Yellow-poplar, Tulip Poplar, Poplar | Low | Liriodendron tulipifera |
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Black Gum | Black Tupelo, BeeGum | None | Nyssa sylvatica | The wood is hard, cross-grained, and difficult to split, especially after drying. It is used for pallets, rough floors, pulpwood and firewood. Limbs and trunk off ten develop cavities, used for nesting sites for squirrels and others. Pioneer settlers use
|
White Ash | | Medium | Fraxinus americana | The wood is white, strong, and straight-grained. It is the timber of choice for production of baseball bats and tool handles. The wood is also favorable for furniture and flooring. [Wikipedia]
|
Mountain Laurel | | None | Kalmia latifolia. | Grows in dense thickets, over large areas. Some areas overgrown with laurel are referred to as "hells". Native Americans said to have used its leaves to make linament. Wood used to make spoons, (hence "Spoonwood") and other household utensils. Mostly
|
Allegheny Serviceberry | | Medium | Amelanchier laevis |
|
Shagbark Hickory | | Medium | Carya ovata |
|
Shortleaf Pine, | | Low | Pinus spp | Early settlers used the resin for pitch and tar.
|
American Beech | | Low | Fagus grandifolia |
|
American Chestnut | | None | Castanea dentata |
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American Elm | | Medium | Ulmus americana | Dutch elm disease
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American hornbeam | | Low | Carpinus caroliniana | wood is used for levers and tool handles.
|
American Sycamore | | None | Platanus occidentalis. |
|
Bitternut Hickory | | High | Carya cordiformis. | Early settlers used the wood for running gear on wagons. The Hickory has been heavily harvested for tool handles many years ago
|
Black Haw | Stage Bush, | High | Viburnum prunifolium |
|
Black Jack Oak | Black Jack | Low | Quercus marilandica. | The wood is very dense, and quickly takes the edge off tools. Burns with a very hot flame and makes a good heat source for wood-burning stoves; not desirable in wood fireplaces because the heat causes "popping", increasing the risk of external fires. [
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Blue Ash | | X | Fraxinus quadrangulata. |
|
Box Elder | Ashleaf Maple | High | Acer negundo | Sap can be used to make maple sugar, though the sap is not as rich as that from sugar maple.
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Butternut | White Walnut | None | Juglans cinerea. |
|
Chestnut Oak | | Medium | Quercus prinus. | Used for baskets and chair bottoms. Also used for tannin, furniture, and railroad ties.
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Chinquapin Oak | Yellow Oak | High | Quercus muehlenbergii |
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Common Persimmon | | None | Diospyros virginiana. | Edible fruit. During the Civil War Southerners used roasted persimmon seeds as a coffee substitute.
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Cucumber Tree | | Low | Magnolia acuminata. |
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Eastern Cottonwood | Cotton Tree | Low | Populus deltoides. |
|
Eastern Redbud | | Low | Cercis canadensis. |
|
Fraser fir | | Low | Abies fraseri | Restricted to upper elevations, eastern edge southwest Virginia (Tazewell and Grayson Counties)
|
Hackberry | | Medium | Celtis occiddentalis. |
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Haw Bush | Possumhaw Virburnum | X | Viburnum nudum |
|
Honey Locust | | Medium | Gleditsia triacanthos. | Honey-locust wood is dense, hard, coarse-grained, strong, stiff, shock-resistant, takes a high polish, and is durable in contact with soil. It has been used locally for pallets, crates, general construction, furniture, interior finish, turnery, firewood,
|
Mockernut hickory | | High | Carya alba C. tomentosa |
|
Osage Orange | | High | Maclura pomifera |
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Pignut Hickory | | High | Carya glabra |
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Pitch Pine, | | Low | |
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Post Oak | | Medium | Quercus stellata. | Used for wagon hubs and fence posts.
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Red Oak | Northern Red Oak, Spanish Oak | Low | Quercus rubra |
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Red spruce | | Low | Picea rubens |
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River Birch | | None | Betula nigra |
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Shellbark Hickory | | High | Carya laciniosa |
|
Silver Maple | | Medium | Acer saccharinum | Fast growing species; weak wood
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Slippery Elm | Red Elm | Low | Ulmus rubra | Bark contains mucilage, when gound into a powder it can be made into a tea. "said to soothe the digestive tract" [Wikipedia]
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Southern Red Oak | | Medium | Quercus falcata. |
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Spanish Oak | Scarlet Oak | Low | Quercus coccinea |
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Sugar Maple; | Shugar Tree | Medium | Acer saccharum | High sugar content sap, used for making maple syrup and maple sugar
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Sweet Gum | | Low | Liquidambar styraciflua. |
|
Virginia Pine, | | Low | |
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White Oak | White Oak | Medium | Quercus alba | Used for furniture, shingles and lumber. Its acorns were/are a principle component in many areas of the mast crop, and valuable for wildlife, pioneers and Indians for food.
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Wild Plum | American Plum | High | Prunus americana. | Edible fruit, bark used in native american herbal medicine for astringent properties
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Yellow Buckeye | | Medium | Aesculus flava | |