20 Different Types of Trees in Louisiana
The state of Louisiana is known for its bayous, networks of slow-moving rivers and swamps. Also, it has plentiful trees, which grow in all kinds of places. Some of these trees are native to the area, while others have been introduced through human activity.
So, what are the best trees in Louisiana? Well, from majestic oaks to towering cypress trees, you’ll be lost for choice when determining which one is the best. Did you know the first Louisiana furnishings came from oak and cypress trees? These two trees have been essential to the Louisiana landscape for centuries.
Let’s look at the different types of trees in Louisiana, including their history and unique features and their role in the state’s ecosystem. Tag along and learn more about what surrounds you.
Categories of Trees
Before exploring the different types of trees in Louisiana, let’s look at the categories of trees you expect. According to research almost 70,000 tree species worldwide, but all fall under two categories: deciduous and coniferous. There are also those which have both coniferous and deciduous characteristics, such as elms.
Deciduous Trees
Deciduous trees, also known as hardwoods, lose their leaves in the fall to prepare for winter and re-sprout new ones in the spring. These trees include oaks, maples, beeches, ashes, elms, and more. The process of shedding and re-growing is called “abscission” or “bud-break,” and it occurs at different times for different species of trees.
Deciduous trees produce a riot of colors during the autumn, and it’s easy to spot them since the leaves come in different shapes. For example, the leaves could be in a star, triangular, rounded, oval, or heart shape.
Coniferous Trees
Coniferous trees are also known as cone-bearing trees, and most are evergreens. These trees have needle-like leaves, unlike deciduous trees. However, some leaves might look like scales, wedges, or blades. Most people believe that coniferous trees do not shed their leaves since they are evergreen.
According to Oregon State University, evergreen conifers shed their leaves, but they do not do this all at once. Instead, they do this continuously, so it might go unnoticed. Coniferous trees include firs, cedars, pines, and spruces.
These trees can survive in their green state for long periods. This is because of their ability to store water in their leaves and branches, which allows them to survive dry spells.
If you love learning about fun or any other reason, you may find these types of trees in Louisiana interesting. Otherwise, if you’re looking for a tree to plant in your garden, there are several you can choose from our list to make your home beautiful scenery.
1. Let’s Start with the Louisiana State Tree “Bald Cypress”
Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) is a deciduous conifer native to the southern United States. It is also known as the swamp cypress tree, white cypress, and gulf cypress. The bald cypress is a slow-growing tree but lives longer.
It can grow to 70 feet tall, with older specimens reaching 150 feet tall. The bark on the tree is thin, smooth, and reddish/brown but can sometimes be gray.
In addition, its leaves are green, long, and pointed, which creates a feather-like appearance. Its needle-like leaves can turn orange in the autumn when they are almost to fall.
Furthermore, the tree branches grow in a downward direction, making it easy for them to withstand floods or heavy rains. Some swamp cypress trunks can be covered by “cypress knees” at the base, giving them a spectacular aesthetic look.
The bald Cypress was chosen and called the “state tree of Louisiana” in 1963.
2. Of Course, You Have Heard About the Seven Sisters Oak, the Live Oak
Live Oak (Quercus Virginiana), also known as southern live oak, Encino, or coastal live oak, is an enormous evergreen oak tree native to the South. It’s one of the many types of oak trees in Louisiana. This tree is picturesque, with its massive and wide-spreading branches.
Louisiana’s largest live oak specimen is in Mandeville and is named the Seven Sisters oak. Live oaks are among the most valuable trees and do well in Louisiana weather.
There is controversy surrounding this tree, as some refer to it as a deciduous tree, while others refer to it as evergreen. Even though live oaks are evergreen, they drop their leaves during the spring. This means you can refer to it as semi-evergreen or semi-deciduous.
The live oak has a mature height of 12 – 20 m, and some are even longer depending on the growing condition. Its leaf type is simple: elliptic, oblong, oblanceolate, or obovate with an alternating arrangement. In addition, it has an inconspicuous color on the leaves, even during the spring.
3. Looking for a Hardy, Sturdy, and Fast Growing Tree? American Elm Is the Best
The American Elm (Ulmus americana) is a large and deciduous tree native to North America. It’s also known as the water elm or white elm and was the most famous tree of the 19th century.
The water elm is a fast-growing and long-lived tree with shallow roots. Its leaves are heart-shaped with a crenate margin and an acute apex. The flowers are small, green-yellow catkins, which appear before the leaves in early spring.
Unfortunately, this tree is susceptible to Detch elm disease (DED), which saw most of these trees mow down through their roots.
4. Make Your Surroundings More Vibrant with Black Gum Tree
The black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) is a deciduous tree native to North America. It’s also known as sour gum tree, tupelo, or black tupelo. It has a rounded shape with a straight trunk and mainly grows in wetland areas.
This tree can grow up to 30- 60 feet tall and has a trunk up to 20 to 30 feet wide. The tree’s bark is dark brown or black with greenish-gray patches. Its bark is often compared to the scales of the alligator. In addition, its leaves are long and vary in shape. They are primarily oval, with pointed tips at the ends. Also, you can find ovate or elliptical shapes.
The most attractive feature of the leaves is the change of colors during fall, which is matched by very few other trees. Its leaves alternate from dark glossy green to vibrant colors such as purple, red, orange, and yellow. This tree can add a magical ambiance to your home landscape.
5. Next, We Look at The “State of Louisiana Flower,” the Southern Magnolia
The Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) is a beautiful shrub native to the South. It’s also known as bullbay, probably because of its large nature, from the tree’s size, leaves, and flowers.
The Southern magnolia is among the flowering trees in Louisiana. It was named the “state of Louisiana flower” in 1900 due to its widespread distribution and magnificent appearance.
It’s not just a pretty face. The Southern Magnolia is a hardy shrub that can withstand many weather conditions but flourishes more in warmer areas. It has beautiful white flowers that bloom from May to June and others through September, making it an excellent choice for your garden.
So, if you’re looking for a tree to plant in your garden, Southern Magnolia should be on your list. It makes an excellent hedge, shade, or privacy screen. It is easy to care for, and it’s also very durable.
6. The Unusually Stronger Wood Than Most Hardwood Is Slash Pine
Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) is a coniferous tree that is common in the Southeastern United States. It’s also known as yellow slash pine or swamp pine. The tree has a long, narrow crown and many branches. In addition, the bark on the trunk is usually gray-brown with horizontal lines that are darker than the rest of the trunk.
Slash pine is mostly found in forests and can grow up to 30 feet tall with a diameter of about 2.6 feet at maturity. In addition, it has an irregular shape, and some of its branches have sharp angles, which make it look like it has been cut with a knife. The tree is known for its high-strength wood, which surpasses many hardwoods.
7. What About a Bit of Taste Of “Heaven” with the Tree of Heaven?
The tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) or varnish tree is a deciduous tree native to eastern Asia. This tree is known for its rapid growth, growing to 15 meters in height, with a 2-meter-diameter trunk. It has compound leaves, with each leaflet 1–3 feet long, and is organized in pairs. Its fall color is yellow. In addition, the flowers are white, produced in panicles from late spring to early summer, while the leaves are bronze.
The tree’s fruit is a dry capsule up to 2 cm long that opens to release the seeds when it’s ripe in the autumn and winter months.
Unfortunately, this tree is not as heavenly as its name suggests. We might even say it has a devilish side, since it’s known to be the worst invasive tree in America. It reproduces very fast and can even kill surrounding plants.
8. The Tremendous Black Walnut with Edible Fruits and Outstanding Wood
The black walnut (Juglans nigra) is a deciduous tree native to North America. It has a trunk height of up to 130cm with gray-black bark. The tree has 30-60 cm pinnately compound leaves arranged alternately on the stem.
Its fruit ripens during summer/autumn, which falls in October. In addition to the wood that you can use for woodworking, black walnut has many other uses.
Black walnuts are used for food and medicine. The fruit is edible and highly nutritious, with a rich, sweet flavor similar to hazelnuts or almonds. In addition, they are known to keep the digestive system healthy.
The most common use of black walnuts is in high-quality furniture. Black walnut trees can live up to 130 years.
9. American Basswood: Bee Best Friend
The American basswood (Tilia americana) is a most common deciduous tree in North America. It’s also called the American linden, lime tree, or bee tree. It’s a medium to large-sized tree with a mature height of about 37m and a trunk diameter of 1.5m.
Further, its leaves are simple, orbicular, ovate, and subrotund with an alternate arrangement and serrated margin. Its flower color is yellow from April-September. Bees love basswood nectar and make great honey from it. Squirrels and chipmunks also favor it because of its nutritious seeds.
10. Eastern Redbud for an Elegant and Magnificent Garden
If you’re looking for types of trees in Louisiana that are ornamental and easy to maintain, then the Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) might be an excellent choice. It’s a small deciduous tree with a rounded crown and grows 20-30 meters in height. In addition, it has a smooth, thin, dark/gray bark, which later becomes scaly. The branches are somehow zigzag with horizontal branching.
The showy flowers appear in clusters from spring to summer with brilliant reddish purple and rosy pink colors. The Eastern redbud inhabits the upland and disturbed soils of various types.
11. Soapberry Your Wild Soap
Western Soapberry (Sapindus saponaria) is a deciduous, round-crowned tree habitat in woodlands, grasslands, and mountains. It’s also known as soapberry, wild chinaberry, wild china tree, and Indian soap plant. This tree can grow as a shrub or tree up to 20 feet-50 feet. The tree has pinnately compound leaves that have an alternate arrangement. The flower color is white with golden-colored fruits which ripen in spring.
The soapberry seeds can be used to make buttons and necklaces, while the wood is excellent for making baskets.
12. Water Hickory Is the Best for Cleansing Water Runoff
Water Hickory (Carya Aquatica), also referred to as bitter pecan, is a large deciduous plant from the walnut family. It’s primarily found in wetter areas and can thrive in various soils. This tree has light gray to brownish-gray and pinnately compound leaves. In addition, the tree has slender twigs ranging from brown to black.
Water hickory wood is considered low quality compared to other hickory species. This makes it the best Louisiana hickory tree to plant. Its fruit has a bitter taste that makes it unattractive to animals.
13. Acacia Farnesiana: A Tree with a Thousand Uses
Acacia farnesiana (Vachellia farnesiana) is a drought-tolerant deciduous tree (or evergreen in some places). It’s also referred to as sweet acacia, aroma, huisache, and texas huisache, among other names.
It’s a small tree that grows with multiple trunks. The mature height of a sweet acacia is 15-30 feet. In addition, its leaves are compound or bipinnate with a flower color of orange from January to April.
Acacia farnesiana has many uses, since it can make medicine, ornaments, great forage for bees, and perfumes. Additionally, the tree’s young leaves and seed pods are edible. It’s good to note that Acacia farnesiana is considered armed since it has thorns.
14. Welcome Nature by Inviting Evening Grosbeak with a Boxelder Tree
Boxelder (Acer negundo) is a medium-sized tree from the Maple family native to North America. It’s also known as the ash-leaved maple or Manitoba maple. The tree has a short trunk and opposite compound leaves. Furthermore, it’s a fast-growing but short-lived tree with a 60-year life span. Also, it has a mature height of 35-80 feet with a trunk diameter of 30-50cm.The bark is green and smooth when young, with a pale gray or light brown color when older.
Interestingly, in some countries, people use boxelder to make wood, syrup, and medicine. The tree mainly grows in wet soils, although it can still do well in dry areas.
15. The American Hornbeam Can Attract Some Musicals from the Songbirds
The American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) is a small deciduous tree known as blue beech, ironwood, musclewood, or lechillo. It is known for its ridged and crooked trunk. This tree has a mature height of 10-15 meters. The branchlets change from pale green to reddish brown and finally gray.
In addition, the leaves on this tree are about 2-4 inches long and have different shapes, including ovate, oblong, elliptic, and lanceolate. Its flowering month is March to October, and the flower’s colors are brown, green, yellow, or red.
Musclewood has a solid heartwood suitable for levers, dishware, and handles for tools.
16. Nothing Can Beat Nature’s Ambience Brought by a Tulip Poplar Tree
Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) is a large deciduous tree that can grow up to 177-192 feet tall. The yellow poplar is among North America’s fastest-growing and largest trees. It’s also known as yellow poplar, tulip tree, tulipwood, or whitewood.
Leaves are arranged alternately along the stems and have smooth edges. In addition, the flowers grow in three clusters on each stem and are small, white, and fragrant. Also, the flowers open from yellow to red as they age. This tree is suitable in moist areas.
17. The Flowering Dogwood’s Appearance Is Mesmerizing. Right?
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is a small flowering plant that grows in the eastern Northern United States, especially in the South. It is a species of the dogwood family Cornaceae and is related to the redbuds, which are smaller and have different shapes.
The leaves are opposite, simple, with entire margins and no teeth. The flowers are white, pink, or red with four to five petals and grow in clusters on short stalks that point upward.
In addition, it’s about 25-30 feet in height, 20 feet spread with a moderate growth rate. This tree thrives well in moist to dry areas.
18. Fringe Tree Allows Your Yard to Experience the Snowy Look Even in the Spring
The fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus), also known as the white fringe tree, is among the prettiest small trees in the spring. It’s known for its beautiful rounded shape, making it a choice for many in their gardens. The white fringe tree is a tall deciduous shrub or a small tree that grows up to 11 meters tall. It has large leathery leaves and bears small, white, perfectly shaped flowers in spring, summer, and fall.
This tree is also traditionally known for its medicinal properties, including treatment of wounds and gallbladder liver illness,
19. Green Ash: The Most Adaptable Tree
Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), also known as red ash, is a medium-sized deciduous tree that proliferates.The mature height of this tree is 60 feet with 50 feet spread. In addition, it has a smooth gray bark when young but later becomes fissured. Its leaves are compound, alternate, and simple, with an entire margin. The leaf stalk is short, which makes it easy for the tree to grow in dense forests or prairies.
The flowers of the green ash bloom from mid-spring until late summer or early fall, depending on its location. Furthermore, the flowers are greenish-white or greenish-purplish. The tree is mainly used as an ornamental plant because of its disease resistance.
20. Last but not Least, The Majestic Loblolly Pine
We can’t end our list of types of trees in Louisiana without mentioning the majestic loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). This tree is common in the southeastern United States. It’s considered the second-most common tree species in America and the most important tree in the world. The loblolly pine is also referred to as the southern white pine or yellow pine.
The majestic loblolly pine can go up to 115 feet in height, with some reaching 160 feet. Also, it has a distinctively broad crown and long needles, which are thickest on the upper part of the plant. The needles come in bundles of three and have deep-furrowed bark.
How Can You Identify a Tree Type?
The type, appearance, shape, and color of the leaves are the best indicators of a tree’s identity. Also, a tree’s bark, flowers, seeds, fruits, buds, and twigs can all be used to identify it. Even better, you may use a mobile app like Leafsnap on your smartphone to determine the type of tree.
What Is the Fastest-Growing Tree in Louisiana?
In Louisiana, you have a wide range of options for planting sturdy and fast-growing trees. One of the best is oak because it grows relatively fast and can be used in different types of landscapes. Other good choices include bald cypress, sweet bay magnolia, maple, hickory, and pecan trees.
What Trees Are Protected in Louisiana?
Some jurisdictions have special trees, protected by the state. Louisiana’s state tree, the bald cypress tree (Taxodium distichum), is a state-owned property, protected by law after Governor John Bel Edwards signed new legislation banning its harvesting on more than 1 million acres of land.
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