My Favorite Trees

This page arose partly as a joke. Thinking as a scientist, it struck me as a little bit silly to talk about "favorite" gymnosperms, as if there was some intrinsic value in a thing being "favorite." As I thought about it a bit more, though, I realized that a list of such trees might offer some insight into the relationship between humans and trees. It might say something about what we value in these trees, and why they are important in our lives.

Once I actually wrote the list, I was a bit startled by how short it was, and how short the list of reasons why a tree might make the list. These reasons came up again and again in the list:

• A tree is superlatively large, tall, or old.
• A tree has exceptionally complex or convoluted architecture. Many of these are trees of the alpine timberline. The ones that are not, are particularly remarkable.
• A tree has exceptional ecological significance: a dominant species, it acts as a cornerstone for a wide array of organisms, including humans.
• A tree has spiritual importance. I call this the "sacred secular" quality: the trees inspire a feeling of reverence that is apparent in artistic works and writings, but they are not tied to any specific system of belief.

I must admit a regional bias: all are species that I know well and personally. My regional experience includes North America, Australia, New Zealand and part of China. I particularly suspect that certain European, South American and east Asian species would be on the list if I knew them better. Herewith, then, the list of my favorite trees and the reasons why each species is on the list:

Sequoiadendron giganteum, Sierra Redwood

• Largest tree (1473 m³) and one of the tallest (95 m) and oldest trees (3266 years).
• Sacred secular: played a major role in the 19th century evolution of the American conservation movement.
• Extremely complex crown architecture.
• Superlative climbing tree.
• Unique ecological adaptations to site water relations and fire ecology.

Sequoia sempervirens, Coast Redwood

• Tallest tree (116 m), second-largest tree (1045 m³), with ages to 2,200 years.
• Sacred secular: few trees inspire such a passionate commitment to forest conservation. Subject of numerous books and art works.
• Extremely complex crown architecture.
• Superlative climbing tree.
• Ecological cornerstone for the most productive forest ecosystem in the world. Numerous species, including many vertebrates and epiphytes, live in its canopy.
• Long list of specialized ecological and physiological adaptations.
• Amazing genetic diversity: the only hexaploid conifer.

Pinus longaeva, Bristlecone Pine

• Oldest tree (4844 years).
• Sacred secular: its age and beauty inspire many people. The relative inaccessibility of its habitat only adds to its mystique. A visit to the bristlecone groves is a pilgrimage.
• Extremely gnarled trees grow to great ages in scenic high mountain settings. Probably the most lovely of timberline trees, subject of numerous photographic works.
• Complex structure, with visible legacies of many past forms in addition to the current living tree architecture.
• Lives in one of the most extreme habitats occupied by any tree; within that habitat, an ecological cornerstone for wildlife.

Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. menziesii, Douglas-Fir

• Largest (349 m³) and tallest (99 m) tree in the Pinaceae, rivalling the biggest Cupressaceae. Ages to 1350 years.
• Ecological cornerstone for the world's largest and best-known temperate rainforest.
• Complex crown architecture.
• Occupies a wide array of habitats from seashore to timberline, showing diverse adaptations to fire, flood, and pestilence.
• Almost as ecologically important after it dies, as when it is alive.
• Economically the most important tree in the world.

Agathis australis, Kauri

• Largest tree in the Araucariaceae (517 m³), and third largest tree in the world.
• Ecological cornerstone species, with a unique fauna, flora and ecology compared to the native forest types that surround it.
• Sacred secular species in New Zealand, where it is loved almost as well as the Californians love their redwoods.
• Unique and complex crown architecture
• Fascinating human history, playing an important role in the settlement and development of New Zealand

Araucaria bidwillii, Bunya-Bunya

• Majestic, primitive-looking tree.
• Very important food source for native peoples in its range.

Juniperus occidentalis subsp. australis, Sierra Juniper

• Extremely gnarled trees with lovely red-brown bark grow to great sizes and ages (2675 years) in scenic high mountain settings.
• With age, can develop complex crown architecture.

Pinus albicaulis, Whitebark Pine

• Extremely gnarled trees grow to great ages (1267 years) in scenic high mountain settings.
• Ecological cornerstone species due to the high nutritional value of its large nuts, an essential food source for various birds, rodents, and grizzly bears.
• Interesting mutualistic relationship with Clark's nutcracker. Other interesting ecological relationships include the blister rust pandemic and the species' successional role in development of forest-tundra landscapes.

Thuja plicata, Western Redcedar

• Probably the most ethnobotanically important tree in the world. Most of Pacific Northwest Coast native culture can be interpreted according to their use of this tree, which is focal in almost all aspects of material culture.
• One of the largest trees in the world, and probably one of the oldest: although the oldest established age is 1460 years, it very likely lives to ages of 3000 years or more.
• Complex crown architecture.

Taxodium mucronatum, Ahuehuete

• Includes some of the largest and oldest trees in the world.
• Very strong spiritual significance, associated with many sacred sites in Mexico. The largest trees tend to be associated with major springs, providing a symbolic connection to the subconscious, the origin of life, and/or the underworld. Thus the tree is a physical manifestation of the Yggdrasil archetype.
• Can develop very complex crown architecture.
• Very interesting ecological cornerstone species that not only dominates riparian forest ecosystems, but actually alters river and lake geomorphology due to sediment trapping and modification of flooding effects by its extremely extensive root system.

Taxodium distichum, Baldcypress

• Grows to great ages and sizes.
• Ecological cornerstone of the "blackwater" swamps of the southeastern U.S.
• Physiologically interesting adaptations to swamp life.

Pinus palustris, Longleaf Pine

• Very old (459 years), for a forest tree of the eastern U.S.
• Stands of this species formerly comprised the most extensive forest type in North America south of the boreal forest, covering most of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains from Virginia to Texas.
• There are interesting parallels to Agathis australis in the way this species formerly had great importance to European settlers in both the economic and aesthetic realms. Unlike kauri, though, the importance of longleaf pine has faded away as the species has become less common.
• Longleaf pine remains an ecological cornerstone in areas where it persists. It has an extraordinarily effective adaptation to fire and as a consequence occurs with many herb and shrub species that are totally dependent on the longleaf-generated fire regime. As a result, these species have become extremely rare as the longleaf pine forests have declined and have become subject to fire suppression. Longleaf pine also has an interesting association with the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.

Pinus lambertiana, Sugar Pine

• Largest and tallest (82 m) pine in the world.
• Arguably the most beautiful of the pines that occur in continuous forest stand, it also forms a lovely tree with great character where it occurs in scenic high mountain settings.

Tsuga mertensiana, Mountain Hemlock

• Lovely trees with great character grow to great ages in scenic high mountain settings.

Larix lyallii, Alpine Larch

• Lovely trees with great character grow to great ages in scenic high mountain settings.

Larix occidentalis, Western Larch

Pinus balfouriana subsp. austrina, Foxtail Pine

• Extremely gnarled trees grow to great ages (2110 years) in scenic high mountain settings.

Pinus jeffreyi, Jeffrey Pine

Pinus flexilis, Limber Pine

• Extremely gnarled trees grow to great ages (1670 years) in scenic high mountain settings.

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, Kahikatea

Dacrydium cupressinum, Rimu

Taxus baccata, Yew

Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo

Cupressus arizonica (s.s.), Arizona Cypress

Picea sitchensis, Sitka Spruce

Abies bifolia, Subalpine Fir

Pinus strobus, White Pine