Introduction Some stand with majesty in size and strength Others look small and pretty They are the trees of America And many have been honored by the states in which they grow Travelers view them with joy as they drive past gorgeous scenery Visitors to forests and state parks marvel at them They decorate lawns They provide a lovely and clean look to city streets They add to the charm of country settings They display leaves that change into stunning colors But state trees do not merely serve as eye candy They bear fruit or sap used to make maple or pine syrup They produce wood needed for many products They can be adorned for Christmas They can even be climbed for fun They can be tiny or tall Their trunks can be skinny or fat Their branches can be short or long Their leaves can be round or pointy They can be green or red or brown or yellow And they all give a sense of pride to residents of their states What makes these trees all special You can learn about every one of them right here
Alabama Southern Longleaf Pine The favorite home of the rare red-cockaded woodpecker thrives in areas with long hot summers The wood from this tall pine was once used to build ships It now goes into fl ooring Sap-to-Syrup Ratio It takes about 40 gallons 151 liters of sap extracted from the southern longleaf pine to make one gallon 3 79 liters of syrup But the sweet liquid you pour on pancakes is not all that comes from the pine Its wood has also been turned into the lanes you bowl on at the bowling alley Average Height 98 115 feet 29 87 35 05 meters Lifespan Year Adopted 300 years 1949 Scientifi c Name Pinus palustris 4
Alaska Sitka Spruce A tolerance to salt spray allows the world’s largest-growing spruce to thrive close to the seashore Its high-grade lumber has been used to build airplanes Strumming with a Sitka A luthier is an artist that creates stringed instruments And luthiers prefer the Sitka spruce wood when crafting guitars The wooden planks on which pirates forced enemies to walk before they plunged into the water They too were made from Sitka wood Arrghh Average Height 160 feet 48 77 meters 700 years Lifespan Year Adopted 1962 Scientifi c Name Picea sitchensis 5
