Regional Guide to Native Trees

Planting a tree can be a deeply satisfying act, a commitment to the future of the place where it will grow. Choose a tree that's native to the region and your rewards multiply. Natives are likely to thrive in your conditions with minimal attention after the first two or three years. They provide the food and shelter local wildlife depends on. Native trees have survived thousands of years of climate extremes, they have reached equilibrium with their environment, and most of them learned to cope with native pests or they would not still be here. This is truly organic!

Here's a list of native tree species that grow well in different regions of the United States:

Common Name

Botanical Name

Relative
Mature Size

NORTHEAST
Birch, yellow	Betula alleghaniensis	Large
Birch, sweet	B. lenta	Medium
Hawthorn, dotted	Crataegus punctata	Small
Hawthorn, Washington	C. phaenopyrum	Small
Maple, mountain	Acer spicatum	Small
Maple, red	A. rubrum	Large
Maple, striped	A. pensylvanicum	Small
Maple, sugar	A. saccharum	Large
Oak, black	Quercus velutina	Large
Oak, northern red	Q. rubra	Large
Oak, white	Q. alba	Large
Pine, eastern white*	Pinus strobus	Large
Pine, pitch*	P. rigida	Medium
Pine, red*	P. resinosa	Large
Sumac, smooth	Rhus glabra	Very small
Sumac, staghorn	R. typhina	Small

SOUTHEAST
Birch, river	Betula nigra	Large
Birch, roundleaf	B. uber	Medium
Hawthorn, green	Crataegus viridis	Small
Hawthorn, mayhaw	C. aestivalis	Small
Hawthorn, parsley	C. marshallii	Small
Maple, chalk	Acer leucoderme	Small
Maple, Florida	A. barbatum	Large
Oak, live (subevergreen)	Quercus virginiana	Large
Oak, scarlet	Q. coccinea	Large
Oak, swamp chestnut	Q. michauxii	Large
Oak, willow	Q. phellos	Large
Pine, longleaf*	Pinus palustri	Large
Pine, table mountain*	P. pungens	Medium
Pine, Virginia*	P. virginiana	Medium
Sumac, winged	Rhus copallina	Small
Sumac, smooth	Rhus glabra	Very small

MIDWEST
Birch, gray	Betula populifolia	Medium
Birch, river	B. nigra	Large
Hawthorn, cockspur	Crataegus crus-galli	Small
Hawthorn, frosted	C. pruinosa	Small
Maple, black	Acer nigrum	Large
Maple, red	A. rubrum	Large
Oak, bur	Quercus macrocarpa	Large
Oak, chinkapin	Q. muehlenbergii	Large
Oak, northern pin	Q. ellipsoidalis	Large
Oak, swamp white	Q. bicolor	Large
Pine, red*	Pinus resinosa	Large
Pine, shortleaf*	P. echinata	Large
Pine, white*	P. strobus	Large
Sumac, smooth	Rhus glabra	Very small
Sumac, staghorn	R. typhina	Small
Sumac, winged	R. copallina	Small

SOUTHWEST
Birch, water	Betula fontinalis (syn. B. occidentalis)	Small
Hawthorn, Cerro	Crataegus erythropoda	Small
Hawthorn, river	C. rivularis	Small
Oak, Buckley's	Quercus buckleyi	Small
Oak, Emory	Q. emoryi	Large
Oak, Rocky Mountain	Q. gambelii	Medium
Oak, silverleaf	Q. hypoleucoides	Medium
Pine, Apache*	Pinus engelmannii	Large
Pine, limber*	P. flexilis	Large
Pine, piñon*	P. edulis	Small
Pine, ponderosa*	P. ponderosa var. scopulorum	Large
Maple, ash-leaved (box elder)	Acer negundo	Medium
Maple, canyon	A. grandidentatum	Medium
Maple, Rocky Mountain	A. glabrum	Small
Sumac, evergreen	Rhus virens	Very small
Sumac, prairie	R. lanceolata	Very small

FAR WEST
Birch, western paper		Betula papyrifera var. commutata		Medium
Hawthorn, black		Crataegus douglasii		Small
Maple, bigleaf		Acer macrophyllum		Large
Maple, sierra		A. glabrum var. douglasii		Small
Maple, vine		A. circinatum		Small
Oak, blue		Quercus douglasii		Large
Oak, California black		Quercus kelloggii		Large
Oak, canyon*		Quercus chrysolepis		Large
Oak, coast live*		Quercus agrifolia		Large
Oak, garry		Quercus garryana		Large
Oak, valley		Quercus lobata		Large
Pine, gray*		Pinus sabiniana		Medium
Pine, Jeffrey*		P. jeffreyi		Large
Pine, shore*	P. contorta		Small
Pine, western white*		P. monticola		Large
Sumac, smooth		Rhus glabra		Very small

*Evergreen