5 Common Native Tennessee Trees and Their Leaves – Tree Leaf Identification

The leaf show hasn’t begun in the south just yet so now is a great opportunity to look at some common leaves before the color changes begin!

For a list of Native trees to the United States and information on how to propagate them go to this page: United States Native Tree Propagation List

Redbuds

Red Buds (Cercis canadensis) are some of the prettiest plants in spring but their foliage is pretty cool too. They have heart shaped leaves with a dark glossy green coat.  There are some varieties of redbud that have purple leaves (like ‘Forest Pansy’) and others with lighter green foliage.

Sassafras

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is a colonizing tree with three forms of leaves.  One is a simple lobed leaf, another mitten shaped, and the third has three main lobes.  It turns a beautiful red-orange color in the fall.  Sassafras tends to colonize areas and is one of the first trees to propagate in areas that used to be fields as they change back to forest land.

Sycamore

Sycamores (Platanus occidentalis) have large palmate leaves similar to maples.  When the leaves turn brown they tend to be thick and can smother grassy areas.  It’s a good idea to run the leaves over with a lawnmower a few times before throwing them in the compost bin or using as a mulch.  I love the white peeling bark of the sycamore trees!

Tulip Poplar

The tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) is the state tree of Tennessee.  It flowers in the spring and reproduces prolifically.  I think I have one of these in every garden and not because I planted them! It’s time transplant a few.  Quite a few! Tulip poplar will flower with yellow/orange colored flowers in a tulip shape. The leaves remind me of an owl for some reason with with four lobes.

Tulip poplar gets very large at 80 to 120 ft tall. I’ve noticed over the years that there is a tendency for it to drop branches so I would not recommend planting it close to any structures. Tulip poplars are a fast growing tree and could be a good tree selection to create shade areas fairly quickly. With the fast growing property comes a rather weak wood but it can be used for wood carving projects.

Black Walnut

These leaves come from a black walnut tree (Juglans nigra).  The nuts can be harvested and eat and the husk of the shell can be used to stain wood.  Walnuts have a chemical in the leaves called juglone that inhibits the growth of many plants so it is best to research walnut tolerant varieties of plants to plant near walnuts if you have them.

All five of these tress are very common native trees in the Middle Tennessee region.