Rock Creek Tree Walk/Geocache Tour 2017
In celebration of Arbor Day!
- Magnolia soulangiana ‘Black Tulip’
Lat 45°34’2.26″N, Long 122°51’42.09″W
Large purple buds in early spring open to beautiful large purple flowers. - Magnolia soulangiana Saucer Magnolia
Lat 45°34’2.49″N, Long 122°51’40.80″W
Many of the magnolia family have existed for millions of years, but the saucer magnolia is a hybrid created by man. - Medlar
Lat 45°34’0.72″N, Long 122°51’39.18″W
The fruit of this tree was popular in medieval and Roman times, but has to be almost rotten before eating, and has the texture of a grainy applesauce. - Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Ice’
Lat 45°33’59.17″N, Long 122°51’42.71″W
Not only the bright bluish white needles, but the shape of this tree are very interesting and unique. - Red Horsechestnut
Lat 45°33’58.05″N, Long 122°51’42.35″W
Beautiful large blooms with pink, orange, and yellow in the spring. The fruit is called conkers and are poisonous to most animals. - Redbud
Lat 45°33’57.16″N, Long 122°51’43.39″W
Beautiful bright pink buds in early spring. Heart shaped leaves. - Japanese Umbrella Pine
Lat 45°33’54.74″N, Long 122°51’30.39″W
Even though this looks similar to a pine from a distance, the needles grow in whorls around the stem. - Giant Sequoia
Lat 45°33’55.18″N, Long 122°51’35.02″W
This tree can live for 3,000 years, and can have bark 3’ thick, and some are 300’ tall. - Oriental Spruce
Lat 45°33’56.03″N, Long 122°51’29.02″W
Delicate soft texture, deep green foliage, and can grow to 120’ tall in Asia where they are native. - White Fir
Lat 45 34’0.37”N, Long 122 51’25.09”W
Whitish blue large flat needles are often shaped like the ribs of a boat - Ginkgo
Lat 45°34’4.68″N, Long 122°51’31.62″W
The oldest Ginkgo tree in China is 3,500 years old. The female trees produce smelly fruits, and it takes 50 pounds of dried leaves to yield a pound of medicinal ginkgo. - Fat Albert Blue Spruce
Lat 45°34’6.37″N, Long 122°51’32.87″W
Outstanding blue color, slow growing, short and stout. - Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar
Lat 45°34’4.10″N, Long 122°51’39.75″W
This tree likes to grow horizontally instead of vertically, and can be trained to take many shapes. - Peanut Butter Tree
Lat 45°34’2.29″N, Long 122°51’39.76″W
Crush the soft velvety leaves to release the peanut butter scent. It has very fragrant blooms which mature into colorful fruits and bracts. - Yellow Alaskan Cedar
Lat 45°34’0.08″N, Long 122°51’36.64″W
A Pacific Northwest native tree, it can grow to 200’ tall, and some are 1800 years old. A very soft wood that was used extensively by Native Americans. The bark for blankets and robes. The wood for tool, containers and bows. - Big leaf Maple
Lat 45°34’3.15″N, Long 122°51’45.34″W
Large leaves can be 12” across, and it is the largest of all the maple trees. It produces scented flowers in early spring that hang down in clusters. - Western Red Cedar
Lat 45°34’7.16″N, Long 122°51’50.24″W
Has drooping branches that turn up on the end. It’s wood is not affected by damaging insects or decay, which makes it a popular wood for building. - Oregon White Oak
Lat 45°34’11.44″N, Long 122°51’41.80″W
This tree has a deep tap root which makes them very stable in wet or windy areas. It’s very slow growing, and doesn’t like shade. - Vine Maple
Lat 45°34’6.50″N, Long 122°51’24.90″W
A hardy, spreading small maple tree, with great fall color. - Doug Fir
Lat 45°34’13.12″N, Long 122°51’27.20″W
Used for it’s wood today, but the American Indians used the needles for basketry and medicines too. The needles smell great when crushed. - Pacific Yew
Lat 45°34’9.96″N, Long 122°51’17.40″W
A very slow growing native, the berries are toxic, but the plant contains Taxol which is being used for Cancer medicine research. - Tricolor Beech
Lat 45°33’55.90″N, Long 122°51’46.87″W
Beautiful leaves of pink, green, white and purple, produces a small mildly toxic nut. - Tulip Tree
Lat 45°34’1.68″N, Long 122°51’33.14″W
Named for its greenish yellow blooms with orange markings that cover the tree early summer. - Little Leaf Linden
Lat 45°33’56.55″N, Long 122°51’51.77″W
Very popular food source for honeybees, and the flowers, leaves and extracts have been used medicinally and decoratively for many years. - Empress Tree
Lat 45°33’54.12″N, Long 122°51’43.53″W
Grown in China around homes to bring good luck, it has large fragrant purple bloom clusters in spring. - Weeping Yellow Deodar Cedar
Lat 45°33’57.06″N, Long 122°51’31.98″W
This tree is grown for its unusual yellow variegated needles and weeping habit. - Flowering Pear
Lat 45°33’51.86″N, Long 122°51’29.44″W
White flowers cover this tree early spring. - Pin Oak
Lat 45°33’47.55″N, Long 122°51’32.15″W
Lower branches droop downward, middle branches grow horizontally, upper branches grow upwards. - Red Alder
Lat 45°33’52.66″N, Long 122°51’44.81″W
The inner bark and fresh wounds turn deep reddish orange when exposed to air. - Sweetgum
Lat 45°33’55.07″N , Long 122°51’50.97″W
The sap from this tree was used as chewing gum. It has star shaped leaves, and spiked round fruits often called gumballs. - Kwanzan Flowering Cherry
Lat 45°33’59.67″N , Long 122°51’47.82″W
Beautiful show of pink flowers clusters in early spring - Purple Leaf Plum
Lat 45°33’58.47″N , Long 122°51’43.93″W
Purple leaves follow pink blossoms in early spring. Fruits are hard to see because they are the same color as leaves. - Crabapple
Lat 45°33’59.67″N , Long 122°51’49.42″W
Beautiful pink spring flowering small tree. - Ash
Lat 45°33’50.18″N, Long 122°51’30.00″W
Light but strong wood is valued for office furniture, tool handles, and baseball bats. - Corkscrew Willow
Lat 45°33’52.14″N, Long 122°51’47.42″W
Twisted contorted branches grow out at every angle giving this tree an interesting shape year round. - Katsura
Lat 45°34’2.61″N, Long 122°51’27.50″W
Fossil records indicate that the Katsura tree has existed for 1.8 million years, but went extinct across North America and Europe during the Ice Age. - Summer Chocolate Silk Tree
Lat 45°33’55.32″N, Long 122°51’42.15″W
Deep burgundy leaves with bright pink flowers, which are fragrant and attractive to bees. - Paper Birch
Lat 45°33’58.67″N, Long 122°51’38.54″W
This tree has peeling bark which can be used to write on. - Himalayan White Pine
Lat 45°33’57.31″N, 122°51’29.12″W
This tree has long silky soft blue green needles, and very long (12”) cones. - Espresso Kentucky Coffeetree
Lat 45°33’53.26″N, Long 122°51’31.67″W
Early settlers brewed a coffee like drink from the seeds of this tree, but that’s not a good idea since the seeds are poisonous.