White Spruce

Black Spruce

White Pine

Jack Pine

Red Pine

Balsam Fir

Tamarack

Eastern Hemlock

Eastern White Cedar

Sugar Maple

Red Maple

Yellow Birch

White Birch

White Ash

Red Oak

Beech

Trembling Aspen

Basswood

There are more than 50 tree species that grow naturally in our area. More than 20 tree species are economically important to our region. Wood samples for 18 of our local tree species are included in the Forest Discovery Box. We sort our tree species into two groups: Hardwoods and Softwoods. Hardwoods come from deciduous or broadleaved trees. In our region, these species drop their foliage each autumn. They are called hardwood because their wood is generally much denser and harder than softwoods. Softwood comes from coniferous or evergreen trees, which generally keep most of their foliage more than one year. In actual fact, evergreen trees drop some (but not all) of their needles each year. The one exception in our region is larch (or tamarack) which drops all of its needles each autumn.