Forestry
Protecting Arkansas’s forests, and those who enjoy them, from wildland fire and natural hazards while promoting rural and urban forest health, stewardship, development, and conservation for all generations of Arkansans
Tree Recommendations
Small Trees: Approximately 10-30 feet tall at maturity
| Common Name | Botanical Name | Comments |
| Serviceberry | Amelanchier arborea | Height 15-25', white spring flowers, light shade |
| Possum haw | Ilex decidua | Height 20', bright red berries |
| Yaupon holly | Ilex vomitoria | Height 20', evergreen |
| Eastern redbud | Cercis canadensis | Height 30', pink spring flowers |
| Goldenrain tree | Koelreuteria paniculata | Height 30', yellow summer flowers |
| Trident maple | Acer tataricum | Height 20', fall color |
| Hawthorn | Crataegus sp. | Height 15-30', select thornless varities |
| Dogwood | Cornus florida | Height 15', spring flowers, requires shade |
Medium Trees: Approximately 30-50 feet tall at maturity
| Common Name | Botanical Name | Comments |
| Thornless honeylocust | Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis | Height 45', small leaf litter, best suited NW Arkansas |
| American hornbeam | Ostrya virginiana | Height 40' |
| Littleleaf linden | Tilia cordata | Height 45', best suited NW Arkansas |
| Chinese/Lacebark elm | Ulmus parvifolia (Allee, Athena) | Height 40', tolerant of poor conditions |
| Zelkova | Zelkova serrata (Green Vase, Village Green,'Musashino') | Height 35- 45', Vase shaped |
| Sugar maple | Acer saccharum 'Newton Sentry' | Height 35', Best suited for NW Arkansas |
| Oak | Quercus x Crimson Spire/Regal Prince/ 'Streetspire'/'Skinny Genes'/Kindred Spirit | Height 45', narrow or columnar trees |
| Pondcypress | Taxodium ascendens 'Prairie Sentinel' | Height 45', narrow or columnar tree |
| River birch | Betula nigra Heritage/ Dura-Heat | Height 40', beautiful exfoliating bark when young |
| Birch | Betula x Royal Frost | Height 40'. white bark when young; purple leaves |
| Red cedar | Juniperus virginiana | Height 50', huge leaves, long pods |
| Persimmon | Diospyros virginiana | Height 50', pale orange fruit sweeten after frost, almost black bark, good fall color |
| Sassafras | Sassafras albidum | Height 50', all parts aromatic, lobed leaves are yellow-orange in fall, blue berries |
| Carolina silverbell | Halesia carolina | Height 40', outstanding white, bell shaped flowers in spring, bark is showey in winter |
| Smoke tree | Cotinus obovatus | Height 40', stringy reddish flowers look like tufts of smoke, bright red to orange fall color |
| Yellowwood | Cladrastis kentukea | Height 50', large flowers hang in showy clusters in spring |
| Paw paw | Asimina triloba | Height 40', fruit for wildlife |
| Chinese pistache | Pistacia chinensis | Height 35', drought tolerant, fall color |
| American holly | Ilex opaca | Height 35', evergreen, red berries |
| Blackgum | Nyssa sylvatica | Height 50', fall color, fruit for birds |
Large Trees: Approximately 50-100 feet tall at maturity
| Common Name | Botanical Name | Comments |
| Ginkgo | Ginkgo biloba | Height 50+', pollution tolerant |
| American sycamore | Platanus occidentalis | Height up to 100', fast growing, showy bark, tolerant of wet soil |
| Baldcypress | Tacodium distichum | Height 70', tolerant of drought and wet soil |
| Dawn redwood | Metasequoia glyptostrobidies | Height 70', drought tolerant |
| Kentucky coffeetree | Gymnocladus dioicus | Height 75', drought and pollution tolerant |
| Northern red oak | Quercus rubrum | Height 75', pollution and compacted soils tolerant, acorns for wildlife |
| Southern magnolia | Magnolia grandiflora | Height 80', evergreen, large white flowers, small cultivars available |
| Tuliptree | Lirodendron tulipifera | Height 90', fast-growing, yellow flowers |
| Willow oak | Quercus phellos | Height 60', tolerates poorly-drained soils, acorns for wildlife |
| Shumard oak | Quercus shumardii | Height 60', fall color, acorns for wildlife, best oak for fall color |
| Mockernut hickory | Carya tomentosa | Height 80', nuts for wildlife, fall color |
| Shortleaf pine | Pinus echinata | Height up to 100', evergreen |
| White oak | Quercus alba | Height 100', acorns for wildlife |
| Catalpa | Catalpa speciosa | Height 60', large white flower clusters in spring, huge leaves, long pods |
| Sweetgum | Liquidambar styraciflua | Height 80', good fall color, ball-shaped pods litter the ground, ask for sterile cultivars |
| Hackberry | Celtis occidentalis | Height 60', good for difficult sites, leaves disintegrate in fall |
| Bitternut hickory | Carya cordiformis | Height 70', leaf buds are yellow, bright yellow fall color, bitter nuts are not favored by wildlife |
| Shagbark hickory | Carya ovata | Height 80', gray, shaggy, lined patches of bark cover the trunk of older trees, large leaves, good fall color |
| Linden (Basswood) | Tilia americana | Height 80', a relative of Little Leaf Linden, prefers sun and is heat tolerant |
| Black locust | Robinia pseudoacacia | Height 80' fragrant, showy flowers in spring |
| Cucumber magnolia | Magnoila acuminata | Height 70', large greenish flowers,green finger-sized fruits, turn purple-red as they mature |
| Sugar maple | Acer saccarum | Height 70', great fall color, a good shade tree for large lawn |
| Bur oak | Quercus macrocarpa | Height 80', largest acorn of Arkansas native oaks (up to 2 " in diameter |
| Cherrybark oak | Quercus falcata var. pagodifolia | Height 80', good form, red fall color, attractive bark |
| Pecan | Carya illinoensis | Height 80', graceful trunk lines, good for shade |
| Loblolly pine | Pinus taeda | Height 90', blue green needles, |
| Black walnut | Juglans nigra | Height 70', broadly branching, good shade tree, long narrow leaves, valuable nuts |
