Beloved trees of the riverfront
While Arbor Day has passed, Memphis River Parks Partnership continues to celebrate trees and appreciate the added value they bring to our lives, every day. Get to know some of the cherished trees of the riverfront and the parks they reside in.
Written by Meg Johnson, Director of Special Projects and Design.
Spring views with a Mississippi River view. The short-lived white blooms of the flowering cherry tree create a snow-like cover on the ground each Spring. The blooms are usually visible from early March to early May. Although native to China, Japan and Korea, they are now planted all over the world — with festivals celebrating their soft blooms as a sign of springtime hope. The cherry tree also provides ecological services — it is a larval host plant to Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
Friendly Riverside Grove. Cottonwood trees are fast growers, resilient to temperature extremes and offer expansive for visitors of Greenbelt Park. Cottonwoods are relatively short-lived trees, seldom surviving for more than 80 years. They grow in abundance along the banks of the Mississippi River, providing vital habitat for bird and insect species. Despite their strength in river floods, they are charismatic trees: their cottony seeds fall like snow squalls in the spring and their triangular leaves always seem to wave ‘hello!’, even in the slightest breeze.
Tough Living Fossil. The Ginkgo tree is a “living fossil” having survived since the Jurassic period. It’s a highly adaptable tree, able to withstand tough soils, salt, drought & pollution — key reasons why it’s survived for millions of years! As an ancient being with a unique fanned leaf shape and relation to prehistoric palm trees, Ginkgos have multiple failsafes that function differently than later-evolution trees that we know.
Ginkgos are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female trees. Some males trees are known to ‘turn female’ as an evolutionary response to stress or solitude, producing seeds to keep the species growing and surviving.
Dramatic Historic Lookout. What a view! This red oak tree is perfectly positioned on the western edge of Chickasaw Heritage Park. Formerly the fortress of Chickasaw chief Chisca, this elevated area is one of two ceremonial mounds that were built by Paleo-Indians within the park. During the Civil War this mound was hollowed out and used for gun emplacements and munitions storage. Red oaks are noted for their lobed and pointed tips on their leaves.
Spring Bloom with a Harbor View. This redbud adds a pop of color to the southwest corner of River Garden overlooking the Wolf River Harbor. One of the earliest blooming trees, the flowers emerge before its leaves to provide rich color and attract early pollinators in the area. As part of the legume family — the spring flowers are edible and taste like sweet peas! In the fall, the tree produces seed pods that are food for cardinals, bobwhite quail, white-tailed deer and gray squirrels.
Witness of Colonial American History. Based on its species and size, this magnificent swamp chestnut oak is estimated to have sprouted in the 1750s. At this time, what would become the United States was still a series of British colonies concentrated in the northeast. The area we know as Memphis today was Chickasaw Nation territory with a few French outposts and fortifications. Tennessee would not become a state for another half century.
Known for its sturdy timber, flaky bark and sweet acorns that can be eaten straight from the tree, these oaks are also called basket oaks as their timber was split into durable strips for weaving cotton baskets in the 1800s.
State Tree of Tennessee. In 1947, the tulip poplar was named the Official State Tree of Tennessee for its natural growth across the entire state. It’s one of the tallest native American hardwoods and the trunk can grow over 50 feet high without a single branch, making it beloved for house & boat construction by early makers. Tulip trees have unique 4-pointed leaves and curious orange and green flowers in spring.
Witness of Memphis Civic History. This water oak is estimated to have sprouted in the 1830s. Over its lifetime, this tree has seen the vast civil history of Memphis from the Bluff. From the forced relocation of Native American nations in the 1830s, to the river trade of cotton and enslaved individuals and the Civil War. A century later, the tree still stood through the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis and was most recently present during the dramatic removal of the Jefferson Davis Statue at the park’s center in 2017. Noted for its variable leaves with rounded, often 3 lobed tips — this water oak witnessed triumphs and tragedies and continues to grow with the City of Memphis.
