TREES
Great trees are an integral part of the natural decor of Morgan County. Here are some of our favorites.
- Red Maple - Easily recognizable by its red buds, flowers and, in fall, red leaves. In spring, its seeds have wings. The underside of the leaf appears white in contrast to the deep green of the upper leaf. Trees can grow up to 70 or 90 feet with trunks of 3 to 4 feet.
- Black Cherry (Sweetberry) - Oval, dark green leaves and drooping clusters of purplish cherries. Trees grow 60 to 75 feet with trunks up to 4 feet. Long, straight shoots angle off a straight trunk.
- Sycamore - Can have the largest trunk of any North American hardwood with diameters of up to 14 feet and heights of 140 feet. The thin bark often is scaly with blotches. There is a dangling seed ball.
- Tulip Poplar - West Virginia's tallest and most handsome tree. Bees make delicious honey from the nectar in its greenish-yellow tulip-like flowers. Duck-bill shaped buds in Spring. Also called the yellow poplar. West Virginia's millennium tree, marked with a plaque in Berkeley Springs State Park, is a tulip poplar.
- White Oak - The most valuable of several types of oak that cover most county mountainsides. Leaves have deeply cut, rounded lobes. Bark is light ashy to whitish-gray and its fruit, the acorn, is about an inch with a thick, knobby cap.
- Serviceberry (Sarvis) - Mostly shrubby in size with light lines spiraling along its trunk bark making it look twisted. Dense masses of white flowers are an early sign of spring. These mature into small red berries, technically small apples.
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