Branches In Time
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Description
A walking tour of selected trees located throughout the town of Washington.
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1. Greg Butts Northern Catalpa
Catalpa trees are well-known not only for their shade, but the long seed pods that drop to the ground. The leaves are home to “catalpa worms,” which are popular as bait for catfish. Catalpa trees typically grow in humid climates and in sandy soils, which is why they’ve taken well to the Hempstead County sandhills. The northern catalpa is native to the Midwestern stretch of the Mississippi River, and grows taller and straighter than the southern catalpa. Popular for their shade, they’ve been known to be planted elsewhere in the United States. Its soft wood is less prone to rot, making it popular for fence posts, furniture, and tonewood for musical instruments. This is a younger catalpa, planted in honor of retiring State Parks director Greg Butts in 2015; the other trees around the 1874 Courthouse are mature catalpas, at least a century old.
2. Royston Town House Magnolia Tree
This magnolia was planted around 1845, after John Brooks finished construction of the Royston Town House for Grandison Royston. It is not on the National Historic Register but it is associated with Grandison Royston in the same way as the magnolia at the Royston Law Office site, as Royston is said to have planted both.
3. Boxelder Maple Tree
Boxelder maples are unique to other maples as their leaves don’t spread out from a point (like the Canadian maple leaf), but spread out along a centerline down the leaf, resembling poison ivy. Like other maples and ashes, it reproduces with seeds in the “helicopter” style fruit called samaras. The boxelders next to the Candle Shop are fully mature.
4. Sycamore Tree
A light yellow dye was made from the bark and a golden dye was made from the leaves. The sycamore is also known as the buttonwood because the wood is hard to split and it was once used to make buttons. The wood is used to make butcher blocks, pallets, crates, and stringed instruments.
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5. Dr. Nathan D. Smith White Mulberry Tree
The white mulberry was brought to America from China and Japan to be used in the silk industry. In the 1800s, Dr. Nathan D. Smith, a physician in Washington, Arkansas, was a part of the American silk industry. Dr. Smith raised silkworms on the leaves and gathered the silk they produced.
6. "Mail Carrier Smith" Southern Catalpa Tree
In 1831, fourteen-year-old John H. Smith carried the mail 180 miles from Washington, Arkansas, to Natchitoches, Louisiana. On his route, he passed a catalpa tree growing along the Red River and one day he filled his pocket with the fluffy seed. The seeds were scattered in the old court house yard in Washington, introducing the southern catalpa in Hempstead County.
7. Moon Tree (1976)
This loblolly pine tree orbited the moon aboard Apollo 14 as a seedling in 1971, and was planted next to the 1836 Courthouse in 1976. Part of an experiment to see how space travel effected plant life, it is one of eighty such "moon trees" still standing today, and one of two in the state of Arkansas.
8. Richard Davies Northern Catalpa
The northern catalpa grows straighter and its limbs do not branch out as much as the southern catalpa. The northern and southern catalpa are both grown for shade, and as an ornamental. The northern catalpa is native to the midwestern stretch of the Mississippi River, while the southern catalpa stretches from the Mississippi Delta across the Deep South. The northern catalpa grows straighter with tighter limbs than its southern cousin. This is a younger catalpa, planted in honor of retiring Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism director Richard Davies in 2015.
9. Crape Myrtle
Crape myrtles are trees native to Asia imported at the turn of the 19th Century. Crape myrtles are popular for their large colorful flowers, rich fall foliage, and the mottled look of its exfoliating bark. They are well suited for southern climates of the United States, even in drier weather.
10. Washington Magnolia Tree (1839)
Planted in 1839 near the original location of Grandison Royston's law office, and currently shading the Royston Log Home which was relocated from his plantation, this southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) is the tallest in the state of Arkansas. As a tree on park land, it is always accessible to visitors.
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11. Bois D’Arc Tree
The bois d’arc is native to southwest Arkansas and was a new species when first cataloged by Peter Custis during the Red River Expedition of 1806. The tree is also known as Osage orange or horse apple. The wood is extremely hard, flexible, and resistant to decay. One hundred-year-old fence posts can still be found in excellent condition. These qualities made bois d’arc (French for “bow wood”) a superior trade item as bow wood for the Caddo and Osage.
12. Sweetgum Tree
Sweetgum trees are easily recognized by their round spiky fruit that drop then dry out in autumn, and the star-shaped leaves that turn a variety of sharp colors in the fall. Sweetgum resin has been used for several purposes including chewing gum, which is where the tree gets its name.
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13. Shortleaf pine
Similar to the loblolly pine, the shortleaf pine is easily distinguished by having only two needles per bundle and smaller pine cones on a short stock. Its slower growth as a young tree makes it less likely to be grown on tree plantations, but is harvested in old growth forests.
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14. Hercules Club
The bark of the Hercules club was chewed as a home remedy for toothaches. Its name comes from the distinctive bumps on the trunk.
15. Devil’s Walking Stick
The roots and fruit of the Devil’s walking stick were used by the early settlers as a home remedy to improve blood circulation. Today we know that eating any part of the tree may be hazardous to your health! It usually grows as a straight, branchless trunk with a broad crown of leaves like a palm.
16. Abraham Block Pecan Tree
The pecan tree is possibly the most economically important food crop native to North America. Pecans, with protein and a high fat content, were a major food source for Native Americans. Today, pecans continue to be prized. The wood is almost twice as strong as oak, and is used in furniture, doors, cabinets, and flooring for gymnasiums and roller skating rinks.
17. Common Persimmon Tree
Persimmons can be eaten fresh and in puddings, cakes, pies, and beverages. During the Civil War southerners, unable to get coffee, roasted persimmon seeds to make a substitute drink. The wood is hard and has been used for toothaches. The hard wood is also used for pool cues, heads of golf clubs, and shuttles for weaving.
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18. Wild Sweet Crabapple
Crabapples trees are smaller trees with smaller fruit than the usual apple tree. Typically found around the great lakes, it can be found in other regions like the south. The bark is gray and fissured as it grows, and its wood is useful for handles and other small household items.
19. Black-Bowie Black Walnut Tree
The James Black—Jim Bowie Black Walnut tree is located near the current Blacksmith Shop on the northeast side of the 1914 Schoolhouse.James Black primarily used Black walnut in the coffin-shaped handles of his knives. Since the tree is a Black Walnut and it is located near the reconstructed Blacksmith Shop, it was named in honor of James Black and Jim Bowie.
