Trees of New York City facts for kids

New York City is home to about 5.2 million trees, with 168 different types growing across the city as of 2020. The New York City government and various environmental groups work hard to plant and care for these trees. In 2020, about 24% of New York City's land, or 44,509 acres, was covered by trees. These green spaces are important for the city's environment and its people.

A Look Back: Trees in New York City's Past

Trees have been growing in the area that is now New York City for a very long time, even before humans existed! They have been here since the end of the Ice Age. The first people settled here about 9,000 years ago. This was the beginning of humans changing the natural old-growth forests.

When Europeans arrived in America, their impact on the trees in New York City grew much faster. The new settlers brought advanced metal tools and ways to process wood. They needed a lot of wood to sell and to build homes in the Thirteen Colonies. They also sent wood back to Europe.

Native American people, like the Lenape, lived with the forests in a balanced way. But the European colonists had more people and needed more land for homes and farms. This led to a lot of trees being cut down very quickly, including in the New York City area.

How the Lenape People Used Trees

The Lenape people, who lived in the New York City area before Europeans arrived, used trees for many things. Trees provided them with food, shelter, tools, fuel, and medicine.

Their traditional homes, called longhouses, were built by bending small tree trunks to create the frame. The Lenape also used the Zanthoxylum tree as medicine for toothaches. Chewing its leaves or bark made their mouths tingle and feel numb.

Governors Island: The Nut Island

The Lenape called Governors Island "Pagganck," which means "nut island." They named it this because there were so many hickory nut trees growing there.

Cherry Street: A Sweet History

At the corner of Cherry Street and Franklin Square, the Lenape people had a large cherry orchard. When the Dutch took control of the area, they named the street "Cherry Street" because of these trees.

Later, George Washington lived at 1 Cherry Street. This was the very first home for a U.S. president! Parts of the cherry orchard were still there until the 1870s. Then, the last trees and Washington's home were removed to build the famous Brooklyn Bridge.

American Use of Trees: Notable Trees

The Stuyvesant Pear Tree

In 1674, Peter Stuyvesant, a Dutch governor, planted a pear tree on his farm. This tree stood for 200 years as New York City grew up around it. Even when the city's streets were planned in 1811, the Stuyvesant Pear Tree was saved.

The tree finally fell in February 1867 after a big winter storm and a wagon crash. Today, a plaque marks the spot where the tree once stood, at 13th Street and Third Avenue. People in the neighborhood still plant pear trees to remember the original one. A piece of the original tree's trunk is kept at the New-York Historical Society.

The Hangman’s Elm

The Hangman’s Elm is a very old elm tree in Washington Square Park. In 1989, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation found that this English Elm was 310 years old. Many people believe it is the oldest tree in Manhattan.

Stories about the tree being used for hangings started in the late 1800s. However, historians have researched the park's history and found that the tree was on a private farm until 1827. There are no official records of hangings from this specific tree.

The only recorded execution in this general area was in 1820. A woman named Rose Butler was hanged for arson. This happened on a gallows about 500 feet (150 meters) from the elm tree, in a different part of the area. About 10,000 people came to watch this hanging.

New York City's Street Trees

The New York City Parks Department works hard to plant trees. As of 2020, the city has over 2.5 million trees!

The tallest and oldest tree in New York City is called the Queens Giant. It's a type of tree known as a Tulip Poplar and it grows in Queens.

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation takes care of most of the trees in New York City. They celebrate special days like Earth Day and Arbor Day to honor trees and nature.

Types of Trees Growing in New York City

This list shows some of the trees you can find in New York City. These include street trees and trees planted in city parks and public spaces:

Scientific name	Common name	Photo	Size	Native Species	Approved street tree	Planted in NYC streets	Edible fruit	Disease risk	Invasive species	Notable
Acer platanoides	Norway maple		Large	Non-Native	Yes	Yes	No		No
Acer rubrum	Red maple		Large	Native		Yes
Acer saccharinum	Silver maple		Large	Native		Yes
Aesculus hippocastanum	Horse-chestnut		Large	Non-Native		Yes
Aesculus octandra	Common buckeye		Large	Native		Yes
Ailanthus altissima	Tree of heaven		Large	Non-Native	No	Yes	No		Yes	No
Alnus glutinosa	European alder		Large	Non-Native		Yes
Amelanchier canadensis	Serviceberry		Small	Native		Yes
Betula nigra	Black birch		Large	Native		Yes
Carpinus betulus	European hornbeam		Large	Non-Native		Yes
Carpinus caroliniana	American hornbeam		Medium	Native		Yes
Carya laciniosa	Shellback hickory		Large	Native
Catalpa speciosa	Northern catalpa		Medium	Non-Native
Cedrus	Cedar		Large	Non-Native
Celtis occidentalis	Common hackberry		Medium	Native
Cercidiphyllum japonicum	Katsura		Medium	Non-Native
Cercis canadensis	Eastern redbud		Medium	Non-Native
Chionanthus virginicus	White fringetree		Medium	Non-Native
Cladrastis kentukea	Kentucky yellowwood		Medium	Non-Native
Cornus mas	Cornelian cherry		Small	Non-Native			Yes
Corylus colurna	Turkish hazel		Tall	Non-Native
Crataegus	Hawthorn		Medium	Native
Crataegus spathulata	Littlehip hawthorn
Diospyros virginiana	American persimmon
Eucommia ulmoides	Eucommia ulmoides								No
Fagus sylvatica	European beech
Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula'	Weeping beech		Large	Non-Native	No	No	No		No	Yes
Ginkgo biloba	Ginkgo
Gleditsia triacanthos inermis	Honey locust
Gymnocladus dioicus	Kentucky coffeetree
Halesia	Silverbell
Hamamelis	Witch-hazel
Ilex	Holly
Juglans	Walnut trees
Juniperus	Juniper
Koelreuteria paniculata	Goldenrain tree			Non-Native
Laburnum	Golden chain
Larix laricina	American larch
Liquidambar styraciflua	Sweetgum
Liriodendron tulipifera	Tulip tree
Maackia amurensis	Amur maackia
Maclura pomifera	Maclura pomifera
Magnolia grandiflora	Laurel magnolia		Large	Non-Native	Not approved	No	No		No	Yes
Malus spectabilis	Chinese flowering apple			Non-Native
Metasequoia glyptostroboides	Dawn redwood			Non-Native
Morus	Mulberry
Nyssa sylvatica	Black gum
Ostrya virginiana	American hophornbeam
Oxydendrum	Sorrel tree
Phellodendron amurense	Amur cork tree
Picea pungens	Blue spruce
Pinus resinosa	Red pine
Pinus strobus	White pine
Pinus sylvestris	Scots pine
Platanus × acerifolia	London planetree			Non-Native
Populus	Poplar
Prunus 'Kanzan'	Cherry Kanzan
Prunus × incam	Okamé cherry
Prunus × yedoensis	Yoshino cherry
Prunus cerasifera	Cherry plum
Prunus padus	Cherry
Prunus sargentii	Cherry
Prunus virginiana 'Schubert'	Cherry
Pseudotsuga menziesii ssp. glauca	Douglas Fir		Non-Native
Pyrus calleryana	Callery pear
Quercus acutissima	Sawtooth oak
Quercus alba	White oak
Quercus bicolor	Swamp white oak
Quercus coccinea	Scarlet oak
Quercus dentata	Japanese emperor oak			Non-Native
Quercus fastigiata	English oak
Quercus frainetto	Hungarian oak
Quercus imbricaria	Shingle oak
Quercus macrocarpa	Bur oak
Quercus montana	Chestnut oak
Quercus muehlenbergii	Chinkapin oak
Quercus palustris	Pin oak
Quercus phellos	Willow oak
Quercus robur	Common oak			Non-Native
Quercus rubra	Northern red oak		Native
Quercus shumardii	Shumard oak		Non-Native
Quercus texana	Nuttall's oak		Non-Native
Quercus velutina	Eastern black oak		Native
Robinia	Locusts
Salix	Willow
Sassafras albidum	Sassafras		Native
Sorbus aucuparia	Rowan tree			Non-Native	No
Styphnolobium japonicum	Japanese pagoda tree			Non-Native
Styrax japonicus	Japanese snowbell			Non-Native
Syringa reticulata	Japanese tree lilac			Non-Native
Syringa reticulata subsp. pekinensis	Chinese tree lilac			Non-Native
Taxodium distichum	Bald cypress			Non-Native
Thuja occidentalis	Northern white-cedar			Native
Tilia americana	American linden			Native
Tilia cordata	Littleleaf linden			Non-Native
Tilia tomentosa	Silver linden			Non-Native
Tsuga canadensis	Eastern hemlock			Native
Ulmus americana	American elm		Large	Native
Ulmus glabra 'Camperdownii'	Camperdown elm		Medium	Non-Native	No	No	No		No	Yes
Ulmus parvifolia	Chinese elm			Non-Native
Ulmus minor	English elm		Large	Non-Native	No	No	No		No	Yes
Zelkova serrata	Japanese zelkova			Non-Native