Most Common Trees In Southern Georgia And How To Spot Them

Georgia is known for resins, turpentine, and lumber, which come from trees. This state has more forests than it did 75 years ago. However, according to the U.S. Forest Service, Georgia is losing 18,000 acres of trees each year on average, which is more than any other state in the country. 

According to the research we have done so far, Georgia has over 250 varieties of trees. However, the trees that are native to northern areas aren’t the same as in the south due to climate and topography variations. So, what trees are common in Southern Georgia? Here is the list!

List Of Most Common Trees In Southern Georgia

1. Southern Magnolia

The first name on the list is none other than the Southern Magnolia. It hrives in the balmy temperatures in the region. Each tree can be about 60-80 feet in height while having a trunk of 2-3 feet in diameter (or even 5 feet in some cases), terminating in a pyramidal, spreading head.

If you’re living in Georgia state and want to grow a Southern Magnolia in your home, ensure you have plenty of space. Consider the trunk diameter of 2-5 feet for this evergreen tree. That said, the following are some of the characteristics of Southern Magnolia:

Leaves — This tree has evergreen leaves that are elliptical and pointed at both ends. You can find these with 2-3 inches of width and 5-10 inches of length with a glossy, bright green finish. 

Flowers —  The real beauty of Southern Magnolia! They can grow up to 1 foot in diameter while being white and delicate. These flowers bloom in late spring, giving off an attractive fragrance. 

Fruit — An egg-shaped fruit develops with a reddish brown bur when a flower drops. It is 1.5 to 2.5 inches thick and 3-4 inches long. Each fruit has many bright red seeds dangling with thin threads. 

Bark — You can find bark on the Southern Magnolia trees in many variations: dark gray to brown or even black in color. However, it is smooth on the upper trunk and becomes somewhat scaly. 

Southern Magnolia trees are located along streams near the coast and/or in swaps. These produce creamy white wood, which is heavy and hard; it turns brown on exposure. Although this tree is mostly used as an ornamental piece, it is also used to make crates and baskets.

2. Live Oak

Let’s talk about Georgia’s official State Tree, Live Oak. This southern staple can be easily distinguished from the other trees due to its sprawling branches draped in Spanish moss. This can live for centuries, providing shelter and shade to generations. 

Each Live Oak tree is 40-60 feet high with a trunk diameter spanning 3-4 feet above its swollen base. The first few feet of the trunk, measuring from the ground, have 3 to 4 horizontal wide-spreading limbs that develop a round-topped, low, dense head. 

Leaves — Wide, evergreen, oblong and rounded leaves are 0.5 to 2.5 inches wide and 2 to 5 inches long. These are dark green with a shiny, smooth upper surface. 

Fruit — A 3/4 inch long oblong acorn. The seed has a pale yellowish cup covering around 1/3 to 1/2 of the acorn, while the exposed part of the seed adorns a dark, blackish-brown color. 

Bark — A dark brown, slightly furrowed layer tinged with red. 

You can easily recognize Southern Live Oak with its distinctive spreading appearance. Although it was formerly used to make ships, it is an ornamental shade tree. The wood of Live Oak is strong, hard, heavy, and close-grained with a light brown or yellow appearance. 

3. Longleaf Pine

Longleaf Pine is fire-resistant and one of Georgia’s most widespread trees. This is available all the way from Southern Virginia to East Texas. In terms of height, Longleaf Pine trees are around 100 feet taller while having a slightly tapering trunk, about 2 to 3 feet in diameter. 

These trees live extremely long, for about 500 years, taking up to 150 years to fully mature. So, you can expect these trees to provide habitat for animals and birds for a long while. The female and male trees create pine cones, which take up to 20 months to develop. 

Leaves — Longleaf Pine’s leaves are basically 10-10 inch long needles, clusters of 3 to the sheath. These leaves are dark green in color. 

Fruit — The fruit is like a cone that matures at the end of the second season. It is 6 to 10 inches long and slightly curved with a dull brown appearance.

Bark — Light orange-brown in color, separated into large, papery scales. 

Longleaf Pine has durable heartwood. The wood of this tree is heavy, coarse-grained, strong, and hardwood that is light reddish-yellow in appearance. Due to these characteristics, this is used in making railroad ties and cars, poles and piling, pulp, boats, etc. 

Longleaf Pine forms open stands on sandy, dry soils, basically present to the coastal plain. It also ranges from the vicinity of Rome to the inland on the state’s western border. These trees can also develop on sterile and too-dry sites for the other southern yellow pines. 

4. Loblolly Pine

Loblolly Pine is another type of Pine that is faster-growing than the Longleaf Pine and is widely used in forestry. The Loblolly Pine spread on 29 million acres (11.7. Million hectares) of land. Interestingly, half of the standing Pine volume in the South is Loblolly Pine.

A tree can grow up to 100 feet in height while having a trunk of 2 to 5 feet in diameter. If you want a tree that can care for itself and grow without much human help, the Loblolly Pine is the most suitable name. You can easily find all across the Southern U.S., from Florida to East Texas. 

Leaves — Much like the Longleaf, Loblolly Pine has leaves comprising 6 to 9 inches needles that are slightly twisted and pale blue-green in color. These grow in tight groups of three. 

Fruit — The fruit of this tree is 2 to 6 inches long. When it fully matures, it becomes light reddish brown in color, having scales with short, stout pickles. 

Bark — Young trees have deeply furrowed bark which is dark in color. However, on old trees, the bark becomes bright, red-brown and split into flat, broad ridges. 

The heartwood of the Loblolly Pine is light brown with orange-coloured to white sapwood. It is used in construction, exterior/interior finish, pulp, etc. It is mixed with the wood from other Pine trees such as longleaf, slash, shortleaf, etc., and sold as southern yellow pine in lumber states. 

5. Red Maple

Red Maple is the tree that keeps Southern Georgia’s forests full of colors with its vibrant, red leaves in autumn. These trees can grow up to 50 to 70 feet in height with a lengthy trunk of 1 to 2 feet in diameter that ends up with a rounded, irregular head.

Leaves — Red Maple’s leaves are 1.5 to 6 inches long. These are a bit less wide and are deeply split into 3 to 5 lobes. When freshly yet fully grown, these have smooth, light green upper surfaces but pale, smooth or only hairy below. When these fall in autumn, they turn brilliant red. 

Fruit — These are usually 3 to 4 inches long while being usually red (or often pale yellow) in color. Fruits can be either paired or double but appear on one stem and rips in the spring. Each seed is attached to a 1-inch wing. 

Bark — The young branches and stems are light gray. The old trunks have shallow fissures, separating them into long, narrow, scaly plates. 

The wood of the Red Maple is strong and hard but brittle. The close-grained nature of the wood makes it perfect to be used in veneer, flooring, interior finish, crates, boxes, furniture, slack cooperage, woodenware, crossties, etc. 

Red Maple are adaptable trees that can grow in various soil conditions. Although it occurs throughout Georgia state, these trees are mostly found on the hillsides in the mountains and piedmont, in the valleys, and swaps and low ground in the coastal plain.

6. Sweetgum

Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a member of the Altingiaceae flowering plant family with 15 species. It is a large, deciduous tree native to not just Central and North America but also Asia.

This tree can grow up to 80 to 140 feet taller and has a trunk of up to 4 to 5 feet in diameter. If you have the space in your backyard, this Georgian native tree is perfect for planting in your home. But what makes it stand out is its beautiful, distinctive leaves. 

Leave — Sweetgum trees are known for their wide, star-shaped, five-pointed leaves. These 4 to 6 inches long parts of the tree are glossy green in the summer but turn red, yellow, and purple in the fall. On crushing, these produce nose-catching fragrance. 

Fruit — It is a round, hard, prickly ball hung to a long stem. This spiked head is dark brown in color, and litters the ground between December and April. 

Bark — The perfect way to spot Sweetgum among the other trees is by searching for unevenly, narrowly ridged, pale gray bark. As the tree grows, it gets a gray-brown color. 

Although Sweetgum’s reddish-brown wood is a bit stiffer and stronger than several other hardwood species, it still falls in the moderately hard category. Since this isn’t very strong, it is perfect for warping severely since it has interlocked grain. 

7. Pecan

Pecan trees not only look beautiful but are also prized for their delicious nuts. This tree is mostly produced in these U.S. states: Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arizona. Pecan also grows in other countries such as China, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina.

This can grow up to 66 to 131 feet in height with a trunk up to 6 feet in diameter; most Pecan trees have a spread of 39 to 75 feet. For your information, a 10-year-old sapling can grow up to 16 feet high in ideal conditions. 

Leaves — Pecan trees have alternate leaves, 12 to 18 inches long, with 9 to 15 leaflets. Alternate means they are opposite on each side of the center stem. Each lance-shaped leaflet is 1 to 12 cm long with a 2 to 6 cm width. These green leaves turn golden yellow in autumn.

Fruit is not truly a nut but a drupe, meaning a fruit with a single seed enveloped by a husk. The husk is greenish-gold in color with an over-oblong shape. It is 1 to 2.3 inches long and 0.6 to 1.12 inches wide. It turns brown when fully matured. 

The pecan tree is primarily cultivated to produce seeds and get nuts. This seed (edible nut) is used to make snacks and other recipes such as pecan pie, praline candy, etc. The Pecan tree needs a large yard and a warm climate to nourish properly. 

What Is The State Tree Of Georgia?

The Southern Live Oak (also called Quercus virginiana) is the official state tree of Georgia. This tree stands as a symbol of strength and is commonly found along the streets of small towns. It’s a significant part of the identity of the American South, known for its wide canopy covered in Spanish moss.

What Is The Tallest Tree In Georgia?

The tallest tree in Georgia is Eastern White Pine with a whopping height of 179 feet. The Georgia Forestry Commission’s Champion Tree Program acknowledges and celebrates the biggest trees in the state. The Cathedral Pine, found on Hale Road, is one of Georgia’s champion trees.