Trees

Ironwood and blue beech are small understory trees characteristic of the Carolinian Life Zone. Ironwood has oval leaves with sharp teeth and rough grey-brown bark. Though slow-growing, Ironwood has extremely dense, hard wood. Blue beech has oval leaves with fine teeth and smooth grey bark.

If you look closely you may spot some old apple trees growing along the Orchard Trail, a remnant of this area’s agricultural past. Apple seeds were brought to the area by early settlers and apple orchards were once a common sight throughout the Rouge Valley.

Black walnut trees can be found at the southern end of the Orchard Trail. They are identified by their dark, highly ridged bark and compound leaves (multiple leaflets attached to a single stem). In the fall these trees drop greenish-brown fruits that each contain a walnut. The fruits have a very distinctive pungent smell, similar to the smell of an orange. Black walnut trees produce a chemical called juglone that can inhibit the growth of nearby plants.

The abundance of white cedar trees that grow along the northern end of the route give the Cedar Trail its name. These small to medium sized trees are very hardy and slow-growing with red-brown furrowed bark and fan-shaped branches with small scaly leaves. Some white cedars growing along the Niagara Escarpment exceed 500 years in age, making them some of the oldest trees in Ontario.

Both white pines and red pines grow along the second half of the Woodland Trail. White pines have grey-brown ridged bark and 6 to 12 cm long needles that grow in bunches of five, while red pines have reddish-pink bark and 10 to 16 cm long needles that grow in bunches of two. Old-growth white pines were once logged in the Rouge Valley and sent overseas to become ship masts in Europe. White pine is now the provincial tree of Ontario and all trees in Rouge National Urban Park are protected.

Red oak is one of the tree species that has been planted at the restoration sites in the Bob Hunter area of the park. Red oaks grow more slowly than some of the other planted species such as trembling aspen or white pine. These fast-growing species will help to re-establish proper soil and drainage conditions for these forests to thrive. Later, the replanted red oaks will act as natural seed sources, allowing the growth of new trees that will help transition these restored areas towards mature mixed hardwood forests.

Trembling aspen is a fast-growing deciduous tree that can be found across Canada. It gets its name from its leaves, which appear to “tremble” when blowing in the wind, due to their flexible flattened stalks. Trembling aspen mainly spreads through root sprouts, forming clonal colonies. All the trees in a colony have the same characteristics and share a single root structure. Trembling aspen is often one of the first species to grow after a disturbance. Trembling aspen can be an important food source for many animals, including deer, beavers and snowshoe hare who eat the bark and twigs, and many species of birds who eat their buds and seeds.

Staghorn sumac is a large shrub or small tree with compound leaves (multiple leaflets attached to a single stem). Clusters of greenish flowers appear on the plants in late spring and turn into fuzzy red berries by late summer. The fruit stays on the trees throughout the winter, providing a source of food for birds. Staghorn sumac gets its name from the velvety texture of its branches, which resemble the antlers of a male deer (stag).