The following photo essay features identification information, photos and interesting facts about native deciduous Michigan trees that are in the top eleven through twenty most common! Michigan shares many types of trees with the Eastern, Midwestern, and often Southern regions of the United States and Canada. I have previously written a photo essay describing the top ten you can also visit!

List of top 11 through 20 common native Michigan trees in no particular order:

• 11. Sassafras
• 12. Yellow Tulip
• 13. White Ash and Green Ash
• 14. Ironwood
• 15. Shagbark Hickory
• 16. Black Walnut
• 17. Black Oak
• 18. White Oak
• 19. Sycamore
• 20. Yellow Birch

Note: Lists vary somewhat and are subject to change; the Box Elder, Big Tooth Aspen and Black Ash are also top native common Michigan trees.

11. Sassafras Tree (Sassafras albidum)

Leaves

• Shapes: The most outstanding feature of the Sassafras tree is the three distinctly shaped leaves growing on the same tree and even on the same branch making them easy to identify. Shapes include three lobed, mitten and oval with pointed tips!
• Edges: Smooth
• Other: Leaves measure 4-6 inches long, firm waxy leaf; medium bright green with paler underside; glossy surface
• Note: Sassafras leaves are highly distinguished by their aromatic properties. People crush the leaves for making tea and rootbeer. The FDA banned sassafras in 1960 due to studies showing “safrole” causes liver damage and cancer in rats. While many still consume it, it should be done in moderation.

Sassafras Tree Form and USDA Distribution Map

Sassafras Tree Size and Form – Medium size tree growing up to 40 to 60 feet (15-18 m) high and 25-40 feet (8-12 m) wide. The trunk is stout, with multi-stemmed spreading branches that wave and twist making them easily identifiable from a reasonable distance; upright branches form a fairly rounded somewhat flat top.

Sassafras trees put on an amazing show of autumns colors, ranging from bright yellow to orange to red. They are among the most colorful trees in autumn, matching the colorful maple trees.

Sassafras tree bark is gray to reddish brown and deeply furrowed with irregular, flat-topped ridges, some with distinct rectangular patterns. As with many tree varieties, the older the tree, the chunkier the bark and the deeper the furrows.

Sassafras Tree Additional Info

• All parts of the Sassafras albidum tree have been used for human purposes throughout history, including the stems, bark, leaves, wood, roots, fruit, and flowers. Sassafras albidum, while native to Michigan and North America, is significant to the economic, medicinal, and cultural history of both Europe and North America, including Native Americans.
• In North America, it has particular culinary significance, being featured in distinct national foods such as traditional root beer and Louisiana Creole cuisine.
• The tree’s significance for Native Americans was magnified with the European quest for sassafras as a commodity for export, bringing Europeans into closer contact with Native Americans during the early years of European settlement in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• Sassafras trees are known to repel mosquitoes and other insects.
• Sassafrs tree is moderate to fast growing living from 30 to 100 years, most typically 50–70 years in ideal conditions.

12. Yellow Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Leaves

• Shape: Four roundish lobes form to a point
• Edges: Smooth
• Other: Large leaf measuring 3 to 8 inches in both length and width; thick waxy firm leaf; medium green in color, paler whitish-green underside; glossy surface.

Yellow Tulip Tree Form and USDA Distribution Map

Yellow Tulip Poplar Tree Size and Form – Large tree up to 100-150 feet (30-45 m) high and 50-75 feet (15-22m) wide. The trunks are tall and branchless for a long length forming a compact, rather open, conical crown of slender branches. Yellow Tulip Poplars are one of the tallest hardwood trees in North America with one of the most perfectly straight trunks in the forest.

Yellow Tulip tree autumn leaves are always yellow, turning brown with age. This particlar one is looking at you kid! :O)

Yellow Tulip tree bark is light greenish-gray in color, thick on mature trees, and deeply furrowed, with tightly patterned narrow, flat-topped ridges. It is often mistaken for ash tree bark resembling the diamond-like patterns.

Yellow Tulip Tree Additional Info

• George Washington planted Yellow Tulip Poplar trees at Mount Vernon, which are now 140 feet tall; Daniel Boone used the wood of this tree for his 60-foot dugout canoe.
• Once plentiful in their natural habitat in eastern North America, Yellow Tulip populations were significantly reduced by loggers for railroad ties and fence posts.
• It is the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
• The Yellow Tulip Poplar tree, although the common name suggests, is not from the poplar family.
• Tulip poplar is fast growing tree typically living for 200-300 years, with some reaching up to 400-500 years in ideal, deep rich soil conditions.

13. White Ash Tree (Fraxinus, americana) Comparison Green Ash Tree (Fraxinus, pennsylvanica)

Note: I chose to compare these two species together because of their close similarities. Both species are among the top 20-25 most common native Michigan trees.

Leaves

• Shape: Both White Ash and Green Ash display compound leaves with 5 to 11 oval leaflets per leaf stem. Both species leaves are almost identical except the Green Ash leaflets are slightly narrower and the White Ash leaflets are attached with a slightly longer stem (petiole).
• Edges: Most often smooth for White Ash; Green Ash ash are more prominently serrated. 
• Other: White Ash leaflets measure 2 to 6 inches long (5-15 cm) and 1 to 3 inches wide; are dark green above, pale-whitish green below; both species display semi-glossy surface. Green Ash leaves are green on both sides and are slightly smaller. Both species compound leaflets are arranged opposite along leaf twig.

Left: White Ash Tree Form Right: Green Ash Tree Form in Autumn Colors Source

Ash Trees Size and Form – The White Ash is a large tree, up to 80-100 feet (24-30 m) high with a 40-60 foot (15-19 m) spread. The trunk is straight, extending well into the upper crown; in forest stands, it is free of branches for a considerable length; forms an open, pyramidal crown of long, slender, lateral branches. White and Green Ash trees have similar, generally rounded forms. Green Ash is the smaller of the two – a medium-to-large tree, typically growing 50–70 feet (15-21 m) tall with a 35–50 foot (11-15 m) spread, featuring a straight trunk and a rounded to oval, sometimes, irregular crown.

Left: White Ash Tree Distribution Map Right: Green Ash Tree Distribution Map

White Ash tree leaves autumn colors often display vibrant red to maroon colors. Green Ash tree leaves typically turns a consistent bright yellow.

Left: White Ash Tree Bark Right: Green Ash Tree Bark

White Ash tree bark is typically light tannish-gray in color. Very young trees possess a smooth texture, while mature trees show long, narrow vertical ridges alternating with deep valleys that resemble diamond shapes. Green Ash bark is typically darker, more flaky, scaly, and has tighter, slightly less defined diamond-shaped ridges.

Ash Tree Additional Info

• While the invasive emerald ash borer has caused a 99.9% elimination rate for mature White Ash and Green Ash trees in Michigan and other regions beginning in 2002, both species continue to be considered “common” trees in terms of widespread regeneration of seedling and sapling forest presence. 
• Note: The White Ash tree trunk pictured above had already died from the Emeral Ash Borer when I took the photograph. There are quite a few dead White Ash trunks still standing or half-fallen caught up on other trees in my local forest, and while driving along the freeway, you will see Ash tree graveyards where they haven’t yet fallen over, most noticeable during summer months when other tree varieties display their leaves.
• Ash wood is hard yet flexible, it is ideal for tool handles (shovels, hammers) and was even used for the frames of early Morgan sports cars.
• White ash is the preferred wood for Louisville Slugger baseball bats and has been used for hockey sticks.
• White Ash prefers moist, well-drained upland sites, while Green Ash thrives in wet, flood-prone areas.
• White Ash trees typically live 200-250 years and in ideal conditions can live up to 300 years. Green Ash trees live on average 50 years less than White Ash.

I4. Ironwood / American Hop Hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)

Leaves

• Shape: Oval shaped leaves come to a point at the tip.
• Edge: Margins are sharply double-toothed.
• Other: Medium size tree growing 2 to 5 inches (5 to 12 cm) long; grows on branches in various sizes; tissue paper thin leaf; dark to yellow-green in color with the underside only slightly lighter in shade; slight sheen to dull surface.

Leaves grow in clusters of various sizes alternately along the tree stem.

The seedpod of the ironwood tree is noteworthy for their drooping clusters along branches that look like hops, hence the common name “Hop Hornbeam”. Each small sac has a hard nutlet inside. The seedpod changes from creamy green in midsummer to golden brown as it ages falling apart and dispersing the seeds inside.

Ironwood / American Hop Hornbeam Tree and Distribution Map

Ironwood Tree Size and Form – Slow growing medium size tree reaches from 25 to 50 feet (7.5-15 m) high and 20-40 feet (6-12 m) wide. Basically shaped pyramidal to round; forms a broad, dense, umbrella-shaped canopy often with drooping branches, frequently starting with multiple trunks.

Ironwood tree bark is light brown to greenish-gray in color with reddish undertones; has smooth texture when young, as with most tree species. Older trees exhibit distinctive shaggy shredded vertical strips.

Ironwood Tree Additional Info

• Other common names include, Leverwood, Eastern Hop Hornbeam
• Is related to the beech family.
• Best used for tool handles, hence the name, Leverwood.
• Has very, tough, dense wood difficult for chainsaws, but can be susceptible to rot.
• In the forest, Ironwood is an understory tree filling the spaces between dominant maples and oaks or understory shrubs.
• Highly tolerant exposure range from full sun to mostly shade.
• Is a good ornamental yard tree away from street salt.
• Native Americans used the astringent leaves and inner bark as a general concoction for the liver, kidneys, general sickness and sore muscles.
• Ironwood trees live up to 150 years in the best conditions.

Shagbark Hickory Tree Compound Leaf and Leftlets

15. Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata)

Leaves

• Shape: Compound leaves with 5 (rarely 7) varying size oblong, sharply pointed leaflets arranged parallel along the leaf branch stem.
• Edges: Finely serrated
• Other: Leaflets measure from 4 to 15 inches (10 to 38 cm) long. Fairly thick leaves; medium-dark green topside, underside is a shade lighter; slight sheen surface.

Shagbark Hickory Tree Size and Form – Grows from 60 to 100 feet (18 to 30 m) high on average, but much larger trees have been observed in the wild reaching up to 100 feet (30 meters); can grow 30-70 feet (9-21 m) wide. National largest tree is found in Tennessee measuring 150 feet (45 meters). The tree grows consistently oblong with a rounded upper canopy. Lower branches may droop.

Shagbark Hickory Tree Oblong Form

Shagbark Hickory Tree Fruit Nut Progression

Shagbark Hickory tree nuts begin dropping off the tree while partly green in the autumn, the prime time for foraging them off the tree or ground. The nut is protected by a thick golf-ball size husk. The hickory nut is ready for eating when the husk begins to split. They taste sweet and delicious providing a highly nutritious food source for both wildlife and humans.

Shagbark Hickory Tree Bark

Shagbark Hickory tree bark is grayish to brown in color characterized by long peeling strips making it look shaggy, hence the name; the older the tree the shaggier the bark.

Shagbark Hickory Tree Additional Info

• Other names include: Shellbark Hickory, Scalybark Hickory, and Upland Hickory.
• Shagbark Hickory is related to the walnut tree family.
• Shagbark Hickory wood is one of the most efficient woods in North America for burning.
• Is extremely hardy withstanding extreme temperature ranges.
• Prefers humid areas with moist acidic soil.
• Shagbark Hickory trees can live up to 350 years.

16. Black Walnut Tree (Juglans nigra)

Leaves

• Shape: Compound leaf with 10 to 25 variable sized, narrow, oblong leaflets with pointed tips; joined parallel along the leaf twig.
• Edge: Finely serrated
• Other: Leaflets measure 3-6 inches (8-25 cm) long, thin leave with smooth top and hairy underside, especially when young; colored yellow-green; dull matte surface.

Black Walnut Tree Form Treehugger

American Black Walnut Tree Size and Form – Large, fast growing tree typically reaches from 70 to 90 feet (21 to 27 meters) high and 50-70 feet (15-21 m) wide. In ideal conditions can reach up to 150 feet (46 m) high. Forms a straight trunk and rounded, open, broad crown. While they can maintain a narrower profile in dense forests, they often achieve wide spread when planted in open, sunny, and moist, fertile soil locations. 

Black Walnut tree autumn colored leaves typically transform to sparkling bright yellow!

Black Walnut Tree Nut Progression

• Begins green, smooth, round, to golf ball-size husks grown in singles or pairs from the twig.
• Husks fall off the tree September to October turning brown eventually breaking apart.
• Broken husks reveal the rough, round, hard, dark, brown or black nutshell.
• A black tannin that can stain your hands appears between the outer husk and the nutshell.
• The tannins can be used to make a dark brown natural wood stain or dye.

Black Walnut tree bark is course with “X” patterned intersecting ridges creating diamond shaped hollows; resembles ash bark, but shows a much darker gray color, particularly overtime.

Black Walnut Tree Additional Info

• Is also known as American Black Walnut or Eastern Black Walnut.
• “Black” in the name is derived from the dark bark and nut.
• Related to the Hickory family.
• Both fruits and leaves have a spicy citrus smell when crushed or scraped.
• Due to its economic value, the number of large individuals remaining in the wild has been significantly reduced.
• Walnut wood is highly prized in woodworking for its handsome grain and resistance to warping. It is often used to make furniture and cabinets.
• Prefers full sun and is not shade tolerant.
• They are one of the last trees to leaf out in spring and among the first to drop leaves in early autumn.
• Is allelopathic, meaning the roots release a chemical called “juglone” to inhibit other trees and plants from growing around it.
• Native Americans used the bark in tea as a laxative and chewed for toothaches.
• Matures typically in about 150 years, can live up to 250 years.

17. Black Oak (Quercus velutina)

Important to know about the Black Oak tree is that it is a member of the Red Oak family and therein lies a bit a confusion and sometimes it can be difficult to tell them apart. I included the Northern Red Oak tree in my other article about the top ten most common native Michigan trees and reference comparisons here in this photo essay!

Leaves

• Shape: 5 to 9 various size lobes with pointed bristly tips; a large leaf more long than wide. Sinuses where the lobes meet are broadly rounded. In comparison, the sinuses where lobes meet on the Northern Red Oak leaves are shallower and don’t extend as deep into the center of the leaf.
• Edges: Smooth
• Other: Large leaf measuring 4 to 10 inches in length and 3 to 8 inches in width; thick leathery leaf; dark green, underside paler and fuzzy, especially when young; glossy surface.

Black Oak Tree Form and USDA Distribution Map

Black Oak Tree Size and Form

The Black Oak is a large tree growing up to 100 feet (30 m) high; slender and stout branches form a broad 40-60 feet (12-18 m) wide, dense, often irregular and open, rounded, crown; trunk typically grows straight; dead lower branches are usually not persistent on lower trunk.

Black Oak tree leaves autumn colors can turn yellow, but most often turn brownish-red or deep-red. A defining feature is how the leaves remain on the tree far past the autumn season well into the winter months.

The Black Oak tree acorn is medium-sized and broadly rounded. The cap is large and covers 1/2 to 3/4 of the nut, covering more of the nut than the Northern Red Oak acorn; also has slight fraying around the edges. Colors vary from reddish brown to dark brown; some have dark stripes.

Black Oak tree bark is rough and grayish-black in color, darker than the Northern Red Oak. Age brings fairly deep furrows and horizontal cracks, forming irregular, short ridges with a squarish and blocky appearance. Known for its dark, deeply furrowed bark with a distinctive bright yellow/orange inner bark. Unlike the Northern Red Oak, Black Oak trees lacks the distinct “ski trail” (smooth, light gray, vertical) streaks in the upper bark.

Black Oak Tree Additional Information

• The scientific name velutina means “velvety,” referring to the fine, soft hairs found on its winter buds and young leaves.
• The tree supports hundreds of species of caterpillars and provides critical food for squirrels, deer, and turkeys.
• Mature trees have thick bark that provides moderate resistance to fire, though young trees are easily killed. 
• Black Oak is a long-lived, hardy species typically living up to 150-200 years, although shorter lifespan than other oaks.  

18. White Oak (Quercus alba)

Leaves

• Shape: Oblong, most commonly with 7 to 9 rounded finger-like lobes (no bristles at the tips)with fairly deep rounded sinuses; easy to distinguish from Red Oaks that display pointed bistly tipped lobes.
• Edges: Smooth
• Other: Large leaf generally 5 to 9 inches long and 2 to 4 inches wide; fairly thick firm leaf; bright green to bluish-green, underside is pale green or whitish-green; mildly glossy smooth surface.

White Oak Tree Form and USDA Distribution Map

White Oak Tree Size and Form – Massive tree typicall growing up to 60-120 feet (18-37 m) high and 50-80 feet (15-24 m) wide. When grown in open, ideal conditions, their heavy horizontal limbs can spread up to 100 feet (30 m) wide, creating a large, majestic shade tree featuring numerous sturdy horizonal wide-spreading limbs and a rounded crown.

White Oaks Vs Red Oaks

White Oak Family There are 5-6 varieties of native White Oak trees in Michigan, all of which have lobed leaves with rounded margins lacking bristles on the very tips. White Oaks are named for the white color of their fresh-cut wood.

Red Oak Family There are 5-6 varieties of native Red Oaks in Michigan, all of which exhibit lobed leaves with pointed tips and tiny bristles on the very ends. The Black Oak tree belongs to the Red Oak family—hence, my own initial confusion. Red oaks are named for their fall-colored leaves, which stay on their trees longer than most others—sometimes throughout the entire winter season.

White Oak tree acorns are one of the more elongated acorns often measuring slightly over 1″ long and are typically larger than many other species including from the Red Oak family. They display brown nuts with a warty, shallow paler cap.

White Oak tree autumn colors typically turn deep shades of red-wine, burgundy or brown.

White Oak tree bark displays lots of loose flaky scales; color appears light ash-grey, lighter than most other oak tree barks. The lower trunk bark may appear blocky, rough, and deeply furrowed, but the light, peeling appearance is a key identifier.

White Oak Tree Additional Information

• The wood was used to build the USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”), a ship renowned for withstanding cannon fire.
• They support more caterpillar species than almost any other plant, providing crucial food for birds.
• White oak contains tyloses, which plug its vascular cells, making the wood watertight and ideal for barrels.
• Their acorns are lower in tannin than red oaks, making them sweeter and more appealing to wildlife like deer, squirrels, and turkeys.
• The White Oak is slow growing sturdy majestic tree living up to 200-400-600 years.

19. American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

Leaves

• Shape: 3 to 5 shallow broad lobes forming pointed tips (often confused with maple leaves).
• Edges: Smooth
• Other: One of the largest native North American leaves, 4 to 8 inches (10 to 22 cm) long and 4 to 10 inches (10-25 cm) wide. Leaf is thick and firm; medium green, underside is fairly lighter green and furry texture, especially when young; semi-glossy surface.

American Sycamore Tree Form and Distribution Map

American Sycamore Tree Size and Form – Large fast growing tree averages from 75 to 100 feet (23-30 m) high with a 50–70 foot (15-21 m) spread; in ideal conditions can reach a massive 150 feet (45 meters) high. Tree has a uniform pyramidal shape when young, maturing into a broad, rounded, or irregular crown with large, spreading branches.

Sycamore tree autumn leaves emit a pleasant distinctive smell in the early fall season, especially when the sun is bearing down on them; autumn colors can vary demonstrated in photo above.

• Round spiky seed pods of the sycamore tree fall to the ground in the spring. The seed pods can be seen throughout the tree on bare winter branches making it easy to identify the tree.
• Seedpods are foraged by wildlife including muskrats, beavers, squirrels, finches, chickadees, juncos and more.

American Sycamore tree bark when young is brown with tight vertical ridges giving way to an easily identifiable mottled green, gray and white patchy, camouflage-like patterned appearance.

Sycamore Tree Additional Information

• They are the largest native hardwood in North America in terms of diameter.
• They are flood tolerant and can survive for weeks in standing water.
• Belongs in the maple family.
• Has famously hollow trunks due to a fungi providing essential shelters for birds and mammals.
• Native Americans used the bark to treat various ailments, including cold/cough remedies.
• Sycamore trees live approximately 200 years and up to 400 years or longer in ideal conditions.

20. Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)

Leaves

• Shape: Oval oblong forming a sharp point – larger, longer and narrower than the white birch leaf which tend to be more triangular with a wider base.
• Edge: Double serrated (small teeth between large).
• Other: Measures 3 -5 inches long; dark green and somewhat hairy on topside; paler green with hairs on the underside; shiny surface.

Yellow Birch Tree Form, Autumn Colors and USDA Distribution Map

• Yellow Birch autumn leaves almost always turn a brilliant yellow color!

Yellow Birch Form and Size – Large tree growing up to 50–100 ft (15-30 meters) high with a 35-60 feet (10-18 m) spread; develops a broad, open, irregular crown of drooping branches, or a more upright, slender form when growing in dense, crowded forest settings.

Yellow Birch tree bark for which the tree is named displays glossy, bronze, silvery-yellow, or yellowish-gray colors. The bark peels into fine, thin, curly shreds. The bark color and character are the most distinguishing feature and difference between the Paper “White” Birch that displays chalky white bark which peels into larger, papery, horizontal sheets.

Yellow Birch Tree Additional Information

• The twigs and bark smell like wintergreen when crushed. 
• Commonly found in moist, well-drained soils in northern Michigan, particularly the Upper Peninsula
• They are typically found in moist, shady, and low-lying habitats, often appearing in swampy areas or near streams in the southern Lower Peninsula. 
• Because they often germinate on mossy logs or stumps, the roots may grow around the object, leaving the tree standing on “stilts” once the stump rots away.
• Is shade tolerant, opposite of the White Birch tree.
• The tree is a crucial food source for deer, moose, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers. Its seeds are enjoyed by birds like pine siskins, redpolls, and goldfinches.
• Yellow Birch is a long-lived hardwood tree from 150-300 years – longer than the fast growing smaller to medium size White Birch tree.

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