Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Rock Creek Tree Walk/Geocache Tour 2017

In celebration of Arbor Day!

1. Magnolia soulangiana ¡®Black Tulip¡¯
   Lat 45¡ã34’2.26″N, Long 122¡ã51’42.09″W
   Large purple buds in early spring open to beautiful large purple flowers.
2. Magnolia soulangiana Saucer Magnolia
   Lat 45¡ã34’2.49″N, Long 122¡ã51’40.80″W
   Many of the magnolia family have existed for millions of years, but the saucer magnolia is a hybrid created by man.
3. Medlar
   Lat 45¡ã34’0.72″N, Long 122¡ã51’39.18″W
   The fruit of this tree was popular in medieval and Roman times, but has to be almost rotten before eating, and has the texture of a grainy applesauce.
4. Cupressus arizonica ¡®Blue Ice¡¯
   Lat 45¡ã33’59.17″N, Long 122¡ã51’42.71″W
   Not only the bright bluish white needles, but the shape of this tree are very interesting and unique.
5. Red Horsechestnut
   Lat 45¡ã33’58.05″N, Long 122¡ã51’42.35″W
   Beautiful large blooms with pink, orange, and yellow in the spring. The fruit is called conkers and are poisonous to most animals.
6. Redbud
   Lat 45¡ã33’57.16″N, Long 122¡ã51’43.39″W
   Beautiful bright pink buds in early spring. Heart shaped leaves.
7. Japanese Umbrella Pine
   Lat 45¡ã33’54.74″N, Long 122¡ã51’30.39″W
   Even though this looks similar to a pine from a distance, the needles grow in whorls around the stem.
8. Giant Sequoia
   Lat 45¡ã33’55.18″N, Long 122¡ã51’35.02″W
   This tree can live for 3,000 years, and can have bark 3¡¯ thick, and some are 300¡¯ tall.
9. Oriental Spruce
   Lat 45¡ã33’56.03″N, Long 122¡ã51’29.02″W
   Delicate soft texture, deep green foliage, and can grow to 120¡¯ tall in Asia where they are native.
10. White Fir
    Lat 45 34¡¯0.37¡±N, Long 122 51¡¯25.09¡±W
    Whitish blue large flat needles are often shaped like the ribs of a boat
11. Ginkgo
    Lat 45¡ã34’4.68″N, Long 122¡ã51’31.62″W
    The oldest Ginkgo tree in China is 3,500 years old. The female trees produce smelly fruits, and it takes 50 pounds of dried leaves to yield a pound of medicinal ginkgo.
12. Fat Albert Blue Spruce
    Lat 45¡ã34’6.37″N, Long 122¡ã51’32.87″W
    Outstanding blue color, slow growing, short and stout.
13. Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar
    Lat 45¡ã34’4.10″N, Long 122¡ã51’39.75″W
    This tree likes to grow horizontally instead of vertically, and can be trained to take many shapes.
14. Peanut Butter Tree
    Lat 45¡ã34’2.29″N, Long 122¡ã51’39.76″W
    Crush the soft velvety leaves to release the peanut butter scent. It has very fragrant blooms which mature into colorful fruits and bracts.
15. Yellow Alaskan Cedar
    Lat 45¡ã34’0.08″N, Long 122¡ã51’36.64″W
    A Pacific Northwest native tree, it can grow to 200¡¯ tall, and some are 1800 years old. A very soft wood that was used extensively by Native Americans. The bark for blankets and robes. The wood for tool, containers and bows.
16. Big leaf Maple
    Lat 45¡ã34’3.15″N, Long 122¡ã51’45.34″W
    Large leaves can be 12¡± across, and it is the largest of all the maple trees. It produces scented flowers in early spring that hang down in clusters.
17. Western Red Cedar
    Lat 45¡ã34’7.16″N, Long 122¡ã51’50.24″W
    Has drooping branches that turn up on the end. It¡¯s wood is not affected by damaging insects or decay, which makes it a popular wood for building.
18. Oregon White Oak
    Lat 45¡ã34’11.44″N, Long 122¡ã51’41.80″W
    This tree has a deep tap root which makes them very stable in wet or windy areas. It¡¯s very slow growing, and doesn¡¯t like shade.
19. Vine Maple
    Lat 45¡ã34’6.50″N, Long 122¡ã51’24.90″W
    A hardy, spreading small maple tree, with great fall color.
20. Doug Fir
    Lat 45¡ã34’13.12″N, Long 122¡ã51’27.20″W
    Used for it¡¯s wood today, but the American Indians used the needles for basketry and medicines too. The needles smell great when crushed.
21. Pacific Yew
    Lat 45¡ã34’9.96″N, Long 122¡ã51’17.40″W
    A very slow growing native, the berries are toxic, but the plant contains Taxol which is being used for Cancer medicine research.
22. Tricolor Beech
    Lat 45¡ã33’55.90″N, Long 122¡ã51’46.87″W
    Beautiful leaves of pink, green, white and purple, produces a small mildly toxic nut.
23. Tulip Tree
    Lat 45¡ã34’1.68″N, Long 122¡ã51’33.14″W
    Named for its greenish yellow blooms with orange markings that cover the tree early summer.
24. Little Leaf Linden
    Lat 45¡ã33’56.55″N, Long 122¡ã51’51.77″W
    Very popular food source for honeybees, and the flowers, leaves and extracts have been used medicinally and decoratively for many years.
25. Empress Tree
    Lat 45¡ã33’54.12″N, Long 122¡ã51’43.53″W
    Grown in China around homes to bring good luck, it has large fragrant purple bloom clusters in spring.
26. Weeping Yellow Deodar Cedar
    Lat ?45¡ã33’57.06″N, Long 122¡ã51’31.98″W
    This tree is grown for its unusual yellow variegated needles and weeping habit.
27. Flowering Pear
    Lat ?45¡ã33’51.86″N, Long 122¡ã51’29.44″W
    White flowers cover this tree early spring.
28. Pin Oak
    Lat ?45¡ã33’47.55″N, Long 122¡ã51’32.15″W
    Lower branches droop downward, middle branches grow horizontally, upper branches grow upwards.
29. Red Alder
    Lat ?45¡ã33’52.66″N, Long 122¡ã51’44.81″W
    The inner bark and fresh wounds turn deep reddish orange when exposed to air.
30. Sweetgum
    Lat ?45¡ã33’55.07″N , Long 122¡ã51’50.97″W
    The sap from this tree was used as chewing gum. It has star shaped leaves, and spiked round fruits often called gumballs.
31. Kwanzan Flowering Cherry
    Lat ?45¡ã33’59.67″N , Long 122¡ã51’47.82″W
    Beautiful show of pink flowers clusters in early spring
32. Purple Leaf Plum
    Lat ?45¡ã33’58.47″N , Long 122¡ã51’43.93″W
    Purple leaves follow pink blossoms in early spring. Fruits are hard to see because they are the same color as leaves.
33. Crabapple
    Lat ?45¡ã33’59.67″N , Long 122¡ã51’49.42″W
    Beautiful pink spring flowering small tree.
34. Ash
    Lat? 45¡ã33’50.18″N, Long 122¡ã51’30.00″W
    Light but strong wood is valued for office furniture, tool handles, and baseball bats.
35. Corkscrew Willow
    Lat ?45¡ã33’52.14″N, Long 122¡ã51’47.42″W
    Twisted contorted branches grow out at every angle giving this tree an interesting shape year round.
36. Katsura
    Lat ?45¡ã34’2.61″N, Long 122¡ã51’27.50″W
    Fossil records indicate that the Katsura tree has existed for 1.8 million years, but went extinct across North America and Europe during the Ice Age.
37. Summer Chocolate Silk Tree
    Lat ?45¡ã33’55.32″N, Long 122¡ã51’42.15″W
    Deep burgundy leaves with bright pink flowers, which are fragrant and attractive to bees.
38. Paper Birch
    Lat ?45¡ã33’58.67″N, Long 122¡ã51’38.54″W
    This tree has peeling bark which can be used to write on.
39. Himalayan White Pine
    Lat 45¡ã33’57.31″N, 122¡ã51’29.12″W
    This tree has long silky soft blue green needles, and very long (12¡±) cones.
40. Espresso Kentucky Coffeetree
    Lat 45¡ã33’53.26″N, Long 122¡ã51’31.67″W
    Early settlers brewed a coffee like drink from the seeds of this tree, but that¡¯s not a good idea since the seeds are poisonous.