FAN Tree Walk

Led by Margaret Ward, August 25, 2001

(Tree Walk starts at Rossman Park in Lake Oswego, Oregon)

Background:  The original donation land claim, which is now First Addition, was taken in 1850 by Sarah & Josiah Franklin.  Its ownership passed several times, and in the 1890's was sold to the Oregon Iron & Steel Company.  During the late 1800's, when Lake Oswego's iron smelter was producing pig iron, great quantities of char coal were needed to keep the furnace burning at a high temperature.  The charcoal was produced by cutting and stacking great quantities of wood in pits, covering it with dirt and fir boughs, and burning it for a couple of weeks until the charcoal was ready for delivery by wagon to the smelter.  It's likely that First Addition lost most of its native trees during this time.  With a few exceptions, the trees on our walk today were planted since the neighborhood developed around the turn of the century.

#1 - Dawn Redwood is the youngest tree on the walk at about 8 years old.  It is a deciduous conifer, of which there are very few species.  Fossils of this tree were discovered in Japan in 1941 - the same year the tree was discovered alive in central China.  Dawn Redwoods have actually been growing since the time of the dinosaurs. Some of the first seeds brought to the U.S. were given to Hoyt Arboretum in 1948, so some of the oldest Dawn Redwoods in the United States are in the Portland area.  It is a fast grower to height of up to 200 feet.

#2 - Clerodendrum (Glory Bower) is native to Japan.  Its leaves, when crushed, smell like peanut butter.  It has a lovely scarlet blossom with a bright blue seed, and is very attractive to butterflies.

#3 - Colorado Spruce:  Native to the Rocky Mountains, this is a very popular landscape tree in the Portland area.  These two were planted by Margaret Bruce's father on either side of the walkway to the parsonage for the Congregational Church which stood at this site in about 1936.  One is happier than the other - possibly because of damage incurred when the alley was paved.  (Margaret Bruce is a long-time FAN resident.  Her father came to this area from Scotland, and worked as a landscaper/gardener for years at the Kerr Estate in Dunthorpe.)

#4 - Hardy Catalpa:  The house, in whose yard this tree stands, was built in 1920 or 1940 (records are not clear), and the tree is probably about that old.  It has enormous leaves and lovely early summer flowers, long pendulous seed pods that can reach 23 inches in length and stay on the tree all winter.  Extremely resistant to rot, they were planted by early pioneers to provide axe and shovel handles.  Note the tree identification label affixed the tree when the Forest Hills Garden Club did the first "tree walk" in the 1960's.  The tree has grown around the sign, leaving only "Hard Cata" visible.  Visit this tree in the next fifty years before the sign disappears completely!

#5 - Big Leaf Maples:  Named for the size of its leaves, which sometimes reach over a foot in width, these trees were probably planted when the house was constructed - sometime around 1920.  The original owner and long-time resident Mr. Rosentreter believed that, when you planted a tree, you threw an old leather logging boot in the hole to give it a good start.  (The house was a "kit" ordered from Sears Roebuck and delivered by rail.)

#6 - Western Red Cedar (Giant Arborvita):  Native to the Pacific Northwest, the Indians used this tree for everything from diapers made from the bark to canoes burned and carved out of the trunk.  It is highly prized by the timber industry, so very few virgin stands are left.

#7 - Norway Spruce:  Native to northern & central Europe, this tree was introduced in the U.S. during colonial times.  It bears enormous cones measuring more than 8" in length and is widely planted for the commercial value of its timber.

#8 - American Chestnut:  Very few American Chestnut trees remain because of a blight which may have entered this country from China or Japan in the late 1880s.  Truly magnificent in stature, it has interesting seed pods containing up to three nuts.

#9 - Tulip or Yellow Poplar:  One of the tallest native deciduous trees, it can reach 200 feet.  It is easy to identify because of its almost-square leaf.  A large limb blew out of this one in a recent storm, and it has been "crowned" reducing it in height.  The house was built in about 1913 and it is likely this tree was planted around that time.

#10 - Black Locust:  Native to Appalachia, this tree has become naturalized in the Pacific Northwest. Lovely and very fragrant in bloom, honeybees love this tree.  It is very resistant to decay and has been used for centuries as fence posts and in construction.  The seeds, young leaves, and inner bark are all poisonous.  It is a member of the pea family.

#12 - Tree of Heaven:  This was the "tree that grew in Brooklyn."  Native to China, it came to the United States in the late 1700s and was first planted in the California Gold Country.  It is truly a city tree, providing greenery where nothing else will grow - including through concrete.

#13 - London Plane (Sycamore) is one of the largest of native deciduous trees.  Falling flakes of bark, seed, leaves and twigs all contribute to making this a messy tree.  Common in Europe, it is capable of thriving in all kinds of pollution.  Fruit is covered with spiky brown bristles, hanging two to four together.

#14 - Giant Sequoia:  This tree grows to be the tallest of all trees.  It is not native to this area, but introduced.  The Giant Sequoia is characterized by its pointy top.  This one is over 100 years old.  Fire is necessary to open the cones of the Sequoia and release seeds.  The tree itself is protected from the fire by its tough bark.  Another First Addition example of this tree is in the Safeway parking lot and served as Lake Oswego's official Christmas tree for many years.

#15 - Pacific Madrona is a native evergreen which sheds its bark bit by bit.  It blooms profusely in spring and has edible fruit in fall which attracts birds.  The Indians used the berries to treat colds, stomach problems and tuberculosis, and for post-childbirth contraception.

#16 - American Elm is the most widely planted street tree in America.  Many can be found in the Portland Park Blocks.  These trees are highly susceptible to Dutch Elm disease.

#17 - Cutleaf Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum):  This specific tree was originally brought from Japan in about 1900.  It stands where the office of John Herbst, a local landscaper, stood until the 1980's.  The property was purchased by a developer around 1990; neighbors and friends were able to preserve the tree, despite plans to remove it.  It is named for its leaves which resemble the palm of the hand with the fingers spread. The Japanese Maple has superb color in fall. 

#18 - Sugar Maple trees are not often found in the West.  A slow grower, it has a height potential of about 120 feet, but more often attains 75 feet.  It takes 30-40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.  Take a walk to see this tree in the fall, when it attains fabulous color.

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