Site 9
Trees of Kansas
Kansas is situated at the western edge of the central hardwood forests of a diverse species of deciduous trees, where the forest transitions to the open prairies of the Great Plains. These forests are found in the eastern part of our state where the terrain is hillier and rockier. The most commonly found trees in this hardwood region are American Elm, the Oak family, Black Walnut, and Hickory. Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the forest region in Kansas had a more open understory shaped by the fires of Native Americans. This lack of undergrowth provided better grazing for animals and hunting for Native Americans.
The woody vegetation associated with the floodplain zone of streams and rivers is called riparian forest. Riparian forests historically occur along much of the major rivers and their tributaries of the Great Plains: Missouri River, Platte River, and Arkansas River. Trees that grow along these riverbanks are the Eastern Cottonwood, Willow, Hackberry, and Osage Orange. As these rivers flowed eastward into the central hardwood forest on the eastern side of Kansas, one will also find these trees in the deciduous forests of Kansas as well.
These native trees are adapted well to the climate they have evolved in. Naturally planted in the right spot for light and moisture, they tend to withstand Mother Nature’s extremes better than non-native selections. Once established, they are quite independent with little water. Since they’ve evolved with potentially more environmental extremes (weather and fire) as well as destructive insects, Kansas trees have their own effective defenses against the variety of natural hardships thrown their way.
Kansas forests also provide a vital role in the natural food web to the local ecosystem. Native trees serve as the primary or exclusive host to a large number of moths, butterflies, and other insects who rely on these plants for food, shelter, reproduction, and hibernation. And because they’ve evolved together over millions of years, the production of flowers, fruit, and seeds from native trees is timed perfectly with the life cycle of the insects, birds, and other animals looking for those resources.
At this O.W.L.S. site, one will find a variety of Kansas trees in the distance, edged around the park, or flanked to the right of this sign. The Chinkapin Oak is exactly to the right of the trail. This tree species loves to grow in direct light and in limestone outcrops. Chinkapin oak acorns are eaten by the mice and birds of the park area. Due to the nature of the wood being “straight,” Native Americans used the timber for lodge poles, while pioneers utilized the wood for fence posts and railroad ties.
The Eastern Cottonwood that one sees on the horizon is the state tree of Kansas. It is one of the fastest growing trees in the area that can reach a height of 100 feet and spread its canopy up to 70 feet. People and critters alike enjoy the shade and shelter it provides on a hot, sunny day, as well as a windbreak from the strong winds that whip across the prairie. The Eastern Cottonwood is considered dioecious, where there are male and female flowers borne on separate trees. The male cottonwood flowers catkins shortly before the female tree flowers in the spring. After wind pollination, the female trees’ catkins elongate and develop fruit and seeds. About mid-summer the fruits split open and release the “cottony” seed to the wind and waterways.
The other native Kansas trees you can find in the park are the following:
Bur Oak - Directly straight ahead, in the far southeast corner of the park
Pin Oak - Within the Memorial garden near Site #1
Red Cedar (Juniper) - Three trees located on the southside of pond