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This myrtlewood tree (Umbellularia californica) graces the front yard of a home in our neighborhood. It is also called California bay and the evergreen leaves have an incredibly pungent scent. Some folks cook with it in place of regular bay leaves,...

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Location: Overlook Author: Angie D.

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This myrtlewood tree (Umbellularia californica) graces the front yard of a home in our neighborhood. It is also called California bay and the evergreen leaves have an incredibly pungent scent. Some folks cook with it in place of regular bay leaves, but it's a bit too strong for me. In the fall it drops loads of avocado-looking fruits (but much smaller), with a seed inside the size of a shelled hazelnut. The squirrels love them and I'd never thought much about them until this year, when I read that they are edible. My kids collected a bucket of them and we are going to test out roasting them - supposedly they taste somewhere between coffee and cocoa!

The trees at this MAX stop are some of my favorites. They completely bent over in the snow storms last winter (2017) and bounced back to their usual self in a week. They were bent so far over they were touching the building on the other side of the t...

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Location: Downtown Author: Mike D.

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The trees at this MAX stop are some of my favorites. They completely bent over in the snow storms last winter (2017) and bounced back to their usual self in a week. They were bent so far over they were touching the building on the other side of the tracks.

170 foot Douglas fir, One of the tallest trees in the zone of the propozed Macadam Ridge Development. A cluster of several others on the canyon/ridge facing Southwest Taylor's Ferry Road, reach heights of about 150-170 ft, which is rather tall for u...

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Location: South_burlingame Author: Micah E.

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170 foot Douglas fir, One of the tallest trees in the zone of the propozed Macadam Ridge Development. A cluster of several others on the canyon/ridge facing Southwest Taylor's Ferry Road, reach heights of about 150-170 ft, which is rather tall for urban Douglas fir. Hopefully these are retained as a buffer, if any plans do go forward to the effect of a development. - Micah Ewers.

There is a line of sweetgums that I walk by multiple times a week. Hundreds of crows try to crack the spiky globe fruit that grow on the trees by pick them up and dropping them in front of moving cars on N. Williams. It's definitely one of my very...

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Location: Eliot Author: Ann T.

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There is a line of sweetgums that I walk by multiple times a week. Hundreds of crows try to crack the spiky globe fruit that grow on the trees by pick them up and dropping them in front of moving cars on N. Williams. It's definitely one of my very favorite things to watch. The autumn colors of the sweetgums are also quite spectacular. Purple, red, yellow, green, orange and brown can be present on just one branch. :)

I've been spending a bit of time under these trees the neighborhood has dubbed, "Moreland Woods." This one has the biggest girth, at 64"dbh, of all the trees on the lot. I didn't know about these trees until a recent neighborhood meeting where it was...

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Location: Sellwood_moreland_improvement_league Author: Susan S.

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I've been spending a bit of time under these trees the neighborhood has dubbed, "Moreland Woods." This one has the biggest girth, at 64"dbh, of all the trees on the lot. I didn't know about these trees until a recent neighborhood meeting where it was revealed that the lot these trees grow on is up for sale, possibly to developers. I got involved and right now we've got a crew of people working with the property owner to find a way to sell the lot at a discount for conservation. This is such a great group of trees and would be a perfect spot for protected open space. It borders Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge and might make a good spot for a new trailhead for the Bluff Trail. It's right next to Llewellyn Elementary School, so it would be convenient for outdoor education for the students there. I'm really excited to be working on a conservation project like this for the first time. If you're curious about how we're progressing on preserving these trees, you can find updates on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/friendsofmorelandwoods/

This tree no longer exists ... it was a Tree of Heaven, an invasive species that is taking over the block where I live. When I moved to my house a year ago, there were hundreds of Tree of Heaven sprouts in my backyard. My husband and I have gotten ri...

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Location: Woodstock Author: Patricia D.

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This tree no longer exists ... it was a Tree of Heaven, an invasive species that is taking over the block where I live. When I moved to my house a year ago, there were hundreds of Tree of Heaven sprouts in my backyard. My husband and I have gotten rid of them and have planted many native trees in our backyard. These native trees we planted over the past year aren't on your map yet.

When I was at Forest Park my class went to pull out ivy. For ivy to grow it needs sunlight and one way for ivy to grow and thrive, is when the it climbs up trees and invade's the canopy. This can lead to trees getting hurt or even dying from the ivy....

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Location: Forest_park_6b Author: Laura K.

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When I was at Forest Park my class went to pull out ivy. For ivy to grow it needs sunlight and one way for ivy to grow and thrive, is when the it climbs up trees and invade's the canopy. This can lead to trees getting hurt or even dying from the ivy. We need to all help taking out ivy so this 123 ft. tree can grow to 150 ft.

Today Heidi's class and I hiked through Forest park to pull ivy. This is so important because as you pull away invasive plants it makes new room for native plants to thrive. Pulling the ivy also prevents the native plants from being strangled and suf...

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Location: Forest_park_6b Author: Abi C.

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Today Heidi's class and I hiked through Forest park to pull ivy. This is so important because as you pull away invasive plants it makes new room for native plants to thrive. Pulling the ivy also prevents the native plants from being strangled and suffocated. This was a wonderful adventure that I would like to do more of!

at one point my drone got stuck half way up this tree and it took a while to get it down

I live near this tree and i always notice that there are a tun of crows live is this tree. this tree is beautiful and at night there are always bats flying around the tree

Back in 1941 my grandfather planted six birch trees around the family home. These trees provided shade in the hot summers for my grandpa, my mom, me and now my kids here in this home. One has a distinct leaning trunk from the high winds of the Columb...

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Location: Grant_park Author: John M.

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Back in 1941 my grandfather planted six birch trees around the family home. These trees provided shade in the hot summers for my grandpa, my mom, me and now my kids here in this home. One has a distinct leaning trunk from the high winds of the Columbus day storm in 1962. In the 70s the ice storms pruned them quite a bit but they came back just fine. Recently we lost one to old age and another is on its way out. They seem a part of the family and part of the home. I am grateful for the memories and the shelter they've provided over the generations of my family. Sure, I resent the leaves and the sap on my car - but I would not trade them for anything.

I planted this tree when we built our house in 1960 thinking it would grow 20 feet, but it got to 84! One previous neighbor cut branches that hung over, but the current neighbors like the shade. It's a brittle tree, so its not good for climbing. -An...

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Location: Multnomah Author: Canopy S.

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I planted this tree when we built our house in 1960 thinking it would grow 20 feet, but it got to 84! One previous neighbor cut branches that hung over, but the current neighbors like the shade. It's a brittle tree, so its not good for climbing.
-Anonymous Multnomah Resident

I have a tree named bob that I like to read in when it is summer. I like to think that it is my tree. It doesn't show up on the map but it is the only tree that i have stuff to write about. Sometimes i like to pretend that it is the Womping Willow f...

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Location: Woodstock Author: Katharine R.

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I have a tree named bob that I like to read in when it is summer. I like to think that it is my tree. It doesn't show up on the map but it is the only tree that i have stuff to write about. Sometimes i like to pretend that it is the Womping Willow from Harry Potter. I named it after a tree in a book called Lily and Dunkin.

Katsura Tree Podcast by Joshua Justice and Alecia Giombolini. To listen to this podcast and others, visit www.pdx.edu/history/heritage-trees-podcasts. Laurelhust Park, with its duck pond, aged firs, winding paths, and old lamp posts, is typically...

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Location: Laurelhurst Author: Canopy S.

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Katsura Tree Podcast by Joshua Justice and Alecia Giombolini. To listen to this podcast and others, visit www.pdx.edu/history/heritage-trees-podcasts.

Laurelhust Park, with its duck pond, aged firs, winding paths, and old lamp posts, is typically associated with the wealth and elegance of the surrounding neighborhood, and the era in which it was developed. But if one observes the park's only heritage tree, a 70-foot Katsura, one can unravel the much more complicated history. In a park known for its urban, 20th century design, such a large katsura tree is a horticultural anomaly, whose origins reflect larger cultural and social trends that were taking place across the country.

The katsura tree is native to Japan and northern China, and was first introduced to the United States in 1865. Despite this early introduction, the katsura did not become common in the Pacific Northwest till the early 1950's. During thist time period, the US was still involved in the rebuilding of japan after the devastation of WWII, and Americans who served in the war began to bring back Japanese plants and styles of planting. This new post-war interest in Japanese horticulture was part of a larger growing interest in Japanese culture that was deeply connected to changing American cultural and social attitudes following WWII. Writers such as Jack Kerouac and Alan Watts were heavily influenced by Japanese culture and tradition, particularly Zen Buddhism, and their work would be an important influence in the 1960s counter-culture movement. The Laurelhurst Park heritage tree, which is one of Portland's oldest living katsuras, was very much a part of this post-war trend.

The tree, according to Portland tree expert phyllis reynolds, is roughly 60 years old. there's photographic evidence of the tree at quite a substantial size that is dated ca. 1960, making it possible the tree even older than that estimate. It is quite interesting that the katsura was planted in Laurelhust Park. The Laurelhurst neighborhood was built at the turn of the century as a residential suburb for portland's affluent citizens seeking to escape the inner city. The park was meant to be the neighborhood's crown jewel and a way to attract the city's elite to the new development. As a result, the park's design matches the urbane nature of the surrounding neighborhood. The park's preliminary plans, which were composed by park superintendent and former Olmstead firm employee, Emmanuel Miche in 1910, stated that the feature site was intended to become an ornate property in a neighborhood that would not attract the poorer classes.

The land on which the park is built was originally a cattle and dairy farm owned by William S Ladd, former portland mayor and developer of Ladd's Addition. It was purchased in 1909 by a group of wealthy investors known as the Laurelhurst group. The group sought to develop the area into an affluent residential suburb, with the intention of using the park as its main selling point. The park followed the landscaping trends of the time period, and was developed in a classic Olmstead style. The Olmsteads were known for designing parks that highlighted the space's natural features, and in the case of Laurelhurst, this meant the preservation of William Ladd's fir trees. So much thought was put into creating a stylish park that in the early plans, the designers did not want to build a playground, as they believed that, as the surrounding neighborhood would never be densely populated or impoverished, it would be an unnecessary structure and would detract from the space's natural beauty. The planners' unwillingness to build a playground reveals how the park was being designed for the expected social class of the surrounding neighborhood.

Despite Laurelhursts' elitist origins, the park would undergo many changes throughout its history. During the 1960s, the park and the surrounding area would become consumed by the larger social and cultural changes of the postwar era, and in many ways, the planting and growth of the katsura was part of this shift. during the 60s, as the katsura matured, the character of inner SE portland, like the rest of the country, began to change. Counter-culture was on the rise, and inner se portland was beginning to develop its bohemian character that it still holds today. even portland's blue-blooded laurelhurst neighborhood was unable to escape this transition of values and people.

The incursion of hippies into laurelhurst park shocked many of the area's long-time residents, and beginning in 1968, complaints began to flow into the parks department, and even the mayor's office, concerning a rapid transformation that the park had undergone. seemingly overnight, the park had become the favorite hangout spot of "undesirables", who according to one official, smoked marijuana and drank beer in public, offering drugs to children, singing, and playing instruments at all hours. This invasion of laurelhurst park by undesirables had startled the community, and very rapidly, the chief concerns about the park had switched from the cleanliness of the duck pond to disapproval of the young, long-haired parks department employee who liked to work with his shirt off, and according to one complaint, looked like a naked woman. In an Oregonian article dated September 4th, 1968, these young hippies moved to Laurelhurst park after the city's traditional counter-culture spot at lair hill park had suddenly become violent and dangerous when tough motorcycle gang peddlers had taken over.

As previously mentioned, laurelhurst park exemplified wealth, as did the surrounding, exclusive laurelhurst neighborhood, and this change came as a shock to residents. In a letter to the parks department, one resident said: "we have lived at 3330 SE Oak for 47 years. we always paid our taxes, and attempted to make our property neat and attractive. now no attention is paid to curfew laws, and our district is denied much needed sleep." The neighborhood was changing, and Laurelhurst park had become the contact zone between Laurelhurst's original residents and this new wave of baby-boomers. the very same cultural shift that had brought about the popularity of the katsura trees was also a part of the shifting mindsets of this new young generation which had taken residence in the park. In a park that had been defined by its elegant, turn of the century landscape design, the origins of the park's only heritage tree reveals a different, less well-known part of the park's history. The tree is historically significant, not only because of the important changes that it witnessed during the postwar era, but also because its origins are intimately tied to these same changes. Like the hippies that flocked the Laurelhurst Park in the late 60s, the origin of the tree and the popularity of katsura trees in general, reflect the changing character of the neighborhood, the city, and even the country.

A small, but distinct pleasure at the morning at the bus stop. Reading about deciduous trees in Lab Girl by Hope Jahren while listening to this majestic oak across the way cast acorns down into the street and onto passing cars with satisfying, miniat...

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Location: Brooklyn_action_corps Author: Andrea J.

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A small, but distinct pleasure at the morning at the bus stop. Reading about deciduous trees in Lab Girl by Hope Jahren while listening to this majestic oak across the way cast acorns down into the street and onto passing cars with satisfying, miniature, explosive pops. I see women gathering baskets of acorns from here in the autumn evenings.

This Scotch pine tree was one of those tiny saplings you get in a pot at Christmastime. It was with my mother when she died. We care for that tree through ten years and four or five moves before it arrived at its final home in our yard. We call it "M...

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Location: Jennings_lodge Author: Cris W.

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This Scotch pine tree was one of those tiny saplings you get in a pot at Christmastime. It was with my mother when she died. We care for that tree through ten years and four or five moves before it arrived at its final home in our yard. We call it "Mom's tree."

Joseph Lane Bigleaf Maple Podcast by Joshua Justice. The Joseph Lane Bigleaf Maple is number 295 in Portland's Heritage Tree Program. To locate it, enter the Lone Fir Cemetery from SE Morrison street, take the second left, and after a short walk,...

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Location: Buckman Author: Canopy S.

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Joseph Lane Bigleaf Maple Podcast by Joshua Justice.

The Joseph Lane Bigleaf Maple is number 295 in Portland's Heritage Tree Program. To locate it, enter the Lone Fir Cemetery from SE Morrison street, take the second left, and after a short walk, you'll find it across from the Civil War memorial. We don't know the exact date this tree was planted, but it was sometime in the late 1800's, in honor of General Joseph Lane, the first territorial governor of Oregon. The tree was re-dedicated in 1948 by Mary Albro on the 100 year anniversary of Lane's appointment. The plaque that rests at the bottom of the tree was placed by Albro as well. This dedication took place at the same time the rose garden at Lone Fir was planted. Mary Albro, who founded the Pioneer Rose Association, also spearheaded that planting. The rose garden at Lone Fir is the only remaining garden planted by Albro.

So on to the Bigleaf Maple. It can grow as tall a 160 feet, and the Joseph Lane maple is about 100 feet. They're mainly found along the west coast of the United States as far south as southern California, and as far north as Alaska, with some pockets in central California and Idaho.

What is it that makes Lone Fir such a unique cemetery? From an ecological standpoint, it's the wide variety of trees and bushes growing here. In fact, Lone Fir is the second largest arboretum in Portland. It's home to over 600 trees and bushes, and the various memorial gardens, planted primarily by Portland's eastern European population, also play their role in making the cemetery a lush and vibrant part of SE Portland.

Silver Linden Podcast, hosted by Rebekah Averette and researched by Taylor Rose. A mature silver linden is a dazzling tree with a rare personality. The only one on the Portland Heritage Tree list is on the SW corner of N Haight St and N Rosa Park...

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Location: Piedmont Author: Canopy S.

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Silver Linden Podcast, hosted by Rebekah Averette and researched by Taylor Rose.

A mature silver linden is a dazzling tree with a rare personality. The only one on the Portland Heritage Tree list is on the SW corner of N Haight St and N Rosa Parks Ave in North Portland. It was designated tree number 317 in 2014. Some of the city's best un-designated examples, however, can be seen just two blocks to its west at Peninsula Park. Emmanuel Miche, landscape architect for the park, designed its formal rose garden in 1909. Three years later when his team was planting its roses, they added silver lindens around the garden's perimeter. Planted in 1912, these trees are over 100 years old. Though Miche left no record of why he chose to grow with the lindens, a casual stroll around the garden, especially in July, suggest he made a good choice. Their heart-shaped leaves grow from 4 to 5 inches in length, and cast dense shade. they produce fragrant flowers in the early summer, drop bright yellow leaves in early autumn, and resist pollution, no problem. Best of all, they have a shimmering effect in the wind, as the dark green leaves hide a soft silvery underside. This is where the "silver" in silver linden comes from. A perfect complement to Peninsula Park, and the surrounding community.

To listen to the podcast, visit www.pdx.edu/history/silver-linden

This giant tree shades my home and many of the other homes around us. We have sweetly named her "Big Bertha". I love walking up to my door every day and craning my neck up to look at the very tippy top of her. Such a beautiful tree.

This tree is where the neighborhood cat lounges and it provides shade and cover from the rain for neighbors at the secret path between Elephants sell and 22nd place.