1. White Fir (Abies concolor)
Found at high altitudes from southern Oregon and Idaho through northern Mexico. Can be used as a Christmas tree.
2. Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)
Maple tree with really big leaves, as you'd expect. Native to the Pacific coast from southern Alaska to southern California.
3. Red Alder (Alnus rubra)
Large alder found in moist, disturbed environments from the Alaska panhandle to central California. It is an important hardwood in forestry, as it is a nitrogen-fixer.
4. Manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita)
A small tree or shrub native to California and Mexico, with a very conspicuous smooth red bark. It bears small, apple-like fruits, hence its name- manzanita is Spanish for "little apple".
5. Sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata)
Small, pale shrub native to the basin prairies and semi-deserts of the mountain west. A favorite food of the pronghorn.
6. Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera)
Heat-intolerant and short-lived, the Paper birch nonetheless is a fast-growing important pioneer species in the north of the continent. Not ideal for paper production, but its bark is quite paper-like and provides good kindling for fire.
7. Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)
Mountain-dwelling conifer ranging from Oregon to Baja California. Gains its name from its soft, pleasantly aromatic lumber. Found in association with Ponderosa pine.
8. Saguaro Cactus (Carnegiea gigantea)
Iconic cactus of the Sonoran desert, widely dispersed across the US-Mexico border. Chances are you've seen such a cactus somewhere in art.
9. Oregon Ash (Fraxinus latifolia)
Shade-intolerant hardwood inhabiting moist environments. The similar-looking Arizona Ash (Fraxinus velutina) can be found further south and east through to Texas and Mexico.
10. Tamarack (Larix laricina)
Larch species native to America, widely dispersed across the east and central portions of Canada and the northeastern US, with an additional isolated population in central Alaska. A deciduous conifer, turning a beautiful gold color before shedding its leaves in winter.
11. Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida)
Green-wooded tree of the Sonoran desert, able to do photosynthesis without its leaves. Bears beautiful yellow flowers in bloom.
12. White Spruce (Picea glauca)
A tall spruce widespread across Alaska and Canada into the extreme northern continental US. An important canopy tree of the taiga, and incredibly cold-tolerant.
13. Black Spruce (Picea mariana)
Associated with the White spruce, but as its name suggests, it is darker. Specifically, in the bark. It also doesn't grow as tall, and tolerates wetter soils- it is often found in peat bogs.
14. Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis)
The third-tallest conifer species in the world, the Sitka spruce ranges from coastal Alaska down into northern California. It is grown in cold climates worldwide as a lumber tree, having many industrial and craft uses.
15. Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)
Tall, skinny pine known for its use in construction. Widespread in western Canada, but increasingly restricted to mountains further south in the western US. Uncommon in rain forests.
16. Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi)
Large "yellow pine" of the mountains, from Oregon to Baja California. Similar to the Ponderosa pine, with smaller bark scales. It is also hardier, tolerant of dry and cold more.
17. Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva)
The longest-lived individual trees in the world, up to almost 5000 years; these withered-looking krummholz trees grow in dry stone and gravel high in the mountains of Nevada.
18. Single-leafed Piñon (Pinus monophylla)


Only pine to bear a single needle per fascicle. Small, growing in the mountains overlooking the deserts of the US southwest and northwestern Mexico.
19. Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa)
Platy-barked large pine. Widely distributed, as far east as Nebraska, but mostly in the mountain west. Fire is important for the life cycle of this pine, as fires allow the seeds to propagate and ash provides fertilizer for saplings.
20. Frémont's Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)
Riparian species of poplar found across the US southwest alongside rivers and lakes, down into central Mexico.
21. Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
White-barked poplar with one of the widest ranges of any tree on the continent, from central Alaska to the mountains of Mexico. A clonal colony in Utah called "Pando" is technically the largest known living plant in the world.
22. Balsam Poplar (Populus trichocarpa)
Large poplar ranging from southern Alaska, throughout Cascadia, and into the Sierra Nevada. Thought by some to be a subspecies of P. balsamifera, which ranges further north and east across the boreal forest, beyond any other hardwoods.
23. Mesquite (Prosopsis glandulosa)
Relative of the acacias, found across most of Mexico from Yucatan in the east up to California in the northwest, as well as much of Texas. It has edible seed pods and its wood burns with a unique smell, making it ideal for barbecue.
24. Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Named after Scottish botanist David Douglas. A very tall conifer of the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains; in the temperate rainforests, they can rival coast redwoods in size and age.
25. California Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)
A mid-sized oak native to coastal California, with spiny, glossy leaves. It dominates the forests of southern California, but is a major pollen producer and irritates those with allergies.
26. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
The tallest trees in the world. Native only to coastal California, where they thrive in the foggy coastal forests.
27. Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
While the coast redwood is the tallest, the giant sequoias are the most massive individual trees in the world. Giant sequoias can live for thousands of years, and are only native to the western edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
28. Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)
Climax species of the temperate rainforests; this conifer lives along the Pacific coast as well as the mountains of Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia.
29. California Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica)
Broad-leafed tree of the California Oak woods. It has similarities to cinnamon, camphor, and European bay laurel.
30. Mexican Fan Palm (Washingtonia robusta)
Growing only in a few oases in Sonora and Baja California, this tall palm is nonetheless cultivated in warm climates worldwide. It hybridizes as an ornamental with the equally-rare California fan palm.
31. Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia)
A monocot from the Mojave desert of California, Nevada, and Arizona. It bears dagger-like leaves that grow along the axis of the branches.