Woody Plants

of the

Athens Cemetery

West Union Street at the Corner of Shafer Street

in Athens, Ohio

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This page was last revised on November 20, 2017.

There are not a great many woody plants in the Athens cemetery, but there are some of interest. The most common trees there are black maples, Norway spruce, Colorado blue spruce, and eastern redcedar. Possibly the most interesting trees there are an unusually large blackgum and one of the less-common hickories, the smallnut hickory.

Conifers

Spruces: genus Picea

• Picea abies--Norway spruce: Many are found at the cemetery; these have drooping branchlets; not native.
• Picea chinensis cv. conata--birdsnest spruce: One specimen, very small, conical and light green; not native.
• Picea pungens--Colorado blue spruce: Many are at the cemetery, having a distinctive blue-green color; not native to this area.

Junipers

• Juniperus chinensis cultivars--Pfitzer-type junipers: Several are scattered around the grounds; not native.
• Juniperus virginiana--eastern redcedar: Common at the cemetery, having scale-like leaves.

Arborvitae

• Thuja occidentalis cultivars--arborvitae: Several are scattered around the grounds; not native to this area.

Hemlocks

• Tsuga canadensis--Canadian hemlock: There are two by the entrance and a larger one on the hill.

Yews

• Taxus spp--yew or taxus: A number are scattered around the grounds, of which two are quite large; not native.

Flowering Trees and Shrubs

Magnolias

• Magnolia glauca--Sweetbay: A magnolia native to the southeast US, with shiny, dark- green leaves; only one at the cemetery.
• Magnolia ?kobus--Kobus magnolia: Not sure about the identification of this one; the Kobus is normally a medium-size trees, but this single plant is just a shrub at this time; not native.
• Magnolia Xstellata--star magnolia: A single shrub is at the cemetery; not native.

Oaks

• Quercus palustris--pin oak: There is one sapling on the grounds, and another at the west fence.
• Quercus rubra--northern red oak: One mature tree on the grounds.

Hickories and Walnuts

• Carya ovalis--smallnut hickory: One tree on the grounds; one of the less-common hickories, allied with pignut.
• Juglans nigra--black walnut: Three trees grow along the fence along Union Street.

Elms

• Ulmus americana--American elm: There is one large specimen atop the hill, not fully healthy but also apparently not subject to Dutch elm disease.
• Ulmus rubra--slippery or red elm: One sapling grows at the fence at the west end.

Maples

• Acer saccharinum--silver or water maple: Two grow along the fence along Union Street, with more growing just beyond the north fence.
• Acer saccharum and A. s. var. nigrum--sugar maple and black maple: Common at the cemetery; most of these at the cemetery are either fully black maples or intermediates between the two; only one on the entire grounds is a pure sugar maple.
• Acer negundo--boxelder: Several growing over the north fence.
• Acer japonicum--Japanese maple: Only one small tree; not native.

Mulberries

• Morus alba--white mulberry: None grow directly on the grounds, but several grow just beyond the north fence, and several saplings grow at the west fence; not native.
• Morus rubra--red mulberry: One sapling growing at the west fence.

Tupelo

• Nyssa sylvatica--blackgum or tupelo or pepperidge: Only one unusually large specimen, at the bottom of the hill.

Dogwoods

• Cornus florida--flowering dogwood: Common at the cemetery, although many are not doing well due to exposure.

Boxwood

• Buxus sp.--boxwood: One single small shrub; not native.

Honeysuckles

• Lonicera japonica--Japanese honeysuckle: A vine, growing on the west and north fences and on the fringes; not native.
• Lonicera maackayi--Amur honeysuckle: A shrub, growing at the west and north fences; not native.

Sycamore

• Platanus occidentalis--American sycamore: One large specimen by the entrance.

Ashes

• Fraxinus americana--white ash: One mature tree on the grounds, and saplings at the west fence.

Goldenrain Tree

• Koelreuteria paniculata--goldenrain tree: One sapling on the grounds.

Apple

• Malus sp.--apple: One small sapling, of unknown type.

Also along the fences and in the northwest corner are to be found wild grape (Vitis sp.), poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), wild black cherry (Prunus serotina), redbud (Cercis canadensis), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis or sp.), black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis), northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), and possibly others that were overlooked.

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