Trees of New York City
The land comprising New York City holds approximately 5.2 million trees. As of 2020, there are 168 different tree species growing in New York City. The New York City government, along side an assortment of environmental organizations, actively work to plant and maintain the trees. As of 2020, New York City held 44,509 acres of urban tree canopy with 24% of its land covered in trees.
History of trees in New York City
Trees have grown continuously on the mainland and islands that now comprise New York City since the end of the Pleistocene epoch. Trees have inhabited the lands in or around what is now New York City for over 300 million years, far before the existence of humanity. The first human settlement in the NYC area is dated as early as 9,000 years ago, this marked the beginning of human's permanently altering the old-growth forest ecosystem. Humanity's impact of the trees in New York City greatly accelerated with European colonization of the Americas as the new settlers brought with them advanced metals tools and tree processing technologies paired with a high appetite towards lumber that they would both sell and use locally in the Thirteen Colonies, as well as send back to the Old World. While the Native American population lived off and with the Northeast's forest ecosystem relatively symbiotically, the new European colonists with their higher population density, sedentary housing needs, and agriculture techniques that diminished the need to harvest wild fruits from trees. The New World found itself rapidly deforested, New York City included.Lenape use of trees
The Lenape peoples who inhabited the greater NYC area directly prior to European colonization relied on trees for food, shelter, tool materials, fuel, and medicine. The typical Lenape house, called a longhouse, relied on the bending of the trunks taken from small trees to create a series of arches to serve as the frame. The Lenape used the Zanthoxylum tree as medicine for toothaches because chewing on the leaves or bark creates a tingling, or numbing effect in the mouth.Governors Island
The Lenape called Governors Island: “Pagganck,” which means “nut island,” named after the areas abundance of hickory nut trees.Cherry Street
At the corner of Cherry Street and Franklin Square, the Lenape peoples planted and maintained a vast cherry orchard. When the Dutch took control of the orchard, they created “Cherry Street” amidst the trees. George Washington later lived at 1 Cherry Street, the location being notable as the nation’s first presidential residence. Remnants of the orchard survived into the 1870s, when the last of the trees and Washington’s home at 1 Cherry Street, were razed to build the Brooklyn Bridge.List of trees growing in New York City
This list includes street trees of New York City; as well as, trees planted in New York City parks and public spaces:| Scientific name | Common name | Photo | Size | Native Species | Approved street tree | Planted in NYC streets | Edible fruit | Disease risk | Invasive species | Notable |
| Acer platanoides | Norway maple | Large | Non-Native | Yes | Yes | No | No | |||
| Acer rubrum | Red maple | Large | Native | Yes | ||||||
| Acer saccharinum | Silver maple | Large | Native | Yes | ||||||
| Aesculus hippocastanum | Horse-chestnut | Large | Non-Native | Yes | ||||||
| Aesculus octandra | Common buckeye | Large | Native | Yes | ||||||
| Ailanthus altissima | Tree of heaven | Large | Non-Native | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | ||
| Alnus glutinosa | European alder | Large | Non-Native | Yes | ||||||
| Amelanchier canadensis | Serviceberry | Small | Native | Yes | ||||||
| Betula nigra | Black birch | Large | Native | Yes | ||||||
| Carpinus betulus | European hornbeam | Large | Non-Native | Yes | ||||||
| Carpinus caroliniana | American hornbeam | Medium | Native | Yes | ||||||
| Carya laciniosa | Shellback hickory | Large | Native | |||||||
| Catalpa speciosa | Northern catalpa | Medium | Non-Native | |||||||
| Cedrus | Cedar | Large | Non-Native | |||||||
| Celtis occidentalis | Common hackberry | Medium | Native | |||||||
| Cercidiphyllum japonicum | Katsura | Medium | Non-Native | |||||||
| Cercis canadensis | Eastern redbud | Medium | Non-Native | |||||||
| Chionanthus virginicus | White fringetree | Medium | Non-Native | |||||||
| Cladrastis kentukea | Kentucky yellowwood | Medium | Non-Native | |||||||
| Cornus mas | Cornelian cherry | Small | Non-Native | Yes | ||||||
| Corylus colurna | Turkish hazel | Tall | Non-Native | |||||||
| Crataegus | Hawthorn | Medium | Native | |||||||
| Crataegus spathulata | Littlehip hawthorn | |||||||||
| Diospyros virginiana | American persimmon | |||||||||
| Eucommia ulmoides | Eucommia ulmoides | No | ||||||||
| Fagus sylvatica | European beech | |||||||||
| Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula' | Weeping beech | Large | Non-Native | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Ginkgo biloba | Ginkgo | |||||||||
| Gleditsia triacanthos inermis | Honey locust | |||||||||
| Gymnocladus dioicus | Kentucky coffeetree | |||||||||
| Halesia | Silverbell | |||||||||
| Hamamelis | Witch-hazel | |||||||||
| Ilex | Holly | |||||||||
| Juglans | Walnut trees | |||||||||
| Juniperus | Juniper | |||||||||
| Koelreuteria paniculata | Goldenrain tree | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Laburnum | Golden chain | |||||||||
| Larix laricina | American larch | |||||||||
| Liquidambar styraciflua | Sweetgum | |||||||||
| Liriodendron tulipifera | Tulip tree | |||||||||
| Maackia amurensis | Amur maackia | |||||||||
| Maclura | Maclura | |||||||||
| Magnolia grandiflora | Laurel magnolia | Large | Non-Native | Not approved | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Malus spectabilis | Chinese flowering apple | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Metasequoia glyptostroboides | Dawn redwood | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Morus | Mulberry | |||||||||
| Nyssa sylvatica | Black gum | |||||||||
| Ostrya virginiana | American hophornbeam | |||||||||
| Oxydendrum | Sorrel tree | |||||||||
| Phellodendron amurense | Amur cork tree | |||||||||
| Picea pungens | Blue spruce | |||||||||
| Pinus resinosa | Red pine | |||||||||
| Pinus strobus | White pine | |||||||||
| Pinus sylvestris | Scots pine | |||||||||
| Platanus × acerifolia | London planetree | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Populus | Poplar | |||||||||
| Prunus 'Kanzan' | Cherry Kanzan | |||||||||
| Prunus × incam | Okamé cherry | |||||||||
| Prunus × yedoensis | Yoshino cherry | |||||||||
| Prunus cerasifera | Cherry plum | |||||||||
| Prunus padus | Cherry | |||||||||
| Prunus sargentii | Cherry | |||||||||
| Prunus virginiana 'Schubert' | Cherry | |||||||||
| Pseudotsuga menziesii ssp. glauca | Douglas Fir | |||||||||
| Pyrus calleryana | Callery pear | |||||||||
| Quercus acutissima | Sawtooth oak | |||||||||
| Quercus alba | White oak | |||||||||
| Quercus bicolor | Swamp white oak | |||||||||
| Quercus coccinea | Scarlet oak | |||||||||
| Quercus dentata | Japanese emperor oak | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Quercus fastigiata | English oak | |||||||||
| Quercus frainetto | Hungarian oak | |||||||||
| Quercus imbricaria | Shingle oak | |||||||||
| Quercus macrocarpa | Bur oak | |||||||||
| Quercus montana | Chestnut oak | |||||||||
| Quercus muehlenbergii | Chinkapin oak | |||||||||
| Quercus palustris | Pin oak | |||||||||
| Quercus phellos | Willow oak | |||||||||
| Quercus robur | Common oak | |||||||||
| Quercus rubra | Northern red oak | |||||||||
| Quercus shumardii | Shumard oak | |||||||||
| Quercus texana | Nuttall's oak | |||||||||
| Quercus velutina | Eastern black oak | |||||||||
| Robinia | Locusts | |||||||||
| Salix | Willow | |||||||||
| Sassafras albidum | Sassafras | |||||||||
| Sorbus aucuparia | Rowan tree | Non-Native | No | |||||||
| Styphnolobium japonicum | Japanese pagoda tree | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Styrax japonicus | Japanese snowbell | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Syringa reticulata | Japanese tree lilac | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Syringa reticulata subsp. pekinensis | Chinese tree lilac | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Taxodium distichum | Bald cypress | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Thuja occidentalis | Northern white-cedar | Native | ||||||||
| Tilia americana | American linden | Native | ||||||||
| Tilia cordata | Littleleaf linden | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Tilia tomentosa | Silver linden | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Tsuga canadensis | Eastern hemlock | |||||||||
| Ulmus americana | American elm | Large | Native | |||||||
| Ulmus glabra 'Camperdownii' | Camperdown elm | Medium | Non-Native | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Ulmus parvifolia | Chinese elm | Non-Native | ||||||||
| Ulmus minor | English elm | Large | Non-Native | No | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Zelkova serrata | Japanese zelkova |