Facts About the Trees in the Catskill Mountains
Located northeast of New York City, the Catskill Mountains are a common vacation spot for outdoor recreation. The trees of Catskill Mountains began to interest individuals both locally and abroad in 1819 with the publication of "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving. Does this Spark an idea?
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Christmas Trees
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In 1851, a farmer took Catskill evergreen trees into New York City around Christmastime and birthed the legendary Christmas tree. In less than 100 years, Christmas trees were solidly a part of Christmas tradition.
Elevation
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As you move through the mountains, you'll notice difference in the trees. The trees grow in three distinct forests categorized---from lowest to highest elevation--- as oak-hickory forest, northern hardwoods forest and fir forest.
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Species
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With a diverse population of trees, the Catskills often becomes a part of scientific studies that feature forests. Dozens of tree species inhabit the Catskill Mountains. Tree species include yellow birch, black cherry, red oak, white pine, eastern hemlock, paper birch, spruce and balsam fir.
Beech Diseases
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The beech trees in the Catskills suffer beech bark disease, which occurs from the combination of the insect, beech coccus and two fungi. In natural evolution, sugar maples replace the dead beech trees.
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
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A bug called hemlock woolly adelgid plague the hemlock trees in the Catskills, sucking out nutrients from the needles. Serious infestation kills the tree.
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