List of tree species by shade tolerance
A list of tree species, grouped generally by biogeographic realm and specifically by bioregions, and shade tolerance. Shade-tolerant species are species that are able to thrive in the shade, and in the presence of natural competition by other plants. Shade-intolerant species require full sunlight and little or no competition. Intermediate shade-tolerant trees fall somewhere in between the two.
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Americas[]
Nearctic realm[]
Eastern North America[]
Shade tolerant
- Abies balsamea, Balsam Fir
- Acer negundo, Boxelder
- Acer saccharum, Sugar Maple
- Aesculus spp., Buckeyes
- Carpinus caroliniana, American Hornbeam
- Carya laciniosa, Shellbark Hickory[1]
- Chamaecyparis thyoides, Atlantic White Cypress or Atlantic White Cedar
- Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
- Diospyros spp., Persimmon
- Fagus grandifolia, American Beech
- Ilex opaca, American Holly
- Magnolia grandiflora, Southern Magnolia
- Morus rubra, Red Mulberry
- Nyssa spp., Tupelos
- Ostrya virginiana, Eastern Hophornbeam
- Picea glauca, White Spruce
- Picea mariana, Black Spruce
- Picea rubens, Red Spruce
- Tilia americana, Basswood
- Thuja occidentalis, Northern White Cedar
- Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
Intermediate shade tolerant
- Acer rubrum, Red Maple [2]
- Acer saccharinum, Silver Maple
- Betula alleghaniensis, Yellow Birch
- Betula lenta, Sweet Birch
- Carya spp., Hickories (except for Shellbark)
- Castanea dentata, American Chestnut
- Celtis occidentalis, Hackberry
- Fraxinus americana, White Ash
- Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Green Ash
- Fraxinus nigra, Black Ash
- Magnolia spp., Magnolias
- Quercus alba, White Oak
- Quercus macrocarpa, Bur Oak
- Quercus nigra, Water Oak
- Quercus rubra, Northern Red Oak
- Pinus elliottii, Slash Pine
- Pinus strobus, Eastern White Pine
- Taxodium distichum, Bald Cypress
- Ulmus americana, American Elm
- Ulmus thomasii, Rock Elm
Shade intolerant
- Betula papyrifera, Paper Birch
- Betula populifolia, Gray Birch
- Catalpa spp., Catalpas
- Carya illinoinensis, Pecan
- Gymnocladus dioicus, Kentucky Coffee Tree
- Juglans cinerea, Butternut
- Juglans nigra, Black Walnut
- Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar
- Larix laricina, Tamarack
- Liriodendron tulipifera, Yellow poplar
- Maclura pomifera, Osage Orange
- Pinus banksiana, Jack Pine
- Pinus echinata, Shortleaf Pine
- Pinus palustris, Longleaf Pine
- Pinus resinosa, Red Pine
- Pinus rigida, Pitch Pine
- Pinus taeda, Loblolly pine
- Pinus virginiana, Virginia Pine
- Platanus occidentalis, Sycamore
- Populus deltoides, Eastern Cottonwood
- Populus grandidentata, Big-Tooth Aspen
- Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen
- Prunus pensylvanica, Pin Cherry
- Prunus serotina, Black Cherry
- Robinia pseudoacacia, Black Locust
- Salix spp., Willows
- Sassafras spp., Sassafras
Western North America[]
Shade tolerant
- Abies amabilis, Pacific Silver Fir
- Abies concolor, White Fir
- Abies grandis, Grand Fir
- Abies lasiocarpa, Alpine Fir
- Acer circinatum, Vine Maple
- Acer macrophyllum, Big-leaf Maple
- Arbutus arizonica, Arizona Madrone
- Arbutus menziesii, Pacific Madrone
- Arbutus xalapensis, Texas Madrone
- Cupressus nootkatensis, Nootka Cypress
- Calocedrus decurrens, California Incense-cedar
- Notholithocarpus densiflorus, Tan Oak
- Picea engelmannii, Engelmann Spruce
- Picea sitchensis, Sitka Spruce
- Quercus chrysolepis, Canyon Live Oak
- Sebastiania pavoniana, Mexican jumping bean[3]
- Sequoia sempervirens, Coast Redwood
- Sequoiadendron giganteum, Giant Sequoia
- Taxus brevifolia, Pacific Yew
- Thuja plicata Western Red Cedar
- Torreya californica, California Torreya
- Tsuga heterophylla, Western Hemlock
- Tsuga mertensiana, Mountain Hemlock
- Umbellularia californica, California Laurel
Intermediate shade tolerant
- Abies magnifica, Red Fir
- Alnus rubra, Red Alder
- Cercis canadensis, Texas Redbud
- Chrysolepis spp., Golden Chinquapin
- Fraxinus latifolia, Oregon Ash
- Juniperus ashei, Ashe Juniper
- Picea pungens, Colorado Blue spruce
- Prunus mexicana, Mexican Plum
- Pinus lambertiana, Sugar Pine
- Pinus monticola Western White Pine
- Pinus radiata, Monterey Pine
- Pseudotsuga spp., Douglas-fir
- Quercus garryana, Oregon White Oak
- Quercus lobata, valley oak
Shade intolerant
- Abies procera, Noble Fir
- Juniperus californica, California Juniper
- Juniperus deppeana, Alligator Juniper
- Juniperus monosperma, One-seed Juniper
- Juniperus occidentalis, Western Juniper
- Juniperus osteosperma, Utah Juniper
- Juniperus scopulorum, Rocky Mountain Juniper
- Larix lyallii, Alpine Larch
- Larix occidentalis, Western Larch
- Pinus albicaulis, Whitebark Pine
- Pinus aristata, Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine
- Pinus attenuata, Knobcone Pine
- Pinus balfouriana, Foxtail Pine
- Pinus contorta, Lodgepole Pine
- Pinus coulteri, Coulter Pine
- Pinus flexilis, Limber Pine
- Pinus jeffreyi, Jeffrey Pine
- Pinus longaeva, Great Basin Bristlecone Pine
- Pinus muricata, Bishop Pine
- Pinus ponderosa, Ponderosa Pine
- Pinus sabineana, Gray Pine
- Pinus Ducampopinus spp., Piñon Pines
- Populus fremontii, Fremont Cottonwood
- Populus tremuloides, Quaking aspen
Eurasia[]
Palearctic realm[]
Central Europe[]
Shade tolerant
- Abies alba, European Silver Fir, especially shade tolerant[4]
- Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
- Acer pseudoplatanus, Sycamore Maple
- Carpinus betulus, European Hornbeam
- Fagus sylvatica, European Beech, especially shade tolerant[4]
- Ilex aquifolium, European Holly
- Ostrya carpinifolia, European Hop-Hornbeam
- Prunus avium, Wild Cherry
- Sorbus domestica, True Service Tree
- Sorbus torminalis, Wild Service Tree
- Taxus baccata, European Yew, especially shade tolerant[4]
- Ulmus glabra, Wych Elm
- Ulmus laevis, European White Elm
Intermediate shade tolerant
- Acer campestre, Field Maple
- Acer monspessulanum, Montpellier Maple
- Acer opalus, Italian Maple
- Alnus glutinosa, Black Alder
- Alnus incana, Grey Alder
- Castanea sativa, Sweet Chestnut
- Fraxinus excelsior, European Ash
- Fraxinus ornus, Manna Ash
- Juglans regia, Common Walnut
- Mespilus germanica, Common Medlar
- Picea abies, Norway Spruce
- Pinus cembra, Swiss Pine
- Prunus padus, Bird Cherry
- Pyrus pyraster, European Wild Pear
- Quercus cerris, Turkey Oak
- Quercus petraea, Sessile Oak
- Sorbus aria, Whitebeam
- Sorbus aucuparia, European Rowan
- Sorbus intermedia, Swedish Whitebeam
- Tilia cordata, Small-leafed Linden
- Tilia platyphyllos, Large-leafed Linden[5]
- Ulmus minor, Field Elm
Shade intolerant
- Betula pendula, Silver Birch, especially high light requirement
- Betula pubescens, Downy Birch
- Juniperus communis, Common Juniper
- Larix decidua, European Larch, especially high light requirement
- Malus sylvestris, European Crab Apple
- Pinus mugo, Mountain Pine
- Pinus nigra, European Black Pine
- Pinus sylvestris, Scots Pine
- Populus alba, Silver Poplar
- Populus nigra, Black Poplar
- Populus tremula, Aspen
- Quercus pubescens, Downy Oak
- Quercus robur, Pedunculate Oak
- Salix alba, White Willow
- Salix caprea, Goat Willow
- Salix fragilis, Crack Willow
External links[]
- Tolerance of Tree Species
- Silvics of North America, an encyclopedia of characteristics for around 200 tree species native to the United States published by the United States Forest Service.
- Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas (German)
References[]
- ^ Best Management Practices - Agroforestry Series Volume 1: Woodlot Management (18E ed.). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 2007. p. 15.
- ^ "Acer rubrum". www.fs.fed.us. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
- ^ Hilje, Branko; Calvo-Alvarado, Julio; Jiménez-Rodríguez, César; Sánchez-Azofeifa, Arturo (23 March 2015). "Tree species composition, breeding systems, and pollination and dispersal syndromes in three forest successional stages in a tropical dry forest in Mesoamerica". Tropical Conservation Science. 8 (1): 76–94. doi:10.1177/194008291500800109. ISSN 1940-0829. OCLC 5807396390.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c von Linstow, O. (1929). Bodenanzeigende Pflanzen (2. Aufl. ed.). Berlin: Preußisch Geologische Landesanstalt.
- ^ Linden trees are sometimes regarded as shade-tolerant and sometimes as light-loving. Two German papers claim that light requirements of Tilia platyphyllos are greater than of Tilia cordata and that they change with climate, age of the tree and soil quality: [1] Archived 2014-05-05 at the Wayback Machine [2] Archived 2003-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
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