This being Arbor Day, it’s the time to celebrate trees and the many social, economic, environmental and human health benefits they provide to current
and future humans.
The tree huggers at Pittsburgh Shade Tree Commission and nonprofit Tree Pittsburgh are celebrating eight specific trees in the city as the first class of “Remarkable Trees of Pittsburgh,” chosen from public nominations for their distinctive characteristics and contributions to the urban ecosystem.
The trees are the beginning of an ongoing registry of superlative specimens in eight categories: Giving Tree (rich with wildlife and/or plays a key role in the ecosystem), Pittsburgh Champion (the largest, or one of the largest, of its species on public property), Specimen Tree (exceptional structure, health, beauty), Tree of a Kind (unusual in species or in appearance, origin or story) and Witness Tree (significant for having borne witness to an event).
The first eight keepers are:
• Bald cypress in Arsenal Park, Lawrenceville (Specimen Tree).
• Bald cypress in Mellon Park, Point Breeze/Shadyside (Pittsburgh Champion).
• Bald cypress on Stanton Avenue, East Liberty (Giving Tree for bird and squirrel habitat and shade, Specimen Tree, and Tree of a Kind).
• Copper beech in Frick Park, near the gatehouse in Point Breeze (Tree of a Kind).
• European hornbeam in Arsenal Park (Pittsburgh Champion).
• Katsura in Mellon Park (Tree of a Kind).
• Lacebark pine in Mellon Park (Tree of a Kind).
• White oak in Phillips Park, Carrick (Giving Tree for its acorns and its shade).
More information about and photos of each tree can be found at www.remarkabletreespgh.com/2023-remarkable-trees.
That includes some of the comments, such as the person who is clearly sweet on the Katsura, one of three keepers in Mellon Park: “This tree is a delight to park visitors, especially to the children who love to play nearby in the fall and enjoy the sweet scent of cotton candy that fills the air around it. It’s also an ever-changing color palette throughout the year, as the leaves change from reddish purple in the spring to blue-green in the summer and finally to beautiful shades of lemon and apricot in the fall.”
You can nominate trees on the Tree Pittsburgh website. And go visit these in person using its interactive map.
Bob, a feature writer and editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is currently on strike and serving as interim editor of the Pittsburgh Union Progress. Contact him at bbatz@unionprogress.com.
