Willow Oak
The willow-like shape of the leaves and the thin twigs makes this a finer-textured tree than most other oaks. Its native habitat extends from New York south to Arkansas and Oklahoma. It is found in bottomlands and adjacent to streams and it adapts well to the urban environment. It has been planted throughout
Central Park.
Medium-sized, up to 80 feet; older tree has dense oblong crown.
• One of Central Park’s oldest Willow Oaks (150 years) stands at East 73rd Street east of the Drive
• In the Ramble on shore path between Bow Bridge and Loeb Boathouse
• There is a pair at 103rd Street and East Drive
• Delacorte Theater, mid-Park at 80th Street
• East of Mineral Springs Café, mid-Park at 69th Street
 Willow Oak Bark
Becomes gray and roughened by irregular furrows.
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 Willow Oak Flower
Male and female flowers on same tree; male on slender yellowish-green catkin, female on short spike. Both appear very early when tree leafs out.
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 Willow Oak Fruit
Small round acorn, about 1/2 inch long, with shallow, saucer-like cup.
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 Willow Oak Leaf
Lance-shaped, resembling willow leaf but with bristle tip. 2 1/2 to 5 inches long, dark green in summer, change to brownish-yellow or orangey-yellow in the fall.
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Matthew Brown, Central Park Conservancy
Neil Calvanese, Central Park Conservancy
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Flowering Dogwood
One of the most spectacular small ornamental flowering trees, the graceful, compact Flowering Dogwood is strikingly beautiful in the spring.