Species at Risk – Trees

The forested slopes above the south branch of the Thames River were created at the end of the ice age through a glacial spillway through the Ingersoll moraine. According to a Natural Inventory in 1987 commissioned by the City of London, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, McIIwraith Field Naturalists and the Urban League of London, Meadowlily Woods is one of the largest remaining settings in the area.

Forests are so much more than a collection of trees. They are complex living worlds that encompass intertwined layers of life and stretch across massive, diverse landscapes. They’re also nature’s great providers: the benefits of trees include pulling carbon from the atmosphere and sequestering it via photosynthesis, filtering and absorbing air pollutants, releasing clean oxygen for us to breathe, providing habitat and food for wildlife, stabilizing soils, growing food and medicine, protecting us from harmful UV rays, acting as natural air conditioners, securing our freshwater supplies, and amongst many other benefits!

Butternut – Juglans cinerea

Butternut is a medium-sized tree that can reach up to 30 m in height. It belongs to the walnut family and produces edible nuts in the fall. The bark of younger trees is grey and smooth, becoming ridged as it ages. Butternut is easily recognized by its compound leaves, which are made up of 11 to 17 leaflets (each nine to 15 centimetres long) arranged in a feather-like pattern. The fruit is a large nut that contains a single seed surrounded by a light green, sticky, fuzzy husk.

Status Endangered – “Endangered” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation. The Butternut was already assessed as endangered when the Endangered Species Act took effect in 2008. A reassessment in November 2017 confirmed this status.

Blue ash – Fraxinus quadrangulata

The Blue Ash is a medium-sized tree with a straight, slender trunk supporting a narrow, rounded crown. Blue Ash grows 15 to 20 metres tall and the trunk is 15 to 25 centimetres in diameter. The bark is greyish and scaley. The leaves are opposite and compound, each with five to 11 leaflets. The leaflets are elongated, oval in shape, and have coarsely toothed edges. Blue Ash grows quickly and can live 125 to 150 years.

Blue Ash can be found on the southeast side of the Meadowlily Woods environmentally significant area. Forest removal was the main cause of the decline of this species in Ontario. Status Threatened – “Threatened” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered, but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening it.

Kentucky Coffee-tree – Gymnocladus dioicus

Kentucky Coffee-tree is a moderate-sized, deciduous tree in the legume (pea) family. It has large, doubly-compound leaves that can reach one metre in length and produces greenish-white flowers that become hard, dark, bean-like pods when fertilized. The term coffee-tree originates from historical use of the roasted seeds in a coffee-like drink. Early settlers attempted to use the seeds as a substitute for coffee, however, the taste left something to be desired. The beverage is toxic when consumed in large quantities.

Status Threatened – “Threatened” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered, but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening it. In 2021 the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario classified the species as threatened in its native Ontario range, which includes Elgin, Essex, Lambton, Middlesex, Norfolk and Oxford Counties and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

To learn more about species at risk go to: https://www.ontario.ca/page/species-risk