Welcome to Zaragoza Park's Newly Planted Diversity Grove 'Tree ID' Activities Hub

In March 2019, City of Austin Urban Forestry planted more than 60 baby trees, or saplings, comprising 30 species in Parque Zaragoza Neighborhood Park. Our website and Parque Zaragoza Neighborhood Park provides free educational fun activities for learning more about the park's new Diversity Grove and how to identify trees. You can use the Grove Tree ID Location Map to identify the 30 various species we have growing in Parque Zaragoza. Many of the new saplings provide an excellent opportunity for children reaching the heights of many of the tree's canopies an up close leaf identification experience.The 'All Things Trees' pdf information pack provides educational and fun facts about all the trees in the park including height, fruit, and various wildlife each tree provides shelter and food for. Make sure to also checkout the instructions and downloadable template for making eco-friendly DIY tree identification signs and other kids activities for all ages. Don't forget to hug one of our 200 year old heritage Oaks too. And contact amigosdeparquezaragoza@gmail.com if you have photos you would like to add of a family or school park event to our website or social media. We would love to share your experience!

Images and information By Texas A&M Forest Service and Arbor Day Foundation

Note all Tree names in Green Boldface are hyperlinked to a one or two page printable PDF information sheet.

Chinkapin Oak
Wildlife Value: Chinkapin oak acorns are the preferred food for wild turkeys, grouse, white-tailed deer, black bears, chipmunks, squirrels and hogs. Cattle will eat the leaves.

Red Oak
Wildlife Value:
Acorns from this tree are at the top of the food preference list for blue jays, wild turkeys, squirrels, small rodents, whitetail deer, raccoons and black bears. Deer also browse the buds and twigs in wintertime.

Mexican White Oak
Interesting Facts:Only recently discovered in the U.S. (1992) as a native tree species, but widely available in commercial nurseries.

Sycamore Tree
Wildlife:

Birds,
Insect pollinators,
Small mammals

Bigtooth Maple
Interesting Facts:Brilliant fall color can best be seen at Lost Maples State Park near Vanderpool, or in McKittrick Canyon of Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Chalk Maple
Wildlife:
Pollen for insects and birds and small mammals eat the seeds

From ENH-178, one of a series of the Environmental Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date November 1993. Reviewed February 2014. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

Ginkgo
History/Lore:
The Ginkgo tree is a living fossil, with the earliest leaf fossils dating from 270 million years ago. It was rediscovered in 1691 in China and was brought to this country in the late 1700s. The seeds and leaves have been (and are still today) used in medicine throughout the world.

Shantung Maple
The Shantung maple was designated a Texas superstar tree by Texas A&M University in 2001, http://texassuperstar.com.

Mountain Laurel
Bloom Information:
Bloom Color: Blue , Purple
Bloom Time: Feb , Mar
Bloom Notes: Bloom fragrance often compared to artificial grape products like grape Kool-Aid, grape bubble gum, grape soft drinks, etc. A pleasant but almost overpoweringly strong fragrance that can waft a considerable distance from the plant.

Eve's Necklace
Fruit:A slender string of shiny, black beads, from 2" to 4" long, on a stalk 2" long, with narrow constrictions between the seeds, giving the tree it's common name, Eve's-necklace.

Anacacho Orchid Tree
The blooms are in tight clusters of white or pale-pink 3/4-inch flowers. The old species name B. congesta refers to the crowded flowers.

Zaragoza Grove Information Pack - PDF Download

Park Tree Planting Plan (Map)

Live Oak
Wildlife Value:
Sweet live oak acorns are at the top of the food preference list for birds such as wood ducks, wild turkeys, quail and jays, and mammals such as squirrels, raccoons and white-tailed deer.

Burr Oak
Wildlife Value:
Bur oak acorns are the preferred food for wood ducks, wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, rabbits, mice, squirrels and other rodents.

Lacey Oak
It is a smaller oak than most, with a round top and shrub like appearance. Dark, blue green leaves are its distinguishing features with very small acorns. Relished by turkeys and feral hogs this acorn never gets a chance to grow into a tree.

Cedar Elm
Wildlife Value:
Seeds from the cedar elm are eaten by wild turkeys, pheasants, quail, squirrels, deer and songbirds. Dead cedar elms provide nesting sites for cavity-dwelling birds.

Pecan Tree
Wildlife Value:
The nuts are favored by squirrels, deer, raccoons, foxes, wild turkeys, wood ducks, crows, blue jays and several other bird species.

Black Willow
Wildlife:
Browsers,
Insect pollinators,
Nesting birds

How to make eco-friendly Tree ID signs - PDF Download

Tree ID Sign Template Cards - PDF Download

Trees are homes to many animals - PDF Download

Western Soapberry
Wildlife Value: The western soapberry is a favorite of butterflies in early summer.

Bald Cypress
Wildlife Value:
Baldcypress form characteristic groves in swampy areas that support complex and variable ecosystems and are used by many wildlife species.

Blackjack Oak
Attracts: Birds and Butterflies. Use Wildlife: Cover, Substrate-insectivorous birds, Nesting site, Fruit-birds, Fruit-mammals, Fruit-rodents, Fruit-deer.
Use Medicinal: Indians used bark for dysentery and acorns for drink. Choctaw people used blackjack oak as medication to aid in childbirth.

Deodar Cedar
Wildlife Value: The Deodar cedar provides nesting sites, cover and food for mammals and birds such as the woodpecker.

Black Locust
Trees for Bees and Other Pollinators:Clusters of fragrant white flowers appear in late spring on this locust, with beautiful yellow color in the fall.

Chisos Red Oak
Wildlife Value:
Acorns from this tree are at the top of the food preference list for blue jays, wild turkeys, squirrels, small rodents, whitetail deer, raccoons and black bears. Deer also browse the buds and twigs in wintertime.

Escarpment Black Cherry
Wildlife: Several butterflies, including the Viceroy, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and the Henry’s Elfin use the escarpment black cherry as a host plant. When in bloom it attracts moths, butterflies and bees to nectar.

Italian Stone Pine
Interesting Facts:Mature form gives the name "umbrella pine."

Pine nuts - or pignolia - are a traditional ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine. Seedlings are often sold as "tabletop" Christmas trees.

Mexican Buckeye
Use Wildlife: Nectar-bees, Nectar-butterflies, Nectar-moths, Seeds-granivorous birds, Seeds-Small mammals. Bloom Information: Bloom Color: Pink
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May , Jun

Osage Orange
Fruit: Inedible for Humans. Good for Cattle. Called "horse apple" and "hedge apple."
Interesting Facts:The common name, "bois d'arc" is French for "bow-wood," a reference to the use by Native Americans for bows and war clubs. This species was also widely distributed and planted to make hedgerows and livestock pens prior to the invention of barbed wire

Trident Maple
Mature Size: The trident maple grows to a height of 20–35' and a spread of 20–30' at maturity.

Pomegranate Tree
Best known for the antioxidant-rich fruit it produces, the pomegranate shrub is widely grown throughout the Mediterranean region. Its tubular blooms begin to appear in late May and early June, providing nice spring color, while the fruit ripens from September to October.

Shin Oak
Use Wildlife: Nesting site, Cover, Substrate-insectivorous birds. Fruit-mammals, birds, deer, rodents.
Warning: Leaves and acorns toxic to animals if eaten; in some cases fatal.
Attracts: Butterflies