Trees of Iowa
ISU Forestry Extension

Iowa trees have played an important role in the history of the state and continue to be important in today's world. In Iowa's history, trees played a vital role in settlement by providing wood for homes and almost everything inside their homes. 

Today, Iowa's forest and trees continue to provide wood products, from pallets to fine furniture, and significant improvements to our environment through their positive influence on air and water quality, aesthetics, soils, wildlife habitat and almost all elements of our environment.

These trees are the most common of the more than 75 species native to Iowa. For help in identification, see Key to Trees of Iowa.
- Trees of Iowa -
Silver Maple Butternut Swamp White Oak
Hard Maple Black Walnut Shingle Oak
River Birch Eastern Redcedar Bur Oak
Shellbark Hickory Red Mulberry Chinkapin Oak
Shagbark Hickory Eastern White Pine Pin Oak
Hackberry Sycamore Red Oak
Black Ash Eastern Cottonwood Black Oak
White Ash Bigtooth Aspen Black Willow
Green Ash Quaking Aspen Basswood
Honeylocust Black Cherry American Elm
Kentucky Coffee Tree White Oak Slippery Elm
Drawings by John Smith, ISU Forestry
For more information:
"Famous and Historical Trees of Iowa", IDNR publication

"Iowa's Big Trees",  IDNR publication

Iowa DNR Forests & Prairies Division 
Wallace State Office Building - Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0034
phone: 515-281-5441.  fax: 515-281-6794

Where can you get information?--Contact Jesse Randall, randallj@iastate.edu at 515-294-1168 or write to:

Trees of Iowa
ISU Forestry Extension
Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
339 Science II
Ames, Iowa 50011-3221

Key to Trees of Iowa

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This page updated January, 2007