Producers

**Western North Carolina Producers:**
**1) Eastern Hemlock** (//Tsuga canadensis//) A common term used to describe eastern hemlock trees in their environment is “shade tolerant”. Hemlocks are often found in temperate rain forests because they favor moist and shady conditions. The eastern hemlock is widely distributed throughout Nova Scotia; from specific parts of New Brunswick, southern Quebec, Maine, Minnesota, lower Ontario, central and northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and parts of eastern Minnesota. They also range southwest from New England throughout the Middle Atlantic States, eastern Ohio and along the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and Alabama. Though hemlocks have a large range that crosses much of North America, they are now considered to be an endangered species because many of them are dying from parasite infestation. This harmful parasite is known as the woolly adelgid, a beetle that originates from Asia. They cause damage by feeding off the trees as natural enemies and have also caused hemlock tree resistance since the first noted encounter. The revival of the hemlock is extremely important because they still possess great economical and ecological value in America. //**Hemlock Timber Forest**////**Wooly Adelgid**// Lauren Brown

**2) Eastern Flowering Dogwood** (//Cornus florida)// The flowering dogwood tree occupies moist and dry soils around valleys and uplands in hardwood forests, as well as in fields and along roadsides. The flowering dogwood can be found in south Ontario, east to southwest Maine, south to north Florida, west to central Texas and north to central Michigan. The Dogwood is the state flower of North Carolina.

**3) Yarrow** (//Achillea Millefolium//) Yarrow plants are usually found in open fields and meadows, and are exposed to hot and sunny weather. It is healthiest while living in dryer, poorer soil and will not benefit from wet or rich conditions. Though it was originally found in Europe, Asia and India, Yarrow had become very popular in eastern North America. Yarrow has been an extremely useful plant since the Middle Ages for Europeans and Asians, and also was an important plant to the Native Americans. It was commonly used as medicine to heal wounds, bodily aches and illness. Yarrow was also a component in brewing beer and wine, and small traces of it are still used in alcoholic beverages today. Yarrow does not only provide for humans, however. It is a favorite plant to bees, wasps, and many other insects who pollinate the plants while receiving nectar. Lauren Brown

**4) Sweetgum** (//Liquidambar styraciflua////)// The sweetgum tree occupies bottomland, hardwood forests and streamside areas. It prefers moist soil, but it is a very adaptable plant and is often found living in dryer conditions. The sweetgum tree can be found from Connecticut to Florida and in the mountains of Central America, such as Mexico and Panama. The trees also inhabit areas out east such as Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma. However, the sweetgum tree is not popular around the Rocky Mountains, where the weather conditions tend to be harsher. Lauren Brown

**5) Virginia Snakeroot (Aristolochia serpentaria)**
The Virginia Snakeroot is a common plant to find caterpillars on! It is found most commonly in the mountains of North Carolina. Kendall Smith

**6) Appalachian Rock Pink Talinum (Phemeranthus teretifolius (Pursh) Rafinesque)**
The Appalachian Rock Pink Talinum is a very rare plant found only in North Carolina. It is usually found in shallow soil. Kendall Smith

**7) Chalk Maple (Acer Leucoderme)**
The Chalk Maple is a multi-trunked native North Carolinian tree. It is very similar to the Southern Sugar Maple. It's leaves are yellow-green and have a fuzzy ending, which separates them from the Southern Sugar Maple. Kendall Smith


 * __ 8) Black-eyed Susan //(Rudbeckia hirta)// __**
 * Other Names:** Common black-eyed Susan, Brown-eyed Susan


 * Where does it grow?:**All over USA and parts on Canada.


 * Soil Types:** Usually grows in prairies, plains, meadows, pastures, savannahs, woodlands edge, and opening. The Black-eyed Susan thrives in moist to dry, and well-drained soils, with a high drought tolerance.


 * Climate Conditions:** They can grow in sunny, partly shady, and shady conditions. It blooms best in afternoon shady conditions, but can become aggressive if given too perfect an environment and not enough competition.


 * Uses:** Black-eyed Susans can be used to decorate floral arrangements. Bees, butterflies, and other insects can use the nectar as food, while birds eat their seeds. Black-eyed Susans can be used as medicines to cure colds, sores, snakebites, and swelling with its root juices.


 * Other Facts:** They bloom from July to October.

Mary Elizabeth Munday
 * __ 9) Sycamore Tree //(Platanus occidentalis// __****//__ ) __//**
 * Other Names:** American sycamore, Buttonwood, Plane-tree, Sycamore


 * Where does it grow?:** The sycamore tree grows in the eastern part of the United States.
 * Soil Types:** Sycamores grows best in low, moist woods, floodplains, or rich bottomlands. These contain soil types of moist, sandy loams or silty clays.


 * Climate Conditions:** They can grow in sunny, partly shady, and shady conditions.
 * Uses:** Can be used as a shade tree on a hot summer day. The sap of the sycamore tree can be boiled down as syrup or made a drink. The wood is used for furniture parts, millwork, flooring, and specialty products such as butcher blocks, as well as pulpwood, particleboard, and fiberboard.


 * Other Facts:** A shade tree, Sycamore grows to a larger trunk diameter than any other native hardwood. The hollow trunks of old, giant trees were homes for chimney swifts in earlier times. Usually blooms in the months of March and April.

Mary Elizabeth Munday Mary Elizabeth Munday Mary Elizabeth Munday
 * __ 10) Yellow poplar //(Liriodendron tulipifera// __**//)//
 * Other Names:** tulip tree, tulip-poplar, white poplar, and whitewood, is one of the most attractive and tallest of eastern hardwoods.
 * Where does it grow?:**
 * Soil Types:** It grows well where the soils are moderately moist, well drained, and loose textured; it rarely does well in very wet or very dry situations.
 * Climate Conditions:** Yellow poplar grows under a variety of climatic conditions. At the northern end of its range, it is usually found in valleys and stream bottoms. Toward the southern limit of the range, where high temperatures and soil moisture probably become limiting, the species usually is confined to moist, but well drained, stream bottoms.
 * Uses:** The wood has high commercial value because of its versatility and as a substitute for increasingly scarce softwoods in furniture and framing construction. Yellow poplar is also valued as a honey tree, a source of wildlife food, and a shade tree for large areas.
 * Enemies:** Yellow poplar is unusually free from damage by pests compared with many other commercially important species. The tulip tree scale, the yellow-poplar weevil, the root collar, and the Columbian timber beetle are considered to have significant economic impact. Vines can also be extremely damaging to yellow poplar. The result is reduced growth, malformation of stem and crown, and sometimes death of the trees.
 * Other Facts:** It is among the tallest of all Eastern United States broadleaf trees. Although classed as intolerant of shade, yellow poplar can overcome much competition because it grows very rapidly. More often it mixes with other species, and it commonly found pure as scattered individuals.
 * __ 11) Milkweed //(Asclepias)// __**
 * Where does it grow?:** All over the United States.
 * Soil Types:** They are common in and near various (usually dry) woodlands statewide in NC. Other species of milkweed are found near the edge of forests.
 * Climate Conditions:** Hardy perennial milkweed species can live in below freezing temperatures, usually dormant in the winter months and then return the following spring. Frost tender perennials cannot stand the frost and have to be replanted in spring. Theses species live in the southern region of the United States.
 * Enemies:** Milkweeds is usually damaged by caterpillars, but has a defense system to limit this damage. These defenses are the hairs on the leaves, toxins, and latex fluids it produces. Also, it potentially grows faster than caterpillars can consume them.
 * Uses:** Milkweed has many different uses and is useful to many different species because it contains over 140 species. Its filaments have good insulation qualities and are grown commercially as a hypoallergenic filling for pillows. In the past, the nectar was a source of sweetener for Native AMericans. Other uses include being a common folk remedy used for the clotting of small wounds and the removal of warts, while its sap is a natural remedy for poison ivy. Milkweed is beneficial to nearby plants, repelling some pests, especially wireworms.
 * Other Facts:** It is the sole food source of the monarch butterfly larvae, and often used in butterfly gardening. Milkweed is also a food source to bees and other nectar-seeking insects.