Leaf Imprints of Common Trees in the United States

I have created a photo collection of sixty-six slate tile tree leaf imprints on the Pinhoti Trail Sculpture Archway. The photographs record the major southern Appalachian tree and forest shrub species near Cheaha Mountain, Alabama in the southern Appalachians. These imbedded leaf and fruit imprints pressed into damp clay of plants make up the most common and abundant trees and woody plants located in forests in the upper Southeast. These excellent impressions can be used as an easy reference and study guide.

A National Endowment for the Arts project grant, called Millennium Trails, was approved and awarded to Alabama and the Talladega Heritage Hall Museum in 1997. The Alabama project was called the Pinhoti Trail Sculpture Archway and located at the Cheaha State Park entrance to the Pinhoti Trail. It can be visited anytime and is under the joint custodianship of the Talladega National Forest and Cheaha State Park.

The Pinhoti Trail runs beneath the sculpture's "archway". Pinhoti is a name derived from the Creek Indian words pinwa (turkey) and huti (home). The trail is in the Talladega National Forest in east central Alabama and includes more than 100 miles of hiking trails. The Cheaha Wilderness Area is just a little over one mile from the archway.

The Conifers

Eastern Redcedar - Juniperous virginiana
Loblolly Pine - Pinus taeda
Longleaf Pine - Pinus palustris
Shortleaf Pine - Pinus echinata
Virginia Pine - Pinus virginiana

The Hardwoods

Allegheny Chinkapin - Castanea pumila
Alder - Alnus serrulata
American Beech - Fagus grandifolia
American Holly - Ilex opaca
American Hornbeam - Carpinus caroliniana
Birch - Betula nigra
Black Cherry -Prunus serotina
Black Locust -Robinia pseudoacacia
Black oak -Quercus velutina
Black Walnut - Juglans nigra
Black Willow - Salix nigra
Blackgum - Nyssa sylvatica
Chestnut Oak - Quercus prinus
Crab Apple - Malus angustifolia
Eastern Cottonwood - Populus deltoides
Flowering Dogwood - Cornus florida
Green Ash - Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Hackberry - Celtis occidentalis
Hawthorn - Crataegus sp.
Mokernut Hickory - Carya tomentosa
Northern Red Oak - Quercus rubra
Pecan - Carya illinoensis
Persimmon - Diospyros virginiana
Pignut Hickory - Carya glabra
Post Oak - Quercus stellata
Red Buckeye - Aesculus pavia
Red Maple - Acer rubrum
Red Mulberry - Morus rubra
Sassifras - Sassifras albidum
Scarlet Oak - Quercus ovata
Shagbark Hickory - Carya ovata
Slippery Elm - Ulmus rubra
Sourwood - Oxydendrum arboreum
Southern Catalpa - Catalpa speciosa
Southern Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora
Southern Red Oak - Quercus falcata
Sparkleberry - Vaccinium arboreum
Sweetbay - Magnolia virginiana
Sweetgum - Liquidambar styraciflua
Sycamore - Platanus occidentalis
Tulip Poplar - Leriodendron tulipifera
Umbrella Magnolia - Magnolia tripetala
Water Oak - Quercus nigra
White Basswood - Tillia heterophylla
White Oak - Quercus alba
Winged Elm - Ulmus alata

The Shrubs

Azalia - Azalia nudiflorum
Blackberrry - Rubus sp.
Elderberrry - Sambucus canadensis
Greenbriar - Smilax sp.
Longtail Silphium - Silphium sp.
Mountain Laurel - Kalmia latifolia
Oak-leaf Hydrangia - Kalmia latifolia
Poison Ivy - Toxicodendron radicans
Poison Oak - Toxicodendron sp.
Scuppernong - Vitis rotundifolia
Small Cane - Arundinaria tecta
Smooth Sumac - Rhus glabra
Virginia Creeper - Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Winged Sumac - Rhus capollina
Yellowroot - Xanthorhiza simplicissima