Common Trees in Louisiana: Identification Guide

Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum)

Bald cypress is Louisiana's state tree and the iconic symbol of the state's bayou culture, rising from the dark, tannin-stained waters of the Atchafalaya Basin — the largest river swamp in North America — with knobby root projections called knees surrounding each trunk. The Atchafalaya National Heritage Area protects one of the greatest remaining bald cypress swamp forests in the world, and old-growth cypress trees in places like Lake Martin and Bayou Teche are estimated to be more than 1,000 years old. Louisiana's cypress swamps are critical rookeries for great blue herons, great egrets, and anhingas, whose nests weigh down the spreading branches above the waterline. The feathery, light-green summer foliage turns coppery-orange in autumn before dropping — unusual for a conifer.

Where to find it: Permanently or seasonally flooded swamps, bayous, river floodplains, and lake margins throughout south and central Louisiana

How to identify it:

• Distinctive conical woody root projections (knees) rising above the waterline around the base
• Feathery, flat, alternate needles that turn orange-brown and drop in autumn — deciduous conifer
• Deeply buttressed, flared base tapering to a straight trunk in flooded conditions
• Round, wrinkled cones about 1 inch in diameter; bark is gray-brown, fibrous, and peeling in strips

Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)

Live oak is the stately canopy tree of Louisiana's natural levees, cheniers, and the oak-filled avenues of New Orleans' Garden District and St. Charles Avenue. The Crescent City is famous for its ancient live oaks — the Tree of Life in City Park is estimated to be over 800 years old and is one of the oldest living oaks in the United States. Live oaks grow on the slightly elevated ridges of former natural levees that snake through the wetland landscape of south Louisiana, forming dramatic corridors of green above surrounding marshes and swamps. In Louisiana, these trees are festooned with Spanish moss and are habitat for barred owls, prothonotary warblers, and dozens of species of migratory songbirds during spring and fall.

Where to find it: Natural levee ridges, cheniers, barrier island margins, and well-drained upland islands within the coastal wetland landscape

How to identify it:

• Leathery, elliptical, evergreen leaves — dark green above, pale and hairy below
• Massive, low-spreading limbs creating a canopy that can be twice as wide as the tree is tall
• Small, elongated, dark brown acorns clustered on long, drooping stalks
• Rough, dark brown-gray bark with broad, low ridges; trunk can become enormous with age

Water Tupelo (Nyssa aquatica)

Water tupelo grows alongside bald cypress in the permanently flooded backswamps and bayous of Louisiana, and together these two species define the swamp forest ecosystem of the Atchafalaya Basin. It differs from black tupelo (blackgum) in being far more flood-tolerant, able to grow with its roots submerged year-round. Water tupelo honey, produced by bees foraging on the tupelo blossoms in the Atchafalaya floodplain, is prized for its mild, delicate sweetness and its unique ability to resist crystallization. The large, oblong, dark purple fruits are consumed by wood ducks, black bears, raccoons, and numerous other wildlife species that inhabit Louisiana's bottomland swamps.

Where to find it: Permanently flooded backswamps, bayous, and river floodplains; often grows in standing water year-round

How to identify it:

• Leaves are large (5-10 inches), oval, pointed, dark green above and softly hairy beneath
• Swollen, buttressed base adapted to permanent flooding — the trunk flare is dramatic
• Large, oblong, dark purple to black drupes about 1 inch long in late summer
• Gray-brown bark that becomes deeply furrowed and blocky on mature trees

Swamp Red Maple (Acer rubrum var. trilobum)

The swamp red maple and its varieties are among the most widespread trees in Louisiana's bottomland hardwood forests, wet flatwoods, and bayou margins from the Florida Parishes to the Atchafalaya. They are the first trees to bloom in Louisiana, with clusters of tiny red flowers appearing in late January and February before any leaves emerge — a critical early-season nectar source for bees. In fall, red maples provide some of the best autumn color in Louisiana, turning brilliant orange and red along bayou margins and bottomland edges from October through November. The distinctive winged seed pairs (samaras) spin like helicopters as they fall.

Where to find it: Bottomland hardwood forests, bayou margins, wet flatwoods, swamp edges, and roadside ditches

How to identify it:

• Three to five-lobed leaves with V-shaped sinuses and serrated margins; red petioles (leaf stems)
• Tiny red flower clusters appear on bare branches in January-February
• Paired, winged samaras (helicopter seeds) turning bright red in spring before ripening
• Smooth gray bark on young trees; older bark breaks into scaly, irregular plates

Cherrybark Oak (Quercus pagoda)

Cherrybark oak is one of the largest and most valuable hardwood trees of Louisiana's bottomland hardwood forests, particularly in the rich alluvial soils of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain in the northeastern part of the state. The Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge and Bayou Macon area contain some of the finest remaining bottomland hardwood forests in Louisiana, dominated by cherrybark oak, Nuttall oak, and green ash. It is named for its resemblance to black cherry bark — scaly and platy with small, regularly arranged plates — rather than the deeply furrowed bark of most oaks. Cherrybark oak acorns are a vital food source for wood ducks, wild turkeys, and white-tailed deer in Louisiana's bottomlands.

Where to find it: Moist, fertile bottomland hardwood forests and first terrace sites along rivers and bayous

How to identify it:

• Bark resembling black cherry: gray with small, irregular, scaly plates — distinctive among oaks
• Deeply lobed leaves with 7-11 bristle-tipped lobes and a broad, asymmetric base
• Small, round acorns about 0.5 inches with a thin, flat cap
• Tall, straight trunk reaching 100+ feet in rich bottomland soils; a premier timber tree

Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

Sweetbay magnolia is a characteristic tree of Louisiana's wet flatwoods, bay swamps, and coastal fringe communities, especially in the Florida Parishes north and east of Lake Pontchartrain. In south Louisiana's mild climate it is effectively evergreen, holding its silvery-backed leaves year-round. The fragrant, creamy white flowers bloom from April through July and perfume the air around wetland margins and bayou edges. Sweetbay magnolia is a host plant for the tiger swallowtail and spicebush swallowtail butterflies, and the exposed red seeds are sought by warblers and thrushes during fall migration.

Where to find it: Wet flatwoods, bay swamps, boggy stream margins, and coastal fringe areas

How to identify it:

• Elliptical leaves that are bright, glossy green above and strikingly silver-white below
• Creamy white, bowl-shaped flowers 2-3 inches across with a lemon-sweet fragrance
• Multiple slender stems often forming a multi-trunk shrub or small tree in wetland margins
• Smooth, grayish bark; cone-like fruits with red seeds in fall

Pecan (Carya illinoinensis)

Pecan is native to the rich alluvial river bottoms of Louisiana along the Mississippi, Red, and Ouachita rivers, where it forms part of the bottomland hardwood forest canopy. Louisiana is a significant pecan-producing state, and both native and improved cultivars are widely planted throughout the state for their large, thin-shelled nuts. The pecan is the largest of the native hickories and can reach towering heights in the deep, fertile soils of the Mississippi River floodplain. In Louisiana, the term 'pecan' is famously pronounced 'puh-KAHN,' and the nut is central to the state's culinary culture, featured in pralines, pies, and savory dishes.

Where to find it: Rich alluvial bottomlands, river floodplains, and moist upland soils; widely planted throughout the state

How to identify it:

• Very large compound leaves with 11-17 narrow, sickle-shaped, finely toothed leaflets
• Oblong nuts in thin, papery, four-valved husks that split at maturity — elongated compared to other hickories
• Tall, straight trunk with gray-brown bark that becomes irregularly ridged and scaly
• Stout winter twigs with yellowish-brown, flattened terminal buds

Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

Green ash is one of the most common bottomland hardwood trees in Louisiana's floodplain forests, frequently growing alongside cherrybark oak, water oak, and pecan in the alluvial forests of north Louisiana and the Mississippi River floodplain. It is also widely planted as a street tree in Louisiana's cities and towns. The species is under severe threat from the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in the eastern United States and is now moving through Louisiana, threatening to eliminate ash from the state's bottomland forests within decades. Its winged seeds (samaras) are consumed by ducks, cardinals, and other birds in wetland areas.

Where to find it: Moist bottomland hardwood forests, river floodplains, and stream margins throughout the state

How to identify it:

• Opposite, pinnately compound leaves with 5-9 leaflets that are finely toothed and sometimes slightly hairy below
• Single-winged samaras (seeds) borne in large drooping clusters in fall
• Diamond-patterned, interlacing ridged bark on mature trunks
• Stout, gray twigs with dark brown, rounded opposite buds in winter

Chinese Tallow Tree

Chinese tallow is arguably Louisiana's most aggressive invasive tree, having spread across millions of acres of coastal prairies, marsh margins, and disturbed wetlands from the Texas border to the Mississippi Delta. It thrives in the state's warm, wet climate, produces thousands of waxy seeds dispersed by birds, and can completely transform open coastal prairie into dense tallow forest within decades. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and coastal restoration programs consider it one of the greatest threats to the state's coastal prairie and marsh ecosystems.

Princess Tree (Royal Paulownia)

Princess tree has naturalized along Louisiana roadsides, forest edges, and disturbed bottomland areas, particularly in the northern parishes. It grows extremely fast — up to 15 feet per year — and produces millions of tiny wind-dispersed seeds, allowing it to quickly colonize disturbed soil. The lavender spring flowers are attractive but belie the plant's invasive nature, as it outcompetes native pioneer trees like red maple and sweetgum in disturbed areas.

Camphor Tree

Camphor tree has naturalized extensively in south Louisiana, particularly in the Florida Parishes and around New Orleans, where it was widely planted as a landscape tree. It spreads into natural areas via bird-dispersed seeds and forms thickets in disturbed forests and urban woodlots. The aromatic leaves contain camphor oil, and the crushed leaves release a distinctive medicinal scent — a useful identification feature, though it does not make the tree any less invasive in Louisiana's natural areas.

What are the knees on bald cypress trees?

Cypress knees are woody, conical root projections that grow upward from the bald cypress root system in flooded soils. Their exact function has been debated for over a century — theories include providing oxygen to roots in waterlogged, anaerobic soils, providing structural support to the tree in soft swamp sediments, or serving as a nursery surface for seedling establishment. Recent research suggests that they do provide some benefit for gas exchange, though cypress trees without knees can still grow successfully. In Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin, cypress knees often cluster so densely around large trees that they make walking through swamp forests nearly impossible.

Can I visit the bald cypress swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin?

Yes — the Atchafalaya Basin in south-central Louisiana is one of the most accessible and spectacular bald cypress swamp ecosystems in North America. Guided boat tours depart regularly from the towns of Henderson, Breaux Bridge, and McGee's Landing, taking visitors deep into the flooded cypress and tupelo swamps. Lake Martin Wildlife Management Area near Breaux Bridge has a public birding trail and boat launch and is home to one of the largest mixed-species wading bird rookeries in the United States. Spring and fall are the best seasons, but winter offers the unique experience of seeing the cypress in their leafless state.

What is the difference between bald cypress and water tupelo in Louisiana swamps?

Both bald cypress and water tupelo grow together in Louisiana's flooded swamps and can look similar from a distance, but they are easy to tell apart up close. Bald cypress is a conifer with feathery, alternate needles that turn orange-brown and drop in fall, plus the distinctive knobby root knees. Water tupelo is a broadleaf hardwood with large, oval leaves that turn red in fall and has a dramatically swollen, buttressed base but no knees. The trunk shapes also differ — cypress tends to taper less abruptly above the waterline, while tupelo has a more pronounced flare at the base before narrowing to a straighter trunk above.