Common Trees of Alexandria and Fort Hunt

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• White Oak — Quercus alba • Strong, dense wood
   
• Red Oak — Quercus rubra • Strong, moderate shock resistance
   
• Pin Oak — Quercus palustris • Strong, watch weak unions
   
• Willow Oak — Quercus phellos • Moderate, flexible wood
   
• Chestnut Oak — Quercus montana • Very strong, dense
   

• Red Maple — Acer rubrum • Moderate, variable strength
   
• Silver Maple — Acer saccharinum • Weak, brittle wood
   
• Sugar Maple — Acer saccharum • Strong, hard wood
   
• Norway Maple — Acer platanoides • Moderate, decay-prone
   
• Japanese Maple — Acer palmatum • Weak, ornamental scale
   

• Mockernut Hickory — Carya tomentosa • Very strong, shock resistant
   
• Pignut Hickory — Carya glabra • Very strong, tough fibers
   
• Shagbark Hickory — Carya ovata • Very strong, excellent rigging
   
• Black Walnut — Juglans nigra • Moderate to strong
   

• Tuliptree — Liriodendron tulipifera • Moderate, brittle when decayed
   
• Sycamore — Platanus occidentalis • Moderate, stringy fibers
   
• London Planetree — Platanus × acerifolia • Moderate
   
• Sweetgum — Liquidambar styraciflua • Moderate, included bark
   

• American Elm — Ulmus americana • Strong, interlocking grain
   
• Slippery Elm — Ulmus rubra • Strong, fibrous
   
• Hackberry — Celtis occidentalis • Moderate, brittle branches
   
• American Beech — Fagus grandifolia • Strong, smooth bark caution
   

• Eastern White Pine — Pinus strobus • Moderate, flexible fibers
   
• Loblolly Pine — Pinus taeda • Moderate, resinous
   
• Virginia Pine — Pinus virginiana • Weak–moderate, brittle tops
   
• Eastern Redcedar — Juniperus virginiana • Brittle, low load capacity
   

• River Birch — Betula nigra • Moderate, watch bark shear
   
• Black Willow — Salix nigra • Weak, failure-prone
   
• Eastern Cottonwood — Populus deltoides • Weak, brittle wood
   

• Dogwood — Cornus florida • Weak, ornamental scale
   
• Redbud — Cercis canadensis • Weak–moderate
   
• Crape Myrtle — Lagerstroemia indica • Strong at small scale
   
• Callery Pear — Pyrus calleryana • Weak, brittle structure
   
• Zelkova — Zelkova serrata • Strong, good structure
   

Strength descriptors reflect typical wood behavior for climbing and rigging only. Defects, decay, load direction, attachment quality, and site conditions always govern final decisions.