A Visual Guide to Northwestern’s Trees
I don’t have a favorite tree on campus, but I have sought to compile a list of ones that might end up being yours. Although note my list is by no means exhaustive due to the breadth of flora living here. After all, Northwestern’s Evanston campus is home to an estimated five thousand trees. Each one unique, these plants range from deciduous, mighty bur oaks to scrawny, evergreen white pines. For animals, NU’s diverse patches of trees provide dense habitat which may well be superior to that prior to the university’s existence. For us, the trees provide beautiful curated combinations of native and nonnative species, which has resulted in some fascinating specimens hidden amongst the groves. Additionally, It’s great humor to hear fellow students from warm places like California ask at the start of fall quarter ‘Why are all the trees dying?’
On the map, individual trees are drawn in their corresponding locations but are not necessarily to scale. Admittedly, it is influenced heavily by where I have and have not wandered, including avoiding Tech and science buildings at all costs. From South to North Campus, here is a brief summary of our notable trees.
Bur oak: oldest on campus? Native to Illinois and found everywhere on campus, this specimen east of 1835 Hinman is believed to be one of the oldest, at roughly 250 years old, even though it is not the tallest nor the widest oak on campus.
Bur oak: all good things must die. The once magnificent bur oak, referred to as “Old Oak,” which 19th century Northwestern students grouped around for class pictures, died in 1904. It was at least 500 years old.
Red pine. Just north of the McCormick Foundation Center lies a whimsical red pine, perhaps the most uniquely shaped tree on campus. It’s wonderful for climbing.
Dwarf weeping European beech. Hiding in a secluded patch south of the Wild Roots Garden, there is an adorable in-ground bonsai of sorts, with a stout trunk beneath its weeping canopy.
Bur oak: my favorite oak on campus. I’ve nicknamed it “Grandpa” because one of its aged, jagged arms sticks up and waves at you, and even has an elbow. It’s also quaint and wrinkly.
Black walnut. Directly beneath Cresap Laboratories lives a well-formed black walnut with a beautiful umbrella canopy, reminiscent of an acacia tree.
Bur oak: widest on campus? Just off of Shakespeare Garden, there’s a somewhat hidden but giant bur oak, which, at least from one angle, is most certainly the widest-trunked on campus.
Weeping willow. This is the biggest weeping willow on campus, probably because it can drink constantly, sitting almost in the water. It also survived a giant storm a few years ago which its fellow willow to the south did not.
Sugar maple. This old specimen has an 8 foot-long sweeping gash on its northern side: a wound that will never fully heal over. It’s a more challenging climb.
The uncolored trees on the map are pretty, but nothing to write home about. From South to North campus, the uncolored trees are as follows: a weeping alaskan cedar; a giant scraggly bur oak; an incredibly uniform white pine which you can climb like a ladder; a weeping cherry; a grove of curvy common honeylocust, a weeping katsura which right now has a branch sticking up like unkempt hair; a dawn redwood; an American beech which have bark like rhinoceros’ skin; a fun gingko; and a little spherical Norway maple, which is one of the northernmost trees.
I also must mention the tallest tree, which I believe is the very old triple-trunked American elm in front of Foster-Walker, which serves the important purpose of hiding the hideousness of the building. I once saw a bird perched at the very top and it must’ve felt like it was at the top of the world, looking down upon the grotesque creations of humans.
For additional tree spotting, stay on South campus and walk around the groves north of Deering and south of Cresap; between University Hall and Deering Lawn; south of the Main Library towers; and take a lap around the lakefill.
Let me know if you discover any more worthy trees and I can add them to the map. Send a location, description and picture to nickbucciarelli2026@u.northwestern.edu.