Please identify this tree - Ask Extension
My friend has this tree, but she doesn’t know what is that. Thank you very much.
Knowledgebase
Please identify this tree #826738
Asked April 22, 2023, 5:20 PM EDT
My friend has this tree, but she doesn’t know what is that. Thank you very much.
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
Is the tree in the photos growing locally (in Maryland or D.C.)? We see you selected your location as Montgomery County but we weren't sure if that was just your location or also the location of the tree. If not local, we may not be able to identify it since sometimes species can be grown in nearby states that are not hardy here. So far, its leaves and flower buds are too immature for us to ID it, but we can try again when it's fully expanded.
The damage to the trunk appears to be from a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. This type of seldom-seen woodpecker spends the winter in our area but returns further north to breed in the summer, so has recently (or will soon) departed and will cause no further damage this year. Images of both the bird and their characteristic damage are viewable in the linked gallery. A variety of other wildlife benefits from their sap wells (the holes they peck), and as protected birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, little can be done to discourage or interrupt them. (Little works anyway.) Fortunately, trees don't usually die from such damage, though when extensive, more vulnerable species might decline or suffer secondary problems. No wound treatment is effective so no sprays or coatings are recommended, and trees either recover from their injuries or not, in which case they can be replaced.
Miri
The damage to the trunk appears to be from a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. This type of seldom-seen woodpecker spends the winter in our area but returns further north to breed in the summer, so has recently (or will soon) departed and will cause no further damage this year. Images of both the bird and their characteristic damage are viewable in the linked gallery. A variety of other wildlife benefits from their sap wells (the holes they peck), and as protected birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, little can be done to discourage or interrupt them. (Little works anyway.) Fortunately, trees don't usually die from such damage, though when extensive, more vulnerable species might decline or suffer secondary problems. No wound treatment is effective so no sprays or coatings are recommended, and trees either recover from their injuries or not, in which case they can be replaced.
Miri