Trees and Shrubs

On Belle Point trees are numerous, both replants and older, and give the appearance of an open parkland. A narrow strip of forested land which has reverted to a "quasi-natural" condition borders the Arkansas River below Belle Point. Overstory trees include cottonwood, sugarberry, and black locust. Prominent understory trees are represented by black locust, red mulberry, sycamore, redbud, black willow, and black cherry. A few cottonwood trees are truly massive in size, their trunks being several feet in diameter. It is possible that some of the cottonwood trees may actually date to the historic period at Fort Smith.

 

Extant Vegetation at the Fort Smith National Historic Site
Belle Point
Species Classification	Common Name
Acer Rubrum	Red Maple
Acer Saccharinum	Silver Maple
Broussonetia Papyrifera	Paper Mulberry
Carya Illinoensis	Pecan
Celtis Laevigata	Sugarberry
Cercis Canadensis	Redbud
Diospyros Virginiana	Persimmon
Fraxinus Americana	White Ash
Junglans Nigra	Black Walnut
Juniperus Virginiana	Eastern Red Cedar
Liquidambar Stryaciflua	Sweet Gum
Maclura Pomifera	Osage Orange
Morus Rubra	Red Mulberry
Pinus Taeda	Loblolly Pine
Plantanus Occidentalis	American Sycamore
Populus Deltoides	Eastern Cottonwood
Prunus Serontina	Black Cherry
Quercus Nigra	Water Oak
Quercus Palustris	Pin Oak
Quercus Phellos	Willow Oak
Rhus Copallina	Sumach
Robinia Pseudoacacia	Black Locust
Salix Nigra	Black Willow
Ulmus Alata	Winged Elm
Ulmus Americana	American Elm

 

Extant Vegetation at the Fort Smith National Historic Site
Second Fort
Species Classification	Common Name
Acer Rubrum	Red Maple
Carya Illinoensis	Pecan
Catalpa Speciosa	Catalpa
Celtis Laevigata	Sugarberry
Cercis Canadensis	Redbud
Cornus Florida	Dogwood
Diospyros Virginiana	Persimmon
Liquidambar Stryaciflua	Sweet Gum
Quercus Palustris	Pin Oak
Ulmus Americana	American Elm