Take a self-guided tour of the Victoria Park Arboretum, located off the paved path near the ball fields. Look for a large stone by the path marked "Arboretum".
Victoria Park Arboretum Species Info
1. Northern red oak – Quercus rubra
Mi’kmaq name: mimgwaqanimusi (oak) French name: Chêne rouge
This is PEI’s provincial tree! The pointy lobes on the leaves and short, round acorns make it easy to tell apart from other oaks. Wildlife use red oaks for many parts of their lives. The acorns are food, and the trunks can have holes that birds and small animals use for shelter or nests.
2. White ash – Fraxinus americana
Mi’kmaq name: aqamoq French name: Frêne blanc
Ash trees are PEI’s only native tree group with opposite branches and compound leaves. Look under the leaves to tell whether it’s white or black ash. White ash leaves are white underneath. This tree is important to PEI’s forest ecosystems - birds eat the seeds, and beavers eat the young wood.
3. Serviceberry – Amelanchier sp.
Mi’kmaq name: glamuejmnaqsi French name: Amélanchier
This small tree is an early bloomer, which means it’s important for early pollinators. Its tasty purple berries are an important cultural food for indigenous people in North America and vital food for our native birds and other animals like snowshoe hares and chipmunks!
4. Witch-hazel – Hamamelis virginiana
Mi’kmaq name: awelikjilmusi French name: Café du diable
Witch-hazel shows all its beauty in the fall, when it develops bright yellow flowers and tiny nutlets. To spread its seeds, the nutlet explodes! Squirrels and birds help spread the seeds by eating them. This shrub is also important habitat for insects, who help pollinate the flowers.
5. Staghorn sumac – Rhus typhina
Mi’kmaq name: gi'taqanmus French name: Sumac vinaigrieri
This shrub’s large red cones of berries and fuzzy branches make it easy to ID anytime of year. Sumac is an important species on PEI. Not only does it feed and shelter wildlife year-round, but it’s a pioneer species, which means it can transform poor-quality habitat into good-quality habitat!
6. Eastern larch (Tamarack) – Larix laricina
Mi’kmaq name: Apu'tam'kie'jit French name: Mélèze laricin
Unlike most needle-leafed trees, tamarack’s needles fall off in the winter. Inspect the needles to tell it apart from other trees - they are short, soft and grow in bundles. This tree is important to many ecosystems on PEI because it handles tough growing conditions like heavy snowfall and low nutrients.
7. Paper birch – Betula papyrifera
Mi’kmaq name: masgwi French name: Bouleau à papier
Paper birch is a pioneer species, which means it’s one of the first trees to grow after a disturbance. Not only is it habitat for birds like woodpeckers, but it’s important for the Mi’kmaq, who are the indigenous people of PEI. For millennia, the Mi’kmaq have used birch bark to make canoes and wigwams.
8. Red osier dogwood – Cornus sericea
Mi’kmaq name: me'goqomgwejg French name: Hart rouge
This shrub plays an important role in ecosystems on PEI. Not only does its root system help prevent soil erosion, but its small white flowers support pollinating insects, and bright white berries feed birds and small mammals. Look for the bright red stems year-round to ID this shrub!
9. White spruce – Picea glauca
Mi’kmaq name: gawatgw (spruce) French name: Épinette blanche
This tree has another name - cat spruce. To learn why, gently pull off a needle and roll it between your fingers. You should notice two things: (1) the needle is round, not flat and (2) a smell similar to cat pee. While this may seem gross, it’s the easiest way to tell it apart from other needled trees on PEI.
10. Balsam fir – Abies balsamea
Mi’kmaq name: stoqonaqsi French name: Sapin baumier
Balsam fir is one of the PEI’s easiest trees to ID. It is the only tree that has flat needles and shiny bark covered with sticky, resin-filled blisters. So many species of wildlife use fir trees, including ruffed grouse, who keep warm during the winter by roosting under snow-covered fir boughs.
11. Eastern white cedar – Thuja occidentalis
Mi’kmaq name: qasgusi French name: Thuya occidental
Eastern white cedar is the only cedar native to PEI. Look at the needles to tell it apart from other evergreens. The needles overlap like scales on a fish, or shingles on a roof. Not only is this tree habitat for wildlife, but it is one of the sacred medicines of the Mi’kmaq, who are the indigenous people of PEI.
12. Beaked hazelnut – Corylus cornuta
Mi’kmaq name: malipqwanjmusi French name: Noisetier à long bec
Hazelnut is one of PEI’s early bloomers. Early emerging insects rely on the pollen from the delicate pink flowers and dangling catkins as a source of food in the early spring. In late summer, the flowers mature into delicious beak-shaped nuts, which are enjoyed by squirrels, grouse, and people!
13. Yellow birch – Betula alleghaniensis
Mi’kmaq name: mnnoqon French name: Bouleau jaune
Yellow birch is one of PEI’s old-growth species, and can live up to 300 years! Look for the yellowish shiny bark that peels in strips, not sheets, to tell it apart from other types of birch. The twigs can be nibbled by humans for a fresh wintergreen taste, and by wildlife, such as grouse and hare, for nutrition.
14. Red maple – Acer rubrum
Mi’kmaq name: megwe'g snawei French name: Plaine rouge
Red maple is one of PEI’s four native maple trees. To tell it apart from other maples, look at the leaves. The edges will be rough, and there will usually be 5 fingers/lobes. This is another one of PEI’s early bloomers, making it important for the survival of early emerging insects, like bees!
15. Winterberry – Ilex verticillata
Mi’kmaq name: unknown French name: Houx verticillé
The best time to appreciate the winterberry shrub is in the wintertime, when its bright red berries are on full display. These fruits are more than just beautiful - they are a critical food source for birds and other wildlife during PEI’s long, cold winters!
16. Sugar maple – Acer saccharum
Mi’kmaq name: snawei French name: Érable à sucre
Does this leaf look familiar? It’s the tree that inspired the design on the Canadian flag! The best way to tell sugar maple apart from its look-alikes is to gently pull off a leaf and look at the liquid inside the leaf’s stem. If you have a sugar maple, the liquid will be clear and not white/milky.
17. Northern bayberry – Myrica pensylvanica
Mi’kmaq name: Kljimanaqsi French name: Myrique de Pennsylvanie
Bayberry shrubs have leathery, savoury-scented leaves and small waxy berries. In the winter, when most berries are in short supply, bayberries are an important food for birds. Bayberry plants help support coastal ecosystems, as they can tolerate harsh conditions like wind, salt spray, and wet soil.
18. Ironwood – Ostrya virginiana
Mi‘kmaq name: awelikj French name: Bois dur
Ironwood is one of PEI’s rarest trees. It is small, but mighty, producing the hardest wood in all of Canada! This dense wood helps it grow in hard conditions, like ice storms. All parts of this tree support wildlife. The leaves are food for insects like moths, and the seeds and buds are eaten by squirrels and birds.
19. Wild rose – Rosa sp.
Mi’kmaq name: pakaji’jewe’l French name: Rosier
There are three species of rose native to PEI - Rosa virginiana, Rosa carolina, and Rosa nitida. Rose flowers are an important food source for pollinators in the summer. In the fall, the flowers mature into rose hips, which are a vital winter food source for birds, like waxwings and grosbeaks.
20. Eastern hemlock – Tsuga canadensis
Mi’kmaq name: gsu'sgw French name: Pruche de l'est
Hemlock trees are abundant in Victoria Park, but are rare across PEI. This incredible tree can live up to 600 years and supports many species of birds, mammals and amphibians. Hemlocks are vulnerable to an invasive insect called hemlock woolly adelgid. You can protect hemlocks by not moving firewood.
21. Eastern white pine – Pinus strobus
Mi’kmaq name: guow (pine) French name: Pin blanc
This is one of PEI’s largest native trees. To tell it apart from other pines, look at the needles. They are in bundles of five (as a hint, remember, "white" has five letters). Many wildlife species use white pines, such as cavity-nesting birds, like chickadees, and small mammals, like chipmunks, who eat the seeds.
22. Mountain maple – Acer spicatum
Mi’kmaq name: malsnawei French name: Plaine bâtard
This is the smallest of PEI’s native maple species. Mountain maples are really more of a shrub than a tree. Not only does this mean they are an important understory species in PEI forests, but their fast-growing roots can help control erosion along stream banks.
23. Grey birch – Betula populifolia
Mi’kmaq name: sepqoqiajk French name: Bouleau gris
Grey birch’s bark sets it apart from other birches on PEI. You will see a dark triangle under the branches. This tree is considered a pioneer species, which means it can tolerate harsh growing conditions and help transform degraded areas, such as wildfire sites, into mature forests.
24. Striped maple – Acer pensylvanicum
Mi’kmaq name: wapoq French name: Bois barré
Striped maple gets its name from its beautiful striped bark. The green stripes help out with photosynthesis during the times of year when they are without leaves. This tree has another name too - goosefoot maple. It’s called this because the leaves have three fingers/lobes that look like a goose foot!