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[Reprinted from The Pennsylvania-German, December, 1910] 
Pennsylvania-German Names of Trees 
By C. D. Mell, Assistant Dendrologist, U. S. Forest Service 
The study of the Pennsylvania-German names of trees is very interesting, 
especially since a number of these vernacular names are so different from 
those of the original high German that it is often difficult to recognize them 
as being derived from the latter. A great many of the original settlers of 
eastern Pennsylvania came from the country districts in southwestern Ger¬ 
many, bringing with them popular names for trees and other useful plants, 
which they gave to closely related forms found growing in America. Many 
of these names have survived till today. The word Kesten, which is a var¬ 
iant name for Kastania, the original high German word, being derived from 
the name of the territory of Castanea, in Thessaly, is an example of an in¬ 
troduced name. Grum Beeren, derived from Grund Beeren, is a word in 
common use in southwestern Germany for Kartoffeln (potatoes), which, al¬ 
though not a tree, serves to illustrate the use of names in vogue in the fa¬ 
therland. The English element that is scattered throughout the German 
speaking districts in Pennsylvania has also left its imprint upon plant names, 
as is shown in words like Shaelbark, the first part of which is distinctly Ger¬ 
man, meaning “to peel off/’ and the second name is English. Combinations 
of this kind are not infrequent. 
Of course there are still a number of trees and shrubs growing in this part 
of the state for which no vernacular names exist, while a great many others 
are given a general term. The different oaks, for instance, are seldom dis¬ 
tinguished beyond the two kinds, namely, the white (weiss Oeche) and 
black (swartz Oeche). The high German name for oak is Eiche of which 
Oeche is a corruption. The white oak, swamo white oak, post. oak. and 
dwarf chinquapin oak are all classed under the general name weiss Oeche. 
Red oak, scarlet oak, yellow oak, pin oak, and black jack are all known as 
swartz Oeche. The most noted exceptions are the chestnut oak Quercus 
prinus Linn.), which is called kest Oeche, and red oak (Quercus rubra 
Linn.), which is sometimes called roth Oeche, but the latter is also used oc¬ 
casionally to designate the group of oaks above classed under swartz Oeche. 
A short list of Pennsylvania-German names is given below: 
Pemia.-Germnn Name 
Oel Walnuss 
Walnuss 
Saeu Hickernuss 
Weiser Hickernuss 
Shaelbark 
English Common Name 
Juglandaceae 
Butternut 
Black walnut 
Pignut 
Mockernut 
Shellbark 
Botanical Name 
Juglans cinerea Linn. 
Juglans nigra Linn. 
Hlcoria glabra (Mill.) Brit. 
Hicoria alba (Linn.) Brit. 
Hicorla ovata (Mill.) Brit. 
The popular name of the shag bark is drawn from the striking appear¬ 
ance of its outer bark, which peels off in long narrow strips. 
Salicaceae 
Weide Willow 
Trauer Weide Weeping willow 
Salix nigra Marsh 
Salix babylonica Linn. 
