I have a flat stem causing me to dance when the wind blows. I look like I am quaking in the breeze.

I was once the most important food and timber tree in the eastern hardwood forest. A bark fungus from the Orient decimated over 30 million trees within 40 years. This was the largest ecological disaster in American history.

20. Legend says I once grew straight and tall, and so was used to make the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. Seeing my distress, God decreed that I would be forever small, blooming in April with my blossoms in the form of a cross.

My seeds are wing-shaped, and twirl to the ground like mini helicopters. I am a delight to children of all ages.

Throughout winter, I hold onto my leaves when all others (deciduous) lose theirs. Even though brown and torn, I hold them until new buds appear. This is the promise of spring given through the cold and blustery days of winter.

I have leaves of green year-round (evergreen). I am called the White Roots of Peace by a Native American peacemaker who brought warring tribes of the Northeast together to form the Iroquois Confederacy. 

I honor both heaven and earth, with trunk reaching heavenward and leaves brushing the earth.