Betula alleghaniensis
Over 130 species of trees are found among the canopies of the cove hardwood forests in the Smokies. The dominant species include yellow birch ("Betula alleghaniensis"), basswood ("Tilia americana"), yellow buckeye ("Aesculus flava"), tulip tree ("Liriodendron tulipifera"; commonly called "tulip poplar"), silverbells ("Halesia carolina"), sugar maple ("Acer saccharum"), cucumber magnolia ("Magnolia acuminata"), shagbark hickory ("Carya ovata"), Carolina hemlock ("Tsuga caroliniana") and eastern hemlock ("Tsuga canadensis"). The American chestnut ("Castanea dentata"), which was arguably the most beloved tree of the range's pre-park inhabitants, was killed off by the introduced Chestnut blight in the 1920s.