Historical Name: Alex Haley
Common Name: Silver Maple
Latin Name: Acer saccharinum
Alex Haley鈥檚 roots reach back to his home in Henning, Tennessee. As a boy, Haley spent summer evenings on the front porch listening to his grandmother, Cynthia Palmer, tell him about ancestors Kunta Kinte and others who became characters in his Pulitzer Prize winning novel, 鈥淩oots.鈥� The Alex Haley Silver Maple stands in front of Haley鈥檚 boyhood home. The tree鈥檚 limbs spread out over the yard. Although Haley died in 1992, his legacy continues to provide inspiration to all Americans. This tree grew from a seed taken from the Alex Haley Silver Maple, and was planted into UCNJ鈥檚 Historic Tree Grove in 1997.
(text adapted from American Forests)