Dendrology - Descriptions

Pinaceae Pseudotsuga menziesii

• Paper cones with sharp points (mice)

• Individually attached needle, short with rounded tip

• Smooth, waxy, flat needle

Magnoliaceae Magnolia sp.

• Terminal bud is very large, fuzzy, and green/gray

• Simple, oval shaped leaves

• Smooth bark with lenticels

Magnoliaceae Lirodendron tulipifera

• Duck bill terminal bud, green/purple

• Alternate branching

• “Cat face” leaves

Pinaceae Picea sp.

• Singly attached, square needle, stiff and pokey

• Sterigmata attaches the needles to twig

Pinaceae Abies sp.

• Flat needle attached with a suction cup

• Terminal bud is sappy

• Cones upright on branch

Pinaceae Pinus sp.

• Woody cones, can have sharp ends

• Needles in bundles of 2,3,5

• Large terminal buds

Taxaceae Taxus sp.

• Flat needle, soft and rounded

• Needle grows right out of twig

• Green twig = New growth

Pinaceae Tsuga canadensis

• Flat needle with white stomatal lines, super short

• Cute little cones that hang down

Anacardiaceae Rhus aromatica

• compound trifoliate leaves, scalloping on leaflets

• smooth gray bark

• small scaled lateral buds

• strong smell from leaves

Anacardiaceae Rhus glabra

• smooth everything

• Rachis is often red

• acute apex, scalloped edge

• buds are covered by petiole of leaves

Anacardiaceae Rhus hirta

• Velvety hairs all over

• antler like leaves

• terminal leaf is fern like

• red fruit, dense and hairy

Annonaceae Asimina triloba

• tropical looking

• acute drip tip

• true terminal bud - naked

• triloba fruit, always green

Bignoniaceae Catalpa speciosa

• long fruit that looks like beans

• excurrent trees, dont branch out wide

• vertical bark

• whirrled arrangement

Cannabaceae Celtis occidentalis

• smooth gray bark

  • warty underlying plate

• nipplegauls on leaves

• witch brooms

Moraceae Maclura pomifera

• orange wood/bark

• leaves grow from spurshoots

• large fruit with grainy texture

• entire margin leaves

Plantanaceae Plantus occidentalis

• white/gray/orange bark

• gumball like fruit

• large and wide spreading tree

Altingiaceae Liquidambar styraciglua

• star shaped leaved

• lenticels on twig

Betulaceae Betula papyrifera

• papery white bark

• male catkins

• very slender twigs

Betulaceae Carpinus caroliniana

• double serrated SMOOTH leaves

• set catkins in the spring 

• chains of female flowers

Betulaceae Corylus americana

• male catkins look like little beans

  • on the ends of branches

• thin branches with lenticels

Betulaceae Ostrya virginiana

• fruit looks like a hop

• FUZZY leaves

• think and plated strips of bark

• sets catkins in the fall

Ebenaceae Diospyros virginiana 

• alligator bark, blocky, vertical and horizontal 

• suckering growth 

• large green fruit 

Ginkgoaceae Ginkgo biloba

• broadleaf gymnosperm

• spurshoots

• lighter color bark

• parallel veins - needles but together 

Hamamelidaceae Hamamelis virginiana

• perfect flower - flower buds

• flowers in the winter

• veins go all the way to the leaf