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

Platanaceae Platanus occidentalis

• white/gray/orange bark

• gumball like fruit

• large and wide spreading tree

Altingiaceae Liquidambar styraciflua

• 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

Adoxaceae Viburnum sp.

• Large shrub

• itchy trichomes

• opposite arrangement

Cornaceae Cornus mas

• terminal buds are larger and flower, set for the spring, yellow

• opposite arrangement 

• leaf trick 

Cornaceae Cornus alternifolia

• alternate leaf arrangement

• twigs are red/purple

• terminal bud is little and imbricate

Cornaceae Cornus sericea

• leaf trick

• simple leaves, veins swoop up

• red twig

Cupressaceae Taxodium distichum

• spurshoots

• buds are tucked under branch

• winged branches 

• LARGE TREE

Pinaceae larix decidua

• loses needles

• spurshoots, more noticeable than baldcypress

• chunky bark

• cones upright on twig

Salicaceae Populus deltoides

• triangle shaped leaf

• bud scale scar is star shaped

• young bark is smooth

• very large leaf

  • flat petiole

  • narrow tip 

Salicaceae Populus tremuloides

• v shaped bottom of leaf

• super duper waxy leaves

• smaller leaf with wavy margin 

• white bark w lenticels

Salicaceae Salix sp.

• bud cap, no bud scales

  • underneath is fuzzy

• simple leaf, longer than is wide, entire margin

Oleaceae Fraxinus sp.

• opposite compound leaves (5-9 leaflets), entire margin

• Large rusty brown spherical to broad bud

• Canoe paddle shaped samara

• Twig has a cluster of terminal buds, two lateral buds, stout twig

Oleaceae Syringa vulgaris

• bark has raised lenticels, brown when young but ages gray

• Double lateral bud, no terminal bud

• Showy flowers

Oleaceae Syringa reticulata

• tree form

• smooth red bark with lenticels

• tannish brown buds that end in a raised point

Sapindaceae Acer ginnala 

• Lobed leaves (3 lobes generally), serrated margin, like maple but tougher

• small pointed red/brown terminal bud

• samaras turn green → red → brown

• current year twig is yellow or red

Sapindaceae Acer negundo

• pinnately compound leaces (3-5), Slightly lobes or toothed

• light oranged/brown bark, ridged and furrowed

• green or red bud with overlapping scales, hidden beneath leaf stem

• paired samaras with u shaped attachment

Sapindaceae Acer platanoides

• Opposite, simple leaves, pointed lobes, wavy edges. milky sap from leaf stem

• dark and furrowed bark with age

• rounded red, green, or brown terminal buds. 

• mustache shaped samara pairs

Sapindaceae Acer rubrum

• 3 lobed leaf, each lobe ending in a point with serrated edges, sinuses are shallow and broad

• red, rounded and blunt buds

• smooth red twig in the current year

Sapindaceae Acer saccharinum

• lobed coarsely toothed, top is green, underside is silver

• terminal bud is reddish brown, flower buds in clusters

Sapindaceae Acer saccharum

• green leaves with 3-5 lobes, entire margin

• terminal buds are sharply pointed, red/brown

• red/brown twig with lenticels

• long dangling flowers, lacking petals 

Sapindaceae Aesculus glabra

• opposite arrangement, stout twig

• dull looking terminal bud

Sapindaceae Aesculus hippocastanum

• LARGE terminal bud

• leaflets are narrow, end is really wide

• stout twig

Fabaceae Cercis cannadensis

• simple leaf, cordate shape, entire margin, acute point

• cracking bark, orange tone (when older) in between, bark itself more gray/purple

• thin and flat seed pod

Fabaceae Cladrastis kentukea

• compound alternate leaf, petiole is swollen to hide bud

• false terminal buds, buds hidden under petiole

• smooth dark bark w smooth and shiny twigs

• broad open canopy

Fabaceae Gleditsia triacanthos

• pinnately compound leaf, serrated margin, leaflets are very small and narrow

• really long seed pods

• flat bark w smooth ridges

• many leaves come off one node (like a spurshoot)

Fabaceae Gymnocladus dioicus

• pinnately/bi-pinnately compound leaves, LARGE leaves

• really stout twigs

• no true terminal bud

• interesting form

• bark look scaley 

Fabaceae Robina pseudoacacia

• pinnately compound leaves, rounded leaflets

• long hanging clusters of flowers

• Spines on branches

• bark is thick and ropey, silver color

Juglandaceae Carya cordiformis

• sulfur yellow leaves/terminal bud

• compound, odd-pinnate leaves, serrated margin

Juglandaceae Carya illinoinensis

• compound leaf, leaflets have arched shaped

• terminal buds don’t have sulfur color

• bark is light gray, narrow furrows and ridges

Juglandaceae Juglans nigra

• compound leaf, can get really long

• chambered pith

• monkey, sloth faced leaf scars

• bark like persimmon, less patterend

Pinaceae Pinus banksiana

• always have poor form

• 2 needle pine, short, twisted, divergent angle

• Lime green color

• cones grow off twigs, curved, closed scales

Pinaceae Pinus nigra

• 2 needle pine, twisting, shorter

• prominent terminal bud, white color, fat

• egg sized cones

• exfoliating bark, brown/gray (no orange)

Pinaceae Pinus ponderosa

• needles of 2-3 clusters, stay close to eachother

• very long needles, 6-7 inches, yellow/green

• umbo is armed

• thick platey bark, black coloring with orange

• pineapple smell

Pinaceae Pinus strobus

• soft pine-soft tree

• clusters of 5, flexible needles

• smooth gray bark, ridges and furrows

• longest cone, elongated, skinny

Pinaceae Pinus sylvestris

• orange flakey bark, papery

• 2 needle pine, blue/green

• orange buds, globs of resin

• shorter, bushier needle groups

• small unarmed cones

Pinaceae Pinus bungeana

• sycamore like bark, winter camo look

• 3 needle pine, basket shape

• grows straight up

• gumball sized cones

Pinaceae Pinus flexilis

• top and bottom have different colors

• bushy look

• 5 needle clusters, stiffer than white pine

• smooth gray younger bark, flakey when mature

Hydrangeaceae Hydrangea quercifolia

• oak-like leaves, serrated margin, rough texture

• top is green, underside is silver

• wooly twig

• naked terminal bud - wooly look

Malvaceae Tilia americana

• Twigs are glabrus, shiny

• darker bark, uniform and vertical ridges

• bud is 2 ranked, rounded and brownish

Malvaceae Tilia tomentosa

• hedged oval shape

• tiny hairs make twigs tomentose

• two-toned leaves, cordate

• leafy bract, flowers in clusters

• gray or silver bark, orange undertone

Rosaceae Amelanchier sp.

• mature bark is smooth, vertical lines throughout

• imbricate, long pointy bud

• slender twigs

• spurshoots

Rosaceae Aronia melanocarpa

• shrub form (multiple stems)

• red bud color, small and pointed

• orange undertones in bark, waxy

• fine, even serrated margin

• small black berry

Rosaceae Malus sp.

• oval leaf, alternate

• spurshoots - 2 different types of twigs

• smooth bark when young, flakey with age

Rosaceae Prunus americana

• longer than wide leaves, doubly serrated

• old bark get flakey

• young bark is smooth with lenticels

Rosaceae Prunus serotina

• old bark is like potato chips, young is smooth

• simple, alternate, narrow leaves

• weeping form

• small imbricate, pointy buds

rosaceae pyrus calleryana

• bad form-branching from same spot

• finely serrated margin

• orange new growth - suckering

Fagaceae Fagus grandifolia

• large, pointy, long terminal bud

• deep lines on union branches

• demogorgan capsules

• smooth mature bark

Fagaceae Quercus bicolor

• 2 colored leaf

• most exfoliating bark

• rounded lobes and sinuses not as deep

Fagaceae Quercus alba

• nice, uniform looking leaves, even lobes and sinuses

• mature bark is very blocky, white/gray

• paired acorns, shallow cupule

• fall color is yellow/purple/red

• red twig

Fagaceae Quercus macrocarpa

• rounded lobes, end is large and 2 deep sinuses

• cupule mostly covers acorn with fringe

• alternate, fuzzy cluster of buds

Fagaceae Quercus palustris

• up, out, and down form

• acorns are marble sized and striped

• lobed, bristled, sinus goes to mid-rib

• bark has shallow furrows, uniform gray

• yellow fall color

Fagaceae Quercus imbricaria

• different leaves, like magnolia, not lobed

• smaller oak

• brown fall color

Fagaceae Quercus montana

• very wavy margin

• beefed up white oak

• pointy bud cluster

Fagaceae Quercus rubra

• lobed, sinuses arent as deep as pin oak-bristled

• more pronounced furrows/ridges

• slender twigs

• more lateral branches

Pinaceae Abies concolor

• branches have thin bark, trunk lacks blisters

• thick, chunky bark, not exfoliating

• buds are big and resinous, rounded

Pinaceae Abies balsamea

• flat needle, none growing downward

• smooth bark with corky lenticels and blisters

• needle is 1 color, stomatal line

• 1-3 rounded buds

Pinaceae Picea glacua

• more flexible needle, shortest needle, uniform color

• buds less prominent

• excurrent form - doesnt droop as much

Pinaceae Picea omorika

• swooping branches with ones that hang

• 2 colored needles, medium green/white

• papery buds with red/brown color

• smaller female cone

Pinaceae Picea abies

• largest cone size, notch out of cone plate

• branches with branchlets that hang down

• orange papery buds

Pinaceae Picea pungens

• sharp, stiff needles, longer than other spruces

• white/blue color - wax can be rubbed off

Cupressaceae Thuja occidentalis

• pressed leaves, flat foliage

• weird form

• scale like needles

Cupressaceae Juniperus virginiana

• blue seed cones

• rounded form

• buds not visible