Dendrology - Twigs/Buds

Twig:

• Smooth

• Brown

• Round leaf scars

Bud:

• Brown or green

• Valvate — looks like a duck beak

Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip-poplar)

Twig:

• Smooth and round

• Orange-brown

• 2-3 scales

Bud:

• Slightly off-center

• Orange-brown

• 2-3 scales

• Round

Castanea dentata (American chestnut)

Twig:

• Smooth

• Green → red-brown

Bud:

• Valvate

• Narrowly ovoid (egg-shaped)

Acer pensylvanicum (striped maple)

Twig:

• Slender and shiny

• Lighter lenticels

Bud:

• Imbricate (scaly)

• Brown

• Sharp and pointy w/ tight scales

• Ice cream cone

Acer saccharum (sugar maple)

Twig:

• Reddish new growth

• Small lenticels

Bud:

• Red

• Often clustered

Acer rubrum (red maple)

Twig:

• Zig-zaggy

• Slender

• Light brown

Bud:

• Long

• Slender

• Imbricate

Fagus grandifolia (American beech)

Twig:

• Yellowish — dark-brown

• Spur shoots (short, slow-growing)

Bud:

• Imbricate

• Pointed

• Reddish-brown

Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)

Twig:

• White lenticels

• Pubescent

Bud:

• Imbricate

• Greenish

• Sometimes sticky

Betula papyrifera (paper birch)

Twig:

• Thick

• Brown

• Large shield-shaped scar

Bud:

• Large

• Sticky

• Reddish-brown

• Imbricate

• Bulbous

• Glabrous (smooth)

Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut)

Twigs:

• Stout

• Pubescent

• Monkey face, fuzzy eyebrow

Bud:

• Naked

• Tan

• Pubescent

Juglans cinerea (butternut / white walnut)

Twig:

• Stout

• Light brown

• Pubescent

• Monkey face w/ no eyebrow

Bud:

• Naked

• Pubescent

• Tan/grey

• Notched into top of leaf scar

Juglans nigra (black walnut)

Twigs:

• Zig-zag pattern

• No terminal bud

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Brown

• Sealed

• Look like little pyramids

Celtis occidentalis (eastern hackberry)

Buds:

• Naked

• Sulfur-yellow

• Pointy

• Hairy

Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Conical

• Circular cross-section

• Reddish-orange

Quercus rubra (northern red oak)

Buds:

• Valvate

• Maroon

• Oppressed to twig

Alnus incana (speckled alder)

Twigs:

• Grey, purple

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Stout

• Brownish/tannish/reddish

Quercus alba (white oak)

Twigs:

• Petiole smooth, not fuzzy

• Greenish/greyish/sometimes maroon

Buds:

• Deeply notched into leaf scar

• Horseshoe-shaped

Fraxinus americana (white ash)

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Pointy/angular

• Beige

• Silvery (pubescent)

Quercus velutina (black oak)

Twigs:

• Random zig-zags

Buds:

• More scales

• Brown

• Imbricate

Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood / American hornbeam)

Buds:

• Valvate

• Red

• Asymmetrical

• One bud scale smaller than other

Tilia americana (American basswood)

Twigs:

• Light brown

• Shiny lenticels

• No spur shoots

Buds:

• Imbricate

• >4 bud scales

• Light green/brown

• Vertical grooves/striations

Ostrya virginiana (ironwood / American hophornbeam)

• Smooth

• Light green/purplish

• Glaucous (waxy)

• Imbricate

• Round

Acer negundo (boxelder)

Twigs:

• Stout

• Yellowfish

Buds:

• Large

• Pointy

• Imbricate

• ½ - ¾ inches

• Resinous

• Bitter aspirin taste

Populus deltoides (eastern cottonwood)

Twigs:

• Slender

• Orange-brown

Buds:

• Single-scaled

• Oppressed to twig

• Slightly fuzzy

Salix nigra (black willow)

• Large and round

• Imbricate

• Purple

• Double terminal buds

Sambucus spp. (elderberry)

Twigs:

• Thick

Buds:

• Slightly fuzzy

• Brown

• Imbricate

• Terminal resembles hershey kiss

Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash)

Twigs:

• Orange/red-brown

• Slender

Buds:

• Red

• Imbricate

• Clustered

Acer saccharinum (silver maple)

Twigs:

• Strong sweet scent

Comptonia peregrina (sweetfern)

Twigs:

• Slender

• Dull gray/brown

• Sandpapery

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Smaller

• More rounded than other birches

Betula populifolia (gray birch)

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Dark brown

• Shiny and small

Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)

Twigs:

• Light brown

• Scattered lenticels

Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)

Buds:

• Naked

• Small

• Pubescent

• No scales

Frangula alnus (glossy buckthorn)

Buds:

• Dark

• Imbricate

• Pointed

• Look like deer hooves

Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn)

Twigs:

• Shiny

• Reddish-brown

• Usually slender

• Burnt almond smell

Buds:

• Small

• Imbricate

• Spherical

• Looks like the head of a pin

Prunus pensylvanica (pin cherry)

Twigs:

• Brittle

• Light brown

• Slender

• Invasive have hollow pith

Lonicera spp. (honeysuckle)

Rubus spp. (raspberries)

Rubus spp. (blackberries)

Twigs:

• Black knot fungus

• Burnt almond smell

Buds:

• Two-tone — light brown and dark brown

• Pointy and imbricate

Prunus virginiana (choke cherry)

Twigs:

• Burnt almond smell

Buds:

• Two-tone — brown and light green

• Imbricate

• Smaller

Prunus serotina (black cherry)

Twigs:

• Slender

• Gray to red-brown

Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Reddish-brown

• 3 or more scales that overlap like shingles

Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)

Buds:

• Naked

• Irregular

• Resembles witch’s finger

Hamamelis virginiana (witch-hazel)

Twigs:

• Small stubby catkins present

Buds:

• Small

• Circular

• Whitish

• Pubescent peak at the tip

• Egg in a basket

Corylus cornuta (beaked hazelnut)

Buds:

• Naked

• Tan-colored

• Resembles golden snitch

Viburnum lantanoides (hobblebush)

Twigs:

• Reddish-brown with spines

Berberis spp. (barberry)

Buds:

• Dull gray, reddish-green undertones

• Slightly pubescent

• Glaucous — “foggy haze”

Populus grandidentata (bigtooth aspen)

Twigs:

• Zig-zag pattern

• Brown

Buds:

• Single cone-like scale

Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)

Twigs:

• Stout

• Brown

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Large

• Green to reddish-purple

• Blunt

• Fewer and bigger scales

Acer platanoides (Norway maple)

Twigs:

• Zig-zag pattern

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Light brown

• Terminal bud kinked (at an angle)

Ulmus americana (American elm)

Twigs:

• Roughly pubescent

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Darker brown and larger than American

• Terminal bud kinked (at an angle)

Ulmus rubra (slippery elm)

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Sometimes pubescent

• Spur shoots

Malus sylvestris (common apple)

Twigs:

• Covered in spines

Buds:

• Very small

• Almost completely hidden

Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)

Buds:

• Light brown

• Stout

• Imbricate

Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)

Twigs:

• Darker

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Ovate

• Brownish-green

• Acute tip

• More likely to spur shoot

Betula lenta (black birch)

Twigs:

• Thick

• Fuzzy and tan

• Feel like deer antlers

Buds:

• Naked

• Small

• Leaf scar encircles bud

Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)

Buds:

• Usually pointed and naked

Swida spp. (dogwood)

Twigs:

• Hairy

• Greenish/reddish

Buds:

• Valvate

• Green/red

• Hairy

• Slender and pointed

Acer spicatum (mountain maple)

Buds:

• Small

• Light green

Taxus canadensis (Canada yew)

Betula cordifolia (mountain paper birch)

Vaccinium agustifolium (low bush blueberry)

Twigs:

• Radial

• Red with fine hairs

Picea rubens (red spruce)

Sorbus americana (American mountain-ash)

Twigs:

• Spiky

Araucaria heterophylla (Norfolk Island-pine)

Twigs:

• Thick branches

Gymnocladus dioicus (Kentucky coffeetree)

Buds:

• Stout and knobby

Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo)

Taxus x media (ornamental yew)

Twigs:

• Orangey-brown

• Droopy

Picea abies (Norway spruce)

Twigs:

• Orangish

Picea pungens (blue spruce)

Pinus sylvestris (Scot’s pine)

Twigs:

• Gray

• Slightly yellow with new growth

Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir)

Twigs:

• Small

• Smooth

• Zig-zagging

Gleditsia triacanthos ‘inermis’ (thornless honeylocust)

Buds:

• Reddish-brown

• Smaller and more clustered

Quercus palustris (pin oak)

Twigs:

• Moderate to stout

• Light brown to yellow brown

• Swollen at leaf scars

Buds:

• Large

• Sticky

• Reddish-brown

• Conical

Populus nigra ‘italica’ (Lombardy poplar)

Twigs:

• Light brown

• Slightly pubescent

Buds:

• Pointy

• Brown

• Imbricate

Betula nigra (river birch)

Twigs:

• Slender

• Brown/grayish

• Slightly hairy on newer growth

Buds:

• Imbricate

• Long and pointed

• White hairs under bud scales

Amelanchier arborea (serviceberry)

Aralia spinosa (Devil’s walkingstick)

Twigs:

• Unusual odor when crushed

Picea glauca (white spruce)

Pinus nigra (Austrian pine)

Twigs:

• Large pronounced thorns

Crataegus spp. (hawthorn)

Twigs:

• Bark on newer branches peels in irregular papery scales

Buds:

• Small

• Rounded

• Fuzzy hairs at terminal bud

Quercus bicolor (swamp white oak)