Introduction to Plant Identification and Ecology

CCNY MLA 61500

Tree of Heaven

I Ailanthus altissima

60’ Tall, upright

Dioecious

D Kentucky Coffee Tree

Gymnocladus dioicus

Rippled bark pattern

Up to 90’ Tree

Stout brown pods

Dioicious

D Crepe Myrtle

Lagerstroemia indica

Upright 10-25’

Long bloom period (Spring to Fall)

Fall interest

Virginia Creeper

N Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Woody vine

5 part palmate compound leaf

Crimson early fall color

Boston Ivy

Parthenocissus tricuspidata

Climbing vine with palmate 3 pointed lobes

Fall crimson color

Black Cherry

N Prunus serotina

25-100’

Understory sapling

Finely serrated leaves

Spring white flowers

Shiny black fruit

Black Locust

i Robinia pseudoacacia

Upright 50’

Nitrogen fixing

Highly adaptable pioneer species

Host 50+ native butterfly species

Late spring cluster flowers

Thin 2-3” pods

American Linden

N Tilia americana

70-90’ tall

Serrated heart-shaped leaves

June fragrant, creamy flowers

Shade/Street/Hedge/Screen

Adam’s Needle

N Yucca filamentosa

Sword-like foliage

3’ tall

4-5 tall stalks with showy creamy fragrant clusters

Common Milkweed

N Aesclepias syriaca

Swamp Milkweed

N Aesclepias incarnata

Butterflyweed

N Aeclepias tuberosa

Trumpet Vine

N Campsis radicans

Woody vine up to 30’ long

Opposite serrated leaves

Attracts hummingbirds

Woodlands and riverbanks

Sea Oats

N Chasmanthium latifolium

Ornamental Grass

2-4’

Partial shade

Prevents erosion and storm damage

Fall color in sun

Sweetfern

N Comptonia peregrina

Mound-shaped shrub 2-4’ tall

Semi-evergreen

Dry open woods and sandy acid soil

Butterfly attractor

Possumhaw

N Ilex decidua

Up to 20’ tall and 10’ wide

Minor serrations

Red to yellow small round berries (Fall to Spring)

E Inkberry

N Ilex glabra

Flat spineless leaves

E Eastern Red Cedar

N Juniperus Virginiana

Medium sized tree , dense and upright

Up to 50’ tall and 10’ wide

Bluish gray bloom on tiny round berries

Full sun

Drought and wind tolerant

Fragrant Sumac

N Rhus aromatica

2 to 6’ tall and 6-10’ wide

Trifoliate compound leaf with rounded serrated edge

Orange to purple Fall color

Brown-Eyed Susan

N Rudbeckia triloba

Annuals/biennials/perennials

3-5’ tall

Summer to fall bloom

Winter groundcover

Prairies/Savannas/thickets/Woodland Edges and Clearings/Disturbed sites

Shadblow Serviceberry

N Amelanchier canadensis

15-25’ tall

Understory shrub or small tree

Showy, fragrant spring flowers

Fall color

Showy

Hackberry

N Celtis occidentalis

Up to 60’ tall

Asymmetric leaves with curved tip

Hard seeds persist through winter - important for migrating birds

High pH and clay soils

Smoketree

Cotinus Coggyria

Large round shrub

12-15’ tall

Alternate oval simple leaves

Flowers and seeds in large

“smokey” plumes

Fall Color

E Japanese Cedar

Cryptomeria japonica

Pyramidal or conical conifer tree 50-60’ and 30’ wide

Foxtail pattern needle leaves

Moist, well-drained acid soil

full sun to partial shade

European Beech

Fagus sylvatica

Broad spread, up to 80’ tall and 50’ wide

Smooth gray “elephant skin’ bark

Partial shade to full sun

High pH tolerance

Estate tree

Purple leaved Nine-bark

Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’

Arching form with exfoliating bark

White corymb flowers

Golden variety available

E Eastern White Pine

N Pinus strobus

Rapid growing, long-lived tree

Up to 80’ tall in managed landscape

Prymidal in early years

broad oval when matured

Needles in bundles of five

Cylindrical brown cones

E Himalayian Pine

Pinus wallichiana

Medium to tall pyramidal conifer to 30’

Gray green needles in bundles of five

Slender cones

Gray bark fissures and turns dark brown

‘Snow Flurry’ Heath Aster

N Symphyotrichum ericoides

Perennial groundcover with white aster flowers in fall

Dry thickets/roadsides/clearings/fields

4-8'“ tall

Erosion control

Zelkova

Zelkova serrata

Medium tree up to 50’ tall

Spreading, generally upward-branching

Vase-shaped crown

Finely textured, serrated 1-2” leaves

Street tree

Yellow to red fall color

Groundsel

N Baccharis halimifolia

Upright shrub

Saltwater edge and coastal plains

grey-green leaves, coarsely toothed

Fluffy mounds of small white flowers Summer to fall

Airy seeds

Yellow fall color

Full sun to partial shade

American Beautyberry

Callicarpa americana

Shrub 3-6’ tall with arching form

Showy purple to pink round fruit in Fall

Along stairs or retaining walls/Meadows/Woodlands/Wet margins

Thornless Honeylocust

Gleditsia triacanthos ‘inermis’

30-70’ tall

Street tree

8” long pods in fall

Pinately compound leaves

Goldenrod fall color

Lacy effect from canopy

Moist woods/Bottomlands/Stream banks/Drier upland sites

Northern Bayberry

N Morella caroliniensis

Large mounding shrub

8’ tall and 15’ wide

Semi-evergreen

3” gray to deep green leaves, smooth margins, spatula shaped

Powdery gray waxy balls

Fixes nitrogrn

Back dunes/Wetland edges/

Full sun to light shade

Hop Hornbeam

N Ostyra virginiana

Small to medium shade and drought tolerant understory tree

Modest fall color

Distinct shreddy light gray bark

Mesic to dry forests/rocky

High-pH tolerance

Switchgrass

N Panicum virgatum

3-10’ tall clump-forming perennial grass

Open, lacy reddish-purple seedheads (August to October)

Rhizomatous

Pale yellow tan fall color

Prairie/Roadsides

E Pitch Pine

N Pinus rigida

Small to medium sized conifer tree up to 30’

3 needle bundles

Acidic/Sandy/Low-nutrient soil tolerant

Pin Oak

N Quercus palustris

Straight-trunked tree 60-70’

Broadly conical crown

Dark green foliage with cut sharply pointed lobes

Dark red fall color

Acorns

Tolerates wet feet (Palustrine (wet) bottomlands)

Intolerant of alkaline soils

Wrinklelead Goldenrod

n Solidago rugosa "‘Fireworks’

Tall sturdy clumps with narrow foliage and airy branching fold flower panicles from late summer to fall

Full sun to light shade

Moist soil

Arrowwood

N Viburnum dentatum

Tough, shade tolerant woody shrub up to 8’ tall and wide

Opposite serrated leaves with extended tips

Red to purple in fall

Flat topped showy white spring flower clusters

Deep blue berries

Hedge

Erosion control on coastal buffs/Understory woodland edges

Threadleaf Bluestar

Amsonia hubrichtii

Hardy perennial

Dense clusters of pale blue spring flowers

Frothy, thread-like golden fall foliage

Mass ornamental grass

Open woods/stream borders/ limestone glades

Full sun to partial shade

Well-drained soil

Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass

Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’

Upright ornamental grass 2-3’ tall and another 2-3’ for seeds

narrow sharp-tipped seedheads

salt tolerant

Redbud

N Cercis canadensis

Short trunk tree with rounded crown

15-30’ tall

Deep violet buds to rich pink in clusters directly on bark

Smooth heart-shaoed foliage with yellow fall color

Flat brown pods 2-3” long below branches

Chinese sliver grass

I Miscanthus sinensis

Ornamental clump-forming grass

4-9’ tall and 3-6’ wide

Pink flowers to white plume seed heads

Full sun to very light shade

Sturdy arching foliage through mid winter

Stripped cultivar

Golden Rain Tree

i Koelreuteria paniculata

Tough 30-40’ shade tree

Papery lantern-like seed pods

12-15” panicles of bright yellow flowers in summer

Scallop-edged pinnate or bipinnate, feathery compound leaves

Gold in fall

Scholar Tree/Pagoda Tree

Styphnolobia japonica

50’ tall shade tree with broad rounded crown

Attractive pinnately compound foliage

15” clusters of cream to light yellow fragrant summer flowers

Dangling knobby greenish pods persist through early winter

Thickets/Upland forests on rocky slopes

Catmint/Calamint

Nepeta ssp.

Bushy perennial groundcover herb

Tiny lavender flowers with small serrated leaves

Dry to medium moisture

Well-drained in Full sun

E Japanese Pachysandra

Pachysandra terminalis

8-12” tall

Shade tolerant

Dense carpet of dark green foliage

Oval 2-4” long leaves

Tiny white flowers spikes in Early Spring

Persian Ironwood

Perrotia persica

Large shrub/tree 20-50’ tall

Rounded upright wide shape

Exfoliating bark (jigsaw of green, white, and brown)

Alternate leaves

Yellow, orange to red fall color

Drought tolerant

Not very salt tolerant

Fountain Grass

Pennessetum alopecuroides

Graceful fine textured clumping, fountain form

Ornamental 2-3’ tall

Plumy spike seedheads few inches beyond grass

Meadows/Open woods/Along streams

Full sun to light shade