Ecology Tree ID

Key Characteristics of Conifers

Conifers have needles

What is this?

White Pine.

White Pine has 5 needles per bundle.

Think ‘White’ has more letters than ‘red’.

What is this?

Red Pine.

Red pine has 2 needles per bundle.

Think ‘red’ has the least amount of letters, therefore the least amount of needles.

What is this?

Pitch Pine.

Pitch pine has 3 needles.

Think 3 strikes your out. (Pitch as in baseball)

What is this?

Norway Spruce.

Norway spruce has one, short needle.

What is this?

Easter White Cedar.

Have flat, wide scale needles.

Think white is wide.

What is this?

Eastern Red Cedar.

Has round scale like needles.

Think Red is Round.

Key Characteristics of an oak tree

Lobed, Acorns, Pinnate (Pin Oak), Alternate.

What is this?

Northern Red Oak.

Does Not have deep notches.

Turns red in fall.

What is this?

Pin Oak.

Comes to a pin/ point.

Has deep Sinuses.

What is this?

White Oak.

Has round Leaves.

What is this?

Chestnut Oak.

Kind of looks like an arrow head.

We say its lobed but the book says its not.

Just remember key characteristics of oaks.

Key Characteristics of Maple Trees

All maples have samara (Helicopter looking things), Palmate, and opposite.

What is this?

Red Maple.

Red stem, and turns red in fall.

Rough margins.

Think ‘Red’ has 3 letters, and red maples have three lobes, or red is rough.

What is This?

Sugar Maple.

Smooth Margins.

Think ‘Sugar’ has 5 letters, and sugar maples have five lobes.

What is This?

Silver maple.

Has silver underside.

Use maple key characteristics, then pick this one out.

What is This?

Ginkgo Tree.

What is This?

American Sycamore.

Camo bark.

Note: looks like a maple, but it is Alternate.

What is This?

American Basswood.

Has an Asymmetrical base.

What is This?

Tulip Tree.

What is This?

Hackberry.

Fruits never fall off.

What is This?

Sweet Birch

Taste like root beer.

Has Catkids.

What is this?

Black Cherry.

Less serrated than the Sweet Birch

What is this?

Shagbark Hickory.

Alternating from twig.

Compound Leaf, each with 5 (sometimes 7) leaflets.

Notice how the bottom are smaller, and the top one from the stalk is the biggest.

What is this?

White Ash.

Opposite from twig.

compound, with 5-9 leaflets

Notice how they are all the same size.

What is this?

Honey Locust.

Can be twice compound.

Smooth.

What is this?

Black Locust.

Usually less leaflets.

Oval.

Single Compound.

What is this?

Black Walnut.

15-23 leaflets.

serrations.

What is this?

Sweet gum.

Kind of looks like a star.

Has spiky fruit.