Dendrology Fruits, Nuts, Seeds

Table Test Stuff

American Beech

Beechnut, a triangular nut enclosed in a woody involucre with weak
unbranched spines.

American Chestnut

A round brown nut, protected by a large bur.

Demogorgon ahh look.

American Elm

Samara, a flat, round, winged seed.

Basswood

nutlike between 1/3” to 1/2" diameter attached in clusters to a large distinctive leafy bract. covered with soft, grayish-brown wooly hairs.
Single nut.

Black Gum

Small, dark purple or bluish drupe. Fleshy, ovoid, blue-black drupe 1/3-2/3" long.

Black Locust

Dry, flat, brown to black legume pods, approximately 3 to 5 inches long, that contain several dark orange-brown, kidney-shaped seeds.

Black Maple

Samara, paired, winged seed. “Helicopter.”
Also big round brown nuts?

Black Oak

Acorn, cup deeper than rubra, scales loose, nut smaller than rubra.

Black Walnut

Globose nut, husk smooth, shell corrugations rounded

Boxelder Maple

1" to 1 1/2" long, samara in v-shaped pairs; may cluster.

Bur Oak

Very large acorn, deep cup is fringed and nearly covers the nut. Cone like, oblong-ovoid, erect nearly sessile, scales glabrous.

Butternut (White Walnut)

Oblong nut, husk sticky, nut corrugations sharp.

Chestnut Oak

Acorns large, stalked, dark-brown and football shaped. Cap thin, covers 1/3 to 1/2 of nut, scales somewhat fused. HUGE.

Chinkapin Oak

Acorn, cup thin, scales flat to slightly warty smaller than Q. alba, nut dark brown to black when ripe.

Flowering Dogwood

Bright red, oblong drupe.

Hawthorn

A red pome or haw with 1 to 5 bony nutlets in succulent flesh.

Honey Locust

Long, thin, twisted, strap-shaped pod to 15" long; dark purple color when mature.

Hop-Hornbeam

A nutlet enclosed in a papery sac, aggregated into pendulate cone-like clusters.

Hornbeam

Small nuts (nutlets) attached to leafy, three-lobed structures called bracts, which aid in wind dispersal.

Jack Pine

Typically 1.5 to 2 inches long, strongly curved, and often bulge on one side. They are brown or reddish-brown when ripe but turn gray with age and frequently remain closed on the tree for many years. 

Kingnut Hickory

a large, edible nut with a sweet kernel and a hard, ridged shell, enclosed in a thick, segmented husk that splits open when ripe.

Kentucky Coffee Tree

Reddish brown, thick pod, 3”-8” long, 1.5”-2” wide, containing 6 or more dark brown seeds imbedded in green sticky
pulp.

Loblolly Pine

3 to 6 inches long, red-brown, and has a hard, dry texture with prickly scales.

Mockernut Hickory

A large, hard-shelled nut with a sweet, edible kernel inside, husk medium thick, nut shell very thick.

Norway Spruce

Cones, 4-6" long, thin scales, tan to red-brown color, cylindrical, and hang downward from the branches.

Ohio Buckeye

A large, round, leathery capsule with a thick, prickly or weakly warty husk that turns brown when ripe in the fall.
Husk orange-brown with short spines, seeds smooth with a rich reddish brown color. 1-3 Buckeyes per fruit.

Osage Orange

Large, softball size diameter, distinctive citrus smell, interior looks like a brain, matures in autumn.

Pawpaw

Smooth, greenish-yellow, 2"-5" long, edible. "Poor man's banana".

Persimmon

Orange berry - edible after frost.
A sweet, orange-colored fruit that is known for its honey-like flavor and juicy, jelly-like texture when ripe

Pignut Hickory

Husk very thin; nut smooth to slightly ridged, may be sweet or bitter.
Dry husk that splits partway open when mature in late summer or early fall.

Pitch Pine

Cones: 3-5" long, egg shaped, persistent, light colored, cone scales thick and distinctly armed. Specifically an ovoid (egg-shaped).

Poison Ivy

Yellow-white berry.

Post Oak

Very fine scales on nut.

Red Elm

The samara has hairs on the seed portion, but the wing margins are glabrous (hairless), which helps distinguish it from other elms

Red Maple

Samara, slightly divergent wings approx. 3/4" long. Initially reddish or green, brown or tan when mature.

Red Oak

Acorn: cup shallow, scales tight, nut large and barrel shaped.

Red Pine

Small, 2-3" long; cone scales thick, shiny, no spikes.

Eastern Redbud

a flat, elongated legume, resembling a pea or bean pod, typically 2-4 inches long. These pods are initially reddish-green and mature to a deep reddish-brown or purplish-black color by late summer or fall.

Sassafras

A small, deep blue-black drupe, about half an inch long, that matures in late summer and sits on a bright red, cup-shaped stalk.

Scarlet Oak

sessile or nearly so; acorn 1/2 - 1 inch long, usually with distinctive concentric rings near the apex; cup is thick with warty, lustrous scales; kernel bitter white.

Scotch Pine

2 to 3" long, minute spines, apophysis pyramid shaped, light brown in color

Shagbark Hickory

Husk up to 1/2" thick, shell of the nut 4 ribbed, meat of nut sweet.

Shortleaf Pine

1-1/2 to 2-1/2" long, ovoid-oblong to conical, usually persistent, armed

Sweetgum

The "gum ball," a woody, spiked, spherical pod that develops from the tree's female flowers, globose head of beaked capsules.
Lime green when not dead.

American Sycamore

Globose head of many achenes, to 1 1/4" diameter.
Fuzzy, burr like ball.

Tulip Poplar

2 1/2 to 3" long, an erect cone like aggregate of samaras.

Virginia Pine

2-1/2 to 4" long, sharp spined, persistent, inside of new cone purple color.

White Pine

Elongated, pitchy, stalked, 4 to 8" long, scales thin and unarmed.

Yellow Buckeye

Smooth larger than A. glabra. A rounded, three-parted, leathery capsule that contains one to six dark, shiny, eye-like seeds.

Tree of Heaven

An oblong, twisted samara grouped in large clusters, persist in winter.

Hackberry

A small dark red or purple drupe 1/4" to 1/3" in diameter, edible.

Buttonbush

Somewhat similar to sycamore. Brown, ball-shaped clusters of small, dry nutlets that develop from the flower heads in late summer or fall. Persists in winter.

Autumn Olive

Reddish barrel shaped berry.

White Ash

Single, flattened terminally winged samara aggregated into clusters.

Ginkgo

Plant is dioecious, naked seed, 1” long, orange fleshy covering, odorous, inner seed is edible.

Witchhazel

Woody, 2 seeded capsule, seeds, black, forceful ejection of
seeds when it opens.

Juniper (Eastern Red Cedar)

Round, silver-blue, 1/4" diameter, berry-like, semi-fleshy scales.

Mountain Laurel

Somewhat persistent in winter, globose structure. A small, round, brown capsule that measures about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter

Spice Bush

Bright red drupe berries with waxy flesh and a single seed.

Sourwood

Terminally borne raceme with white urn shaped flowers which turn into brown seed capsules.

Eastern Cottonwood

A series of small, green, egg-shaped capsules that hang in catkins from female trees.

Black Cherry

Small cherry, black, long clusters.

White Oak

Cup thick with warty scales, nut often elongated.

Swamp White Oak

Stalk (peduncle) long - 1 to 4", cup deep, nut large.

Shingle Oak

Like palustris. Small, dark brown to black, and ovoid or nearly globose. Short peduncle.

Great Rhododendron

Woody, oblong - ovoid, red-brown, sticky, 5-celled capsule 1/2 inch long.

Black Willow

Small, yellowish, pear-shaped capsules that contain numerous seeds with a fluffy, white, downy filament.

Bald Cypress

Globose, 3/4" to 1" in diameter, disintegrating at maturity.

Northern White Cedar

1/4" to 1/2" long, paired
cone scales, upright leathery brown

Eastern Hemlock

Small 1/2 to 1" pendant, light brown color.