Dendrology - Reproductive Structures

• Resembles magnolia cone

• Big samaras w/ pine cone vibes

Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip-poplar)

• Large and round

• Spiny husk w/ 2-3 chestnuts inside

Castanea dentata (American chestnut)

• Small cones

• Grow in clusters

• Matures in one season

Thuja occidentalis (northern white-cedar)

• Egg-shaped cones

• 2 inches long

• Semi-serotinous

• Matures in fall of second season

Pinus resinosa (red pine)

• Cylindrical cones

• 4-8 inches long

• Matures in two years

Pinus strobus (eastern white pine)

• Double samaras

• Wide-spreading wings

• Clustered

• Mustache

Acer pensylvanicum (striped maple)

• Double samaras

• Pair of round seeds

Acer saccharum (sugar maple)

• Double samaras

• Clustered

• Reddish wings

Acer rubrum (red maple)

• Small spiny husk w/ two edible husks

Fagus grandifolia (American beech)

• Catkin open early spring

Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)

• Stubby catkins

• Monoecious (male + female repro)

Betula papyrifera (paper birch)

• Fruit contained in a spiny husk

• Not edible

Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut)

• Fruit in oval husk

• Fleshy

Juglans cinerea (butternut / white walnut)

• Round nut in thick green husk

• Spherical

Juglans nigra (black walnut)

• Cones ¾ inches long

• Hangs like a pendant

Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)

• 2-4 inches long

• Upright, erect cones

Abies balsamea (balsam fir)

• Monoecious

• Mealy drupe the size of a pea

Celtis occidentalis (eastern hackberry)

• Spherical nut with green-brown husk

• 4 wings tapered to a point

• 1 inch long

Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)

• Acorn

• High in tannins

• Mature in 2 years

Quercus rubra (northern red oak)

• Small catkins

Alnus incana (speckled alder)

• Acorn

• 2-4x larger than cap

• Mature in 1 year

Quercus alba (white oak)

• Dioecious

• Single dry, flattened samara

• Forms in clusters

Fraxinus americana (white ash)

• Acorn

• Small — ½ - ¾ inches

• Acorn halfway enclosed by cap

• Shaggy

Quercus velutina (black oak)

• Winged nutlet

Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood / American hornbeam)

• Spherical pea-sized fruit

• Attached to a leaf-like bract

Tilia americana (American basswood)

• Ribbed nutlet w/ flaky wings

• Resembles hops

Ostrya virginiana (ironwood)

Acer negundo (boxelder)

• Seeds dispersed on fluffy cotton

Populus deltoides (eastern cottonwood)

• Cone-shaped capsules

• Contain many cottony seeds

Salix nigra (black willow)

• Small berries

• Dark bluish — purple/red

Sambucus spp. (elderberry)

• Winged samara

Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash)

• Acute samaras

Acer saccharinum (silver maple)

• Small edible catkins

Comptonia peregrina (sweetfern)

• Catkins, single or paired

Betula populifolia (gray birch)

Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)

• Golden yellow capsule containing scarlet berries

• Found all along the stem

Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)

Prunus pensylvanica (pin cherry)

• Red or orange-red berry

Lonicera spp. (honeysuckle)

Prunus virginiana (choke cherry)

Prunus serotina (black cherry)

• Pea-sized black drupe

• White flowers in the spring

Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)

• Small woody capsule that forcefully ejects seeds

Hamamelis virginiana (witch-hazel)

• Nut enclosed in a husk w/ tubular structure

Corylus cornuta (beaked hazelnut)

• Small red or dark blue berries

Viburnum lantanoides (hobblebush)

• Drupey oval-shaped red berry

Berberis spp. (barberry)

• Catkins

• Cylindrical column of flowers of the same sex

Populus grandidentata (bigtooth aspen)

• Lots of tiny nutlets

• Looks like a Christmas tree ornament

Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)

• Winged samara

• Leathery

• Wide angle

Acer platanoides (Norway maple)

• Oval samaras

• Notch at top of seed

• 3/8 to 1/2 inch across

Ulmus americana (American elm)

• Oval samara

Ulmus rubra (slippery elm)

• White flowers in the spring

Malus sylvestris (common apple)

• Flattened legume

• Purplish-brown pod that contains 4-8 kidney-shaped seeds

Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)

• Dark, grape-like berries

• Toxic

Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)

• Catkins

Betula lenta (black birch)

• Red showy velvety berries

• Remain throughout winter

Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)

• Usually produce berries

Swida spp. (dogwood)

• Bright red in fall

• Smallest angle

Acer spicatum (mountain maple)

• Red berry

• Highly modified cone scale

• Rounded

Taxus canadensis (Canada yew)

Betula cordifolia (mountain paper birch)

Vaccinium angustifolium (low bush blueberry)

• Stiff cones

• Slightly notched scales

Picea rubens (red spruce)

Sorbus americana (American mountain-ash)

Araucaria heterophylla (Norfolk Island-pine)

• Short and wide

• Light green seed pod

• Turns purplish-brown in fall

Gymnocladus dioicus (Kentucky coffeetree)

Taxus x media (ornamental yew)

• 4-7 inch cones

• Cylindrical

• Light brown

• Stiff scales

Picea abies (Norway spruce)

• Light brown-gold cones

• Soft scales

Picea pungens (blue spruce)

• 1-2 inches

• Egg-shaped

Pinus sylvestris (Scot’s pine)

• Light brown

• Stringy appendages under scales

Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir)

• Large bean pod

• 8 or more seeds

• Brown/maroon

• Surrounded in a tough leathery skin

Gleditsia triacanthos ‘inermis’ (thornless honeylocust)

• Short and stout

• Sharp pin at tip

Quercus palustris (pin oak)

• Hanging cluster of light brown capsules

Populus nigra ‘italica’ (Lombardy poplar)

• 2-3 catkins

• Only birch with spring seed production

Betula nigra (river birch)

• Red edible berry

Amelanchier arborea (serviceberry)

• Clusters of small blue berries

Aralia spinosa (Devil’s walkingstick)

• ¼ inch cone

• Round

• Smooth peltate scales with a distinct point on each

Callitropsis nootkatensis ‘pendula’ (weeping Alaska cedar)

• 2 inches

• Clustered near top

• Cylindrical

• Scales not stiff

Picea glauca (white spruce)

• Smooth

• Light brown

• Not resinous

• Neat and tight

Pinus nigra (Austrian pine)

• Red berries

Crataegus spp. (hawthorn)

• Acorn 3x as long as cap

• Long peduncle

Quercus bicolor (swamp white oak)

Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)

Quercus macrocarpa (bur oak)

• 2-4 inches

• Sharp prickle at end of each scale

Pinus rigida (pitch pine)

• Spherical cones

• Semi-serotinous

Picea mariana (black spruce)

Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)

• Small

• Nearly spherical

• Sit erect on twigs

Larix laricina (larch)

• Spherical flower clustered/seed pods

• Whorled nutlets

Cephalanthus occidentalis (common buttonbush)

• Stubby catkins

Myrica gale (sweetgale)

• Bright red berries

• Persist throughout the winter

Ilex verticillata (winterberry / mountain holly)

• Dark blue berry

Nyssa sylvatica (black-gum)

• False leaf with round nutlets

Tilia cordata (little-leaf linden)

• Long bean-like hanging capsule

Catalpa speciosa (northern catalpa)

• Berry-sized yellow-brown pear

Pyrus calleryana (callery pear)

• Round to cylindrical

• Up to an inch

• Light brown

• Peltate shields that contain small wing seeds

Metasequoia glyptostroboides (dawn-redwood)