Dendrology - Tree Identification

Pinaceae Pseudotsuga menziesii, Douglas-fir

Strong - used for dimensional lumber, soft needles singly attached, small brown buds, smooth twigs, cone scales are papery and have seed bracts projecting beyond

Magnoliaceae Magnolia sp., magnolia

Primitive line of flowering plants, spatulate leaves that are thick and leathery with smooth edges, big fuzzy terminal buds, lenticels for gas exchange, large flowers with numerous petals

Magnoliaceae Liriodendron tulipifera, tuliptree

Four-lobed simple leaves that resemble tulips, pinnately veined, excurrent, long valvate terminal buds much larger than lateral buds - reddish-brown in the winter and enclosed by two green stipules in the summer

Pinaceae Picea sp., spruce

Needles are square and singly attached and spiky, never grows needles in the same place twice, twigs are also spiky where needles once were (raised leaf scars), apical dominance, bark is platy and chippy and resinous, cones are papery and pendulous (hang down)

Pinaceae Abies sp., fir

Christmas trees, needles singly attached like suction cups, circular leaf scars, flat needles with citrusy smell - attached all the way around the twig but curve up toward the sun, twigs are flexible and wippy, bark is chunky and resinous, cones held erect at the top - never found on the ground

Pinaceae Pinus sp., pine

Important timber species, grows fast, needles in groups of 2-5 attached by papery fascicle sheath, relatively long needles, flaky and resinous bark, large terminal buds, soft needles, cones with woody scales grow in no consistent direction

Taxaceae Taxus sp., yew

Common in landscape applications, hardy shrub, toxic, singly attached flat needles pointing in two directions, small scaled buds, thin and flaky bark, seeds surrounded by arils - red fleshy coating

Pinaceae Tsuga canadensis, eastern hemlock

Most shade-tolerant conifer, drooping twig tips, needles are short and flat with a lighter color and white stomatal lines on the underside, small bell-shaped cones that hang down, grayish flaky bark

Anacardiaceae Rhus aromatica, fragrant sumac

Strong smell, occupies upland/rockier sites, thicketing shrub, tripholiate compound leaves, no true terminal bud, small lateral buds

Anacardiaceae Rhus glabra, smooth sumac

Smooth twigs, thicketing dense shrub, pinnately compound leaves with serrated leaflets and single terminal leaflet, buds are enclosed within petioles, red rachis

Anacardiaceae Rhus hirta, staghorn sumac

Thicketing shrub, twigs are densely fuzzy like deer antler velvet, cultivar is unique, buds are enclosed within petioles, pinnately compounds leaves with single terminal leaflet, fruits are red and densely clustered

Moraceae Maclura pomifera, Osage-orange

Yellow/orange bark with strong vertical texture, latexy sap, wood is dense and rot-resistant, simple glossy pointed leaves, spur shoots on small twigs, no true terminal bud, female trees produce large green gnarled fruits

Annonaceae Asimina triloba, pawpaw

Wide-topped with sparse branches, large green fruits split into three, smooth gray bark, large entire leaves with drip tips, naked terminal buds

Platanaceae Platanus occidentalis, sycamore

Biggest tree east of the Rockies, big white smooth bark, simple palmately lobed maple-like leaves with shallow sinuses, no true terminal bud, fruit of multiple achenes shaped like gumballs, hollows out when old and provides important habitat for wildlife

Ulmaceae Ulmus americana, American elm

Shade tree, often branches low and spreads out then droops, critically endangered in the wild, bark has thick gnarled ridges, brown scaled buds with no true terminal bud, simple serrated leaves with uneven chordate base and an acute apex

Bignoniaceae Catalpa speciosa, northern catalpa

Excurrent, large heart-shaped leaves, trunk thick at base but tapering quickly, irregular crown, fruits are long cylindrical pods, whirled arrangement, fuzzy seeds

Cannabaceae Celtis occidentalis, hackberry

Bark has pronounced warty growths, purplish-black berries, twigs often clumped in witch’s broom, no true terminal bud, nipple galls on underside of many leaves, jagged margins and uneven bases and sandpaper texture

Betulaceae Betula nigra, river birch

Commonly multi-trunked, bark is papery and peeling and multicolored, messy shelf-shading, foliage is simple with serrated margins, male pre-formed pendulous catkins at the ends of twigs, female catkins are erect and become cone-shaped clusters of samaras

Betulaceae Corylus americana, American hazelnut

Thicketing shrub often wider than it is tall, leaves have doubly serrate margins and sandpaper texture, pre-formed male catkins found throughout the twig, female catkins are small and mature into hazelnuts covered by light green bracts, small imbricate buds

Betulaceae Carpinus caroliniana, hornbeam

Shrub to small tree, smooth gray bark looks like rippling muscles, rounded crown shape, female catkins produce fruits that are clusters of nutlets subtended by leafy three-lobed bracts, leaves are doubly serrate

Betulaceae Betula papyrifera, paper birch

Bark is white and papery with black stomatal lines, often multi-stemmed, foliage is simple with serrated margins, male pre-formed pendulous catkins at the ends of twigs, female catkins become long clusters of samaras

Betulaceae Ostrya virginiana, hophornbeam

Commonly single-trunked small tree, bark is textured, simple doubly serrate leaves, foliage often flat and two-ranked, fruits look like hops fruit and nutlets are completely enclosed in papery scales, catkins dangling in clusters of three at ends of twigs

Ginkgoaceae Ginkgo biloba, ginkgo

Gymnosperm, only extant species in its division and class, evolutionarily isolated, stump sprouters, fast-growing but live long, leaves are fan-shaped and often two-lobed, venation comes from one point and petioles are long, large spur shoots form after one year of growth, females produce seeds with fleshy outer coat that are not true fruits and smell like death

Ebenaceae Diospyros virginiana, persimmon

Large round fruits, simple leaves lighter on the underside with wavy margins, twigs are smooth and gray, bark has chunky reptilian-like rectangular blocks, open crown of contorted branches

Hamamelidaceae Hamamelis virginiana, witch-hazel

Shrub form often strongly leaning, blooms and fruits at the same time, blooms are in fall after leaves are gone, flowers have four narrow yellow petals, fruits are two-capsuled and woody and look like the bottom of a pop/water bottle, disperses seeds by forcefully ejecting them, simple leaves with lighter underside, functionally naked buds with larger true terminal buds, venation is staggered and base is staggered

Altingiaceae Liquidambar styraciflua, American sweetgum

Conical/pyramidal shape, variety of fall colors, sap is aromatic and congeals into balls, simple palmately-lobed star-shaped leaves (5-7 lobes), margins are dentate (teeth point outward), fruits are spiky balls (multiple of capsules)

Cornaceae Cornus sericea, red-osier dogwood

Thicketing shrub, red bark, oppositely arranged, silky feel to underside of leaves, small valvate fuzzy brown terminal buds, entire margins and fibrous U-shaped veins, flowers in corymbs with four petals that become bright white berries with dark spots

Cupressaceae Taxodium distichum, baldcypress

Deciduous conifer, buttresses on trunk and knees for structural stability, two-ranked soft leaves, deciduous branchlets with alternate individual leaves, deciduous green female cones, male cones hang in pendulous chains

Pinaceae Larix decidua, European larch

Deciduous conifer, soft narrow needles in tufts, spur shoots, terminal buds in center of spur shoots, cones have papery scales like spruce but are held erect, flaky bark 

Salicaceae Populus tremuloides, quaking aspen

Smooth white bark that scars easily and has lenticels, leaves flutter and are rounder and less serrated than paper birch, pronounced buds, terminal imbricate buds, likes to grow in colonial patches 

Salicaceae Salix sp., willow

Shrubs or trees, typically have mutlipe trunks, twigs are flexible and whiplike, often riparian, long narrow leaves with acute tips, no true terminal buds, persistant paired stipules at base of petioles, most recent growth is differently colored, buds generally prominent and covered by single scales

Cornaceae Cornus alternifolia, alternate-leaf dogwood

Thicketing shrub to small tree, alternate arrangement, leaves clustered at ends of branches, simple entire leaves with paired U-shaped veins, valvate terminal buds, flowers with four petals held in corymbs, fruits are drupes, branches arranged in flat horizontal layers then curve upward and diverge in Y-shapes 

Salicaceae Populus deltoides, eastern cottonwood

Large and imposing, triangular fluttering leaves with long petioles arranged at all angles around twigs, serration along base and smooth along tip, cotton-like seeds, often multiple trunks at base, large imbricate resinous pointed terminal buds, knobby twigs, thick bark with deep furrows 

Adoxaceae Viburnum sp., viburnum 

Shrub to small tree, oppositely arranged, leaves scabrous texture, valvate terminal buds often fuzzy, fruits held in corymbs - colorful drupes, large white flowers with five petals held terminally

Cornaceae Cornus mas, cornelian-cherry

Shrub to small tree, bright red fruits, clusters of bright yellow flowers with four petals, oppositely arranged, simple entire leaves with fibrous U-shaped paired veins, round flower buds enclosed by downy boat-shaped bracts, leaf buds are slender and pointed, exfoliating textured bark with orange undertone all the way to twigs 

Sapindaceae Acer rubrum, red maple

Simple palmately lobed leaves (typically 3 lobes with larger middle lobes), red petioles, reddish new growth, bright red buds, red fall color, bark generally smooth but gains some texture as it matures, fruits are paired samaras, collateral buds

Sapindaceae Acer saccharinum, silver maple

Lighter underside of leaves, spreading form with drooping branches, strappy exfoliating bark, simple palmately lobed leaves (5 lobes), deep sinuses that come to a V-shape, entire margins and large teeth, collateral buds, large paired samaras at a 90 degree angle

Sapindaceae Acer ginnala, Amur maple

Most often shrubby, simple palmately lobed (3-5 lobes with middle much larger), coarsely serrated margins, small buds, small samaras held in clusters at at narrow angles 

Sapindaceae Aesculus hippocastanum, horsechestnut

Oppositely arranged, palmately compound (5-7 leaflets finely serrated and widest near tip), long petioles, underleaf paler green, huge imbricate resinous terminal buds, smaller resinous lateral buds, large chestnut-like fruits, prone to leaf scorch and blight

Sapindaceae Acer platanoides, Norway maple

Dense canopy, bark is fine textured but does not peel, large simple palmately lobed (5-9 lobes that are blocky and evenly sized), milky white sap, large terminal dark brown buds, large flat samaras like mustaches

Sapindaceae Acer saccharum, sugar maple

Variety of fall colors, simple palmately lobed (typically 5 lobes with entire margins and sub-lobes), deep U-shaped sinuses and tapered lobes, conical pointed terminal buds, textured bark on older trees

Sapindaceae Aesculus glabra, Ohio buckeye

Husks of nuts are spiny and split, terminal panicle flowers, oppositely arranged, palmately compound leaves (typically 5 finely serrated leaflets with tapered points), large chunky terminal buds that are not resinous, textured bark

Oleaceae Syringa vulgaris, common lilac

Panicles of flowers, most often thicketing shrubs, opposite arrangement, entire margins and chordate bases, small paired terminal buds

Oleaceae Syringa reticulata, Japanese tree lilac

Small tree, net-like leaf venation, simple entire rounded leaves held oppositely, persistant upright capsules in clusters, panicles of flowers, paired terminal buds, prominent horizontal lenticels all the way down trunk

Sapindaceae Acer negundo, boxelder

Pinnately compound leaves (3-5 pointed leaflets with some lobing), oppositely arranged, scraggly/shaggy, greenish terminal buds, samaras held at narrow V-shaped angles, newest twigs are smooth and green or bluish or purplish/red

Oleaceae Fraxinus sp., ash

Opposite arrangement, pinnately compound leaves (typically 7 leaflets), large brown terminal buds that are short and round, single samaras held in clusters, bark has distinct ridges often diamond-shaped, clusters of flower galls

Fabaceae Cladrastis kentukea, yellowwood

Medium-sized tree, odd-pinnately compound leaves with large leaflets and entire margins, both leaves and leaflets are arranged alternately, buds are naked and completely covered by stem bases, leaf scars look like donuts, no true terminal buds, fruits are flattened seed pods that dangle in clusters at the ends of twigs, smooth gray bark

Juglandaceae Carya cordiformis, bitternut hickory