Dendro Tree Descriptions

Red Maple

Opposite, blunt reddish brown buds

Shingle Oak

Alternate, olive-orange twigs, conical buds, bowl shaped acorn cap

Black Locust

Alternate, ropey bark, paired spines

Paper Birch

Alternate, white papery bark, sticky buds

Gray Birch

Alternate, grayish white bark, single male catkin

Southern Magnolia

Evergreen alternate leaves, rust brown underneath leaf, on twig, and bud

Ginkgo

Alternate, red brown twigs and thick spur shoots, irregularly ridged bark

Sugar Maple

Opposite, sharp brown buds

Flowering Dogwood

Opposite, blocky bark, green or purple twigs, cat claw leaf buds, hershey kiss flower buds

White Oak

Alternate, clustered round buds, white bark

Black Oak

Alternate, clustered long tan hairy buds, black bark

Yellow Poplar

Alternate, shallow diamond furrows, duck bill buds

Green Ash

Opposite, brown boot leather bud, half circle leaf scar

White Fir

Evergreen with suction cup needles

Norway Spruce

Evergreen, shiny green needles on woody peg

Eastern White Pine

Evergreen, 5 needles per fascicle

American Sycamore

Alternate, camo patterned bark, bud hidden under petiole

Black Cherry

Alternate, burnt cornflake bark, reddish brown to green buds

Boxelder

Opposite, green twig

Norway Maple

Opposite, purple turban shaped bud

Silver Maple

Opposite, reddish brown buds, long thin strips of peeling bark

Pawpaw

Alternate, bat ear buds, smooth bark with lenticels

Blackgum

Alternate, diaphragmed pith, ridged and furrowed to blocky bark

Dawn Redwood

Opposite, reddish peeling bark, cylindrical buds

American Beech

Alternate, cigar shaped buds, 11-14 leaf veins

European Beech

Alternate, cigar shaped buds, 7-9 leaf veins

Sweetgum

Alternate, round spiky seed pods, green to orange brown buds

Black Cherry

Alternate, burnt cornflake bark, reddish brown to green buds

Sweet Birch

Alternate, plated gray bark, green and brown buds, wintergreen taste

River Birch

Alternate, brownish/salmon peeling bark, pubescent buds and twigs

Honeylocust

Alternate, zig zag twigs with branched thorns, plated bark, curling seed pods

Kentucky Coffeetree

Alternate, salmon colored pith, large flat seed pods

Sassafras

Alternate, green twigs with sweet smell when broke, cinnamon colored inner bark

Sweet Cherry

Alternate, smooth bark with think lenticels, large reddish buds

Bigtooth Aspen

Alternate, gray brown bark that splits, orange brown buds with small hairs

Weeping Willow

Alternate, dropping form, appressed buds and furrowed bark

Black Willow

Alternate, yellow twigs with appressed buds

Willow Oak

Alternate, tiny clustered terminal buds, tiny acorns

White Spruce

Evergreen with white-ish green needles, needles not sharp, cones 1.5-2.5 inches long

Callery Pear

Alternate, shallow furrows and scaly ridges, white fuzzy buds

Hophornbeam

Alternate, smooth splotchy bark (when young), shaggy shredded bark (when older), green/red brown striated buds, “hops” shaped fruit

American Chestnut

Alternate, hairless orange-brown twigs/buds, spiky fruit

Chinese Chestnut

Alternate, lenticel covered pubescent twigs and buds, spiky fruit, furrowed bark

Alleghany Chinkapin

Alternate, pubescent twigs and buds, spiky fruit, small shrub

Chinkapin Oak

Alternate, clustered conical buds, bowl shaped acorn cap, shallow ridges and furrows

Bur Oak

Alternate, clustered terminal buds with burs attached, large acorns with warty caps and burs

Pin Oak

Alternate, clustered conical terminal buds, shallow ridged bark, flattened acorn cap

Spicebush

Alternate, greenish twigs with round buds, spicy smell when twig broken, brown bark with many small lenticels, bright red fruit in fall

Cucumbertree

Alternate, light brown very soft bark, red-brown twigs with stout white fuzzy buds, “cat poop” fruit

White Ash

Opposite, brown leathery buds, ashy bark forming interlacing ridges, Cheshire smile leaf scars

Virginia Pine

Evergreen, two short twisty needles per fascicle

Blackhaw

Opposite, middle finger buds, shrub/small tree

Eastern Redbud

Alternate, zigzag dark-colored white-spotted twigs, dark red to chestnut buds, small legume seed pods

Hornbeam

Alternate, smooth blue-gray “fluted” bark, angled brown buds, leafy fruit

Northern Catalpa

Whorled, scaly ridged bark, long legume-like seed pods, lamprey-mouth leaf scars

Northern Red Oak

Alternate, clustered, pentagonal terminal buds, large acorns with very flat cap

Common Persimmon

Alternate, brown bark with rough diamond ridge/furrow pattern, chocolate brown underneath bark, tan pubescent buds, chambered pith

Bitternut Hickory

Alternate, smooth gray bark when young, interlacing ridges when older, distinct yellowish terminal buds, nut has a thin husk

Pignut Hickory

Alternate, smooth gray bark when young, interlacing shaggy topped ridges when older, smallish glaborous terminal buds, nut has a thick husk

Shagbark Hickory

Alternate, smooth gray bark when young, bark begins to “shag” when older, tomentose twigs with large pubescent terminal buds, nut has a thivk husk

Mockernut Hickory

Alternate, smooth gray bark when young, interlaced round topped ridged bark when older, pubescent twigs and terminal buds, nut has think husk

European Larch

Deciduous needles, straw colored twigs with rounded buds and spur shoots

Hawthorn

Alternate, smooth gray-brown bark when young, bark darkens and gets scaly when older, dark red and round buds, small red or yellow fruits, large thorns

American Basswood

Alternate, beer-gut buds, smooth nutlets attached to leaf

Littleleaf Linden

Alternate, beer-gut buds, ridged nutlets attached to leaf

Kousa Dogwood

Opposite, camo colored bark, cat claw leaf buds and round flower buds

Great Rhododendron

Evergreen leaves, yellow green pubescent twigs with leaf-covered buds

Austrian Pine

Evergreen needles, two non twisty needles per fascicle, needles do not easily break when bent

Longleaf Pine

Evergreen needles, three very long needles per fascicle

Hackberry

Alternate, smooth bark when young, bark forms warts and “topographical” ridges, brown twigs with lenticels, tan triangular appressed buds,

American Elm

Alternate, interlacing flat topped ridges, alternating light and dark layers in bark when cut, glabrous, zigzag twigs with reddish brown buds

Chinese Elm

Alternate, puzzle piece bark with brown and orange patches, zigzag twigs with lenticels and orange brown buds

Slippery Elm

Alternate, noninterlacing flat topped ridges, zigzag twigs with dark brown to black buds

Japanese Zelkova

Alternate, smooth bark with orange patches, thin twigs with reddish brown conical buds

Hazel Alder

Alternate, small shrub with smooth fluted bark, reddish matchstick buds

Silky Dogwood

Opposite, multi-stemmed shrub, reddish purple to green bark, red-pruple twigs with salmon colored pith and white hairs, small hairy buds

Mountain Laurel

Alternate, large shrub/small tree, shredded bark, red to green twigs with leaf clusters at branch tips

Sourwood

Alternate, gray-brown deeply blocky bark, green to red twigs, tiny appressed buds and raised leaf scars

Flame Azalea

Alternate, tall shrub, gray brown finely shredded bark, very hairy twigs with clustered buds

Lowbush Blueberry

Alternate, small shrub that is green to the ground

Bear Oak

Alternate, shrubs growing near water, smooth gray bark, pubescent twigs with reddish brown, small clustered terminal buds

Chestnut Oak

Alternate, blocky flat topped ridges, hairless twigs with long, pointed, clustered buds, long acorns with warty teacup shaped cap

Table Mountain Pine

Evergreen needles, two twisty needles per fascicle, 1.5-3.5 inches long, sharp cones usually clustered

Black Raspberry

Alternate, small canes with a whitish purple stem and small prickles, tips of stems will root in ground

Shining Sumac

Alternate, smooth grey bark with dark lenticels, reddish brown hairy twigs and buds, rounded buds and horseshoe leaf scar, dark red clustered drupes in winter

Staghorn Sumac

Alternate, slightly fuzzy gray bark with dark lenticels, brown velvety twigs, rounded hairy buds, horseshoe leaf scar, round/red/fuzzy clustered drupe

Yellow Birch

Alternate, bronze peeling or scaly bark, green-brown hairy twigs, sharp red-brown buds, wintergreen smell

Alternate Leaf Dogwood

Alternate, smooth dark green bark, red to dark purple twigs, white pith, small buds, dead twigs turn yellow

Post Oak

Alternate, ashy grey blocky bark, gray slightly hairy twigs with round clustered terminal buds, warty bowl-shaped acorn cap

Red Spruce

Evergreen needles attached via woody peg, grey brown bark above, red brown bark below surface, orange brown twigs with soft needles

Red Pine

Evergreen needles, two non twisted needles per fascicle that break cleanly when bent, reddish brown scaly bark

Loblolly Pine

Evergreen needles, three non twisted needles per fascicle, red- to gray-brown scaly bark

Apple

Alternate, “dragon scale” bark, poorly formed small tree, grey slightly hairy twigs with ovate hairy gray buds

Striped Maple

Opposite, green bark with black stripes

Scarlet Oak

Alternate, clustered short fat buds, ski track bark til waist height

Witch Hazel

Alternate, multi-stemmed shrub, yellow spider-like flowers

Sweetfern

Alternate, gray brown fuzzy buds, smooth spotted bark, small shrub

Pitch Pine

Evergreen, three twisted needles per fascicle, thick flat plated bark

Eastern Hemlock

Evergreen with flat needles, two white lines below needle

Downy Serviceberry

Alternate, smooth gray bark with vertical stripes or cracks, long skinny bud