Identification of trees of the United States

Identification of trees of the United States

Trees can be identified by examination of several characteristics.

The following guide applies to the trees which are indigenous to the region extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the northern boundaries of the southern states, together with a few well-known and naturalized foreign trees. [cite book
last =Keeler
first =Harriet L.
title =Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them
publisher =Charles Scriber's Sons
date =1900
location =New York
pages =vii,xxi-xxiii ]

It must be remembered that the typical leaves of a species are to be found upon mature trees, not upon young ones. The leaflets of a compound leaf can be distinguished from simple leaves by the absence of leaf buds from the base of their stems.

To identify a tree check a characteristic and if it is present then examine the characteristics at the next level of indentation. For example, if the tree has simple leaves then see whether the leaves alternate along stem or leaves are opposite along stem.

This guide does not include the Conifers, which are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue.

* Simple leaves
** Leaves alternate along stem
*** Margins entire
**** Oblong-ovate or obovate, large, thick: Magnolia
**** Oblong, sub-evergreen at the south: Sweetbay Magnolia
**** Evergreen: Rhododendron, Kalmia
**** Obovate, 15-30 cm long: Pawpaw
**** Oblong, thick, shining, 5-12 cm long: Black Tupelo
**** Oblong, tree occurring sparingly at the north: American persimmon
**** Heart-shaped: Eastern Redbud
**** Leaves of three forms; oval, two-lobed, or three-lobed; frequently all three on one spray: Sassafras
**** Thick, shining, willow-shaped: Shingle oak, Willow Oak
**** Thick, shining, ovate, spines in the axils: Osage-orange
**** Broadly oval or obovate, veins prominent, leaves usually in clusters at the ends of the branches: Pagoda Dogwood
*** Margins slightly indented
**** Obliquely heart-shaped: Linden
**** Obliquely oval: Elm
**** Obliquely ovate: Hackberry
**** Oval or ovate, doubly serrate: Birch (see Betula classification), American Hornbeam
**** Repand with spiny teeth: American Holly
**** Coarsely-toothed, twigs bearing thorns: Black locust
**** Of quivering habit, petioles compressed: Poplar
**** Long, slender, finely serrate: Willow
**** Coarsely crenately-toothed: Chestnut oak
**** Obovate or oval; wavy-toothed: Witch-hazel
**** Serrate: Plum, Cherry, Crabapple, Sourwood, Juneberry, Silverbell, Beech
*** Margins lobed
**** Lobes entire
***** Apex truncate, three-lobed: Tulip tree
***** Lobes and sinuses rounded: White oak
***** Lobes rounded, lobes 2 or 3: Sassafras
***** Lobed or coarsely toothed, under surface covered with white down: White Poplar
**** Lobes slightly indented
***** Five-lobed, finely serrate: American Sweetgum
***** Variously lobed, irregularly toothed: Mulberry
**** Lobes coarsely toothed
***** Irregularly toothed, lobes bristle pointed: Northern Red Oak
***** Leaf broad, lobes coarsely toothed: American sycamore
** Leaves are opposite along stem
*** Margins entire
**** Ovate, veins prominent: Flowering dogwood
**** Heart-shaped, large: Catalpa
**** Oval: Fringe tree
*** Margins serrate: Sweet viburnum, Black haw (Viburnum prunifolium)
*** Margins lobed: Maple
* Compound leaves
** Leaves pinnately compound
*** Alternate
**** Margin of leaflets entire
***** Leaflets oval, apex obtuse: Black locust
***** Leaflets oblong apex acute: Poison sumac
***** Leaflets oval or ovate: Yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea)
***** Leaflets ovate — three in number: Hoptree
**** Margin of leaflets with two or three teeth at base: Tree of heaven (Ailanthus)
**** Margin of leaflets serrate: Sumac, Rowan, Walnut, Hickory
*** Opposite
**** Margin of leaflets entire: Ash
**** Margin of leaflets serrate: Ash
**** Margin of leaflets coarsely toothed: Boxelder Maple
** Leaves bi-pinnately compound
*** Margins of leaflets entire: Kentucky coffeetree
*** Irregularly bi-pinnate, margins of leaflets entire, thorns on stems above the axils of the leaves: honey locust
*** Margins of leaflets serrate, stems spiny: Prickly Ash
** Leaves palmately compound: Ohio Buckeye, Common Horse-chestnut

See also

* Identification key
* Leaf shape

External links

* [http://www.oplin.org/tree/ What Tree Is It? (OPLIN)]
* [http://www.tree-identification.com/ Tree identification resources]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Legal history of marijuana in the United States — The legal history of marijuana in the United States mainly involves the 20th and 21st centuries. In the 1800s, marijuana (also referred to as cannabis) was legal in most states, as hemp to make items such as rope, sails, and clothes, and was used …   Wikipedia

  • History of street lighting in the United States — The use of street lighting was first recorded in the Arab Empire from the 9th 10th centuries, [Fielding H. Garrison, History of Medicine :quote| The Saracens themselves were the originators not only of algebra, chemistry, and geology, but of many …   Wikipedia

  • Culture of the United States — Enthusiastic crowds at the inaugural running of the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis The Culture of the United States is a Western culture, having been originally influenced by European cultures. It has been developing since long before… …   Wikipedia

  • Taxation in the United States — is a complex system which may involve payment to at least four different levels of government and many methods of taxation. United States taxation includes local government, possibly including one or more of municipal, township, district and… …   Wikipedia

  • Numbered highways in the United States — Highways in the United States are split into at least four different types of systems. Interstate Highways The Interstate Highway System is a federally funded and administered (but state maintained) system of freeways that forms the… …   Wikipedia

  • UNITED STATES LITERATURE — The Influence of the Bible and Hebrew Culture The Jewish influence on American literary expression predated the actual arrival of Jews in the United States in 1654, for the Puritan culture of New England was marked from the outset by a deep… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • United States — a republic in the N Western Hemisphere comprising 48 conterminous states, the District of Columbia, and Alaska in North America, and Hawaii in the N Pacific. 267,954,767; conterminous United States, 3,022,387 sq. mi. (7,827,982 sq. km); with… …   Universalium

  • Southern United States — The Southern United States mdash;commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South mdash;constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south central United States. Because of the region s unique cultural and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Statutory Instruments of the United Kingdom, 2008 — This is an incomplete list of Statutory Instruments of the United Kingdom in 2008. NOTOC 1 100* Insolvency Practitioners and Insolvency Services Account (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2008 S.I. 2008/3 * Information as to Provision of Education… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Statutory Instruments of the United Kingdom, 1995 — This is a complete list of all 1,872 Statutory Instruments published in the United Kingdom in the year 1995. NOTOC 1 100* National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1995 S.I. 1995/1 * Plymouth… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”