Ben GrossmanSt. Charles County

Parks and Rec.Certified Arborist #MW-4418AM

Chapter 2.Chapter 2.Tree Identification Tree Identification

Key Terms

Alternate Foliage Lobe Pinnate

Angiosperm Genus Monocotyledon Serrate

Class Gymnosperm Morphology Species

Conifer Identification key Nomenclature Specific epithet

Cultivar Kingdom Opposite Taxonomy

Dicotyledons Leaf apex Order Variety

Division Leaf base Palmate Whorled

Family Leaf margin Phylum

Plant Classification• Kingdom Plantae

• Division or Phylum Magnoliophyta (angiosperms)

• Class Magnoliopsida

(dicotyledons)

Gymnosperms “naked” seeds.Pine, Fir, Cypress, Juniper, Spruce, Ginkgo, Dawn Redwood

Seeds are not covered by an ovule.

Angiosperms

• Seeds are surrounded by ovule

• Deciduous trees, broad-leaved evergreens

Monocotyledons•One seed leaf•Parallel veination•Scattered vascular bundles•Floral parts in 3’s

Dicotyledons•Two cotyledons•Net veined leaves•Vascular bundles in a ring•Floral parts in 4’s and 5’s

Angiosperms

• Seeds are surrounded by ovule

• Deciduous trees, broad-leaved evergreens

Monocotyledons•One seed leaf•Parallel veination•Scattered vascular bundles•Floral parts in 3’s

Dicotyledons•Two cotyledons•Net veined leaves•Vascular bundles in a ring•Floral parts in 4’s and 5’s

Monocots vs. Dicots

Plant Classification• Kingdom Plantae• Division or Phylum Magnoliophyta

(angiosperms)• Class Magnoliopsida

(dicotyledons)• Order Sapindales• Family Fagaceae• Genus Quercus • Specific epithet palustris

Plant Nomenclature• Nomenclature is the naming of plants• Developed in 1753 by Carolus Linnaeus

Acer rubrum ‘Brandywine’

Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis ‘Shademaster’

American Hornbeam, Blue

Beech, Ironwood, or Muscle wood?

What’s in a Name?• Genus Quercus• Species Quercus rubra L.

Quercus spp.• Subspecies Quercus ilex ssp. Ballota• Variety Quercus garryana var. breweri• Forma Cornus florida f. rubra• Cultivar Fraxinus uhdei ‘Majestic Beauty’• Patented cultivar Betula nigra Heritage®• Trademark cultivar Betula nigra Dura-Heat™• Hybrid Quercus x schuettei (bur x swamp white)

Principles of Identification• Morphology: Size, Shape, and

Appearance of plant parts. These include trunk form and texture, twigs,

leaves, flowers and fruit.

Leaf and Bud Arrangement

opposite — leaves occurring in pairs at the nodesalternate — leaves arranged singly at intervals along the stemswhorled — leaves occurring three or more at a single node

Big M.A.D. Cap. Buck

• Big = Bignoniacea (trumpet creeper, Catalpa)

• M = Maple (Acer)

• A = Ash (Fraxinus)

• D = Dogwood (Cornus)

• Cap. = Caprifoliaceae (viburnums, honeysuckle)

• Buck = Buckeye

Leaf Arrangement

simple

pinnately compound

palmately compound

bi-pinnately compound

Leaf Arrangement

2 needles/fascicle

3 needles/fascicle

5 needles/fascicle

Leaf Anatomy

Leaf Margins

entire — a leaf margin that is smooth without teeth or lobesundulate — a leaf margin that is wavyserrate — a leaf margin that has pointed teeth that are directed upwarddoubly serrate — a serrate leaf margin where the primary teeth support another set of teethcrenate — a leaf margin that has rounded teethlobed — a segmented leaf having pointed or rounded extensions separated by sinuses that do not extend more than halfway to the midribsinus — the space or indentation between the lobes of a leaf blade

Leaf Base

cuneate — wedge-shapedobtuse — roundedcordate — heart-shapedtruncate — squared or abruptly cut offoblique — asymmetrical, unequally sided

Leaf Apices

acute — slightly pointedacuminate — sharply pointedbristle-tipped — sharply pointed tiptruncate — squared or abruptly cut offobtuse — rounded

Bud Anatomy

Pith Characteristics

ChamberedSpongySolid

StarAngularRound

Bark Characteristics

• Think Texture…

• Think Texture

Fruit Types

berry — a simple, fleshy fruit, with seeds embedded in a pulpy mass (persimmon)drupe — a one-seeded, fleshy fruit with the seed inclosed in a stony wall (cherry, sugarberry, holly)capsule — a dry fruit which splits open into two or more parts at maturity (sourwood)legume — a dry fruit with two seams in the outer wall (black locust)nut — a hard-shelled, dry fruit, sometimes with a outer covering or husk (hickory, oak acorn, black walnut)dehiscent — the opening by slits or valves of an outer fruit coveringindehiscent — an outer fruit covering that does not open by slits or valvespome — a fleshy fruit, with seeds incased by a papery wall (apple)nutlet — a small nut (riverbirch)samara — a winged, one-cell, one-seeded, dry fruit (elm; double samara — maple)multiple — a fruit formed from several flowers into a single structure having a common axismultiple of capsules -- sweetgummultiple of follicles — magnoliamultiple of samaras — yellow-poplar, ashmultiple of nutlets — sycamore, birch

Tree Growth Forms

Excurrent Decurrent

Excurrent

Quiz Questions / Break

Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica

White ashFraxinus americana

Bald cypress Taxodium distichum

American basswoodTilia americana

River birch Betula nigra

Ohio BuckeyeAesculus glabra

Southern CatalpaCatalpa bignonioides

Black cherryPrunus serotina

Eastern cottonwoodPopulus deltoides

CrabappleMalus spp.

Flowering DogwoodCornus florida

American elmUlmus americana

Siberian elmUlmus pumila

Ginkgo, Maidenhair treeGinkgo biloba

Golden raintreeKoelreuteria paniculata

HackberryCeltis occidentalis

HawthornCrataegus spp.

Shagbark HickoryCarya ovata

HoneylocustGleditsia triacanthos

Kentucky coffeetreeGymnocladis dioicus

Littleleaf LindenTilia cordata

Black locustRobinia psuedoacacia

Amur mapleAcer ginnala

BoxelderAcer negundo

Norway mapleAcer platenoides

Red mapleAcer rubrum

Silver mapleAcer saccharinum

Sugar MapleAcer saccharum

MulberryMorus spp.

Bur oakQuercus macrocarpa

Northern red oakQuercus rubra

Pin oakQuercus palustris

Post oakQuercus stellata

Shumard oakQuercus shumardii

Swamp white oakQuercus bicolor

White oakQuercus alba

Osage orangeMaclura pomifera

Callery pearPyrus calleryana

PecanCarya illinoensis

PersimmonDiospyros virginiana

Austrian PinePinus nigra

Loblolly pinePinus taeda

Scotch pinePinus sylvestris

Shortleaf pinePinus echinata

Eastern white pinePinus strobus

White poplarPopulus alba

Eastern redbudCercis canadensis

Eastern redcedarJuniperus virginiana

Colorado SprucePicea pungens

Norway sprucePicea abies

Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua

Black walnutJuglans nigra

Black willowSalix nigra

Western soapberrySapindus drummondi