Ohio Trees and Shrubs Flashcards
European Black Alder Alnus glutinosa
Arborvitae Thuja occidentalis
Arborvitae has many alternative common names, including Eastern Arborvitae, American Arborvitae, White Cedar, and Northern White Cedar. Cedar Swamp in Champaign County, Ohio is named after this tree with White Cedar being the common name referred to in this case.
Blue Ash Fraxinus quadrangulata
A deciduous tree from the Olive Family (Oleaceae)
Square twigs
Blackhaw is perhaps the most widely distributed Viburnum in Ohio, as it is found throughout the state, ranging from shady mesic woodlands to open, dry fields. It encompasses most of the Eastern United States in its broader distribution. Blackhaw has plump floral buds on arching branches in winter, white flowers in mid-spring, glossy foliage in summer, and combination of colorful foliage and fruits in autumn make it a native shrub with four-season appeal. Its common name comes from the final color (black) of its elliptical fruits in late autumn, coupled with the densely twiggy nature of its canopy resembling that of Hawthorns. Blackhaw slowly reaches 15 feet tall by 10 feet wide when found in the open, and if limbed up into tree form, may reach 20 feet tall by 15 feet wide. As a member of the Honeysuckle Family, it is related to the Honeysuckles, Elderberries, Weigelas, and the multitude of other Viburnums.
Ohio Buckeye, the state tree of Ohio, is found primarily as an understory tree in the western half of Ohio, where the soils are more alkaline in pH. However, it is scattered throughout the eastern half of the state, except in extreme northeastern and extreme southeastern Ohio. Its lightweight wood is used in the production of artificial limbs, and the holding of a “buckeye nut” in one’s pocket is considered good luck. A native of the Midwestern and Great Plains states, trees found in the open may reach 60 feet tall by 30 feet wide, but as a native understory it is often half that size. As a member of the Horsechestnut Family, it is related to other Horsechestnuts and Buckeyes, including man-made hybrids between the species.
Common Buckthorn, also known as European Buckthorn, is an invasive shrub found throughout Ohio, the greater Midwest, and a large portion of the eastern United States. Its ability to colonize fence rows, fields, and neglected areas – coupled with its tough constitution and rapid growth rate – allows it to quickly produce copious amounts of black fruits on relatively young female shrubs. It is spread via bird consumption and subsequent dispersal to surrounding areas, much like Amur Honeysuckle. These two foreign shrubs often occupy the same niche, displacing native shrubs and trees. The most positive aspect of this large shrub or small tree is its glossy, dark green foliage, which is usually not bothered by pests. The leaves usually hang on late into autumn. Its heartwood is bright orange, and its wood strongly resists rotting.
Butternut, also known as White Walnut, this relative of Black Walnut is slower growing and much less frequently encountered than its well-known cousin. Butternut prefers moist bottomlands and ravines like Black Walnut, but its lightweight wood is beige-pink in color and is not nearly as sought-out for making veneer and furniture. Its kernel within the fruit gives it the common name of Butternut, as it is sweet and very oily. The Native Americans reportedly boiled the kernels to extract the oil, which was then used like butter. The kernels were also pickled in vinegar by the early settlers.
Buttonbush, native to widely diverse regions of the world, is found in Ohio primarily in wetland areas, around pond margins, or in soils that are permanently moist. It occurs in the eastern half of the United States, the Great Plains, the southwestern United States, Mexico, Cuba, and eastern Asia. It is easily recognized in summer by its globular, pure white flowers that have projecting styles. Its glossy foliage, which emerges late as compared to other woody plants (mid-spring), is a second ornamental feature. This sprawling shrub, when found in the open in Ohio, reaches about 7 feet tall and 15 feet wide. As a member of the Madder Family, it is related to Coffee, Sweet Woodruff, Gardenia, and Partridge Berry, among others.
Northern Catalpa, native to a relatively small area of the central Mississippi Valley basin, has been extensively cultivated in Ohio for over 200 years, and is now naturalized in urban and rural areas, primarily used today as a large ornamental shade tree. Farmers introduced Northern Catalpa to Ohio in order to produce large amounts of relatively lightweight timber for fenceposts, since the wood is very resistant to rotting. Its rapid growth rate assisted in this need (along with other trees, like Black Locust and Osage-Orange) until metal fenceposts were developed and largely replaced wooden fenceposts. Also known as Hardy Catalpa, Western Catalpa, Cigar Tree, and Catawba-Tree, it may reach heights of 70 feet tall and 40 feet wide. As a member of the Bignonia Family, it is related to Trumpet Vine, Royal Paulownia, and other species of Catalpa, all of which are known for their showy flowers.
Black Chokeberry is scattered throughout Ohio, where it is found as thickets in both wet soils and dry sites. The fibrous root system holds soil well, and the suckering habit and self-sowing nature of this shrub allows for the formation of a large colony within a few years. Abundant black fruits in autumn and winter serve as a source of food for desperate wildlife, when no other tasty food is left, as the name “chokeberry” implies about their astringent tasting quality.
Black Chokeberry may reach 8 feet tall by 8 feet wide as an individual specimen of great age, and is strongly multistemmed. In natural settings, its strong tendency to sucker, self-sowing nature, and arching branches give it a colony growth habit of indeterminate width (like Sumacs). As a member of the Rose Family, it is related to the Serviceberries, Hawthorns, Crabapples, Plums, Cherries, Pears, and Roses, as well as other Chokeberry species and hybrids.
Kentucky Coffeetree – easily recognized in summer by its huge compound leaves and in winter by its bold outline – is present throughout much of Ohio, but is primarily found in the western half of the state, where the soils are more alkaline. Thick fruit pods containing large seeds (or beans) are found only on female trees, and often hang on during winter. Pioneers in Kentucky and elsewhere used the beans as a coffee substitute (hence the common name), and Native Americans roasted the beans for food.
A native of the Midwestern United States, the slow-growing Kentucky Coffeetree reaches 80 feet tall and 50 feet wide when found in the open, with an upright, irregular, and thin appearance in youth, becoming dense and symmetrical with age. As a member of the Bean Family, it is related to many other representative species, including Redbud, Honeylocust, Black Locust, and Wisteria, among others. The specific epithet of “dioicus” is sometimes alternatively spelled as “dioica”; in either case, it refers to the male and female nature of this species, termed “dioecious.”
Eastern Cottonwood, a type of Poplar that is present throughout all of Ohio, is a tree native to portions of the Eastern United States, but makes its greatest impact in the Midwest, Great Plains, and south central United States. It is almost as massive as Sycamore in terms of its girth and broad-spreading canopy. It frequents floodplains and river bottoms, but can also be planted in the driest of soils and survive to produce adequate shade. Its mature trunk has extremely thick bark, so thick that it can survive forest fires with only some outer bark loss. Its triangular leaves flutter in the slightest breeze, as do those of most Poplars. It commonly reaches 80 feet tall by 60 feet wide, but can be much larger. As a member of the Willow Family, it is related to the Willows and other species of Poplar.
American Crabapple, also known as Wild Crabapple or Sweet Crabapple, is present throughout all of Ohio, and predominates as a spreading tree native to the upper two-thirds of the Eastern United States, especially the Midwestern States. It is known for its very fragrant, white to white-pink blossoms that are the last among the Crabapples to bloom. Its fruits are very bitter (Sweet Crabapple refers to the scent of both the flowers and fruits, not the taste of the fruits) and greenish-yellow when mature, but make excellent jelly or jam due to their high pectin and high acid content (enough added sugar makes anything taste good). It is also used as a rootstock on which to graft some cultivated forms of apple, giving the grafted tree cold hardiness and adaptability to local soils. American Crabapple reaches 25 feet tall by 35 feet wide as an individual specimen under optimum conditions, but forms colonies of indeterminate width with time. As a member of the Rose Family, it is related to the Serviceberries, Chokeberries, Hawthorns, Plums, Cherries, Pears, and Roses, as well as other Crabapple and Apple species and hybrids.
American Cranberrybush is found throughout the northern tier of states in the United States and ranges throughout all of southern Canada. In these locations it is a common resident of open, wet woodlands and beside streams and other bodies of water. In Ohio, it is only native to the most northeastern counties near Lake Erie, but it is planted throughout the entire state. It is one of two Viburnums native to Ohio that have an outer row of showy, sterile flowers (the other being Hobblebush, with both resembling Hydrangeas). Likewise, it is one of only two Viburnums native to Ohio that have lobed leaves (the other being Maple-Leaf Viburnum). Also known as Highbush Cranberry (in reference to its tasty red fruits), this shrub has stout stems and thick branches, and may reach 12 feet tall by 12 feet wide when found in the open, with an arching growth habit at maturity that leaves the center of the plant devoid of branches. Modern landscape cultivars of this species have a much more compact and dense growth habit. As a member of the Honeysuckle Family, it is related to the Honeysuckles, Elderberries, Weigelas, and the many other Viburnums.
American Elm, once a stately and magnificent tree that lined America’s city streets, has partly followed in the footsteps of the American Chestnut, with many large American Elms succumbing to Dutch Elm disease. This pathogen (transmitted by the elm bark beetle) plugs the vascular system of the tree, preventing the flow of water and nutrients and slowly killing it. However, young trees are immune to the disease, and many reach reproductive age before falling victim to this foreign fungus.
Also known as White Elm (probably in reference to the creamy white wood), this large, vase-shaped tree is native to the entire eastern and central portions of the United States, extending into southern Canada. It is found throughout all of Ohio, primarily in moist sites such as bottomlands and ravines, but commonly seen in open fields, fencerows, and open woodlots, where the ground is dry in summer. Its arching canopy is majestic at maturity, but most trees now die by the time they reach 40 feet tall. Individual specimens, isolated from other Elms, may reach 80 feet tall by 60 feet wide. As a member of the Elm Family, it is related to Hackberry, Zelkova, and the numerous other Elms.
Balsam Fir is not native to Ohio, but is found as an escape into the wild in small areas of northeastern Ohio and Appalachia, where the winters are coldest and the soil is more acidic. It is rarely planted as an ornamental evergreen in urban areas, where its growth rate is slow. The soft wood of this tree is used in Canada as pulp for paper production. It is also prized as a Christmas tree that holds its needles especially well after cutting.
Balsam Fir is native to much of Canada, New England, and the northernmost states of the central United States and Great Lakes region. Mature specimens found in the open may grow to 70 feet tall by 20 feet wide, with a columnar growth habit and layered branching. As a member of the Pine Family, it is related to other Firs, as well as to the Larches, Spruces, Pines, and Hemlocks.
Hackberry, also known as Common Hackberry, Northern Hackberry, or American Hackberry, is present throughout the upper half of the eastern United States, the Great Plains, and southern Canada, including almost all of Ohio. It is a tree that frequents fencerows, fields, and wastelands, and grows naturally near bodies of water, including floodplains and drainage ditches. It is easily recognizable from a distance by its light gray, warty bark on massive trunks, coupled with its rapid growth rate and large size.
It easily grows to 80 feet tall by 60 feet wide when found growing in the open, often with a single trunk that quickly branches into several spreading huge branches that form an ascending or spreading canopy. As a member of the Elm Family, it is related to the Elms and other Hackberries.
Hawthorns comprise the single largest group of trees and large shrubs that inhabit the woods and fields of Ohio, based upon the number of native and naturalized species (more than 60), even outnumbering the Oaks (over 20). They are known primarily for their white spring flowers, late summer and autumn fruits (yellow, orange, or red in color), and their twiggy, thorny canopies. Growth is usually slow, and their preference is for sunny sites under a variety of soil conditions, tolerating summer drought very well. In general, they have an upright to rounded growth habit in youth, becoming spreading as they mature.
Hawthorns tend to colonize pastures, where their thorns prevent cattle and other domestic animals from grazing on them while they are young or mature. Heights range from 10 to 25 feet, and widths about 15 to 30 feet. As members of the Rose Family, they are related to the Serviceberries, Chokeberries, Crabapples, Plums, Cherries, Pears, and Roses, as well as many other genera of ornamental and economic importance.
Hazelnut, one of several related large shrubs known for their tasty nuts that provide food for humans or wildlife, is found throughout Ohio along roadsides, in fields, at the edges of forest, and in fencerows, in dry or moist sites. Also known as American Filbert or Hazel, it develops a broad, rounded, strongly suckering growth habit with age. Hybrids have been developed with European Filbert that combine its superior nut quality and yield with the cold hardiness of Hazelnut.
Hazelnut will reach dimensions of 15 feet tall and 15 feet wide, becoming arching and spreading with age, but new vertical suckers keep its middle interior canopy dense. As a member of the Birch Family, it is related to the Alders, Birches, Hornbeams, and Hophornbeams, in addition to other Hazelnuts and Filberts.
Bitternut Hickory,found throughout all of Ohio, is a common Hickory that has bitter nuts usually too ill-fit for human consumption, as its name implies. It is unlike Shagbark and Shellbark Hickories in more ways than this, in that its leaflets are more lance-shaped, its fruits have four-winged husks and are thin-shelled, its bark is sinewy when young with criss-crossing ridges at maturity, its small winter buds are yellow and valvate, and its twigs are slender and rapidly growing.
Bitternut Hickory grows to 60 feet tall by 25 feet wide when found in the open, with a crown of ascending branches and a lower canopy of pendulous branches. As a member of the Walnut Family, it is related to other Hickories and the Walnuts.
Shagbark Hickory a slow-growing but potentially massive tree located in all of Ohio, is frequently found in dry uplands or moist valleys in association with other hickories and oaks. Its cut timber is prized for making tool handles, athletic equipment, furniture, construction timbers, and firewood. Its “green” wood (or sometimes seasoned but freshly-wetted wood chips) is also sought after for the smoking of meats, especially pork meats. Its sweet and large nuts are relished by squirrels. The most distinctive feature of this tree is its shaggy bark, which peels in long, wide, thick strips from the trunk and branches, giving it the alternative common name of Scalybark Hickory. Its bold-textured, jagged branch structure and thick twigs give it a striking appearance in winter.
A native to most of the Eastern United States, Shagbark Hickory is a climax forest tree in well-drained, moist to dry woodland soils. It grows to 100 feet tall by 40 feet wide when found in the open. As a member of the Walnut Family, it is related to the Walnuts, as well as other Hickories (there are three types, namely the Pecans, the Shagbarks, and the Pignuts).
American Hophornbeam, also known as Eastern Hornbeam or Ironwood, is found throughout all of Ohio as well as throughout most of the Eastern United States and southernmost Eastern Canada. The “hop” portion of its name refers to the resemblance of its fruits to those of true hops that are used in the production of beer. Hornbeam refers to a related European tree whose wood was used to yoke oxen; therefore, its American counterpart wood was also used as a “beam” with which to yoke “horned” beasts of burden.
Ironwood refers to its strength and is confusing since this is also a common name for Blue Beech. The growth habit of the slow-growing American Hophornbeam is upright pyramidal and stately in youth, becoming gracefully rounded with slightly pendulous branch tips with age. It is found in very dry, moist, or even occasionally wet soils, in sunny fields or under the canopy of large forest trees. This tree achieves a height of 30 feet and a width of 30 feet when found in the open. As a member of the Birch Family, it is related to the Alders, Birches, Hornbeams, and Filberts.
Horsechestnut, a tree native to parts of southern Europe and southern Asia, is widely planted throughout Europe and Britian as a shade tree that flowers magnificently in spring. In Ohio, it is found in urban areas that can afford its need for ample growing space, such as the grounds of estates, large buildings, parks, cemeteries, and arboreta. Nuts of Horsechestnut are larger than those of the closely related Buckeyes, but are duller brown and not shiny. Trees found in the open may reach 60 feet tall by 60 feet wide and have a bold year-round texture. As a member of the Horsechestnut Family, it is related to other Horsechestnuts and Buckeyes, including man-made hybrids between the species.
Eastern Larch, as a native tree of Ohio, is only found in its extreme northeastern and northwestern counties, but it is common in New England, the upper Midwest, and much of Canada. It often goes by the alternative common names of Tamarack and American Larch. It is the only deciduous conifer that is native to Ohio, and strongly prefers moist to wet sites in acidic soils.
Fall color is a beautiful yellow, and after needle drop the winter form yields a strong central leader with strongly horizontal branches, with branchlets that do not droop. Specimens found in the open may grow to 70 feet tall by 20 feet wide, with a narrowly pyramidal growth habit. As a member of the Pine Family, it is related to other Larches, as well as the Firs, Spruces, Pines, and Hemlocks.
Two other Larches are planted as ornamentals for large landscapes, such as parks, arboreta, and cemeteries. Japanese Larch (Larix kaempferi) and European Larch (Larix decidua) are better suited for moist to dry soils, and are noted for their outstanding yellow to yellow-orange fall color on large trees as well as weeping forms. They can be distinguished in the United States from Eastern Larch by their longer drooping branchlets, longer needles, larger cones, platy rather than scaly or flaky bark, and their not being present in permanently wet soils.
Black Locust was once native to the southern Appalachian region of the Eastern United States, but has now spread throughout the world, including all of Ohio. It is valuable as an aggressive, rapidly growing invader species that controls erosion in road cuts, abandoned fields, strip-mined areas, logged forests, and fireswept areas. Initially colonizing by seeds, it also suckers from the roots, forming pure stands and snuffing out competitive weeds and woody plants. Trees of sufficient size are valued for their logs, which make fine fenceposts, poles, or railroad ties due to the anti-rotting properties of the olive-green wood.
Black Locust can quickly grow to 50 feet tall by 25 feet wide, when found in the open. However, high winds coupled with several diseases and pests often limit its potential height. As a member of the Bean Family, it is related to Redbud, Honeylocust, Kentucky Coffeetree, and Wisteria, as well as other Locusts.
Honeylocust is found throughout all of Ohio, being a fairly common resident of fencerows and open fields, but achieving its most favorable growth on the downslopes of streams and floodplains of rivers, where the deeper soils are moist to wet. Its fine-textured foliage makes it stand out when found next to trees with larger leaves that block more sunlight. This native of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee River Valleys has its large trunks and zigzag twigs adorned with thorns like no other large tree, although most forms found in urban areas, parks, and arboreta are propagated from thornless varieties.
Thornless Honeylocust is commonly planted as a shade tree throughout the eastern United States and southern Canada, prized for its urban tolerance, near seedless character, and filtered shade.
While also known as Thorny Locust, Common Honeylocust, or Sweet Locust, the native form may grow to 80 feet tall by 50 feet wide, with a medium to rapid growth rate. As a member of the Bean Family, it is related Redbud, Kentucky Coffeetree, Black Locust, and Wisteria, among others.
Maidenhair Tree (also commonly known as Ginkgo) is normally found only in urban areas of Ohio, since it is not a native tree and usually does not escape from cultivation. It forms a massive and majestic shade tree with age, and is very adaptable to harsh sites, especially those with dry, poor soils. It grows up to 80 feet tall by 60 feet wide when found in the open, with a slow to medium growth rate. Its shape is upright pyramidal and sparsely branched when young, becoming upright spreading and very dense at maturity. Its lower branches become pendulous with age, especially those of the female trees that have repeatedly borne heavy crops of fruits.
Maidenhair Tree was discovered by explorers visiting temples in southeastern China and Japan several hundred years ago. It was brought back to Europe and North America where it has flourished ever since. It is the only known surviving member of the Ginkgo Family, being a “living fossil” that is reportedly over 150 million years old. As a gymnosperm (actually having a “naked seed”, rather than a true fruit), Maidenhair Tree is distantly related to the Firs, Larches, Spruces, Pines, Hemlocks, and Bald Cypress, among others..
Osage Orange, a tree introduced into Ohio during the 1800s, is commonly seen in rural areas where it is found in fields and fence rows. Its usage as a large hedge tree in a row planting and the softball-sized fruits of female trees give it the alternative common name of Hedge Apple.
The Osage Indians of the southern Great Plains and the resemblance of its fruits to lime-colored oranges give it the more common name of Osage Orange. Commercially, its very strong wood is used to make the best bows for archery. When its wood is used as fenceposts or laid-down timbers, it takes decades to completely rot. Most parts of the tree exude a sticky white sap containing latex when wounded or cut.
A native of portions of Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma, Osage Orange loves the prolonged hot and dry conditions of summer, and thrives in poor soils. Specimens found in the open are upright and rapidly growing in youth, becoming arching and spreading with age, reaching 40 feet in height and 40 feet in width with a dense crown of interlacing, thorny branches. A distinctive growth habit is the repeatedly arching branches that hang down at the ends, but periodically send up vertical shoots. As a member of the Mulberry Family, it is related to the Mulberries and Figs.
Pawpaw is found throughout all of Ohio and most of the Eastern United States except for New England and much of Florida. It is a native understory or woodland edge tree, often found in moist places such as the bottoms of ravines, steep hillsides, and creek banks.
One tree often gives rise over the course of decades to a sprawling colony via its root system, which suckers several feet away from the parent tree.
This small tree is easily recognized by its large, tropical-looking foliage, and prized for its delicious fruits that mature in late summer. When found in the open, it may reach 25 feet tall and 15 feet wide as an individual tree. As a member of the Annona Family, it is related to other species of Pawpaw as well as other genera in this family (all tropical or subtropical in origin) and distantly related to the Magnolias and Tuliptree.
Redbud, also known as Eastern Redbud or Judas Tree, is abundant in the southern two-thirds of Ohio, with scattered distribution in the northern one-third of the state . It heralds the arrival of spring with its showy, lavendar-pink flowers that typically open in April, long before the foliage emerges.
Redbud is a native of the entire eastern half of the United States except for New England, but is not found in Canada, as its scientific name implies.
This ornamental tree is rapidly growing and usually multitrunked in the wild, having a vase shape with a rounded crown that reaches about 20 feet tall and 20 feet wide at maturity, when found in the open. However, since it is often located at the edge of woodlands, it commonly has a leaning growth habit, trying to grow into as much sunlight as possible.
As a member of the Bean Family, Redbud is also related to Honeylocust, Kentucky Coffeetree, Black Locust, and Wisteria, as well as other types of Redbuds. The Bean Family is also known as the Legume, Pea, or Pulse Family, and may go by the alternative scientific family name of Leguminosae. Many of this family’s members are important vegetable crops as well as ornamental plants.
Eastern Redcedar is found throughout the Eastern United States, although in Ohio it predominates in the warmer southwestern quarter of the state where soils are more alkaline (or calcareous). It is the most common evergreen conifer found throughout the entire state, and it is valuable as a large shrub or small tree that will thrive where few other woody plants will grow. It is a pioneer invader of forests that have been clear-cut, fields that have been scraped of topsoil, lands that have been strip-mined, and gorges that have been filled with clay and rocks. It serves as an excellent windbreak and erosion control shrub in nature, and is often seen as one of the large evergreens in old cemeteries.
While also known as Cedar or Redcedar, this species is actually a type of Juniper, reaching a height of 30 feet and width of 15 feet when found in the open, although it is spire-like in youth. Its aromatic heartwood is lavendar-red in color, and is prized for making cedar chests, closet wood lining, cedar shavings, small carvings, pencils, and non-rotting fence posts. As a member of the Cypress Family, it is related to Arborvitae and False Cypress, and is representative of the many types of landscape Junipers it is closely related to that are upright shrubs, spreading shrubs, and groundcovers.
Sassafras is native to the entire eastern half of the United States, including all of Ohio. However, it is most frequent in the acidic soils of southeastern Ohio and predominates in more southern states with warmer winters; in both habitats, it invades fence rows, abandoned fields, and sprouts up around old barns.
Sassafras is a rapidly growing colonizer and forms thickets primarily by root sprouts several feet away from the parent plant. Straight-trunked saplings may be repeatedly cut every few years to use as primitive stakes (as is done with some forms of bamboo).
Oil of Sassafras can be distilled from the trunk bark or roots for use in perfuming soaps, while Sassafras tea is made by boiling the bark of roots.
This tree can reach a height of 50 feet tall by 30 feet wide when found in the open. Its brittle green twigs have a spicy aroma when rubbed or crushed, as one would expect from a member of the Laurel Family, which includes the closely related Spicebushes.
Thicket Serviceberry represents a number of large shrubs and small multitrunked trees within the genus Amelanchier that provide four-season appeal. In urban landscapes, its spring flowers, summer fruits, fall foliage, and winter zigzag twigs with light gray bark provide year-round interest.
In natural sites, early summer fruits are relished by birds and mammals, while the thick canopy is a frequent nesting site for small birds.
Thicket Serviceberry is native to eastern Canada and the coastal states of the eastern United States, where it forms thickets in moist to wet areas. Although Thicket Serviceberry is not native to Ohio, a closely related species, Downy Serviceberry, is native and is dispersed throughout most of the state, as are several other species and hybrids of Serviceberry. Thicket Serviceberry, when found in the open, may reach 20 feet tall by 15 feet wide and is strongly multitrunked.
Like all Serviceberries, it prefers partially sunny to partially shaded sites at the edges of fields and woodlands. As a member of the Rose Family, it is related to the Chokeberries, Hawthorns, Crabapples, Plums, Cherries, Pears, and Roses, as well as other Serviceberry species and hybrids.
Spicebush, found throughout all of Ohio, is usually found as an understory shrub of moist to wet woodlands that is one of the first shrubs to bloom, usually in late winter. Its twigs and branchlets, when scraped, emit a spicy fragrance.
Bright red fruits appear in late summer and early autumn on female shrubs, and are often quickly eaten by wildlife. Its dark green, glossy foliage, like that of Pawpaw, is unusual for woody plants that can thrive in full shade.
As a native of the Eastern United States, Spicebush can grow to 12 feet tall and 15 feet wide, when found under optimum conditions. As a member of the Laurel Family, it is related to Sassafras and other Spicebushes.
Smooth Sumac, so named because its first-year stems are smooth, rather than hairy (as in the closely related Staghorn Sumac), is present in all of Ohio, and in all of the contiguous 48 states of the United States, into southern Canada and northern Mexico. This is the classic large shrub or small tree that forms a colony by three methods: suckers from the base and roots, seeds from female shrubs, and the spreading and sprawling lateral trunks of this strongly multitrunked plant. In terms of hardiness, Smooth Sumac can take cold winters and hot, dry summers.
For ornamental appeal, its sympodial branching, summer flowers, fall foliage colors, and ripened fruits on bare twigs in winter are first class. It provides food for wildlife, and its quick establishment on embankments and areas with a thin layer of soil above bedrock assists greatly in erosion control.
Individual specimens of Smooth Sumac may grow 15 feet tall and 15 feet wide, but colonies have an indefinite breadth. As a member of the Cashew Family, it is related to other Sumacs as well as to Cashew, Smokebush, and Pistachio.
Tree-of-Heaven is a highly invasive tree that is native to China. It was brought to this country in the early 1800s as a source of food for silkworms, which were simultaneously imported from the Orient. Although raising silkworms was a failure, the Tree-of-Heaven remained. This tree is often found in urban areas, and thrives in disturbed and neglected sites where polluted conditions and poor, rocky soils prohibit anything but weeds to grow.
Tree-of-Heaven is fast growing and mature trees can produce in excess of 300,000 wind-dispersed seeds per year. Tree-of-heaven frequently colonizes disturbed sites in Ohio woodlands and suppresses the growth of native trees.
Trees found in the open may reach 80 feet tall by 40 feet wide and have a bold year-round texture. Its common name refers to its ability to reach even greater heights under optimum conditions in the Orient, not to any aesthetic or horticultural qualities. As a member of the Quassia Family, it is related to other genera in the family which mostly reside in tropical locations, some members of which provide substances used in medicines, insecticides, and dyes.
Black Tupelo is native to the entire Eastern United States, and is found in all of Ohio except for the driest counties in the northwestern part of the state. Also having the common names of Black Gum, Sour Gum, and Pepperidge, this tree is known for its glossy dark green summer foliage and outstanding autumn foliage colors.
In youth, the tree is often pyramidal, but this is not always the case. At maturity, the growth habit is upright oval and can be massive under the right conditions. Fruits are greedily eaten by wildlife in late summer and early autumn, about the time that the leaves are beginning to color and slowly abscise.
Black Tupelo is variable in its mature height when found in the open, but may reach a height of 60 feet by a width of 25 feet; some specimens are notably shorter and broader, with an irregularly shaped canopy, while others top out at 80 feet or more in height. Black Tupelo is a member of the Tupelo Family, with other members of the genus Nyssa as its close relatives, and the Dogwoods as distant relatives.
Arrowwood Viburnum and its closely related species, varieties, and hybrids are scattered throughout Ohio, although not as abundant in the northwestern quadrant of the state. Its national distribution encompasses the entire eastern half of the United States and southern Canada.
Its common name comes from the usage of its “straight as an arrow” basal shoots by the Native Americans as shafts on which to set spear points and arrowheads. It is the last of the native Viburnums to bloom, in mid- to late spring.
By mid- to late summer, its blue-black berries adorn the top of its rounded to arching canopy, to the delight of birds that quickly consume the fruits.
Arrowwood Viburnum reaches 10 feet tall by 15 feet wide when found in the open. As a member of the Honeysuckle Family, it is related to the Honeysuckles, Elderberries, Weigelas, and the multitude of other Viburnums.
Black Walnut, a rapidly growing tree common in all of Ohio, is most common in moist bottomlands and open fields, but is found everywhere due to squirrels burying its nuts.
Its beautiful, fine-grained, chocolate-brown, relatively lightweight heartwood is the ultimate choice for making solid wood furniture, interior trim, gunstocks, and high-quality veneer. The large nut contained beneath the husks of Black Walnut is round and can be cracked open to expose the bittersweet, oily, and highly nutritious kernel.
A native of the Eastern, Midwestern, and Great Plains regions of the United States, Black Walnut is a pioneer invader tree in open fields or cut-over woodlots, and grows rapidly in youth. It displays an irregular and open growth habit when young, dividing into several spreading branches that give it an upright rounded shape as it matures. Its bold winter texture makes it an outstanding tree to observe during the dormant season.
This tree may easily grow to 70 feet tall by 70 feet wide when it is found in the open. As a member of the Walnut Family, it is related to other Walnuts and to the Hickories.
Black Willow is native to the entire eastern half of North America, and encompasses all of Ohio in its distribution. It is the most common Willow in Ohio, abundantly found in wetlands and alongside streams, ponds, and rivers, as well as swampy or marshy areas.
It is one of the few Willows with stipules that encircle the stems, and it is named for the black bark that is found on mature trunks. As an ornamental, it can be planted as a fine-textured shade tree, as it tolerates dry soils with reduced vigor.
The lightweight wood from this tree was once used in the production of artificial limbs. Black Willow may easily reach 30 feet tall and 30 feet wide with several large trunks, and has the potential to get much larger. As a member of the Willow Family, it is related to the Poplars and to other Willows.
