Tree Identification Flashcards
tends to grow dark green, leaf is wider than it is high, the bark is ridged and furrowed, has blunt red-green buds, oozes white sap from petiole
Norway Maple=Acer platanoides
has leaves wider than high, blunt red-green buds, has reddish foliage
Crimson King Norway Maple=Acer platanoides ‘Crimson King’
grows upright with light green foliage, leaves have 3-5 lobes, has a small red bud, silvery gray bark with black horizontal streaks, with a red or yellow fall color
Red Maple=Acer rubrum
grows weedy (leaves drooping a little) with deeply sinused leaves, has small red buds
Silver Maple=Acer saccharinum
grows upright and wide, has tapered leaves, buds are brown, pointed and sharp, young bark is smooth, old is plated samara 60 degrees
Sugar Maple=Acer Saccharum
it is a groundcover, 3 lobed leaves with white veins
English Ivy=Hedera helix
has compound leaves, buds are a shiny black under the petiole, twigs are green
Japanese Pagodatree=Sophora japonica
grows very straight, bud is a duckbill (split open into quacking duck in winter), leaves like a cat head, fruit-cone shaped
Tulip tree=Liriodendron tulipifera
pinnate compound leaves, dioecious, weedy tree, ends of the twigs are glaucous, leaflets have lobes
Box Elder=Acer negundo
palmate compound leaves, large sticky buds, spiny fruits
Horsechestnut=Aesculus hippocastanum
small tree, striated bark, red-purple pointed buds, small apple-like fruit
Shadblow Serviceberry=Amelanchier canadensis
white bark with gray splotches and horizontal lenticels (lines), accuminate apex leaves with truncate base, has single catkins
Gray Birch=Betula populifolia
grows upright open, crescent-shaped leaf scar, pinnate compound leaves with opposite spacing, fall foliage purple to orange, one -wing samara seeds, dioecious
White Ash=Fraxinus americana
grows rounded and slightly compact, d-shaped leaf scar, curved branches with fine compound pinnate leaves with opposite spacing, fall foliage yellow, has one-winged samara
Green Ash=Fraxinus pennsylvanica
pinnate and bipinnate compound leaves, has zig-zag branches, older trees form a sort of umbrella of leaves, has tiniest leaflets and rachises of all in class, legume has giant beanpods
Thornless Honeylocust=Gleditsia triacanthos inermis (all underlined)
pinnate compound leaves, very pubescent, naked cream colored long ‘claw’ buds, fuzzy rachis, fuzzy egg-shaped fruit, dark brown chambered pith
White/Butternut Walnut=Juglans cinerea
pinnate compound leaves, slightly pubescent, naked brown colored short ‘claw’ buds, buds may be superposed, round fruit like tennis balls, tan chambered pith
Black Walnut=Juglans nigra
exfoliating (peeling) bark on older trees, bud below the petiole (hidden), 3-lobe serrated maple-like leaf but with alternate spacing, leaf-scar goes around bud, has creamy-white bark, seed balls grow singularly
Sycamore/American Plane tree=Platanus occidentalis
triangular leaves (delta) with truncate base and acute apex, large green buds,breaks easily because of fast growth rate, cotton-like seeds (like large dandelion seeds)
Eastern Cottonwood=Populus deltoides
flat petiole, crenate (rounded) margins, grayish bark, round alternate leaves, pointed buds like sugar maple
Quaking Aspen=Populus tremuloides
clustered buds, rounded lobes on leaves, rough bark, sweet acorns
White Oak=Quercus alba
pinnate compound leaves on brown twigs, straight and gangly growing, rope-like bark, legume with small peapod sized fruit, has darkest leaves of all in class, spines at the nodes
Black Locust=Robinia pseudoacacia
usually single trunk, ovate leaves with less tapered apex, bark chalky white on all of the tree and peels, has catkins in 2’s and 3’s, indistinct buds with mustaches where branch meets trunk
Paper/White Birch-Betula papyrifera
shaggy cinnamon bark, dentate leaves with large teeth
River Birch-Betula nigra
pinnate compound alternate leaves, shaggy bark on older trees and striated bark on young trees, very small lateral buds (hitchhikers) beside terminal buds, round hard nuts, golden fall color
Shagbark Hickory-Carya ovata
ovate leaves with arched venation, tree is vase-shaped, flat flower bud with tapered apex, black vegetative buds, raspberry-like fruit
Kousa Dogwood-Cornus kousa
shrub with opposite buds, has corky wing lines on twigs, bright red fall color, orange seed fruit in a capsule
Winged Euonymus/Burning Bush-Euonymus alatus
fan-shaped whorled leaves on a spur with palmate veins, spurs stay when leaves fall off, dioecious, grows very straight
Ginkgo-Ginkgo biloba
large upright growing, alternate star-shaped leaves with 5-7 lobes and finely serrated margins, spiky ball fruit
Sweetgum-Liquidambar styraciflua
rounded tree with reddish brown bark and irregular lenticels, has spurs on twigs, white fuzzy buds
Apple-Malus
vine with 3 lobed leaves, climb by tendrils and suction discs, has grape-like fruit, mostly found growing on buildings because used for landscaping
Japanese Creeper/Boston Ivy-Parthenocissus tricuspidata
vine or groundcover, has 5 palmate compound leaflets, climbs by tendrils and suction discs, not used for landscaping
Virginia Creeper-Parthenocissus quinquefolia
symmetrical uniform appearance, alternate waxy leaves that are as wide as they are tall, white pubescent buds, has spurs on twigs
Callery Pear-Pyrus calleryana
Large shrub, thick ovate opposite leaves with entire margins, double terminal buds
Lilac-Syringa vulgaris
Conical shaped tree, oblique leaf base and serrated margins, seeds grow in a cluster with a winged bracht, tree very large with sweeping hanging branches, small buds have 2 main scales (one big overlapping other smaller one),
Littleleaf Linden-Tilia cordata
Vase-shaped weed tree, simple parallel-veined alternate leaves with oblique bases and a sandpaper feel, small brown lop-sided buds and crooked terminal
American Elm-Ulmus americana
twining vine, reddish woody stem, shredding bark, ‘Tarzan vine’, woody thick tendrils, red petioles
Riverbank Grape-Vitis riparia
Twining woody vine without tendrils, engulfs whatever it grows on, has yellow fruit with orange seeds
Oriental Bittersweet-Celastrus orbiculatus
shrub with red twigs, leaves have arcuate venation, opposite buds, white pith and fruit, grows in wet stream areas
Red-twig Dogwood-Cornus sericea
shrub with purple-red twigs, tan pith and blue fruit, common to open fields but can also grow in wet stream areas
Silky Dogwood-Cornus amomum
cigar-shaped buds, elephant-hide bark, leaves have 7-9 vein pairs
European Beech-Fagus sylvatica
shrub with red stems, opposite ovate leaves with entire margins, top of leaves are dark green and bottom is silver, have strongly divergent buds and pea-sized seeds “WEEDY”
Lonicera-Honeysuckle
tall tree with exfoliating bark, trunk is green, leaves have truncate base, seed balls grow two together
London Planetree-Platanus x acerifolia
small tree, grows in clusters, dioecious, hass compound leaves, no terminal bud and pubescent stems
Staghorn Sumac-Rhus typhina
Shrub, vine, or groundcover, has compound trifoliate lobed leaflets, hairy vine, yellow fall color
Poison Ivy-Toxicodendron radicans
widespreading twiggy tree, single scale buds, really skinny and long (tranceolate) leaves
Golden Weeping Willow-Salix alba ‘Tristis’
large heavy-branched tree that commonly grows by streams, leaves have oblique base (heart-shaped), red-green buds with a two scales (1 big 1 small), fruit-winged nutlet
American Linden/American Basswood-Tilia americana
large shrub/small tree, opposite buds, ‘bird’s head’ bud, blue/black fruit (pink in spring), has suckers at base
Nannyberry Viburnum-Viburnum lentago
rounded large branches, smooth to slightly furrowed bark, large clustered buds, pointed lobes on leaves
Red Oak-Quercus rubra
tree with clustered buds, small terminal buds, pointed lobes on leaves, twiggy branches, pea-sized acorns
Pin Oak-Quercus palustris
tree with shaggy bark, leaves with rounded lobes that get wider at apex, pointed scales on clustered buds, large acorns with burs on edge of cap, narrow leaf base
Bur Oak-Quercus macrocarpa
*small understory tree, tri-lobed opposite leaves with serrated margins, white/gray bark with green stripes (purple in winter), stalked valvate bud
Striped Maple-Acer pensylvanicum
*small understory tree, has glabrous alternate leaves with doubly serrate margins, smooth gray bark with ridges, fruit is a cluster of leafy wings with a nutlet
American Hornbeam/Muscle Wood-Carpinus caroliniana
*small understory tree, pubescent alternate leaves with doubly serrate margins, brown/gray flaky bark, has 3 catkins at 90 degree angle, fruits have cluster sacks like hops
American Hophornbeam-Ostrya virginiana
*small tree with a rounded top, leaves have arcuate venation, checkered bark, small green vegetative buds, red football shaped fruit
Flowering Dogwood-Cornus florida
*shrubby weedy tree, arcuate venation, brown green divergent vegetative buds, cherry-like fruit, flower bud is bulbous like an onion
Cornelian Cherry Dogwood-Cornus mas
*elliptical leaves with doubly serrate margins, twigs smell/taste like wintergreen, dark horizontal lenticels on bark that doesnt peel, has catkins
Black Birch-Betula lenta
*fruit are small and dark, orange pubescent hairs along mid-rib of glossy green leaves that may have either serrated or entire margins, glands at petiole, smells like almond extract
Black Cherry-Prunus serotina
Leaves are star shaped, double ‘cow hoof’ buds, striated bark, twigs red above and green underneath
Japanese Maple-Acer palmatum
Leaves are star shaped and alternate, double ‘cow hoof’ buds, striated bark, twigs red above and green underneath, purple-leaved
Japanese Red Maple-Acer palmatum atropurpureum
Large shrub to small tree, T-shaped leaves with 3 lobes, has many small samaras, pedicels stay on when the fruit drops, red double buds
Amur Maple-Acer ginnala
Medium tree, 3-5 lobed leaves with a rounded sinus, milky sap, pubescent down petiole and underside of the leaf
Hedge Maple-Acer campestre
Pinnate compound leaves, exfoliating reddish bark (like ecsema)
Acer griseum-Paperbark Maple
Multi-stem dense shrub with thin spines on every node, red football fruit
Japanese Barberry-Berberis thunbergii
Multi-stem dense shrub with thin spines on every node, red football fruit, purple foliage
Japanese Purpleleaf Barberry-Berberis thunbergii var. Atropurpurea
large tree, pinnate compound 7-11 leaflets, large sulfur yellow bud, bark slightly furrowed but does not peel (like ash)
Bitternut Hickory-Carya cordiformis
upright growing medium sized tree, sub-opposite buds with a crimson double terminal bud (deer hoof), ovate light green leaves with cordate base and crenate margins, and shaggy bark
Katsuratree-Cercidiphyllum japonicum
shrub, suckering grows in a group, stems and twigs gray, has narrow leaves and white fruit with red pedicels
Gray Dogwood-Cornus racemosa
large tree with smooth gray bark, cigar-shaped buds, leaves with more than nine vein pairs
American Beech-Fagus grandifolia
medium-sized tree, simple leaves with three different shapes (oval, tri-lobed + mitten shaped), smells like fruit loops
Sassafras-Sassafras albidum
alternate leaves with a narrow base and wide top, naked brownish buds, young stems are zig-zagged, last plant to bloom
Witchhazel-Hamamelis virginiana
genus with needles in clusters
Pine-Pinus
genus with pointy needles that bite, needles are square (clunk when you roll them in your fingers), bark comes off when you pull off needles
Spruce-Picea
genus with soft needles, underneath is generally white, has cones that stand up, bark stays on when you pull needles off
Fir-Abies
genus with pointed buds and softest needles that are flat, cones have ‘rat-tails’ on them
Douglasfir-Pseudotsuga
multi-stem shrub, palmately opposite compound leaves, pear-shaped woody fruit
Bottlebrush Buckeye-Aesculus parviflora
wide branching shrub, grows in partial shade, simple opposite leaves with serrate edges and elliptical shape, magenta-white (bluish-purple in fall) clumps of fruit hand tight to stem
Beautyberry-Callicarpa
heavy coarse textured tree, large whorled leaves, rounded leaf scars, fruit-long thin capsule (like skinny cigar-18” long)
Northern Catalpa-Catalpa speciosa
suckering shrub, woody capsule heads, alternate leaves with finely serrated margin, white flowers in the spring
Sweet Pepperbush-Clethra alnifolia
upright large leguminous tree, pinnate compound alternate leaves, terminal leaf is larger, smooth gray bark (yellow under bark), hidden buds, Frankenstein’s monster of a tree.
American Yellowwood-Cladrastis kentukea
large shrub, straggly appearance, simple oval alternate leaves, brown-purple stems, strong odor when crushed, large pubescent panicle flower structure, purplish black buds
Smokebush-Cotinus Coggygria
thorned apple tree (can be long or short thorns) , shredded bark
Hawthorn-Crataegus
multi-stem shrub, clustered pointed buds, square stem, chambered-hollow pith, opposite lanceolate leaves with serrated top half, bright yellow flowers with ‘worty stem’
Forsythia-Forsythia x intermedia
large shrub, alternate leaves with finely serrate margins, red fruits with black dots at base
Winterberry Holly-Ilex verticillata
upright or spreading shrub to 7-10’, multiple stems, opposite leaves with woody stems, spiny appearance (stiff), false spines, big clusters of black fruit
Border Privet-Ligustrum obtusifolium
medium shrub with small maple-like three lobed leaves, exfoliating bark, drooping inflated seed capsules, , cinnamon peeling bark when older
Ninebark-Physocarpos opulifolius
Smooth red/black bark, horizontal lenticels, alternate buds, clustered toward the apex, small tree spreading into upright V shape at 3 feet, big flower buds, used as landscape plant
Kwanzan Cherry-Prunus serrulata
shrub, three lobed leaves, velvety fruits, fragrant when crushed, clustered buds, imbricate scales, grow-low on ground, catkin flowers
Fragrant Sumac-Rhus aromatica
compound leaves, stout stems, berries grow in clusters in the summer, young stems green, loose growth
Elderberry-Sambucus
green glabrous top, silver bottom of leaf, white spots on red berries
Autumn Olive-Elaeagnus umbellata
rounded shrub but can be tree, leaves opposite, soft foliage, odor when crushed, evergreen
Boxwood-Buxus
shrub with multiple stems that may not branch, opposite serrated leaves with cordate base, longer buds, umbel flowers,
Smooth Hydrangea-Hydrangea arborescens
only one or two stems from ground that branch off many times, whorls of 3, pink flower clusters
Pee Gee Hydrangea-Hydrangea paniculata
medium shrub, white pyramid flowers, oak-like leaf, shaggy orange bark
Oakleaf Hydrangea-Hydrangea quercifolia
small tree with multiple stems, cordate-orbicular leaves, petiole swollen at base of leaf blade, zig-zag twig, lenticled bark, double buds, peapod fruit, collateral buds
Eastern Redbud-Cercis canadensis
pinnate compound leaves with spines, purple in winter, low-growing, yellow flowers
Oregon Grapeholly-Mahonia aquifolium
clustered buds, rounded lobes with shallow sinuses on leaves, bur-like acorn cap, leaf base is not very narrow
Swamp White Oak-Quercus bicolor
shrub or small tree, sub-opposite leaves with arcuate venation, black buds can be sub-opposite or alternate, purple curved buds, spines at end of twigs (take bud off and see), glossy black fruit
Buckthorn-Rhamnus cathartica
shrub, opposite leaves with 3 lobes, red waxy buds
American Cranberrybush Viburnum-Viburnum trilobum
alternate pinnately compound leaves, deciduous, flowering vine with flowers in clusters like grapes, legume, wraps around, fuzzy buds
Japanese Wisteria-Wisteria floribunda
deciduous needled tree, needles are single or clustered on cushions except for shoot-tips, drooping branchlets
European Larch-Larix decidua
fine deciduous needled tree, leaves arranged in spiral ranks, alternate buds, has ‘knees’ where roots come to surface, fluted bark
Baldcypress-Taxodium distichum
coarse deciduous needled tree, leaves and buds opposite, linear flat leaves, flared ‘chunky root base
Dawn Redwood-Metasequoia glyptostroboides
soft, circular leaf scars, cones point up and fall apart, needles have flatter fan, glossy waxy clustered terminal, fragrant when crushed, #1 X-mas
Abies balsamea-Balsam Fir
soft thick foliage, cones point up and fall apart, flat blue needles 2-3”, circular leaf scars, rounded buds
Abies concolor-White Fir
soft, thick needles that are more reflexed, cones point up and fall apart, very white stomates, not that fragrant when crushed, most desired for X-mas
Fraser Fir-Abies fraseri
2 needles per cluster, dark green color, stiff straight needles, silvery buds with shard hard point, cones 4-6” long, bark deep ridge and furrow
Austrian Pine-Pinus nigra
2 needles per cluster, needles/twigs snap easily when bent, thin scraggly appearance
Red Pine-Pinus resinosa
3 needles per cluster, needles are twisted and 3-5” long, very small cones (2-4”) with a wide base and ‘prickles’ on tip of cone scales, buds conical and sharp pointed
Pitch Pine-Pinus rigida
5 needles per cluster, soft, light green appearance, pyramidal shape when young
White Pine-Pinus strobus
2 needles per cluster, needles are twisted and 2”, short rounded buds, upper portion has orange peeling bark
Scotch Pine-Pinus sylvestris
stiff, dark green color, cones pointed down, orange branchlets, square needles, droopy branchlets on older trees, very common and greenest
Norway Spruce-Picea abies
light blue color on younger branches, smaller blunt needles, small cones commonly heavy in the top of the tree, cones hang down and square needles
White Spruce-Picea glauca
Small needles and cones, cones hang down, square needles, a little fuzz possible on stems
Black Spruce-Picea mariana
white stomata under foliage, cones hang down, square needles, hanging branchlets
Serbian Spruce-Picea omorika
square needles, very stiff and very sharp, coarse habit, light blue-green color
Colorado Spruce-Picea pungens
cones hang down, square needles, bright blue color
Colorado Blue Spruce-Picea pungens glauca
long narrow pointed buds, cones with rat-tails, soft foliage, cones hang down
Douglas Fir-Psuedotsuga menziesii
pyramidal shape, loose open evergreen, 2 ranked flat needles that are 1/2” soft, small cones throughout plant and all over the place
Canadian Hemlock-Tsuga canadensis
scale foliage (flat and branched ‘needle’ groups), green on top and under needles, small upright cones
Northern White Cedar/Arborvitae-Thuja occidentalis
Dense shrub, mostly needled foliage, soft, fruits woody cones like soccer balls
Sawara False-Cypress-Chamaecyparis
Upright evergreen, needle and scale, fleshy blue cones
Eastern Red Cedar-Juniperus virginiana
Broadleaf evergreen, red fruits with black dots, spined leaves
Meserve Holly-Ilex x meserveae
Simple dark green leaves, evergreen, few teeth near apex, young stems green and pubescent, red fruits with dots
Inkberry Holly-Ilex glabra
Cone shaped fruits, wide leaves, speckled bark (hypertrophied lenticels), red-brown terminal bud
Speckled Alder-Alnus
Shrub, small red or black fruits that stay on until December, finely serrated leaf, reddish fall foliage, red semi-pointed buds
Chokeberry-Aronia
Small tree or large shrub, fuzzy buds, oblong light green leaves, entire margins, large white flowers
Magnolia-Magnolia
Rounded shrub, dioecious, blue crusty berries, purple buds, deciduous, waxy leaves fragrant when crushed
Bayberry-Myrica
Pinnate compound leaves, thick stems that are heavily spined, reddish fruits
Rugosa Rose-Rosa rugosa
Shrub, smooth gray bark, reddish fall color, buds red glabrous scales, fuzzy pussycat under scales of bud
Pussy Willow-Salix discolor
Alternate narrow oblong leaves, toothed at apex, umbels in clusters like panicled, lots of twigs
Snowmound Spirea-Spiraea
Needled evergreen shrub, 3/4” needles, light green stomatic lines, aril fruit like seed pod of pomegranate
Yew-Taxus cuspidata
Simple leaves, stems yellow-green in summer and reddish in winter
Blueberry-Vaccinium
twiggy, blue green groundcover, purple flowers
Myrtle/Periwinkle-Vinca minor
Long leaf, spiny-like bud, rusty underside of leaf, droopy
Rosebay Rhododendron-Rhododendron maximum
broadleaf evergreen with upright seed capsules, whitish under leaf, big spiny bud
Catawba Rhododendron-Rhododendron catawbiense
mid-size leaf, large spiny-like terminal
PJM Rhododendron-Rhododendron PJM
shrub with small buds, rounded fruit, finger-like flower buds
Mountain Laurel-Kalmia latifolia
evergreen, upright habit, glossy leaves that are clustered toward apex, tapered leaves with small teeth, white hanging flower, woody hanging fruits (droopy fingers)
Japanese Andromeda-Pieris japonica
