Tree Identification Techniques Massachusetts Qualified Tree Warden Course
Learning Objectives • Recognize why tree ID is important • Recognize principles of ID and classification, including binomial nomenclature • Identify common tree parts
Importance of Tree ID • Communicate with staff and contractors • Understand species responses to stresses (drought, damage, construction, etc.) • Insect & disease susceptibility
Binomial Nomenclature Acer saccharum Acer saccharum Genus Species (plural genera) (specific epithet)
Binomial Nomenclature sugar maple Acer saccharum hard maple rock maple common name Latin name • Lower case • Italics (unless proper noun) • When talking about • Many common names plants, also called “botanical name”
Binomial Nomenclature • Variety – within a species, there may be groups of plants that retain certain characteristics Genus Species Variety Name of Variety Acer rubrum var. drummondii • Common name: Drummond red maple
Binomial Nomenclature • Cultivar (short for ‘cultivated variety’) Genus Species Cultivar Acer rubrum ‘ Columnare ’ • Common name: red maple ‘ Columnare ’
Tree ID – general tips • Start broad and narrow down possibilities • Use all parts of the tree available to you
Leaves Scale or Broadleaf Needle-like awl-like
Leaf Arrangement Alternate vs. Opposite Image: massnrc.org
Alternate or Opposite? Image: treeschool.myspecies.info/
Alternate or Opposite? Image: treeschool.myspecies.info/
MAD-CAP-HORSE Pneumonic to remember opposite plants. Many opposite plants fall under this pneumonic. M aple – A sh – D ogwood Cap rifoliaceae (honeysuckle) family Horse chestnut white ash Image from Iowa State University
Looking at Leaves Parts of a Leaf Leaf blade Image from Norton-Brown Herbarium, University of Maryland
Leaf Types Simple Compound Images: Butler.edu
Simple vs. Compound Leaves Simple leaf Compound leaf Images: Butler.edu
Simple Leaf Image from Norton-Brown Herbarium, University of Maryland
Compound Leaf Image from Norton-Brown Herbarium, University of Maryland
Leaf Venation Pinnate venation American elm Image from Northern Forest Atlas, http://northernforestatlas.org
Leaf Venation Palmate venation sugar maple Image from Northern Forest Atlas, http://northernforestatlas.org
Leaf Margins Leaf margins may be entire (smooth), toothed, or lobed
Leaf Margins
Leaf Margins
Leaf Shapes
What to look for… Entire Serrate Simple or Leaf margin compound? Leaf Shape Palmate or Opposite or Pinnate? Lobes and sinuses alternate arrangement ?
Other things to look for • Form/Habit • Bark • Flowers • Fruits and Seeds • Twigs • Buds and leaf scars
Form Image: Mollie Freilicher Image: Bates.edu
Form Image: Mollie Freilicher
Bark Young Old Image: Mollie Freilicher Image: Chris Bersbach
Bark Old Young Images: Mollie Freilicher
Looking at Twigs
Twigs Image: Mollie Freilicher
Leaf Scars Image: Mollie Freilicher
Leaf Scars Tree of heaven ( Ailanthus altissima )
Leaf Scars Image: Minnesotawildflowers.com Image: Mollie Freilicher
Buds
Flowers Serviceberry Norway maple Red maple ( Acer rubrum) ( Amelanchier sp. ) ( Acer platanoides) Images: Mollie Freilicher
Fruit Honeylocust Red oak Crabapple ( Gleditsia triacanthos ( Quercus rubra ) ( Malus spp.) var. inermis )
Ash Tree ID Fraxinus spp. Opposite Compound leaf
Ash Tree ID
Ash Tree ID • Furrowed bark • Fruit is a one-winged samara
Green Ash and White Ash • Green Ash – common street tree – Average 5% of street tree population • White ash – often naturally Woodpecker- growing damaged ash • Know what looks “normal” bark (symptom of eab) Normal ash bark
Putting it all together Dichotomous key
Use all Parts of the Tree Available • Form/Habit • Bark • Flowers • Fruits and Seeds • Twigs • Buds and leaf scars • Habitat – street tree or natural area? • If you are totally unsure, use a key.
September 25 TREE IDENTIFICATION – SESSION 2
Norway maple Acer platanoides • Leaves like sugar maple, but are usually larger, usually with 5-7 lobes. • Snap petiole for white milky sap • Bark - gray to brown and furrowed • Samaras of a Norway maple have a wide angle
Sugar maple Acer saccharum • Opposite • 5 lobes, fine teeth along margin • Pointy buds • Samara 80-90 degree angle • No milky white sap from petiole • Furrowed bark
Eastern white pine Pinus strobus • Evergreen needles, 3-5 inches long • Needles in bundles of 5 • Cones 4-7 inches long, Northern Forest resinous Atlas • Bark, smooth when young, becoming ridged and furrowed • Large tree (100+ feet), horizontal branch habit Northern Forest Atlas
Northern red oak Quercus rubra • Leaves are large, thin, and papery (not glossy), with shallow sinuses small bristles on the lobe tips. • Leaf tips are pointy • Red oak can be identified by the “ski trail” lines on bark. • Acorn is larger than most other oaks. Acorn cap is flat, like a saucer, covers about a quarter of the nut.
American elm Ulmus americana • Vase-shaped habit • Leaves have unequal bases • Leaf margins are doubly- serrate • Fruit is a round samara Northern Forest Atlas • Buds flattened against twig • State tree of Massachusetts Northern Forest Atlas
October 23 TREE IDENTIFICATION – SESSION 4
Cherry Prunus spp. • Small tree • Recognized by its most distinctive feature- smooth, shiny, red-tinted bark with red horizontal stripes • Alternate leaves, finely toothed • Spring flowers, white, pink Oregon State
Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba • Easily distinguished by small, 2-3 inch long, fan-shaped leaves • Gawky, irregular shape with large branches
London planetree & Platanus spp. sycamore • Large tree • Alternate, simple leaf, reminiscent of maple leaf, up to 9 inches wide • Bark-blocky and exfoliating, showing light inner bark • Fruit: ball-shaped, hang down, singly or in pairs
White oak Quercus alba • Large tree, rounded form in open • Alternate, simple leaf with rounded lobes • Acorn: elongated, cap Northern Forest Atlas Northern Forest Atlas covers ¼ of acorn • Bark: whitish, ashy, sometimes blocky on Northern Forest Atlas older trees Wikipedia
Littleleaf linden Tilia cordata • Distinct uneven heart- shaped leaf, smaller than leaf of American linden • Fragrant flowers • Fruit has a leaf-like bract • Canopy shape often resembles a tear drop (triangular in shape) Joseph OBrien, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Richard Webb, Bugwood.org
November 6 TREE IDENTIFICATION – SESSION 5
Silver maple Acer saccharinum • Opposite • Leaf has 5 deeply cut lobes, bright green T. Davis Sydnor, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org above, silver below • Red petiole, red buds • Mature bark shaggy, Tom DeGomez, University of Arizona, Bugwood.org Rob Routledge, Sault College, furrowed Bugwood.org Paul Wray, Iowa State University, Bugwood.org
Honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis • Pinnately-compound leaves • Hardy and common street tree • 6-8 inch long fruits, resemble large, brown bean pods. • Bark is gray-brown to bronze, smooth with horizontal lenticels, later breaking into long, narrow, curling plates
Pear Pyrus spp. • Medium-dark green shiny leaves with symmetrical curves ending at petiole. • Small brown fruits, appear during summer and remain into fall. • Grows very upright, with a conical, narrow shape and narrow branching angles
Pin oak Quercus palustris • Distinct habit – low branches droop, middle are horizontal, upper branches point upward • Leaf 5-7 deeply cut, U-shaped lobes • Acorn: Shallow cap, covers ¼ of nut
Northern Red Oak vs Pin Oak • Shallow V-shaped • Deep U-shaped sinuses sinuses • 1” long acorn • ½” long acorn • Bark: Smooth • Bark: Smooth when young, when young, thin wide ridges when ridges when old old “ski trails”
Zelkova Zelkova serrata • Vase-shaped habit • Alternative to American elm • Leaf with scalloped margin • Bark- as tree ages, becomes gray-brown and peely • Requires proper pruning; poor branch attachments
Cherry vs. Elm vs. Zelkova • Smooth shiny • Criss-cross ashy • Smooth reddish red bark with grey-brown brown bark, horizontal bark exfoliates with stripes age
Cherry vs. Elm vs. Zelkova • Shiny, finely- • Uneven base, • Dark green toothed oval doubly-toothed leaves with leaves sharp teeth scalloped teeth
November 20 TREE IDENTIFICATION – SESSION 6
Serviceberry Amelanchier spp. • 6-20 feet tall, often multi-stem • Alternate, simple elliptical leaf, fine-toothed • Bark: Gray, striated, green pith
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