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Introduction to

Tree Identification

Provided by Jim Downs Professor of Forestry

Hocking College

Modified and Presented By:

Curtis Middaugh

Species ?

Species- a group of individuals having many

characteristics in common differing from all other

forms in one or more ways. The individuals of a

species are all derived from common ancestry and

can breed with one another to produce fertile

offspring that resemble the parents. As a general rule,

separate species do not interbreed, although hybrids

do occur occasionally.

Are individual members of a species identical?

Nomenclature

Many organisms have multiple common

names.

Scientific names address this problem

1st part (genus)

2nd part (species)

Example. Quercus alba

Notice that the first letter of the genus is capitalized, While the

species begins with a lower case letter.

Exception. Ulmus Americana

Notice the first letter of the species is capitalized, this is

because it is derived from the word America

Terminology

Tree

Mature height:

greater than 20 feet.

General Form:

Trunk usually

unbranched for several

feet above the ground,

more or less a definite

crown.

Shrub

Mature height:

Less than 20 feet.

General Form:

Usually with several

stems and having a

bushy appearance.

Tips for Identifying Trees

Deciduous vs. Coniferous

Leaves vs. Needles (in general)

vs.

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Tips for Identifying Trees cont.

Alternate vs. Opposite branching

vs. or whorled

Tips for Identifying Trees cont.

Leaf (if available)

Compound vs. Single

Shape

Margin (Entire, serrate, double serrate, etc.)

vs

Tips for Identifying Trees cont.

Twig (if reachable)

Diameter (slender vs stout)

Color, pubescence, bloom, thorns

Pith (solid, chambered, hollow)

Smell

Tips for Identifying Trees cont.

Buds (if reachable)

Terminal vs. Pseudoterminal

Bud scale type (imbricate, valvate, naked)

Size and Shape

Color

Surface (pubescence, bloom)

Tips for Identifying Trees cont.

Bark

Color

Texture (ridging, furrows, plates, scales)

Young vs. Old

Slow vs. Fast Growth

Tips for Identifying Trees cont.

Fruit

Type of seed, color, shape, etc.

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Tips for Identifying Trees cont.

Flowers (usually not available in the fall)

Tips for Identifying Trees cont.

Overall Form

Shrub vs. Tree vs. Vine

Branching

Forking

Bole straightness

Tips for Identifying Trees cont.

Site

Wet vs. Dry Slope vs. Bottomlands vs. Ridges

Wet vs. Dry

Soils

Aspect (North vs. South Slope)

Items To Be Familiar With

Characteristics of the family/species

Sites on which the species is typically found

Any unique/special attribute useful for

identification

Example (white oak)

Widely distributed across the eastern United States

Ash colored bark, alternate simple leaves with

rounded fingerlike lobes, acorn with very bumpy cap

Common across most microsites

Not commonly planted in urban areas, but not

unheard of

Tendency to form epicormic sprouts

Tree Identification

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Opposite Branching

M.A.D.Buck

Maple, Ash, Dogwood, Buckeyes

Opposite Branching Cont.

Sugar Maple

Opposite Branching Cont.

Red Maple

Opposite Branching Cont.

Ash

Opposite Branching Cont.

Dogwood

Leaves Bark

Opposite Branching Cont.

Buckeye

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Ridgetop, Dry Site, South

and West Aspects

Black Oak, Chestnut Oak, Scarlet

Oak, Shortleaf Pine, Virginia Pine,

Pitch Pine, Sourwood, American

Chestnut, Black Locust, Honey

Locust

Black Oak

Chestnut Oak Chestnut Oak Form

Scarlet Oak Shortleaf Pine

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Virginia Pine Pitch Pine

Sourwood American Chestnut

American Chestnut Cont. Black Locust

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Honey Locust

Mid-slope, Cove, Moist

Site, North and East

Aspect Red Oak, Sugar Maple, Yellow

Poplar, Black Cherry, Buckeye,

Cucumber, Basswood, American

Beech, Elm, Sweetgum, Bigtooth

Aspen, Persimmon

Red Oak Sugar Maple

Yellow Poplar Black Cherry

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Buckeye Cucumber

Basswood American Beech

American Elm Red Elm

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Sweetgum Bigtooth Aspen

Persimmon

Bottomland, Lower

Slope, Moist Site

Sycamore, Black Birch, YellowBirch,

Cottonwood, Eastern Hemlock,

Hackberry, Swamp White Oak, White

Walnut, Pin Oak

Sycamore Black Birch

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Yellow Birch Cottonwood

Eastern Hemlock Hackberry

Swamp White Oak White Walnut

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Pin Oak Pin Oak Cont.

Dry Site, Limestone

Parent Material

Eastern Red Cedar, Chinquapin Oak

Eastern Red Cedar

Chinquapin Oak

Generalist Site Species

White Oak, Post Oak, Black Walnut,

Red Maple, Blackgum, Hickories,

Sassafras, Musclewood, Ironwood,

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White Oak Post Oak

Black Walnut Red Maple

Blackgum Blackgum

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Shagbark Hickory Mockernut Hickory

Pignut Hickory

Bitternut Hickory

Sassafras Musclewood

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Ironwood Additional Resources

Virginia Tech website

http://www.treesforme.com/kentucky.html

http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/main.htm

Any Questions?