American Chestnut Castanea dentata€¦ · clustered towards the tips of the twigs. Leaves turn...
Transcript of American Chestnut Castanea dentata€¦ · clustered towards the tips of the twigs. Leaves turn...
American Chestnut Castanea dentata
Identification Features:
• ALTERNATE branching pattern.
• SIMPLE, ELLIPTICAL shaped leaves. Leaves have a TOOTHED margin with each tooth having a fine BRISTLE TIP. American chestnut leaves are smooth and hairless on both sides, while Chinese chestnut is fuzzy on the bottom side of the leaves.
• Twigs have many small, white, raised lenticels. Lenticels are pores on the bark of woody plants that allow gases to be exchanged between the plant and the air.
• Fruits are large and brown with a spiny, sharp husk called a BUR. The bur contains 2-3 shiny nuts that are flattened on one side. Nuts ripen in autumn.
• Flowers are called CATKINS and appear in spring and summer.
• Suffers from the “Chestnut Blight”, which is a disease affecting the bark. Most American chestnuts found today are small stump sprouts but, before the blight began in 1904, American chestnut trees grew to 100 feet tall.
Habitat:
• NATIVE to Pennsylvania.
• Upland forest.
LEAVES
BURS
BLIGHT CATKINS
TWIG
NUTS
American Elm Ulmus americana Identification Features:
• ALTERNATE branching pattern.
• SIMPLE leaves, ELLIPTICAL or OVATE in shape. DOUBLE SERRATE margins and UNEVEN leaf bases. Underside of leaves are soft and hairy.
• Flowers are greenish-red and arranged in dense clusters. Flowers mature in early spring.
• Fruits are rounded SAMARAS. Each samara contains a single flattened seed surrounded by an oval, thin papery wing. Samaras are deeply notched at the tip. Samaras are in clusters and mature in spring.
• Drooping crown giving the tree a vase-shaped appearance.
• Medium size tree reaching 60 feet tall.
Habitat:
• NATIVE to Pennsylvania.
• Moist soils near streams.
LEAF
FLOWERS
SAMARAS
Eastern Hemlock Tsuga canadensis
Identification Features:
• Leaves are EVERGREEN.
• Leaves are flattened NEEDLES attached singly to branches.
• There are 2 white lines on the underside of each needle.
• Seeds are in tiny egg-shaped CONES, ¾ inch long. Two small-winged seeds are found under each cone scale.
• Large, long-lived tree, reaching heights of 70 feet tall. Some old-growth forests have hemlocks that are up to 400 years old!
Habitat:
• NATIVE to Pennsylvania.
• Cool, moist forests.
• State tree of Pennsylvania.
FLOWERS
LEAVES
CONES
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida Identification Features:
• OPPOSITE branching pattern.
• SIMPLE leaves that are 3-5 inches long. Leaves are OVAL
shaped and the leaf margin is ENTIRE. Leaves are
clustered towards the tips of the twigs. Leaves turn bright
red in autumn.
• Buds look like miniature garlic cloves or onions.
• Flowers appear large and white, but the white parts are
actually bracts, and the flowers are yellow in the center.
• Seeds are red egg-shaped DRUPES in clusters of 2-5.
Visible in autumn.
• Bark is broken into small blocks like alligator skin.
• Small tree that grows about 30 feet tall.
Habitat:
• NATIVE to Pennsylvania.
• Forest understory
FLOWER
LEAF
DRUPES
Paper Birch Betula papyrifera Identification Features:
• ALTERNATE branching pattern.
• SIMPLE, OVATE leaves. DOUBLE SERRATE margins. Leaves are sharp- pointed at the tip with a rounded leaf base.
• Male flowers are CATKINS that are green to brown in color and occur in the spring.
• Fruits are brown STROBILES (small, soft, and cone-like fruit that contains many winged seeds).
• Bark is thin and white and peels in paper-like layers from the trunk.
• Medium size tree that grows about 60 feet tall.
Habitat:
• NATIVE to Pennsylvania.
• Moist soils.
LEAF
CATKINS
STROBILE
BARK
Red Oak Quercus rubra
Identification Features:
• ALTERNATE branching pattern.
• SIMPLE leaves with LOBES and BRISTLE-TIPPED
TEETH.
• Male flowers are CATKINS, appear in spring. Female
flowers are spikes.
• Fruits are ACORNS. Caps cover ¼ of the nut.
• Medium to large size tree reaching heights of 60 feet.
Habitat:
• NATIVE to Pennsylvania.
• Forests, cities
CATKINS ACORN
LEAVES
Virginia Creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Identification Features:
• Woody VINE.
• ALTERNATE branching pattern.
• PALMATELY COMPOUND leaves with five TOOTHED, ELLIPTICAL shaped leaflets.
• Small green flowers appear in the spring.
• Small clusters of bluish-black BERRIES appear in early summer.
• Leaves turn a brilliant red in autumn. Habitat:
• NATIVE to Pennsylvania.
• Forests, forest clearings, fencerows, and stream banks.
BERRIES
LEAVES
White Ash Fraxinus Americana Identification Features:
• OPPOSITE branching pattern.
• PINNATELY COMPOUND leaves with ELLIPTICAL to LANCE shaped leaflets. Leaves have 5-9 leaflets.
• Small, green flower clusters appear in spring.
• Fruits are SAMARAS that occur in late summer through autumn.
• A large tree that can reach 80 feet tall. Habitat:
• NATIVE to Pennsylvania.
• Forests, school campuses, lawns, and parks.
FLOWERS
Clusters of SAMARAS
LEAF
Single SAMARA