Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship

Program

Identifying Pennsylvania

Trees

Tree Identification

• In this presentation you will learn to identify trees using the Summer Key to Pennsylvania Trees.

• Trees can be identified using many factors including leaves, bark, twigs, buds, flowers, and fruits.

Leaf Types

Scale-like

Broad and flat

Needles

Leaf-type Comparison

Leaf Arrangement

Alternate

Opposite

Whorled

Leaf Arrangement Comparison

Leaf Structure

Petiole (leaf stalk)

Bud

A simple leaf

Leaflet

Petiole (leaf stalk)

Bud

Pinnately compound

A Compound Leaf

A Compound Leaf

Leaflet

Petiole (leaf stalk)

Bud

Palmately compound

Leaf Structure Comparison

Leaf margins

Dentate

EntireDouble serrate

Lobed

Serrate

Identification Section

Hint: opposite

Red Maple ID Slide

Red MapleAcer rubrum

Red Maple

Hint: opposite

Sugar Maple ID Slide

Sugar MapleAcer saccharum

Sugar Maple

Hint: opposite

Flowering Dogwood ID Slide

Flowering DogwoodCornus florida

Flowering Dogwood

Hint: alternate

Northern Red Oak ID Slide

Northern Red OakQuercus rubra

Northern Red Oak

Hint: alternateWhite Oak ID Slide

White OakQuercus alba

White Oak

White Oak Red OakWhite Oak versus Red Oak Comparison

Hint: alternate

American Beech ID Slide

American BeechFagus grandifolia

American Beech

Hint: alternate / hairy

Yellow Birch ID Slide

Yellow Birch Betula alleghaniensis

Yellow Birch

Hint: alternate/hairySweet (Black) Birch ID Slide

Sweet (Black) BirchBetula lenta

Sweet (Black) Birch

Hint: alternate; hairy

Paper Birch ID Slide

Paper BirchBetula papyrifera

Paper Birch

Eastern Hemlock ID Slide

Eastern HemlockTsuga canadensis

Eastern Hemlock

Eastern Redcedar ID Slide

Eastern RedcedarJuniperus virginiana

Eastern Redcedar

Hint: leaves do not have stalks

Balsam Fir ID Slide

Balsam FirAbies balsamea

Balsam Fir

Norway Spruce ID Slide

Norway SprucePicea abies

Norway Spruce

Balsam Fir Norway SpruceFir versus Spruce

(one bundle)

Eastern White Pine ID Slide

Eastern White PinePinus strobus

Eastern White Pine

Hint: oppositeHorse Chestnut ID Slide

Horse Chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum

Horse Chestnut

Hint: needles more than 3 inches long

Red Pine ID Slide

Red PinePinus resinosa

Red Pine

Hint: leaves rough

American Elm ID Slide

American ElmUlmus americana

American Elm

Clue: alternate, sap not milky

Bitternut Hickory ID Slide

Bitternut HickoryCarya cordiformis

Bitternut Hickory

Pitch Pine ID Slide

Pitch PinePinus rigida

Pitch Pine

Hint: leaf not compound and not hairy, margins have fine teeth; leaf stalks have glands.

Black Cherry ID Slide

Black CherryPrunus serotina

Black Cherry

Hint: sap not milky; leaves hairy

Black Walnut ID Slide

Black WalnutJuglans nigra

Black Walnut

American Larch ID Slide

American LarchLarix laricina

American Larch

Not found in the keyWild Grape

Wild GrapeVitis spp.

Wild Grape

White Ash ID Slide

White Ash Fraxinus americana

White Ash

Not found in the keySycamore

SycamorePlatanus occidentalis

Sycamore

Sassafras ID Slide

SassafrasSassafras albidum

Sassafras

Hint: leaves usually greater than 5 inches

long

Cucumber-tree Magnolia ID Slide

Cucumber-tree MagnoliaMagnolia acuminata

Cucumber-tree Magnolia

Sweetgum ID Slide

Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua

Sweetgum

Norway Maple ID Slide

Norway MapleAcer platanoides

Norway Maple

Hint: sap not milky

Black Locust ID Slide

Black LocustRobinia pseudoacacia

Black Locust

Striped Maple ID Slide

Striped MapleAcer pensylvanicum

Striped Maple

Hint: milky sap

Smooth Sumac ID Slide

Smooth SumacRhus glabra

Smooth Sumac

Yellow-poplar ID Slide

Yellow-poplar Liriodendron tulipifera

Yellow-poplar

The Summer Key To Pennsylvania Trees is a small part of the Pennsylvania 4-H forestry curriculum. Contact your Penn State Cooperative Extension Office to request additional information about 4-H and other educational programs.

•Prepared by Paul Roth, Research Assistant, and Rance Harmon, Extension Associate, The Pennsylvania State University, School of Forest Resources & Cooperative Extension

Acknowledgements•Idea development and review: Jason Hall, Sandra Insalaco, and Cecile Stelter – Service Foresters – Pennslyvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry

•Review: James Finley & Sanford Smith, The Pennsylvania State University School of Forest Resources & Cooperative Extension

•Images provided courtesy of Virginia Tech & The University of Wisconsin.

•Line art courtesy of The Pennsylvania State University College of Agricultural Sciences and the Pennsylvania 4-H Program

References•Common Trees of Pennsylvania, Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry

•The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees Eastern Region, Knolph, Alfred A. Inc. 1980

•Virginia Tech Dendrological Web Page, www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/main.html

•University of Wisconsin, botanical images, www.wisc.edu/botit/dendrology/names.html

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