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