tree identification basics
DESCRIPTION
Tree Identification Basics. Broad Classification Scheme. Annual, Biennial, or Perennial?. Marigold – Tagetes erecta. Marigold is an annual plant. Biennial. A species that completes it’s life cycle in 2 growing seasons. White Oak – Quercus alba. An oak tree is a perennial plant. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Tree Identification Basics
Broad Classification Scheme
Annual, Biennial, or Perennial?
Marigold – Tagetes erecta
Marigold is an annual plant.
Biennial
A species that completes it’s life cycle in 2 growing seasons.
White Oak – Quercus alba
An oak tree is a perennial plant.
Herbaceous or Woody?
Daylily - Hemerocallis
A daylily is an example of a herbaceous, perennial plant.
Burning Bush – Euonymus alatus
Burning Bush is an example of a woody, perennial plant.
Deciduous, coniferous evergreen or broad-leaf evergreen?
Sugar Maple – Acer saccharum
Sugar Maple is a deciduous, woody perennial plant.
Norway Spruce – Picea abies
Norway Spruce is a coniferous evergreen, perennial plant.
Holly - Ilex
Holly is a broad-leaf evergreen, perennial plant.
Ilex meserveae 'Blue Angel'
Deciduous Conifers? – Yep!
Bald cypress
Eastern larch
Leaf Morphology
Leaf Shapes
Leaf Margins
Leaf Types
Basic Leaf Types
Simple Compound
Pinnately compound Bipinnately compound Palmately compound
Scale-like Needle-like
Simple Leaf
Pinnately Compound Leaf
Bipinnately Compound Leaf
Palmately Compound
Scale-like Leaves
Needle-like Leaves
Leaf Arrangement
Alternate
Opposite
Whorled
Oleander
Time to test your skills…
Leaf type? Leaf shape? Leaf margin? Leaf
arrangement?
Leaf type? Leaf shape? Leaf margin? Leaf
arrangement?
Leaf type?Leaf shape?Leaf margin?Leaf
arrangement?
Leaf type? Leaf shape? Leaf margin? Leaf
arrangement?
Leaf type? Leaf shape? Leaf margin? Leaf
arrangement?
Buds
3 Basic Bud Types
Vegetative Flower Mixed
Flowering Dogwood – Cornus florida
Flower bud
Vegetative bud
Pagoda Dogwood – Cornus alternifolia
Mixed bud
Buds with scales vs. naked buds
Paper birch Wayfarringtree viburnum
WARNING!
I would advise against doing a Google image search using the key words “naked buds”.
Stem Morphology
TerminalBud
Terminal Bud
Bitternut hickory
Common lilac
LateralBuds
Lateral Buds
Basswood
LeafScars
Leaf Scars
Black walnut
Northern catalpa Green ash
Vascular BundleScars
Vascular Bundle ScarsOhio buckeye
TerminalBud ScaleScars
Terminal Bud Scale Scars
Lenticels
Lenticels
Paperbark cherry
White poplar
Lenticels
Tree-of -heaven
Pith
Pith
Butternut Black walnut
Pith
Kentucky Coffeetree
Time to test your skills… Take a look at the twig image and answer the
following: What’s the leaf arrangement? Does your twig have a terminal bud? Lateral
buds? Can you find any leaf scars? Vascular bundle
scars? Can you find any lenticels? Can you find the most recent set of terminal bud
scale scars? Do you even care anymore? Do you have a headache?
White ash
White ash
END
Plant Nomenclature
Common & Botanical Names
Plants have 2 different names: Common Name Botanical or Scientific Name
Sugar Maple Acer saccharum
Acer saccharum
Acer = genus saccharum = specific epithet genus + specific epithet = the “binomial” that identifies
a species
Linneaus
Gymnocladus dioicus
What’s the name of the genus? What’s the name of the specific
epithet? What’s the name of the species?
Acer saccharum ‘Autumn Splendor’ ‘Autumn Splendor’ is a cultivar name cultivars, generally speaking, do not come true-to-
type from seed.
A species may have several cultivars or none at all:
Acer saccharum ‘Arrowhead’ Acer saccharum ‘Cary’ Acer saccharum ‘Millane’s Dwarf’ Acer saccharum ‘Seneca Chief’, etc…
Gleditsia triacanthos inermis Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis
inermis is a variety name. Varieties come true-to-type from seed.
Acer saccharum Legacy® Legacy® is a registered trademark (PP
4,979). Legacy® is registered with the Office of Trademarks and Patents in Washington, DC.
Acer saccharum Oregon TrailTM
Oregon TrailTM is a trademarked plant. The TM protects the commercial application of that name to said plant.
End