Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program Identifyin g Pennsylvan ia Trees
Apr 06, 2016
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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