Over Wintering Trees - An Aid to Indentify trees by twigs and buds (WIP)

[SwampDonkey]

Unfortunately, because I live further north than alot of the southern hardwoods I cannot cover all the families with the wide varieties of species that exist. As I work through the families of trees, maybe I can request some photos of branches and buds I don't have, but should be included. We'll see how it goes.

This first section has to do with the birch family betulaceae

White or Paper birch Betula papyrifera
twig with male catkins
bud
bark peeling
bark of older tree
Leaf - September

Yellow birch Betula alleghaniensis
twig
bud
male catkins
Ripe female catkins (September)
bark of Young - mature tree
bark of mature - over mature tree
Leaf -September

Gray birch Betula populifolia

twig
male catkin
female catkin
lenticels are warty glandular, lateral buds are gummy
seed and bracts
bark

Ironwood (hophornbeam) Ostrya virginiana
twig
bud
male catkins.
Notice the near 90 degree orientation to the stem.
Leaf - September

[SwampDonkey]

This section deals with the beech family Fagaceae

American beech Fagus grandifolia

twig
bud
bark
Northern Red Oak Quercus rubra

twig
buds
One Year old immature acorns
Bark of mature tree (SPIKER)

Takes two years for acorns to mature in the red oak family

White Oak Quercus alba

twig
buds

We will return to the beech family later

[SwampDonkey]

This section deals with the maple family Aceraceae

Sugar maple Acer saccharum

twig
buds
  bark
Leaf -September

Boxelder (Manitoba or ash leaf maple) Acer nugundo

twig
buds
bark

Red Maple (swamp or white maple) Acer rubrum

twig
buds
flower buds
bark of mature tree
Leaf -September

Striped maple (moosewood) Acer pensylvanicum

twig
buds

We will return to the maple family later

[SwampDonkey]

This section deals with the Linden family Tiliaceae

American basswood Tilia americana

twig
buds
Notice the slight cant of the buds.
bark of young tree
Flowers - July
Ripened basswood fruit with bract - September
Leaf -September

[SwampDonkey]

This section deals with the walnut family Juglandaceae

Butternut (white walnut) Juglans cinerea

twig
buds
pith
Pith has thick diaphrams, dark choc brown
bark

Black Walnut Juglans nigra

twig
buds
pith
Pith has thin diaphrams, buff-colored
bark of young tree

Shagbark Hickory Carya ovata

Bark of mature tree (SPIKER)

Twig and buds (Spiker)

Pignut Hickory Carya glabra

Bark of mature tree (SPIKER)

Seed (forum member bitternut)

[SwampDonkey]

This section deals with the Willow or Poplar family Salicaceae

Trembling aspen (quaking aspen or popple) Populus tremuloides

twig
Flowers emerging in spring
bark of mature tree

Large tooth aspen (big tooth aspen) Populus grandidentata

twig
buds
bark of young tree
Bark of mature tree
Fall coloration - September

Balsam Poplar (balm-of-gilead, tacamahac) Populus balsamifera

twig
bud
bark

Willow Salix spec

twig
buds
Willow buds have a single caplike bud scale
Flowers emerging in spring

We will return to the Poplar family later

[SwampDonkey]

This section deals with the Olive family Oleaceae

Black ash (swamp ash) Fraxinus nigra

twig
buds
bark on young tree
Leaf - September

White ash Fraxinus americana

twig
buds
bark on young tree
Leaf - September



Ash seed, black on the left and white on the right.


We will return to the olive family later

[SwampDonkey]

This section deals with the Elm Family Ulmaceae

American Elm (white elm) Ulmus americana

zigzag twig
buds
bark


Slippery Elm (red elm) Ulmus rubra

Bark of mature tree (SPIKER)

[SwampDonkey]

This section deals with the Rose Family Rosaceae

Black Cherry Prunus serotina


twig sent by member bitternut
buds
bark
Leaf pubescence on underside
Leaf - September

Pin Cherry (fire cherry) Prunus pensylvanica

twig

buds, clustered at terminal (Bitter Cherry is similar)
bark, 8 inch DBH
Leaf - September

[SwampDonkey]

This section deals with the Sycamore family Platanaceae

Sycamore planetree Platanus occidentalis



twig sent by member bitternut: leaf scars nearly surround bud, no true terminal bud, buds have single cap-like scale like Salix spp., lateral buds resinous and divergent (turn sharply away from twig).

Bark of mature tree. (sent by member Wesdor)

Typical white bark of limbs and immature trees (sent by member Wesdor)

We will return to the sycamore family later

[SwampDonkey]

This section deals with the Magnolia family Magnoliaceae

Yellow-poplar tuliptree Liriodendron tulipifera


Twig sent by member Larry


Bark of young tree - 4" sent by member Larry


Cucumbertree Magnolia acuminata


twig image submitted by member bitternut


bud image submitted by member bitternut

We will return to the magnolia family later

[SwampDonkey]

As everyone knows this is a Work-in-Progess (WIP). Since I am up here in the north I don't have access to your native hardwoods of the south. I would like to continue with updating this thread with the help of anyone interested. Take a look at the categories I've set up here and you can see alot are incomplete. What we need to complete the thread are images (in focus) of twigs, buds, overwintering flower buds, and bark. And a big help would be to add your comments on what distinguishes one species of oak from another or some tiny little structure of the tree that is unique, but can be seen my the naked eye or 10x magnification. I know the weather is getting kind of rough these days, but this time of year is probably the least busy for some. If anyone wants to contribute with photos, just IM me. What I want to make sure of is that any photo that is used, I will stamp the members forum user name on the image. So make sure the photo name contains your username and species. Photos that I solicit from you have to be within the 30 k and pixel limit. For images of buds there are some really nice digital cameras that some of you members have for good closeups. You might not think buds are important, but sometimes the difference from one species to the other can be the difference in bud scales or even the shape and arrangement of the buds. So have a look at the thread and see what is missing. I know one family that isn't even present yet and that is the magnolia family which includes the infamous Tulip Tree. Our biggest family is going to be Fagaceae (beech, oaks, chestnut) and Juglandacea (walnut, pecan) is nothing toe sneer at either.  I think the thread should be locked for reference and any existing posts can be split into another thread with help from our helpful admins.  When you IM me to make a contribution I will send you a message containing my email address, then you can send the image there. Thanks in advance everyone.