Leaves - simple; opposite; edge entire. Outline - broad egg-shape or heart-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - heart-shape. Leaf - five to eight inches wide; smooth above, downy below, especially on the ribs. Bark - of trunk, a silver-gray, only slightly furrowed. Flowers - very showy and fragrant, in large, upright pyramid-shaped clusters; white or violet-tinged, spotted inside with yellow and purple. July. Fruit - in long, rounded pods (six to twelve inches long, about half an inch in diameter), with the seeds winged and fringed. They often remain throughout the winter. October. Found - new very widely naturalized throughout the Middle and Southern Atlantic States, though formerly a rare and local Southern tree. General Information - A low, very ornamental tree, usually twenty to thirty feet high. Its seeds and bark are considered medicinal. Another species, C. speciosa, Ward, larger and of more value, is sometimes met with in Southern Illinois and the adjoining States. Catalpa is probably a corruption of the Indian word Catawba, which was the name of an important tribe that occupied a large part of Georgia and the Carolinas.

Genus Catalpa, Scop., Walt. (Catalpa)

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge entire. Outline - broad egg-shape or heart-shape. Apex - pointed. Base…

Leaves - simple, alternate, edge entire. Outline - long oval. Apex - pointed. Base - pointed. Leaf - five to ten inches long, thin, dark green above; green beneath and slightly downy; growing along the branch and not simply in a cluster at its end. Bark - dark and rough. Flowers - three to six inches across, bluish or yellowish-white, abundant and fragrant. May, June. Fruit - in a cylinder-shaped bunch, two to three inches long, and somewhat resembling a small cucumber. Found - in rich woods from Western New York to southern Illinois and southward, and in cultivation. Its finest growth is in the southern Alleghany Mountains.  General Information - A tree sixty to ninety feet high, with a straight trunk and rich foliage. The wood is durable, soft, and light. Used for cabinet-work, for flooring, for pump-logs, and water-troughs. As in other magnolias the juice is bitter and aromatic. From "magnol," the name of a botanist of the seventeenth century.

Genus Magnolia, L. (Magnolia)

Leaves - simple, alternate, edge entire. Outline - long oval. Apex - pointed. Base - pointed. Leaf -…

Leaves - simple, alternate (often crowded at the ends of the branches); edge entire. Outline - broadly oval or egg-shape or reverse egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - slightly pointed. Leaf/Stem - one inch long or more. Leaf - about three to four inches long, sometimes yellowish-green; smooth above; whitish beneath, and slightly rough between the prominent curved ribs, seldom entirely flat, usually in clusters at the ends of the branches. Bark - of the branches, smooth, yellowish-green, with whitish streaks. Flowers - yellowish in loose flat clusters. June. Fruit - very dark blue when ripe, on reddish stems. August. Found - in low rich woods and along streams, from New Brunswick through the Northern States, and southward along the Alleghany Mountains to Northern Georgia and Alabama. General Information - A small tree or shrub, ten to twenty feet high, with wide-spreading branches and flattish top. A "Shaker Medicine" is made from its bitter bark. Cornus, from a Greek word meaning horn, because of the hardness of the wood.

Dogwood Leaves

Leaves - simple, alternate (often crowded at the ends of the branches); edge entire. Outline - broadly…

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge entire. Outline - egg-shape, or often broad oval, or reverse egg-shape. Apex - pointed, often taper-pointed. Base - pointed and usually slightly unequal. Leaf/Stem - short (about one half inch). Leaf - three to five inches long; smooth above; pale and nearly smooth beneath; with the whitish ribs very distinct and curved. Bark - of trunk, blackish and rough, with short, broken ridges. The bark, especially of the roots, is very bitter and is used as a tonic. Flowers - The real flowers are greenish-yellow, in a small rounded bunch; but this bunch is surrounded by four large, petal-like leaves, white and often tinged with pink, more than an inch in length, reverse egg-shaped, and ending in a hard, abruptly turned point. The appearance is of a single large flower. The tree blossoms in May before the leaves are fully set. Fruit - The "Flower" is succeeded by a bunch of oval berries that turn bright red as they ripen, making the tree in the autumn, with its richly changing foliage, nearly as attractive as in the spring. Found - in rich woods, from New England to Minnesota, and southward to Florida and Texas. It is very common, especially at the South. General Information - A finely shaped, rather flat-branching tree, usually twelve to thirty feet high, but dwindling, northward, to the dimensions of a shrub; one of the most ornamental of all our native flowering trees. Its character throughout the extent of its range would seem to warrant the recognition of its blossom as the "national flower." Cornus, from a Greek word meaning horn, because of the hardness of the wood.

Flowering Dogwood

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge entire. Outline - egg-shape, or often broad oval, or reverse egg-shape.…

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge entire. Outline - oval, long oval, or reverse egg-shape. Apex - pointed (or sometimes rounded). Base - pointed. Leaf - smooth. Flowers - with narrow petals nearly an inch in length, snow-white, in long, loose, and drooping clusters. June. Fruit - one half to two thirds of an inch long, oval, purplish, with one stony seed. Found - along the banks of streams from New Jersey and Southern Pennsylvania southward. Common and very ornamental in cultivation. General Information - A small tree eight to twenty-five feet high, or often a shrub. Chionanthus, from two Greek words meaning "snow" and "flowers."

Genus Chionanthus, L. (Fringe Tree)

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge entire. Outline - oval, long oval, or reverse egg-shape. Apex - pointed…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge entire. Outline - long, reverse egg-shape. Apex - pointed, in small leaves, sometimes rounded. Base - taper-pointed or slightly rounded. Leaf - five to ten inches long, thin, rusty downy with young, soon becoming smooth and polished. Bark - slivery-gray, smooth and polished; young shoots downy. Flowers - one and a half inches wide; dark to light, in drooping clusters, appearing with the leaves. March, April. Fruit - about three inches long by one and a half inches thick, egg-shape, yellow, about ten-seeded, fragrant, sweet, and edible. October. Found - from Western New York to Southern Iowa and southward. General Information - A small tree of unpleasant odor when bruised, ten to twenty feet high (or often only a bush) and densely clothed with its long leaves.<p>General Information - A small tree of unpleasant odor when bruised, ten to twenty feet high (or often only a bush) and densely clothed with its long leaves.

Genus Asimina, Adans (Papaw)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge entire. Outline - long, reverse egg-shape. Apex - pointed, in small…

Leaves - simple; alternate, edge entire. Outline - long oval or long egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - pointed or rounded. Leaf - three to five inches long, thickish; dark and smooth, usually shining, above; below dull, with ribs curved and irregular and minutely downy. On the upper surface the ribs are quite indistinct, except as the lea is held toward the light when they appear almost transparent. In the same position the left is seen also to be edged with a slight delicate fringe (appearing in the dried leaf like a line of yellow light). Bark - of trunk dark and rough. Flowers - greenish-yellow and small, at the base of the leaf-stems. June. Fruit - about one inch in diameter, rounded, nearly stemless, orange-red when ripe, with about eight large flat seeds. After frost it is of very pleasant flavor, before, exceedingly "puckery." Found - from Connecticut southward to Florida and westward to Southeastern Iowa. General Information - A tree twenty to sixty feet high; sometimes, at the South, more than one hundred feet high. The wood is hard and close-grained; the bark tonic and astringent. From two Greek words meaning fruit of Jove.

Genus Diospyros, L. (Persimmon)

Leaves - simple; alternate, edge entire. Outline - long oval or long egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge entire. Outline - round heart-shape. Apex - tapering and rather blunt, sometimes with a short bristle. Base - heart shape. Leaf/Stem - smooth and swollen at each end into a sort of knob. Leaf - usually about four to five inches long and wide; rather thin, smooth above and below; with seven prominent ribs radiating from the end of the leaf-stem. Flowers - reddish, acid, usually abundant in small clusters along the branches; appearing before the leaves. March to May. Fruit - a small, many-seeded, flat pod, winged along the seed-bearing stem. Seeds - reverse egg-shape. Found - in rich soil, Western Pennsylvania, westward and southward. Common in cultivation. General Information - A small and fine ornamental tree, with long, flat-leaved branches. The name "Judas tree" is traditional. "This is the tree whereon Judas did hang himself, and not the elder tree, as it is said." From a Greek word meaning "shuttle," because of the shuttle-shaped pod.

Genus Cercis, L. (Red Bud)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge entire. Outline - round heart-shape. Apex - tapering and rather blunt,…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge entire or lobed. Outline - when the edge is entire usually oval or egg-shape; when lobed usually broader and reverse egg-shape. Apex - of the leaf or of the lobes rounded or slightly blunt-pointed. Base - pointed or wedge-shape. Leaf - variable in size, dark, thin, smooth; rather shining above; the lobes, when resent, two or three in number and usually more or less bulging, with the hollows always rounded. Bark - obliquely and curiously furrowed and broken, gray without, reddish within; young twigs yellowish. Flowers - greenish-yellow, in clusters. May, June. Fruit - oval, one-seeded, blue, with a reddish, club shaped stem; pungent. Found - from Southwestern Vermont, southward and westward.  General Information - a tree fifteen to fifty feet high with light and soft wood. All parts of the tree have a pleasant, spicy taste and fragrance. From the bark of the roots a powerful aromatic stimulant is obtained.

Genus Sassafras, Nees. (Sassafras)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge entire or lobed. Outline - when the edge is entire usually oval or…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge entire. Outline - oval or reverse egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - pointed. Leaf/Stem - slightly hairy when young. Leaf - two to five inches long; usually about half as broad; dark green and very shining above, especially when old; light green and shining below; thick, tough, and firm. Middle rib slightly hairy when young; side ribs rather indistinct and curved. Bark - grayish and often broken into short sections. Fertile Flowers - small, in clusters of three to eight on slender stems. April, May. Fruit - nearly one half inch long; bluish-black when ripe; egg-shape or oval; acid and rather bitter until "frosted." Stone - oval, somewhat pointed at each end, slightly flattened, and with three or four blunt ridges on each side. September. Found - from Southern Maine to Michigan, and southward to Florida and Texas. General Information - A tree twenty to forty feet high (larger southward), with flat, horizontal branches. The wood, even in short lengths, is very difficult of cleavage, and so is well fitted for beetles, hubs of wheels, pulleys, etc. Its leaves are the first to ripen in the fall, changing (sometimes as early as August) to a bright crimson. In the South, opossums climb the tree in search of its fruit and are immortalized in stories.

Genus Nyssa, L. (Sour Gum)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge entire. Outline - oval or reverse egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base -…

Leaves - Simple, alternate, edge entire. Outline - long oval or slightly reverse egg-shape. Apex, slightly blunt-pointed. Base, pointed. Leaf -about three to six inches long, thick and smooth; dark green and polished above; white below; the middle rib green and distinct; the side ribs slight and indistinct. Bark - of trunk, smoothish, light gray, aromatic and bitter. Flowers - large (two to three inches wide), white, at the ends of the branches, very fragrant. June, July. Fruit - bright red berries, at first in small cone-like clusters, then hanging by slender threads. September.  Found - in swampy ground, from Massachusetts southward, usually near the coast. <p>General Information - A small tree (often a bush) four to twenty-five feet high, or higher southward, where its leaves are evergreen. All parts of the tree (and it is the same with the other magnolias) have an intensely bitter, aromatic juice, which is stimulating and tonic. From "magnol," the name of a botanist of the seventeenth century.

Genus Magnolia, L. (Magnolia)

Leaves - Simple, alternate, edge entire. Outline - long oval or slightly reverse egg-shape. Apex, slightly…

Leaves - Simple, alternate, edge entire. Outline - long oval or slightly reverse egg-shape. Apex, short, sharp-pointed. Base, pointed. Leaf - twelve to thirty-six inches long, six to eight inches wide; rather dark green above; lighter beneath; silky when young, but soon smooth; growing in clusters at the ends of the branches. Bark - smoothish and light. Flowers - seven to eight inches across, at the ends of the branches, white, and fragrant. May, June. Fruit - in a cylinder-shaped bunch, four to five inches long, and rose-colored as it ripens. Found - in Southeastern Pennsylvania and southward along the Alleghany Mountains, and in cultivation. <p>General Information - A tree twenty to thirty feet high, with irregular branches, and light, soft wood. As in other magnolias the juice is bitter and fragrant. From "magnol," the name of a botanist of the seventeenth century.

Genus Magnolia, L. (Magnolia)

Leaves - Simple, alternate, edge entire. Outline - long oval or slightly reverse egg-shape. Apex, short,…