Leaves - compound (odd-feathered, but with the odd leaflet often dwarfed or broken off; leaflets, twenty-one to forty-one); alternate; edge of the leaflets entire, with one or two coarse, blunt teeth at each side of their base. Outline - of leaflet, long egg-shape or lance-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base, squared, or heart-shaped. Leaf/Stem - smooth, round, swollen at base. Leaflet/Stems - smooth and short. Leaf - one and a half to six feet long. Leaflets variable, usually about six inches by two and a quarter, rather smooth and thin. Bark - of the trunk, smooth and brown; the new shoots marked with whitish dots. Flowers - in long bunches at the ends of the branches; greenish, and of very disagreeable odor. June, July. Seeds - flat, at the centre of greenish and sometimes pink-tinged wings, in large, loose clusters. October. Found - common in cultivation, and to some extent naturalized. General Information - A large, showy tree (sixty to seventy feet high) of remarkable vigorous and rapid growth. It is a native of China. A Jesuit missionary sent its seeds in 1751 to England. In 1784 it was brought from Europe to the United States, and started near Philadelphia. Also about 1804 it was brought to Rhode Island from South America. But the source of most of the trees now found abundantly in the region of New York is Flushing, Long Island, where it was introduced in 1820. It has been a great favorite, and would deserve to be so still were it not for the peculiar and disagreeable odor of its flowers. Ailanthus, from a Greek word meaning "tree of heaven." Ailanthus - This spelling of the name should rule because so given by its author, although, etymologically, Ailantus would be correct, the native Amboyna name being "Aylanto."

Genus Ailanthus, Desf.

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered, but with the odd leaflet often dwarfed or broken off; leaflets, twenty-one…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge with remote, very sharp spine-like teeth, with rounded spaces between. Outline - oval. Apex and Base - pointed. Leaf - about two inches long; dark polished green above; below rather yellowish-green; thick and stiff; smooth throughout; ribs very indistinct below. Bark - light gray and smooth. Fruit - a nearly round, bright-red berry, the size of a pea. It ripens in September and continues upon the branches into the winter. Found - from Massachusetts southward near the coast to Florida, and from Southern Indiana southwest, and southward to the Gulf. General Information - The use of holly and other evergreens in religious ceremonies dates from pagan times. "Trummying of the temples with floures, boughes, and garlondes, was taken of the heathen people, whiche decked their idols and houses with suche array.: Early church councils made rules and restrictions concerning the practice - e.g., in France Christians were forbidden "to decke up their houses with lawrell, yvie, and green gouches in the Christmas season," for "Hedera est gratissima Baccho." (The ivy is most acceptable to Bacchus.)

Genus Ilex, L. (Holly)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge with remote, very sharp spine-like teeth, with rounded spaces between.…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed, with rounded hollows between. Outline - rounded. Apex - short, sharp-pointed. Base - slightly heart-shaped. Leaf/Stem - slender and very much flattened sidewise. Leaf - two to two and a half inches wide, and usually about one half inch shorter than wide; dark green; smooth on both sides when mature, with a slight down on the edge. Ribs distinct above and below and whitish. Bark - of trunk, greenish-white and smooth, often with blotches of very dark brown, especially under the ends of the branches. The bark is exceedingly bitter. Found - from Northern Kentucky and the mountains of Pennsylvania northward to Hudson Bay and Newfoundland, northwest to the Arctic Ocean, and along the Rocky Mountain slopes. It is the most widely distributed of North American Trees.  General Information - A tree twenty to fifty feet high, with white, soft wood that is largely used in place of rags in making coarse paper. The tremulousness of its foliage, which the slightest breeze stirs, is due to the thinness of the sidewise-flattened leaf-stems. Tradition accounts differently for the motion of the leaves. It says that the wood of the aspen tree was taken for the Saviour's cross, and that, ever since, the tree has shivered. Another tradition claims that, when Christ went by on his way to Calvary, all the trees sympathized and mourned, excepting the aspen; but when he died, there fell upon the aspen a sudden horror of remorse, and such a fearful trembling as has never passed away. In describing the occupations of the fifty maidens in the hall of the "gorgeous palace" of King Alcinous, Homer says: "...some wove the web, Or twirled the spindle, sitting, with a quick, Light motion like the aspen's glancing leaves."

Genus Populus, L. (Aspen, Poplar)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed, with rounded hollows between. Outline - rounded. Apex…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge toothed. Outline - egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - heart-shape. Leaf/Stem - usually hairy, nearly round. Leaf/Bud - in the spring is large and varnished, and very fragrant. Leaf - four to six inches long, nearly as broad; yellowish when young, becoming dark green above, and whitish beneath; net-veined. Bark - smooth and greenish, and often dark-spotted. Found - seldom or never growing wild, but common in cultivation. General Information - a tree forth to fifty feet high, loosely and irregularly branches, and with abundant foliage.

Genus Populus, L. (Aspen, Poplar)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge toothed. Outline - egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - heart-shape.…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge finely and rather sharply toothed. Outline - egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - rounded. Leaf/Stem - nearly smooth, the lower half rounded, the upper part only slightly flattened. Leaf/Bud - in the spring is large and yellow, and covered with a fragrant gum (as, to some extent, are the buds of most of the poplars). Leaf - four to six inches long; when young, yellowish above, becoming bright green; whitish, and "net-veined" below; smooth. Found - in Northern New England, Central Michigan, and Minnesota, and far northward. General Information - A tree sixty to seventy feet high, with very light and soft wood.

Genus Populus, L. (Aspen, Poplar)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge finely and rather sharply toothed. Outline - egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed.…

Leaves - simple/alternate; edge somewhat irregularly very sharp-toothed. Outline - rounded, often very one-sided. Apex - pointed. Base - strongly heart-shaped. Leaf - usually about three to four inches wide, four to five inches long; sometimes much larger; rather thick, very smooth and shining above; with small tufts of reddish hairs in the angles of the ribs below; and often with the ribs themselves hairy. Bark - of the trunk very thick; on the young branches dark brown. Fruit - gray-downy, ovate, the size of small peas, clustered on a long stem of which the lower half is joined to half the length of a narrow, leaf-like bract, usually with a tapering base. Found - in rich woods, from British America southward to Virginia and along the Alleghany Mountains and westward. General Information - A straight-trunked tree, sixty to eighty feet high (often unbranching to half its height) and two to four feet in diameter. Its very tough inner bark is used for mats and coarse rope. The wood is white and soft and clear of knots. It is much used for wooden ware, in cabinet-work, and for the paneling of carriages, though now less esteemed than the tulip tree for these uses, owing to its liability to crack in bending.

Genus Tilia, L. (Basswood)

Leaves - simple/alternate; edge somewhat irregularly very sharp-toothed. Outline - rounded, often very…

Leaves - simple/alternate; edge somewhat irregularly very sharp-toothed. Outline - rounded, often very one-sided. Apex - pointed. Base - strongly heart-shaped. Leaf - two to three inches long; thinner than the T. Americana, deep green and shining above, beneath somewhat downy. Bark - of the trunk very thick; on the young branches dark brown. Fruit - rounded, about one fourth of an inch in diameter, and with the base of the leaf-like bract to which it is attached usually rounded at the base. Found - in rich woods, from New York to Florida and westward..   General Information - A straight-trunked tree, twenty to thirty feet high (often unbranching to half its height) and two to four feet in diameter. Its very tough inner bark is used for mats and coarse rope. The wood is white and soft and clear of knots. It is much used for wooden ware, in cabinet-work, and for the paneling of carriages, though now less esteemed than the tulip tree for these uses, owing to its liability to crack in bending.

Genus Tilia, L. (Basswood)

Leaves - simple/alternate; edge somewhat irregularly very sharp-toothed. Outline - rounded, often very…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed, with small and remote teeth. Outline - oval or egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - rounded. Leaf - three to six inches long, about half as wide; a very "finished" leaf; when young, fringed with soft white hairs; becoming smooth and polished; with distinct and straight unbranched side-ribs, ending in the teeth of the edge. The dead, bleached leaves often cling thickly to the branches throughout the winter. Bark - of the trunk, light gray, smooth, and unbroken. Fruit - a small four-celled prickly burr, splitting half-way to the base when ripe, and with two sweet, three-sided nuts in each shell.Found - in rich woods, Nova Scotia to Florida and westward, with it finest growth on the "bluffs" of the lower Mississippi basin. General Information - Large stately trees, with spreading branches and a delicate spray, fifty to eighty feet high. The wood is hard and very close-grained, and is used largely in the making of chairs, handles, plan-stocks, shoe-lasts, and for fuel. When the tree is not crowded, it sends out its nearly horizontal or drooping branches as low as from ten to thirty feet above the ground. Lumber-men make the distinction of "red Beech" and "White Beech," claiming that the former is harder, with a redder and thicker heart-wood.  Among woodsmen and the Indians, the Beech is said to be a favorite refuge in thunder-storms. They claim that it is scarcely ever struck by lightning. Lumber-men claim a difference in the quality of trees which retain their leaves and those which shed them. "Said a neighbor to me one day: 'You might 'a knowed that beech would split hard with all the dry leaves on it,' -- and it did. That was the first I'd ever heard of the sign, but I've never known it fail since."

Genus Fagus, L. (Beech)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed, with small and remote teeth. Outline - oval or egg-shape.…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, seven to eleven); alternate; edge of leaflet sharp-toothed. Outline - of leaflet, long oval or long egg-shape. Apex, taper-pointed. Base, pointed or blunted. Leaf/Stem - rather slender, somewhat downy, and often flattened and winged. Leaf/buds - small, slightly rounded or (at the ends of the branchlets) pointed, and yellow. Leaflet/Stems - lacking, except the short stem of the end leaflet. Leaflets - four to six inches long, the upper one usually short; smooth on both sides, or with a slight, scattered down below. Bark - rather smooth. Fruit - rounded or slightly egg-shaped, dark green. Husk - very thin and fleshy, never becoming entirely hard, with prominent winged edges at the seams, only two of which reach more than half-way to the base. It divides half-way down when ripe. Nut - barely one inch long, heart-shaped at the top, broader than long, white and smooth. Shell - so thin that it can be broken with the fingers. Kernel - intensely bitter. Found - usually in wet grounds, though often also on rich uplands, from Southern Maine westward and southward. It reaches its finest growth in Pennsylvania and Ohio. General information - A rather smaller and less valuable tree than the rest of the hickories.

Genus Hicoria, Raf., Carya, Nutt. (Hickory)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, seven to eleven); alternate; edge of leaflet sharp-toothed.…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge slightly lobed at the upper part (edge of the lobes entire). Outline - abruptly widening above. Apex - of lobes, rounded or sometimes slightly pointed, and bristle-tipped, at least until old. Base - heart-shape or rounded. Leaf - three to four inches long (on vigorous shoots much longer); dark green, smooth, and shining above; below rusty and roughish, thick and tough; ribs distinct above. Lobes - three (sometimes five), very short, and above the middle of the leaf. Bark - of tree, rough and blackish. Acorn - nearly or quite stemless. Cup - top-shaped, coarsely scaly. Nut - one half to two thirds of an inch long; rounded egg-shape; darkish brown when ripe; nearly one half covered by the cup. October. Found - on Long Island, southward and westward. Very common through the Southern States. General Information - A small tree, eight to twenty-five feet high; of slight value except for fuel. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge slightly lobed at the upper part (edge of the lobes entire). Outline…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge lobed (edge of the lobes mostly entire, but oftenest with a few teeth toward the end). Outline - reverse egg-shape or oval. Base - usually rounded. Ends of the lobes and of the few teeth, sharp and bristle-pointed, especially when young. Leaf - five to eight inches long; three to five inches wide; very variable. The two types, a and b, are often found on the same tree; b is a variation toward the leaf of the Scarlet Oak. The upper surface is roughish, becoming smoother when mature; the undersurface, rusty-downy until mid-summer, when the down mostly disappears, except from the angles of the ribs. Bark - of trunk, blackish and deeply and roughly furrowed, with an inner bark that is very thick and yellow and bitter. Acorns - variable; usually small; on short stems. Cups - thick; somewhat top-shaped; scales distinct and rather large. . Nut - one half to two thirds of an inch long; rounded; nearly one third covered by the cup. Kernel, bright yellow or orange and bitter. October. Found - from Southern Maine southward and westward. Very common, especially in the Atlantic forests. General Information - A tree fifty to a hundred feet high, with wood that is inferior to that of the White Oak. The yellow inner bark (quercitron of the shops) is a valuable dye, and is rich in tannin. Late in the autumn the leaves turn to a rich yellowish-brown or russet.   It is very probable that the "Black Oak" and the "Scarlet Oak" ought to be considered as one, and described, not as species and variety, but as slightly different forms of the single species Q. coccinea. Though the most distinctive leaves of the "Black Oak" are easily recognized, often others are so nearly like those of the "Scarlet Oak" that it is not easy to distinguish between then; and the same is true of the fruit and the bark. Michaux f. says: "The only constant difference between the acorns of the Scarlet Oak and the Black Oak is in the kernel, which is white in the Scarlet Oak and yellow in the Black Oak."  The Gray Oak (Q. c., ambigua, Gray) is a variety sometimes found along the northeastern boundary of the States (as far as Lake Champlain) and northward. It combines the foliage of the Red Oak with the acorn of the Scarlet Oak. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge lobed (edge of the lobes mostly entire, but oftenest with a few teeth…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharply and unequally toothed (sometimes with quite deep and sharp cuts, almost forming small lobes. Outline - oval or reverse egg-shape Apex - slightly pointed Base - tapering in a hollow curve and along the sides of the leaf-stem to a point Leaf/Stem - bordered by the leaf, to its base Leaf - about three to five inches long, one and a half to three inches wide; upper surface smoothish, and furrowed above the ribs; under surface downy at least when young; rather thick; permanently downy on the ribs. Thorns - one to two inches long Bark - of trunk, smooth and gray. New twigs, light greenish-brown Flowers - often one inch across; white eight to twelve in a cluster; at the ends of the branches; fragrant. May, June. Fruit - about one half inch in diameter, round or pear-shaped; orange-red or crimson; edible. October. Found - through the Atlantic forests to Western Florida, and from Eastern Texas far westward. Common. General Information - A thickly branching tree (or often a shrub) eight to twenty feet high; the most widely distributed of the American Thorns. It varies greatly in size, and in the style of its fruit and leaves. From a Greek word meaning strength.

Genus Crataegus, L. (Thorn)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharply and unequally toothed (sometimes with quite deep and sharp…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, thirteen to twenty-one); alternate; edge of leaflets sharp-toothed. Outline of leaflet - long egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - rounded or slightly heart-shaped, and one-sided. Leaf/Stem - slightly downy. Leaflet/Stem - very short. Leaf - twelve inches long, or more. Leaflets - about two to four inches long; the lower pairs shortest; slightly downy beneath. Bark - blackish and thick. Fruit - about two inches in diameter; rounded; the husk greenish-yellow when ripe, roughly dotted, spongy, decaying without splitting into sections; the nut dark, and deeply and roughly furrowed. October. Found - from Western Massachusetts westward and southward. Its finest growth is west of the Alleghany Mountains. Eastward it is now everywhere scarce.. General Information - A tree thirty to sixty feet high, or often much higher. Its rich, dark-brown heart-wood is of great value, and has been more widely used in cabinet-work, for interior finish, and for gun-stocks than the wood of any other North American tree. Juglans, from two Latin words meaning nut of Jupiter.

Genus Juglans, L. (Walnut)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, thirteen to twenty-one); alternate; edge of leaflets sharp-toothed.…

Leaves - simple; alternate; finely and sharply toothed. Outline - long and narrow. Apex - long, taper-pointed. Base - pointed or slightly rounded. Leaf/Stem - short and woolly. Leaf - one and a half to four inches long; commonest length about two inches; downy when young, becoming smooth excepting on the upper side of the mid-rib, which is usually woolly. Bark - of trunk, dark and rough; branches very brittle at the base and yellowish; twigs tough and purplish or yellow. Found - in Southern New Brunswick and Ontario, and from Northern Vermont southward. Common on low ground, especially in New York and Pennsylvania. General Information - A small tree, fifteen to twenty feet high; quite variable in the style of its foliage; the latest to flower, in May.

Genus Salix, L. (Willow)

Leaves - simple; alternate; finely and sharply toothed. Outline - long and narrow. Apex - long, taper-pointed.…

Leaves - simple; alternate; lobed (the edge of the lobes entire, or of the larger ones sometimes wavy). Outline - reverse egg-shape. Apex - of the lobes, rounded. Base - wedge-shape. Leaf - six to fifteen inches long (the longest of the oak-leaves); smooth above, downy beneath; the lobes usually long and rather irregular, the middle ones longest and often extending nearly to the middle rib. Bark - of the young branches always marked with corky wings or ridges. Acorns - large, with short stems. Cup - two thirds to two inches across, roughly covered with pointed scales, and heavily fringed around the nut. Nut - very large (one to one and a half inches long); broad egg-shape; one half to two thirds or often wholly enclosed by the cup. Found - along the coast of Maine southward as far as the Penobscot, in Western New England, in Western New York, in Pennsylvania, and thence westward to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains of Montana, and from Central Nebraska and Kansas southwest to the Indian Territory and Texas. It is found farther west and northwest than any other oak of the Atlantic forests. In the prairie region it forms a principal growth of the "Oak Openings." General Information - One of the most valuable and widely distributed oaks in North America, growing sixty to eighty feet in height, or more, with hard, tough wood resembling that of the White Oak. "The most interesting thing about this tree, perhaps is its power, quite unknown in the other White Oaks, of adapting itself to very different climatic conditions, which enables it to live in the humid climate of Maine and Vermont, to flourish in the somewhat drier climate of the Mississippi Valley, and to exist (still farther west) in the driest and most exposed region in habited by any of the Eastern America Oaks." - Sargent. Q. m. olivaformis is a variety found only in a few districts (near Albany and in Pennsylvania), having narrower and rather more deeply lobed leaves. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves - simple; alternate; lobed (the edge of the lobes entire, or of the larger ones sometimes wavy).…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, fifteen to seventeen); alternate; edge of leaflets sharp-toothed. Outline - of leaflet, long egg-shaped or long oval. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - rounded. Leaf/Stem - downy and sticky. Leaf - twelve to twenty inches long. Leaflet - three inches or more in length; downy, especially beneath. Bark - of the branches, light gray and smoothish. Twigs - as well as leaf-stems and fruit, very sticky. Fruit - long (two to three inches), pointed. Husk - very sticky; green at first; brown when ripe, becoming very dark; not splitting in sections. Nut - deeply and roughly furrowed and sharp-ridged, with a sweet oily kernel. September.Found - in Southern Canada, and common in New England and the Middle and Western States. General Information - A tree twenty to fifty feet high, with a short, stout trunk and very wide-reaching, horizontal branches. The heart-wood is reddish or light brown, not as dark nor as hard as in the Black Walnut. It is used for ornamental cabinet-work and interior finish.

Genus Juglans, L. (Walnut)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, fifteen to seventeen); alternate; edge of leaflets sharp-toothed.…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge variable, either coarse-toothed or somewhat lobed; with the teeth or lobes sharp, and the hollows between them rounded. Outline - rounded. Apex - pointed. Base - more or less heart-shaped, squared, or rounded. Leaf/Stem - downy when young, smoothish when old; and covering the leaf-bud with its swollen base. Leaf - three and a half to eight inches wide, and usually broader than long; downy beneath when young, becoming smooth. Bark - the thin outer bark peels off each year in hard and brittle strips, leaving the branches and parts of the trunk with a mottled, whitish, polished-looking surface. Flowers - small, in compact, round balls (about one inch in diameter) like round buttons, which dry and harden, and cling to the branches by their slender stems (three to four inches long), and swing like little bells during a good part of the winter. Found - from Southern Main, southward and westward, in rich, moist soil, oftenest along streams. Its finest growth is in the bottom lands of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. General Information - The largest of the trees of the Atlantic forests, commonly sixty to eighty feet high; along the western rivers often eighty to one hundred and thirty feet high, sometimes more, with a circumference of forty to fifty feet. A tree in Eaton, N. J., is one of the largest in the Sate. It is eighty-five feel high. At a point eight fee from the ground its circumference is fourteen feet three inches. The largest trunks are usually hollow.  The wood is hard and compact, difficult to split and work, of a reddish-brown color within. Its principle use is in the making of tobacco boxes. There is a fine and somewhat noted group of these trees on the grounds of James Know, in Knoxboro, N. Y. In old times they formed a favorite camping place for the Indians in their trading expeditions. They all measure not far from three feet in diameter. The name "sycamore," though a common one, should be dropped - it belongs to another and very different tree. From a Greek word meaning broad, in reference to the breadth of the buttonwood's shade or of its leaf.

Genus Platanus, L. (Buttonwood)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge variable, either coarse-toothed or somewhat lobed; with the teeth or…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge coarsely and evenly wavy-toothed. Outline - reverse egg-shape or sometimes oval. Apex - blunt-pointed. Base - rounded or slightly pointed, and often somewhat unequal. Leaf - four to seven inches long, two to four inches wide; smooth above, paler and downy beneath. Teeth - twelve to twenty-six, decreasing evenly and uniformly to the apex. Bark - of trunk, gray; furrowed up and down with continuous and often very deep furrows, with sharp ridges between. Acorns - usually in pairs on a stem about one half of an inch long, or often shorter. Cup - rounded or somewhat top-shaped, with minute scales, or warty. Nut - usually long egg-shape or long oval; one to one and one fourth inches long; brown; about one third covered by the cup; sweet. September, October. Found - from Eastern Massachusetts to New York, southward to Delaware, along the Alleghany Mountains to Alabama and westward to Central Kentucky and Tennessee. General Information - A tree forth to seventy feet in height, with strong, hard wood, largely used in fencing, or railroad ties, etc.; of less value than that of the White Oak. Its bark is very rich in tannin. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge coarsely and evenly wavy-toothed. Outline - reverse egg-shape or sometimes…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed with the teeth bristle-pointed and the hollows between rounded. Outline - very narrow oval. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - taper-pointed. Leaf - four to eight inches long, two to three inches wide; smooth above and below; with straight ribs terminating in the bristle-teeth. Bark - of trunk grayish and in young trees very smooth. Fruit - with large bristly husks. Usually there are two or three nuts pressed closely in each cell, and therefore flat on one or both sides. The nut, though smaller, is sweeter and more delicate than in the European variety, the "Spanish Chestnut." Found - from Southern Maine to Delaware and Southern Indiana; southward along the Alleghany Mountains and west to Middle Kentucky and Tennessee. Its finest growth is on the western slopes of the southern Alleghany Mountains. General Information - A tree fifty to eight feet high or more, with light, soft wood, largely used in cabinet-work, for railway ties, posts. etc. Genus Castanea, L. from the name of a town in Thessaly.

Genus Castanea, L. (Chestnut)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed with the teeth bristle-pointed and the hollows between…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge, sharply toothed above; entire below. Outline - reverse egg-shape. Apex - usually rounded, sometimes pointed. Base - tapering to a point, quite variable. Leaf/Stem - short. Leaf - one to two and a half inches long, half to three quarters as wide; dark green; thick, smooth, very shining above. Thorns - two to three inches long, rather slender and straight. Flowers - white; fragrant; in bunches of about fifteen blossoms, on very short side branchlets. June. Fruit - about one third inch in diameter; pear-shaped or round; red remaining on the three during the winter. Found - along the St. Lawrence and westward, and from Vermont, southward and westward; not common. General Information - A small, thick-branching tree, ten to twenty feet high. It is the best species of thorn for hedges. Var. pyracanthifolia has a somewhat narrower leaf and longer leaf stem. From a Greek word meaning strength.

Genus Crataegus, L. (Thorn)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge, sharply toothed above; entire below. Outline - reverse egg-shape.…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge unevenly sharp-toothed above the middle; sometimes, toward the apex deeply cut. Outline - reverse egg-shape. Apex - usually slightly pointed. Base - strongly wedge-shape, tapering from above the middle of the leaf and along the leaf-stem to a point. Leaf/Stem - one half to one inch long, slender, and winged by a tapering leaf. Leaf - one and a half to two and a half inches long; about as wide; light green; rather thick; downy when young; when mature, smooth and dull, or sometimes hairy below, especially of the ribs. Ribs, very straight below; above, marked by deep furrows. Thorns - one to two inches long, stout and curved, or often wanting. Bark - rough. Flowers - white; eight to fifteen in somewhat leafy bunches. May. Fruit - about one half inch in diameter, or more; usually dull red or yellow, with whitish dots; round; somewhat edible. September.Found - from New Brunswick and Vermont southward and westward. General Information - A thick, wide spreading tree, twelve to twenty-five feet high. From a Greek word meaning strength.

Genus Crataegus, L. (Thorn)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge unevenly sharp-toothed above the middle; sometimes, toward the apex…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge somewhat irregularly toothed. Outline - broad egg-shape (approaching triangular-shape). Apex - long, taper-pointed. Base - squared, slightly hollowed, or slightly pointed. Leaf/Stem - long and slender and much compressed sidewise. Leaf - two to three and a half inches long (much larger on young shoots); length and width nearly the same; smooth; ribs distinct and whitish on both sides, irregular, and branching. Bark - of trunk, light "granite-gray," smooth on young trunks, becoming somewhat rough with age, and with rounded up-and-down furrows. New and vigorous shoots are green, and marked with short white or brownish lines. Seeds - covered with a white, cotton-like fibre. Found - from Western New England southward to Western Florida, westward to the Rocky Mountains. The common "cottonwood" of the West, bordering all streams flowing east from the Rocky Mountains. General Information - A tree eighty to one hundred feet high. The very light and soft wood is largely used in making paper pulp, for light boxes, and for fuel. Experiments have been made in separating and weaving the cottony fibre of the poplar seeds. It can be manufactured into cloth, but not in paying quantity and quality.

Genus Populus, L. (Aspen, Poplar)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge somewhat irregularly toothed. Outline - broad egg-shape (approaching…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge distinctly toothed when mature; sometimes near three-lobed Outline - egg-shape or oval Apex - pointed. Base - rounded or somewhat heart-shaped Leaf/Stem - one half to one inch long, very slender, downy Leaf - about two to three inches long, two thirds as wide, smooth. Flowers - large; rose-colored and white, in loose clusters of five to ten blossoms, and very fragrant. May. Fruit - round, one to one and a half inches in diameter; yellowish, fragrant, hard, and sour; fit only for preserving. Found - from Ontario to Western New York, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia; long the Alleghany Mountains, and westward. General Information - A small tree, ten to twenty feet high, rarely thirty feet, gaining its finest growth in the valleys of the lower Ohio. Often its presence is recognized before it is seen by means of the delightful fragrance of its blossoms.

Genus Pyrus L. (Apple, Mt. Ash)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge distinctly toothed when mature; sometimes near three-lobed Outline…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge strongly and somewhat unevenly toothed, the teeth thickened and their points slightly incurved so as to appear somewhat blunted. Outline - narrow lance-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - taper-pointed. Leaf/Stem - smooth, with two small warts on the upper side near the base of the leaf. Leaf - about five or six inches long, about seven eighths of an inch wide; dark and smooth above; lighter and smooth below (slightly silky when young). Branches - smooth, shining, and greenish; very brittle at the base, cracking off almost "at a touch." Introduced - from Europe. General Information - A tree sometimes sixty to eighty feet high, with a bush head and irregular branches. Its withes are used for basket-work. "The greene willow boughes with the leaves may vary well be brought into chambers and set about the beds of those that be sicke of agues, for they do mightily coole the heate of the aire, which thing is a wonderfull refreshing to the sicke patients." -- Gerardes' Herbal. Salix from two Celtic words meaning "near" and "water."

Genus Salix, L. (Willow)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge strongly and somewhat unevenly toothed, the teeth thickened and their…

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; edge toothed. Outline - roundish egg-shape. Apex - usually blunt (never taper-pointed). Base - heart-shape, sometimes with the lobes so close or overlapping as to cover the end of the leaf-stem. Leaf/Stem - nearly round. Leaf - three to six inches long (on young sprouts, eight to ten inches); when young, thickly covered with white down; becoming smooth, except on the ribs below. Found - in borders of swamps, from Long Island southward to Southern Georgia, through the Gulf States to Western Louisiana, and northward to Southern Illinois and Indiana. Rare and local. General Information - A tree sixty to eighty feet high.

Genus Populus, L. (Aspen, Poplar)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge toothed. Outline - roundish egg-shape. Apex - usually blunt (never…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed, but entire at the base. Outline - obliquely egg-shaped, very one-sided. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - usually somewhat heart-shaped, or slightly pointed or rounded. Leaf - two to three inches long, one to two inches wide; rough. Bark - of the trunk, rough; sometimes much crumpled. Fruit - about the size of a pea; solitary; drooping from the bases of the leaf-stems, on stems once or twice as long as the leaf-stems; rounded; pulp thin, sweet, and edible; purplish red; ripe in September. Found - from the valley of the St. Lawrence westward and southward. General Information - A tree fifteen to thirty feet high (but much larger at the South), most common, and reaching its finest growth in the basin of the Mississippi. It is very variable in size and in the shape and texture of its leaves. Variety crassifolia is sometimes found, in which the leaves are thicker and usually toothed all around. Hackberry is an ancient name for lotus.

Genus Celtis, L. (Hackberry)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed, but entire at the base. Outline - obliquely egg-shaped,…

Leaves - compound; )even-feathered, leaflets, ten to twenty-two or more, usually about fourteen), sometimes twice compound; alternate; edge of leaflets entire as seen above, but as seen below often remotely and slightly toothed. Outline of leaflet - long oval or long egg-shape. Base - and narrowed. Apex - rounded. Leaf/Stem - and very short. Leaflet/Stem - downy. Leaflets - three fourths to one and a half inches long; about one third as wide. Often several of them (one to three) are partly or wholly divided into smaller leaflets. Surfaces smooth and shining. Bark - of trunk, gray, and much less rough than that of the common Locust (which has a somewhat similar leaf); branchlets brown and often warty. The branches and the trunk, excepting in very young and quite old trees, are usually thickly covered with spines, two to four inches long, which are curved at the base, often two- to three-branches, and of a reddish-brown color. Flowers - small and greenish. Fruit - a long, flat pod (nine to eighteen inches long) reddish; somewhat twisted, and filled between the seeds with a pulp which at first is sweet (whence the name "Honey" Locust) but which soon becomes sour. The seeds are flat, hard, and brown. Found - native in Pennsylvania, westward and southward, but also somewhat naturalized and widely introduced northward.  General Information - A tree sometimes seventy feet high, with wide-spreading and graceful branches, and light and delicate foliage. It is often used as a hedge plant. A variety entirely bare of thorns (var. inermis) is sometimes found; also a variety (var. brachycarpos) with shorter fruit and thorns.

Genus Gleditschia, L. (Honey Locust)

Leaves - compound; )even-feathered, leaflets, ten to twenty-two or more, usually about fourteen), sometimes…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge very sharply and slightly irregularly and unequally toothed. Outline - long oval or long egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - slightly heart-shaped. Leaf/Stem - about one fourth inch long, and often rough. Leaf - usually three to four inches long, and about half as wide, but with many smaller leaves of varying size on the same branch; smoothish above, paler and somewhat downy below. Ribs - The straight ribs and their angles hairy. Bark - of trunk, brownish or dark gray, and remarkable for being finely furrowed up and down, with the ridges broken into three - to four-inch lengths. These divisions are narrower than on any other rough-barked tree, and they become narrower and finer as the tree grows older. The new shoots are reddish green and dotted with brown; the younger branches purplish-brown and dotted with white or gray. When the branch is two to three inches thick, its bark becomes grayish and begins to crack. Fruit - in long oval, drooping clusters, resembling those of the hop-vine, with long, unlobed scales that lap each other like shingles. August, September. Found - oftenest on dry hill-sides. Common North, South, and West, especially in Southern Arkansas. General Information - A tree twenty to thirty feet high, with white, very strong, and compact wood. It would be very valuable, if it were more abundant and of larger growth.

Genus ostrya, Scop. (Hop-Hornbeam)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge very sharply and slightly irregularly and unequally toothed. Outline…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge very sharply and quite irregularly and unevenly toothed. Outline - long egg-shape, or reverse long egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - rounded or slightly heart-shaped. Leaf/Stem - about one half inch long, slender and smooth, or slightly hairy. Leaf - usually three to four inches long, and about half as wide, but with many smaller leaves of varying size on the same branch; nearly smooth, slightly hairy on the straight and distinct ribs and in their angles. Bark - of trunk, a deep bluish-gray or slate; smooth, but often marked up and down with irregular ridges, which run from each side of the lower branches. The new shoots are somewhat hairy, and brownish or purple; the older branchlets, an ashy-gray color, with a pearly luster. Fruit - in loose drooping cluster, with leaf-like scales that are strongly three-lobed and placed in pairs base to base. October. Found - along streams and in swamps. Quite common North, South, and West; northward often only as a low shrub. General Information - A small tree or shrub, usually ten to twenty feet high, but in the southern Alleghany Mountains sometimes reaching a height of fifty feet. Its wood is white and very compact and strong.

Genus Carpinus, L. (Hornbeam)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge very sharply and quite irregularly and unevenly toothed. Outline -…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge with remote, not evergreen; egg-shape or long oval, rather thin with edge finely toothed,  Outline - oval. Apex - taper-pointed. Leaf - about two inches long; dark polished green above; below rather yellowish-green; thick and stiff; smooth throughout; ribs very indistinct below. Bark - light gray and smooth. Fruit - a nearly round, bright-red berry, the size of a pea. It ripens in September and continues upon the branches into the winter. Found - in damp woods in the Catskill and Tahonic Mountains, and in Cattaraugus County, New York; through Pennsylvania as far east as Northampton County, and southward along the Alleghanies.General Information - This is usually regarded as a shrub, "but it not seldom attains the size and exhibits the port of a small tree" -(T. C. Porter).

Genus Ilex, L. (Holly)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge with remote, not evergreen; egg-shape or long oval, rather thin with…

Leaves - unequally twice-compound (odd-feathered; leaflets very numerous - seven to thirteen on the different branches of the main leaf-stem; alternate; edge of leaflets entire. Outline - leaflets, egg-shape or oval. Apex - sharply taper-pointed. Base, slightly heart-shaped or rounded. Leaf-stem - in the autumn takes a violet tinge. Leaf - one and one half to three feet long, about one half as wide. Leaflets, one to two and one half inches long, of a dull green. Bark - of trunk, rough and scaly, separating in small and hard crosswise and backward-curled strips. Branchlets stout and not thorny. Flowers - in white spikes along the branches. May-July. Fruit - in large curved pods (Six to ten inches long, by two inches broad), pulpy within, of a reddish-brown color, flattened and hard. Each pod contains several hard, gray seeds one half of an inch or more in diameter. September, October. Found - in Franklin County, Pennsylvania (Porter), Western New York, westward and southward to Middle Tennessee. Not common. General information - A tree sixty to eighty feet high, or more, with a rather small and regular head. The fewness and the abruptness of its large branches give to it in the winder a dead and stumpy look, whence one of its common names. Its bruised and sweetened leaves are used at the South for poisoning flies. Its seeds were formerly used as a substitute for coffee.

Genus Gymnocladus, Lam. (Coffee Tree)

Leaves - unequally twice-compound (odd-feathered; leaflets very numerous - seven to thirteen on the…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge large-toothed, with the hollows rounded. Outline - wide egg-shape. Apex - sharp-pointed. Base - squared, or slightly rounded. Leaf/Stem - long and slender, and flattened sidewise. Leaf - three to five inches long, smooth on both sides when mature; white, and covered thickly with silky wool when young. Ribs, whitish and distinct above. Bark - of the trunk, smooth, and of a soft, light greenish-gray; when old, becoming somewhat cracked. On the young branches the bark is dark. Found - in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, through the Northern States, along the Alleghany Mountains to North Carolina, and west to Wisconsin and Iowa. Rare at the South. common at the North. General Information - A tree forth to eight feet high, with open, crooked branches. Large quantities of the soft, white wood are ground into pulp for making paper. "In both this and the P. tremuloides, Michx., the leaves of young sprouts are often differently shaped and toothed, and much enlarged." -- (Porter.) Poplar wood, like other soft woods, is not usually esteemed for durability' but an old couplet, said to have been found inscribed on a poplar plank, teaches differently: "Though 'heart of Oak' be e'er so stout, Keep me dry, and I'll see him out."

Genus Populus, L. (Aspen, Poplar)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge large-toothed, with the hollows rounded. Outline - wide egg-shape.…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, eleven to twenty-five); alternate; edge entire. Outline - oval or egg-shape. Apex, rounded. Base - rounded. Stem - of leaf, smooth, and covering the leaf-bud of the next year. Leaflets - very smooth, thin, often slightly tipped with the end of the mid-rib. Bark - of trunk, dark, rough, and very deeply ridged. The smaller branches and young trunks are armed with strong, triangular prickles, but these disappear when the parts are three to four inches thick. Flowers - showy and abundant; in long, loose clusters drooping from the sides of the branchlets; white; and very fragrant. May, June. Fruit - a smooth and rather blunt pod, two to three inches long, one and a half inches wide, four- to six-seeded. Seeds, dark brown. September. Found - Native in the Alleghany Mountains from Pennsylvania (Monroe County - Porter) to Georgia; but now very generally naturalized throughout the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. General Information - A tree usually forty to fifty feet high, sometimes ninety feet, and of rapid growth. Its wood is exceedingly hard and strong, and remarkable durable when in contact with the ground. It is used largely for posts, in ship-building, and in turnery, and it is preferred to all other native wood for tree nails. It is one of the most valuable trees of this or of any country. But is cultivation as a timber tree, which at one time was very general, has nearly ceased in the United State on account of the constant damage done by the grub of the Painted Clytus (Clytus pictus). This troublesome borer not only injures the new growth, but also pierces and detaches large branches, leaving the tree ragged and stunted.

Genus Robinia, L. (Locust)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, eleven to twenty-five); alternate; edge entire. Outline…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge toothed. Outline - very broad oval (approaching diamond shape). Apex - pointed. Base - pointed. Leaf/Stem - flattened sidewise. Leaf - usually about two inches long, width and length about the same. General Information - introduced about one hundred years ago from Italy, and now often found in old settlements. A tall and very slender tree, with crowded, perpendicular branches.

Genus Populus, L. (Aspen, Poplar)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge toothed. Outline - very broad oval (approaching diamond shape). Apex…

Leaves - simple; alernate (sic); edge usually obscurely toothed, but varying from quite sharp-toothed to almost entire and slightly wavy. Outline - oval or reverse egg-shape. Apex - sharp (or sometimes rather blunted). Base - narrowing to a point (or sometimes slightly rounded). Leaf - two to four inches long; soft, downy, and almost velvety beneath; smoothish above; ribs distinct. Bark - of trunk, dark colored; of the branches, usually yellow; twigs, reddish-brown, straight and tough, downy when young, becoming smooth. Found - along borders of woods, and on low grounds, from New England to Pennsylvania, far westward and northward. General Information - A tall tree (or sometimes a shrug), four to fifteen feet high. Salix from two Celtic words meaning "near" and "water."

Genus Salix, L. (Willow)

Leaves - simple; alernate (sic); edge usually obscurely toothed, but varying from quite sharp-toothed…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered, leaflets, seven to nine); alternate; edge slightly and rather roundly toothed. Outline - of leaflets, mostly long oval, the lower pairs becoming smaller and more egg-shaped. Apex - long-pointed. Base - of the end leaflet, wedge-shape; of the others, more or less blunted. Leaf/Stem - rough throughout. Buds - large and round and covered with downy, yellowish-brown scales, or, in winter, with hard and grayish-white scales. Leaflet/Stem - lacking (or scarcely noticeable), except the short, roughish stem of the end leaflet. Leaflets - two to seven inches long, rough beneath, especially on the ribs; fragrant when crushed. Bark - rough, becoming cracked across, but not scaly. Fruit - rounded, slightly egg-shaped or oval, one and one half to two inches or more in length. The husk is about one fourth of an inch thick and splits nearly to the base when ripe. Nut - slightly six-angled, light brown, with a very thick and hard shell. Kernel - is sweet, but small. October. Found - common in dry woods, especially southward and westward. It grows in Southern Canada and I all the Atlantic States. General Information - All the Hickories are picturesque trees. Their tendency, even when standing alone, is to grow high, and with heads that, instead of being round, are cylinder-shaped to the very top, with only enough breaks and irregularities to add to the effect. This tendency is more marked in the Hickories than in any other of the leaf-shedding trees of North America. They are worthy of the name sometimes given them of 'the artist's tree." Hicoria, from a Greek word meaning round, in allusion to the shape of the nut.

Genus Hicoria, Raf., Carya, Nutt. (Hickory)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered, leaflets, seven to nine); alternate; edge slightly and rather roundly…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, nine to fifteen); alternate (often alternate in threes); edge of leaflets finely and sharply toothed. Outline - of leaflet, long and narrow egg-shape. Apex, taper-pointed. Base - rounded and slightly pointed. Leaflet/Stem - lacking, or very short. Leaf - eight to twelve inches long. Leaflet - two to three and one half inches long; surfaces smooth. Bark - of the trunk, reddish-brown and rather smooth. Flowers - small and white, in large, flat clusters, over the surface of the tree - fifty to one hundred or more flowers in a cluster. May, June. Fruit - very ornamental, about the size of peas, scarlet, in large, flat clusters, ripening in autumn and remaining into the winter. Found - from Labrador and Newfoundland through the Northern States and southward along the Alleghany Mountains. Its finest growth is on the northern shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior. General Information - A slender, somewhat pyramid-shaped, tree, ten to thirty feet high, much and justly prized as one of the best of the native trees for ornamental planting. Its bark and the unripe fruit are very astringent, and are sometimes used medicinally. A slightly different species (P. sambucilolia) is sometimes found in cold swamps and on the borders of streams along the Northern frontier. The Mountain Ash or "Rowan Tree" has for a long time been renowned as a safeguard against witches and all evil spirits. A mere twig of it suffices. "Rowen-tree and red thread Put the witches to their speed." "The spells were vain, the hag returned To the queen in sorrowful mood, Crying that witches have no power Where there is row'n-tree wood."

Genus Pyrus, L. (Mountain Ash)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, nine to fifteen); alternate (often alternate in threes);…

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 sharply and unequally double-toothed. Outline - egg-shaped. Apex - pointed. Base - rounded, slightly heart-shaped, or, rarely, wedge-shaped. Leaf/Stem - downy. Leaf - two to three inches long; dark green and smooth above; beneath, dull, and with the ribs somewhat hairy, especially in their angles. Bark - of trunk very tough and durable; thick; snow-white on the outside; easily removed from the wood, and then itself very separable into paper-like sheets. The inner sheets are of a reddish tinge. Found - in the mountains of Northern Pennsylvania, New England, and far northward, farther than any other non-evergreen tree of America, excepting the aspen.    General Information - A tree, forty to seventy feet high. The wood is light, hard, and very close-grained, but decays rapidly when exposed - more rapidly than the bark, which often remains as a shell long after the wood within has disappeared. It is very largely used in making spools, pegs, shoe-lasts, in turnery, for wood-pulp, and for fuel. The waterproof bark is much used by Indians and trappers for their canoes. "Give me of your bark, O Birch-Tree! Of your yellow bark, O Birch-Tree! Growing by the rushing river, Tall and stately in the valley! I a light canoe will build me, That shall float upon the river, Like a yellow leaf in autumn, Like a yellow water-lily. 'Lay aside your cloak, O Birch-Tree! Lay aside your white-skin wrapper, For the summer time is coming, And the sun is warm in the heaven, And you need no white-skin wrapper!'" Hiawatha

Genus Betula, L. (Birch)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharply and unequally double-toothed. Outline - egg-shaped. Apex -…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge irregularly sharp-toothed, or, at times unequally and very variously two- to three-lobed. Outline - very nearly that of the Red Mulberry broad egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed (when there are side lobes their ends also pointed). Base - rounded or slightly pointed, rarely, in the small leaves, slightly heart-shaped. Leaf/Stem - rough. Leaf - usually about five inches long, sometimes nine inches; thick, rough above, very velvety-rough. The main ribs are very distinct, and are thickly netted with smaller ones. Bark - light and smoothish. Flowers - in long aments and balls. Fruit - not edible. General Information - An introduced tree, common around houses or escaped from cultivation. A low-branching, large-headed shade tree of medium size, introduced from Japan. In Japan and China the bark of the Paper Mulberry is made into paper, whence the name.

Genus Broussonetia, L'Her.

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge irregularly sharp-toothed, or, at times unequally and very variously…

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 - compound (odd-feathered; leaflet, five to nine, usually seven) ; alternate, edge of leaflets sharp-toothed. Outline - of leaflets, usually long oval. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - of end leaflet, wedge-shaped, of the others more or less rounded or slightly pointed. Leaf/Stem - smooth. Leaf/Buds - egg-shape and pointed or rounded, and with their outer scales a polished-brown. Leaflet/Stems - lacking, except the smooth, very short stem of the end leaflet. Leaflets - mostly two to five inches long (the lower ones much the smallest), smooth above and below. Bark - not shaggy. Fruit - of two forms: (a) pear-shape, (b) rounded. Husks - very thin, splitting about half-way to the base. Nut - about one inch in diameter; in (b) somewhat flattened at the sides and slightly hollowed above, and with the apex a sharp point. Shell - rather thin, smooth, hard, and bluish-gray. Meat - small and sweetish or slightly bitter. Found - from Southern Maine westward and southward. General information - All the Hickories are picturesque trees. Their tendency, even when standing alone, is to grow high, and with heads that, instead of being round, are cylinder-shaped to the very top, with only enough breaks and irregularities to add to the effect. This tendency is more marked in the Hickories than in any other of the leaf-shedding trees of North America. They are worthy of the name sometimes given them of 'the artist's tree." Hicoria, from a Greek word meaning round, in allusion to the shape of the nut.

Genus Hicoria, Raf., Carya, Nutt. (Hickory)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflet, five to nine, usually seven) ; alternate, edge of leaflets…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge lobed (edges of the lobes mostly entire, but notched and toothed towards the ends). Outline - narrow oval or broad oval. Base - from long wedge-shape to squared. Ends of lobes and of the teeth pointed and bristle-tipped. Leaf - three to five inches long; both sides bright green, smooth, and shining; downy in the angles of the ribs below. Lobes - seven to nine, usually seven, with the hollows between them broad and round and usually reaching about three fourths of the way or more to the middle rib. The wide type of leaf closely resembles the leaves of the scarlet oak, but it is smaller and usually the hollows reach nearer to the middle rib. Bark - smoothish (comparatively), inner bark reddish. Acorns - numerous, small, on short stems. Cup - top-shaped, shallow, and nearly smooth. Nut - rounded, one half inch long or less, sometimes broader than long, light brown. October. Found - from the valley of the Connecticut to Central New York, southward to Delaware and the District of Columbia; in Southern Wisconsin and southward; usually along streams and on low, wet land. Most common and reaching its finest growth west of the Alleghany Mountains. General Information - A handsome tree forty to sixty feet high, usually with a pointed top and with light and delicate foliage. The wood is rather coarse and not durable. It takes its name of Pin Oak from the peg-like look of the dead twigs and short branches with which the lower parts of the tree are usually set. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge lobed (edges of the lobes mostly entire, but notched and toothed towards…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge lobed (edge of the lobes entire, or sometimes hollowed more or less deeply at the ends.) Outline - usually broad, reverse egg-shape or oval. Apex - of lobes, rounded. Base - wedge shape or round. Leaf - four to six inches long; rough above and below; thick and coarse. The lobes, five to seven and exceedingly variable in size and shape, radiating almost at right angles from the middle rib; sometimes broad and squared, sometimes much narrowed toward their base, with the spreading ends themselves lobed or hollowed; often irregularly and unequally placed. Bark - of the trunk, resembling that of the white oak, but rather darker. Inner bark white. Acorns - two to three together on a short stem (bout one fourth inch), or single and nearly stemless. Cup - round saucer-shape, rather thin, with very small scales, not warty. Nut - about one half inch long; egg-shape or oval; more than one third covered by the cup; shining blackish-brown, and often slightly striped; very sweet. Found - from the coast of Massachusetts southward and westward. General Information - A tree twenty to fifty feet high, of value, especially in the Southwestern States, where it is very common. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge lobed (edge of the lobes entire, or sometimes hollowed more or less…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge unequally double-toothed, entire at base. Outline - egg-shape, often approaching diamond-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - somewhat pointed, often rather blunt wedge-shaped. Leaf/Stem - short (about one half to three fourths of an inch) and downy. Leaf - about three inches long by two inches wide, or often less; whitish and (until old) downy beneath; dotted; in autumn turning to a bright yellow. Bark - of the trunk reddish-brown. As the tree grows the bark becomes torn and loose, hanging in thin shreds of varying shades. The young twigs are downy.  Found - on low grounds, especially along river banks, from Massachusetts westward and southward. It becomes common only in the lower part of New Jersey. Its finest growth is in the South. It is the only birch which grows in a warm climate. General Information - A tree usually thirty to fifty feet high, with the branches long and slender, arched and heavily drooping. Often the branches cover the trunk nearly to the ground. "Birch brooms" are made from the twigs.

Genus Betula, L. (Birch)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge unequally double-toothed, entire at base. Outline - egg-shape, often…

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 coarsely and somewhat irregularly toothed; or, at times, unequally and very variously two- to three-lobed. Outline - egg shape. Apex - long pointed (when there are side lobes their ends may be rounded). Base - heart-shaped, and more or less one-sided. Leaf - three to seven inches long, rather thin, rough above and downy below, sometimes becoming very smooth. The ribs are very distinct, and whitish below. Bark - grayish, and much broken. Berries - about the size and shape of small blackberries. When ripe they are very dark purple (nearly black), juicy, and sweet. July. Found - from Western New England, westward and southward. General Information - A tree fifteen to twenty-five feet high; in the Middle and Eastern States much larger. It is most common and reaches its finest growth along the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Its wood is valuable, light, and soft, but very durable in contact with the ground. The White Mulberry (M. alba) is sometimes found around old houses and in fields. It was introduced from China, and was formerly cultivated as food for silk-worms. Its leaves resemble those of the Red Mulberry in shape, but are smooth and shining.

Genus Morus, L. (Mulberry)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge coarsely and somewhat irregularly toothed; or, at times, unequally…

Leaves simple; alternate; edge lobed (edges of the lobes mostly entire, but slightly toothed toward the ends). Outline - about oval.  Base - short wedge-shape, or rounded. Ends of the lobes and of their one to three slight teeth, pointed and bristle-tipped. Leaf - six to nine inches long, three to five inches wide; both surfaces smooth. Lobes, nine to thirteen, usually very tapering from the base, with the hollows between them rounded and narrow and extending about half way to the middle rib. Bark - of trunk, dark, greenish-gray, and continuing smooth longer than on any other oak, never becoming as rough, for example, as that of the black oak. Acorns - large and stemless, or nearly so. Cup - flat saucer-shape, bulging, very shallow, nearly smooth, with small scales. Nut - about one inch long, somewhat egg-shape; bitter. October. Found - from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick westward and southward. Very common, especially at the North, and extending farther north than any other Atlantic oak. General Information - A tree fifty to eight feet high, with wood that at the East is porous and not durable (though often of better quality westward). It is used for clapboards and in cooperage. The leaves change in the fall to dark red. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves simple; alternate; edge lobed (edges of the lobes mostly entire, but slightly toothed toward…

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 deeply lobed (edges of lobes mostly entire, but notched and toothed towards the ends). Outline - broadly oval or broadly reverse egg-shape. Base - very short wedge-shape or squared. Ends of the lobes and of the teeth pointed and bristle-tipped. Leaf - four to eight inches long, bright green above, slightly lighter below; both surfaces smooth and shining. Lobes - five to nine, usually seven with the hollows rounded and very broad, and reaching about two thirds of the way to the middle rib. Most of the lobes widen and are deeply notched toward their end. Bark - of trunk, thick and rough, usually not quite as dark or as straight-furrowed as that of the Black Oak. The inner bark reddish. Acorns - variable. Cup - very thick, top-shaped, with large somewhat triangular egg-shaped, scales. Nut - one half to three fourths of an inch long; rounded or rounded egg-shape, about one third covered by the cup; kernel bitter and whitish. October. Found - from Southern Maine southward and westward; most common in the Middle and Southern States. General Information - A tree fifth to ninety feet high, with wood of less value than some of the other oaks. In the fall the leaves turn to a bright scarlet, or orange0scarlet, or crimson and red. They often cling throughout the winter. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge deeply lobed (edges of lobes mostly entire, but notched and toothed…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge very finely sharp-toothed. Outline - long and narrow, often "scythe-shaped." Apex - long, taper-pointed. Base - gradually narrowing and pointed or slightly rounded. Leaf/Stem - short. Stipules - (two small, leaf-like appendages at the base of the leaf-stem), not falling off when young, as in most of the willows; moon-shaped, finely toothed, wider than long. Leaf - four to eight inches long; green and smooth above and below (silky-downy when young). Found - on low ground from New England to the Middle States and westward. General Information - A small tree (or sometimes a shrub). The persistent stipules and the length of the leaf furnish ready signs for distinguishing it from S. nigra. Salix from two Celtic words meaning "near" and "water."

Genus Salix, L. (Willow)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge very finely sharp-toothed. Outline - long and narrow, often "scythe-shaped."…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge very sharply and finely toothed. Outline - long oval, long egg-shape, or reverse egg-shape. Apex - sometimes bristle-pointed. Base - slightly heart-shaped or rounded. Leaf - usually two to three inches long, somewhat downy when young, afterward very smooth above and below. Bark - of branches and twigs usually purplish-brown and very smooth. Flowers - large, white, in long and loose clusters at the ends of the branchlets; appearing before the leaves. April, May. Fruit - berry-like, round, purplish, sweet, and edible. June. Found - in woods and along streams; common at the North; rare in the South. General Information - A small tree, ten to thirty feet high, or in some of its numerous forms reduced to a low shrub; noticeable and showy in early spring because of its flowers. The variety A. C. oblongifolia, T. and G., differs somewhat from the above in the dimensions of the flowers and flower clusters, etc. The name "shad-bush" is given because the trees blossom about the time that the shad "run".

Genus Amelanchier, Medik (June-berry)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge very sharply and finely toothed. Outline - long oval, long egg-shape,…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, five); alternate; edge of leaflets sharp-toothed. Outline - of leaflet, long oval, reverse egg-shape or egg-shape, the lower pair differing in shape from the others, and much smaller. Apex - long-pointed. Base - of the end leaflet, wedge-shape; of the others, more or less blunted. Leaf/Stem - rough throughout. Buds - large and scaly, often of a green and brown color. Leaflet/Stems - lacking (or scarcely noticeable), excepting the roughish stem of the end leaflet. Leaflets - four to eight inches long; roughish below. Bark - dark and very rough in the older trunks, peeling up and down in long, shaggy strips. Often the strips cling at their middle and are loose at each end. Fruit - round, nearly one and a half to two inches in diameter; the husk, thick (nearly half an inch), depressed at the center, grooved at the seams, and wholly separating into four inches at maturity; the nut, about one inch long, often the same in breadth, slightly flattened at the sides, angular, nearly pointless, whitish, with a rather this shell, and a large finely flavored kernel. October. Found - from the valley of the St. Lawrence River to Southeastern Minnesota, and southward to Western Florida. Its finest growth is west of the Alleghany Mountains.General Information - A tree, fifty to eighty feet high, of great value. Its tough and elastic wood is used in making agricultural implements, carriages, axe-handles, etc. It ranks also among the best of woods for fuel. Most of the "hickory nuts" of the markets are from this species. All the Hickories are picturesque trees. Their tendency, even when standing alone, is to grow high, and with heads that, instead of being round, are cylinder-shaped to the very top, with only enough breaks and irregularities to add to the effect. This tendency is more marked in the Hickories than in any other of the leaf-shedding trees of North America. They are worthy of the name sometimes given them of 'the artist's tree." Hicoria, from a Greek word meaning round, in allusion to the shape of the nut.

Genus Hicoria, Raf., Carya, Nutt. (Hickory)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, five); alternate; edge of leaflets sharp-toothed. Outline…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge entire. Outline - long and narrow. Apex - pointed and bristle-tipped. Base - pointed. Leaf - three to six inches long; one to two inches wide; smooth and shining above; somewhat downy beneath; thick and stiff. Bark - smooth and unbroken. Acorns - small, nearly stemless. Cup - shallow. Nuts - rounded; about one half inch in diameter; bitter. October. Found - in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania (Porter), westward to Southeastern Iowa, and southward. Most common west of the Alleghany Mountains.  General Information - A tree thirty to fifty feet high, with poor wood, that is used at the West for shingles and clapboards.  Note: Of the nine hybrids that have been recognized, most are outside of our limits or entirely local. Mention need be made only of tow: Q. heterophylla, Michaux ("Bartram's Oak"). Staten Island and New Jersey to Delaware and North Carolina; Q. Rudkini, Britt., New Jersey. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.   The Oak "Live thy Life, Young and old, Like yon oak, Bright in spring, Living gold; Summer-rich, Then; and then Autumn-changed, Sober-hued Gold again. All his leaves fall'n at length, Look, he stands, Trunk and bough, Naked strength.: Alfred (Lord) Tennyson, 1889.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge entire. Outline - long and narrow. Apex - pointed and bristle-tipped.…

Leaves - Simple; alternate; edge very finely and sharply toothed. Outline - long egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - rounded or slightly pointed. Leaf/Stem - about one fourth to one half inch long. Leaf/Buds - yellowish and smooth. Leaf - about three to five or six inches long, one inch or more wide; dark above, smooth and shining above and below. Middle ribs usually whitish, and distinct above. Found - from New England southward to Chester County, Pennsylvania, west and north. Rather common, usually on wet grounds. General Information - A small tree (or often a shrub) twelve to twenty-five feet high. Salix from two Celtic words meaning "near" and "water."

Genus Salix, L. (Willow)

Leaves - Simple; alternate; edge very finely and sharply toothed. Outline - long egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed.…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge usually lobed (the lobes toothed). Outline - broad egg-shape. Apex - of the lobes, blunt-pointed. Base - usually slightly heart-shaped. Leaf/Stem - downy and nearly round. Leaf - usually about two and a half inches long; when mature, smooth and dark green above, below downy and almost snow-white. In the young leaves both surfaces and the leaf-stem are snowy-white and downy. General Information - A native of Europe; now widely introduced. A very ornamental tree, but troublesome in cultivation, and now out of favor because of the abundance of suckers that spring from its roots.

Genus Populus, L. (Aspen, Poplar)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge usually lobed (the lobes toothed). Outline - broad egg-shape. Apex…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharply and doubly toothed. Outline - oval or long egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - slightly heart-shaped or rounded. Leaf/Stem - about one eighth inch long, stout and rough. Buds - hairy. Leaf - four to seven inches long, three to four inches wide. The upper surface is rough both ways, and very rough downwards, almost like a fine file. The under surface is slightly rough. Ribs - beneath are prominent and straight, and hairy in their angles. Bark - of the larger branches, brownish; branchlets, light-gray and very rough, becoming grayish-purple. The inner bark is very gummy and "slippery." Seeds - flat, round, winged, but not fringed. Last of May. Found - along the lower St. Lawrence to Ontario, and from Western New England westward and southward; in woods and along streams. General Information - A tree thirty to forty feet high. Its wood is hard and strong, but splits easily when dry. Though otherwise inferior, for posts it is superior to white elm. Its inner bark is sold by druggists as "slippery elm," and is nutritious and medicinal. Its name of red elm is due to the reddish-brown tinge of its large rounded and hairy buds in the spring.

Genus Ulmus, L. (Elm)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharply and doubly toothed. Outline - oval or long egg-shape. Apex…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, five to seven, oftenest five); alternate; edge of leaflets sharp-toothed. Outline - of leaflets, mostly long oval. Apex - pointed. Base - pointed. Leaf/Stem - smooth. Leaflet/Stems - lacking (or scarcely noticeable), excepting the short stem of the end leaflet. Leaflets - mostly four to eight inches long, remarkable smooth, excepting that the under surface is tufted in the angles of the ribs and usually dotted with dark glandular spots. Bark - rough and close. Fruit - broad egg-shape. Husk - thin, splitting part way to the base. Nut - small (three fourths of an inch in diameter), not angled, not sharp-pointed, and with a thin shell.Found - on moist ground, New York to Delaware, west to Michigan and Illinois, rarely, if ever, in New England. General Information - All the Hickories are picturesque trees. Their tendency, even when standing alone, is to grow high, and with heads that, instead of being round, are cylinder-shaped to the very top, with only enough breaks and irregularities to add to the effect. This tendency is more marked in the Hickories than in any other of the leaf-shedding trees of North America. They are worthy of the name sometimes given them of 'the artist's tree." Hicoria, from a Greek word meaning round, in allusion to the shape of the nut.

Genus Hicoria, Raf., Carya, Nutt. (Hickory)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, five to seven, oftenest five); alternate; edge of leaflets…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge toothed. Outline - oval. Apex - pointed. Base - rounded or slightly pointed. Leaf - four to six inches long, one and a half to two and a half inches wide, soon becoming smooth, with a decided acid taste (whence the name). Bark - of trunk, rough and deeply furrowed. Flowers - white, in loose and long one-sided clusters. Found - from Pennsylvania and Ohio southward, chiefly along the Alleghany Mountains, and usually in dry, gravelly soil. General Information - A tree forty to sixty feet high, with hard, close-grained wood, which is used for the handles of tools, the bearings of machinery, etc. Name from two Greek words meaning sour and tree.

Genus oxydendrum, D. C. (Sorrel Tree)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge toothed. Outline - oval. Apex - pointed. Base - rounded or slightly…