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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 - simple, opposite; finely and sharply toothed. Outline - broadly oval, or broadly reverse egg-shape. Apex - rounded, sometimes pointed. Base - rounded, sometimes slightly pointed. Quite variable. Leaf/Stem - short and smooth, the edges slightly winged, the wings straight. Leaf - about one and a half to two inches long; smooth; shining above. Flowers - white, in rather large and flat, stemless bunches, at the ends of branches. May. Berries - oval, blackish, sweet and edible. Found - in Connecticut and Southern New York to Michigan and southward. General Information - A small tree fifteen to twenty feet high, or oftenest at the North a low, much-branching shrub. Usually with some of its branches stunted and bare. The tonic bark is sometimes used medicinally.

Genus Viburnum, L. (Haw and Viburnum)

Leaves - simple, opposite; finely and sharply toothed. Outline - broadly oval, or broadly reverse egg-shape.…

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 - 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; 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 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 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 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 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 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 - 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 - 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…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge finely and sharply double-toothed. Outline - egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - heart-shaped. Leaf/Stem - short and downy. Leaf - two to four inches long; about one half as wide; silky-hairy when young, but becoming smooth, except on the ribs beneath. Bark - of trunk, a dark chestnut-brown; smoothish when young, but becoming rough in old trees. The smaller branches are smooth and dotted with white spots. In its leaves and the color of the twigs it somewhat resembles the garden cherry. The foliage and bark are very aromatic and sweet-tasting. Found - from Newfoundland to Northern Delaware, westward, and southward along the mountains. It is very common in the northern forest. General Information - A tree thirty to sixty feet high, with many slender branches. The wood is hard, fine-grained, and of a reddish tint. It is largely used for cabinet-work (sometimes in place of a more valuable Black Cherry) and for fuel.

Genus Betula, L. (Birch)

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

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge closely and sharply toothed. Outline - egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - round. Quite variable. Leaf/Stem - winged on both sides with a wavy border; when young, sprinkled with brownish glands. Leaf - about three to four inches long, and half as wide or more; smooth. Flowers - white, in flat, stemless clusters. May, June. Fruit - one half inch long; oval; sweetish; red, becoming almost black when ripe; edible. Found - from Hudson's Bay through the Northern States, southward to Georgia. Common in swamps and rich, moist soil. General Information - A tree fifteen to twenty feet high, with hard, ill-smelling wood.

Genus Viburnum, L. (Haw and Viburnum)

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge closely and sharply toothed. Outline - egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed. Outline - narrow lance-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - pointed. Leaf - about five inches long by three fourths of an inch wide; somewhat silky, or smooth. Branches and branchlets - very long, curved, and drooping nearly to the ground. Introduced - from Europe, now common, and much used in ornamental cultivation. General Information - A tree thirty to forty feet high. The Latin name (babylonica) was suggested by the lament of the Hebrews, in the 137th Psalm. "By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down: Yea we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof." Salix from two Celtic words meaning "near" and "water."

Genus Salix, L. (Willow)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed. Outline - narrow lance-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 - five to eight inches long; deep green and shining above, beneath velvety and silvery white with purplish ribs. 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 the mountains of Pennsylvania to Georgia 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 (often alternate in pairs); edge unequally sharp-toothed, with the base entire. Outline - triangular. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - variable, more or less squared, sometimes slightly hollowed, rounded or pointed. Leaf/Stem - long and slender, about three quarters of an inch or more in length. Leaf - one and three quarters to three inches long. Smooth and shining on both sides. Bark - The outer bark of the mature trunk is chalky-white and thin, but not, like the bark of the Paper-birch, easily separable into layers. Usually it is marked with blackish dots and lines. Often the branchlets and twigs are blackish, and in very young trees the bark may be light reddish-brown, and marked with white dots. Found - on poor soil, from Delaware and Pennsylvania northward (mostly toward the coast), and in ornamental cultivation. It springs up abundantly over burned and abandoned lands. General Information - A slender, short-lived tree, twenty to thirty feet high, with white, soft wood, not durable; used largely in making spools, shoe pegs, etc., and for fuel. A still more graceful cultivated species is the European Weeping Birch (B. pendula). Its branches are very drooping, with more slender leaves, and a spray that is exceedingly light and delicate, especially in early spring.

Genus Betula, L. (Birch)

Leaves - simple; alternate (often alternate in pairs); edge unequally sharp-toothed, with the base entire.…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharply and often doubly toothed. Outline - oval or egg-shaped, or inversely egg-shaped; always one-sided. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - rounded, or slightly heart-shaped, rarely pointed. Leaf/Stem - about one quarter inch long. Buds - smooth. Leaf - usually two to five inches long, and one and a half to two and a half wide; somewhat downy when young, afterward roughish below; above, either rough in one direction, or (especially if taken from the ends of the long branches) smooth and shining. Ribs - prominent and straight. Bark - of the branches not marked with "corky ridges"; branchlets, smooth. Seeds - flat egg-shaped or oval, winged and fringed all around. Last of May. Found - northward to Southern Newfoundland; southward to Florida; westward to the Black Hills of Dakota. Toward the western and southwestern limits it is found only in the river-bottom lands. General Information - One of the very noblest of American trees, eighty feet or more in height, and of strong and graceful proportions. The trunk divides at a slight angle into two or three arching limbs, and these again into many smaller curving and drooping branches. The trunk and the larger branches are often heavily fringed with short and leafy boughs. The tree is widely cultivated. Streets planted with it become columned and arched like the aisles of a Gothic cathedral. The wood is hard, and very tough from the interlacing of its fibers. It is used in making saddle-trees and for wheel-hubs, and is now largely exported to England to be used in boat- and ship-building. One day I found four men in a stone quarry, working with iron bars and rollers over a heavy flat slab. They were moving the stone slowly up a narrow plant into their cart. "John, " I said, "I would not think that board could hold a stone of such weight two minutes. Is it hickory?" "No sir, " said John, " that's an elm plank; it can't break." It did not break. It was one of the woods which the Deacon used in building his famous "one-hoss shay": So the deacon inquired of the village folk Where he could find the strongest oak, That count n't be split nor bent nor broke, - That was for spokes and floor and sills; He sent for lancewood to make the thills; The cross-bars were ash, from the straightest trees; The panels of whitewood, that cuts like cheese, But lasts like iron for thing like these; The hubs of logs from the Settler's Ellum; - Last of its timber, - they could n't sell 'em, Never an axe had seen their chips, And the wedges flew from between their lips, Their blunt ends frizzled like celery-tips;" --Oliver Wendell Holmes

Genus Ulmus, L. (Elm)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharply and often doubly toothed. Outline - oval or egg-shaped, or…

Leaves - simple; alternate (and in alternate bunches); edge unevenly sharp-toothed (with five to nine deep cuts almost forming small lobes). Outline - rounded egg-shape Apex - pointed Base - usually slightly pointed, but often blunt or slightly heart-shape. Leaf/Stem - slender and often with small wart-like glands. Leaf - usually one and a half to two and a half inches long, but of variable size on the same tree; thin; smooth; shining. Branchlets - greenish, or whitish and shining, as though washed with silver. Thorns - one to two inches long, stout, often whitish, usually slightly curved. Flowers - about two thirds of an inch across; white (often with a rosy tinge); twelve or so in a bunch; with a strong and rather disagreeable odor. May. Fruit - nearly one half inch in diameter; rounded or egg-shape; bright red; with thin pulp and one to five stones; somewhat edible. September Found - through the Atlantic forests southward to Northern Florida and Eastern Texas. General Information - A low tree (or often a bush), ten to twenty feet high, with crooked, spreading branches; very common at the North; rare in the South. From a Greek word meaning strength.

Genus Crataegus, L. (Thorn)

Leaves - simple; alternate (and in alternate bunches); edge unevenly sharp-toothed (with five to nine…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed, with the teeth somewhat thickened. Outline - narrow lance-shape. Apex - tapered-pointed. Base - pointed. Leaf - about five inches long, three quarters of an inch wide; surface with white silky hairs beneath, and often above; branches not yellow, and very brittle at the base.

Genus Salix, L. (Willow)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed, with the teeth somewhat thickened. Outline - narrow…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge toothed (with the points of the teeth so incurved as to appear blunt), and often finely "crinkled." Outline - usually long oval or long egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - rounded or slightly pointed. Leaf/Stem - usually with two to five tooth-like glands near the base of the leaf. Leaf - two to five inches long; thickish; polished, and of a deep shining green above; beneath, lighter and smooth, with the middle rib sometimes downy toward the base. In the autumn the leaves turn to orange and later to pale yellow. Bark - of old trunks, blackish and rough; of young trunks and on the larger branches, reddish or purplish brown; marked with scattered lines; on young shoots, at first green or olive brown, gradually becoming darker, and sprinkled (sic) with small orange dots. Flowers - white, with short stems, closely set in a long, cylinder-shaped cluster. May, June. Fruit - about one and a quarter inches in diameter; with short stems (one and a quarter to one and a third inches ) hanging in long, close clusters from the ends of the twigs. It is nearly black when ripe, and of a pleasant flavor though somewhat bitter; it is eagerly eaten by birds. August. Found - very widely distributed north, south, and west. It reaches its finest growth on the western slopes of the Alleghany Mountains. General Information - A tree fifty to eighty feet high. The wood is light and hard, of a brown or reddish tinge, becoming darker with exposure, and of very great value in cabinet work and interior finish. It is now becoming scarce, so that stained birch is often used as a substitute. The bitter aromatic bark is used as a valuable tonic; "cherry brandy" is made from the fruit.

Genus Prunus L. (Cherry, Plum)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge toothed (with the points of the teeth so incurved as to appear blunt),…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed. Outline - long oval to reverse egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - pointed or rounded. Leaf/Stem - one fourth to one half inch long, smooth, reddish, usually with two small wart-like glands on the raised border near the base of the leaf. Leaf - two to three inches long; smooth when mature; "net-veined," with distinct furrows over the ribs; somewhat downy on the ribs and in their angles. Bark - of trunk very dark reddish-green or bronze-green, resembling that of a cherry-tree. Fruit - one half to two thirds inch in diameter; broad oval; yellow, orange, or red; with a thick and acid skin and a pleasant flavor. August. Stone - slightly flattened, and with both edges winged and sharp. Found - from Canada southward to Florida and westward, and often in cultivation. General Information - A small tree (sometimes a bush), eight to twenty feet high, with hard, reddish wood. In cultivation it forms an excellent stock on which to graft the domestic plums.

Genus Prunus L. (Cherry, Plum)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed. Outline - long oval to reverse egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed.…

Leaves - simple; alternate, or alternate in pairs; edge finely and sharply toothed. Outline - narrow egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - rounded or slightly pointed. Leaf/Stem - grooved above. Leaf - two to six inches long, shining and smooth and of about the same shade of green on both sides. Bark - reddish-brown and smooth, with swollen, rusty-colored dots, and usually stripping, like that of the garden cherry, around the trunk. Flowers - white, on stems about one inch or more in length, in nearly stemless clusters. May. Fruit - the size of a large pea, light red, on long stems (about three fourths to one inch long), sour, in clusters of two to five at the sides of the branches, and usually from the base of the leaf-stems; seldom abundant. July. Found - Common in all northern forests. In Northern New England it quickly occupies burned-out pine regions. General Information - A slender tree, usually twenty to twenty-five feet high, of no value as timber.

Genus Prunus L. (Cherry, Plum)

Leaves - simple; alternate, or alternate in pairs; edge finely and sharply toothed. Outline - narrow…

Leaves - simple; alternate (often alternate in pairs); edge very sharply, unequally, and rather coarsely toothed. Outline - egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - narrowed and heart-shaped. Leaf/Stem - short and downy. Leaf - about four by two and one fourth inches, or often smaller, thin' downy when young, becoming smooth. Ribs - straight. Bark - outer bark of trunk thin and a silvery yellow, and separating into narrow ribbons curling outwards at the ends. The twigs and the bark are sweet-tasting and aromatic, but less so than in the "Sweet Birch." Found - in moist woods, along the Alleghany Mountains, in Delaware and Southern Minnesota, and northward into Canada. General Information - A tree forth to eight feet or often more in height; one of the largest and most valuable non-evergreen trees of New England and Canada. Its hard, close-grained wood is largely used for fuel, in making furniture, button-moulds, wheel-hubs, pill-boxes, etc.

Genus Betula, L. (Birch)

Leaves - simple; alternate (often alternate in pairs); edge very sharply, unequally, and rather coarsely…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed, with the teeth somewhat thickened. Outline - narrow lance-shape. Apex - taper-pointed; in the young leaves often broad and rounded. Base - pointed. Leaf - small (two to three and a half inches long; about one half to five eighths of an inch wide); surface with white, silky hairs beneath and often above, especially in the young leaves. Branches - brittle at the base, smooth and shining and yellow. Blossoms - in May. Introduced - from Europe, but now found throughout the United States. Common around houses and in low grounds. General Information - Introduced from Europe, but now common around houses and in low grounds. A very large and familiar tree (fifty to eighty feet high), one of the largest of the Willows; low-branching; thick-set, of tough and rapid growth. A stake set in the ground grows readily. The silvery look of the tree (especially in a strong wind) is due to the gloss of its downy leaves. Salix from two Celtic words meaning "near" and "water." The Blue Willow (var. caerulea S.) is naturalized in Massachusetts.

Genus Salix, L. (Willow)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge sharp-toothed, with the teeth somewhat thickened. Outline - narrow…