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; indeterminate in position because of their smallness and closeness. They are scale-like, somewhat egg-shape, overlapping each other, and closely pressed in four rows up and down the very flat branchlets. Each leaf has at its centre a raised gland, easily distinguished if held between the eye and the light. Bark - fibrous. The "spray" (formed from the flat branchlets) is itself flat and of rather a bright green. Cones - about five twelfths of an inch in length, long oval or reverse egg-shape, nodding, yellowish-brown as they ripen, dry and opening to the base when ripe. Scales - pointless, oval or egg-shape, smooth (i. e., not pointed on the edge or near the centre.) Seeds - one to two under each scale, long and narrow (like a small caraway seed); broadly winged all around, with the wing notched at one end. Found - along the Alleghany Mountains from the high peaks of North Carolina to Northern Pennsylvania and Central New York, northward into Southern Canada and westward; along rocky banks of streams and in swamps; very common at the North, where it often occupies large areas of swamp land. It is very widely cultivated, especially in hedges. General Information - A tapering evergreen tree, twenty to fifty feet high, with close, dense branches, and a light and durable wood.

Genus Thuya, L. (Arbor Vitae)

Leaves - simple; indeterminate in position because of their smallness and closeness. They are scale-like,…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, three, sometimes five, rarely seven); opposite; edge of leaflet remotely and unequally coarse-toothed. Outline - of leaflets, egg-shape or oval. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - variable and often uneven. Leaflets - slightly rough; the ribs very marked. Bark - of young trunks, smoothish and yellowish-green; twigs, light green. Flowers - small and greenish, in delicate, drooping clusters from the sides of the branches. Fruit - large, yellowish-green, smooth, in long, loose, late-hanging clusters. Found - North, South, and West. One of the most widely distributed of the North American trees, with its finest growth in the region of the Wabash and Cumberland rivers. General Information - A tree twenty to thirty feet high, with spreading branches. Its wood is light and of slight value.

Genus Negundo, Moench

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, three, sometimes five, rarely seven); opposite; edge of…

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; indeterminate in position because of their closeness; arranged singly up and down the branchlets, at first radiating about equally on every side, afterward flattened into two ranks, as in the Hemlock. Leaf - one half to one inch long, narrow; apex blunt or notched; edge entire; flat, with a grooved line above and a corresponding raised line below; bright green above; silvery white below. Bark - smooth and unbroken (especially when young), and usually covered with "blisters." Cones - two to four inches long, one inch broad, erect, at the sides of the branchlets; violet-colored. Scales - thin and flat, broad and rounded. The thin bracts between the scales are tipped with a slender bristle. The cone falls apart when ripe. Found - from the far North through the Northern States to Pennsylvania, and along the Alleghany Mountains to the high peaks of West Virginia. Common northward in damp forests. General Information - A slender, evergreen tree, twenty to sixty feet high; pyramid-shaped, with regular horizontal branches; its wood is very light and soft. From the "blisters," which form under the bark of the trunk and branches, the valuable Canada balsam is obtained. The tree is short-lived, and therefore of less value in cultivation.

Genus Abies, Link. (Fir)

Leaves - Simple; indeterminate in position because of their closeness; arranged singly up and down the…

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 - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, seven to eleven, usually nine); opposite; edge of leaflet toothed. Outline - of leaflet, narrow, long oval or long egg-shaped Apex - taper-pointed. Base - rounded. Leaf/Stem - lacking. Leaf/Bud - deep blue or blackish. Leaflet - three to five inches long, smooth and green on both sides, excepting where it is slightly hairy along the lower part of the middle rib. When crushed it has an Elder-like odor. Bark - of trunk, dark granite-gray, somewhat furrowed and broken up and down with roughness, which continue in the old tree. The young branches are smooth and grayish and marked with black and white dots and warts. Winged seeds - nearly one and one half inches long, with the wing three eighths of an inch wide and extending around the seed. Ripe in July. Found - along low river-banks and in swamps, which it sometimes fills; in Delaware, the mountains of Virginia, Northwestern Arkansas, through the Northern States to Canada. It is the most Northern of the American Ashes. General Information - Usually a small or medium-sized tree. The wood is largely used for barrel-hoops, baskets, in cabinet-work, and interior finish. Fraxinus from a Greek word meaning "separation," because of the ease with which the wood of the Ash can be split. I find in the notes of an old copy of White's "Natural History of Selborne" this comment: "The Ash, I think, has been termed by Gilpin the Venus of British trees." Gerardes' "Herbal" comments: "The leaves of the Ash are of so great a vertue against serpents, as that the serpents dare not be so bolde as to touch the morning and evening shadowes of the tree, but shunneth them afarre off, as Pliny reporteth in his 16 book, 13 chap. He also affirmeth that the serpent being penned in with boughes laide rounde about, will sooner run into the fire, if any be there, than come neere to the boughes of the Ash."In Scandinavian mythology the great and sacred tree, Yggdrasil, the greatest and most sacred of all trees, which binds together heaven and earth and hell, is an Ash. Its roots spread over the whole earth. Its branches reach above the heavens. Underneath lies a serpent; above is an eagle; a squirrel runs up and down the trunk, trying to breed strife between them.

Genus Fraxinus, L. (Ash)

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

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 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; opposite; edge lobed, with the lobes very sparingly and coarsely sharp-toothed or the lower pair entire. Outline - rounded, with three to five lobes, usually five, with the hollows between the lobes and between the coarse teeth rounded. Apex - of the lobes, pointed. Base - heart-shaped or nearly squared. Leaf - dark green above; slightly lighter beneath; smooth or somewhat downy on the ribs; when heart-shaped, sometimes with overlapping lobes. Seed-wings - set wide apart, but only slightly diverging.  Bark - blackish. Flowers - yellow-green and very abundant. April, May.  Fruit - greenish-yellow, smooth, drooping, on thread-like and hairy stems one to two inches long, with wings about one inch long, broad and slightly spreading. September. Found - chiefly along streams and in river bottoms, from Western Vermont to Missouri and Northern Alabama. General Information - A tree fifty to eight feet high or more; of very great value in many directions, - as a shade tree, for fuel, for interior finish and the making of furniture, for its ashes, which give large quantities of potash; especially for its sap, which yields the "maple sugar" of commerce. The yield of sugar by an average tree in one season from five to ten pounds.

Genus Acer, L. (Maple)

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge lobed, with the lobes very sparingly and coarsely sharp-toothed or the…

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; indeterminate in position because of their closeness; arranged singly and thickly all around the branchlets. Leaf - needle-shape, five twelfths to two thirds of an inch long, four-sided, mostly straight, stiff, and sharp; dark green. Cones - three fourths to one and one half inches long, drooping at the ends of the branchlets; broad oval; dark purple when young, becoming reddish-brown as they ripen. Scales - long reverse egg-shape, thin, with a wavy or toothed edge toward their apex. Found - along the Alleghany Mountains from the high peaks of North Carolina to Pennsylvania, through the Northern States, andGeneral Information - An evergreen tree thirty to sixty feet high, with straight, tapering trunk. The wood is light and straight-grained and is used for lumber, for the masts and spars of ships, in building, etc. From its twigs is prepared the "essence of spruce."

Genus Picea, Link. (Spruce)

Leaves - simple; indeterminate in position because of their closeness; arranged singly and thickly all…

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

Genus Catalpa, Scop., Walt. (Catalpa)

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

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

Dogwood Leaves

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

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

Flowering Dogwood

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

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

Genus Chionanthus, L. (Fringe Tree)

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

Leaves - simple; indeterminate in position because of their closeness, but arranged along the branches in two-leaved, sheathed bunches. Leaf - needle-shape, about one inch long, pointed, stiff, curved, rounded on the back, grooved above. Cones - nearly two inches long, gray, usually in pairs, and curved like small horns, with a peculiar habit of always pointing in the same direction as the branches. Scales - blunt, smooth, not armed with points or knobs. Found - along the northern frontier of the United States and far northward. Its best growth is north of Lake Superior. General Information - A small evergreen tree, or often a shrub, five to thirty feet high, with long, spreading branches, and light, soft wood that is of but slight value.

Genus Pinus, L. (Pine)

Leaves - simple; indeterminate in position because of their closeness, but arranged along the branches…

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; indeterminate, in position because of their closeness; arranged singly in two flat distinctly opposite ranks up and down the branchlets. Leaf - one half inch long, narrow; blunt sometimes minutely toothed toward the apex; flat; green above; silvery white beneath. Bark - reddish and scaly; when old, somewhat roughened by long, shallow furrows. Cones - very small (three fourths of an inch long); drooping; oval or egg-shape. Scales - few, thin, rounded and entire. The seed with the wing is about three fourths the length of the scale. The cone does not fall apart when ripe. Found - from Southern New Brunswick and the Valley of the St. Lawrence through the Northern States to Delaware, and along the Alleghany Mountains to Alabama. Common northward, often forming large forests. General Information - An evergreen tree, sixty to eighty feet high, irregular in outline, very graceful, especially when young, with light and delicate foliage and horizontal or drooping branches. The timber is very coarse; the bark much used for tanning, and with medicinal qualities.

Genus Tsuga, Carr. (Hemlock)

Leaves - simple; indeterminate, in position because of their closeness; arranged singly in two flat…

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 - simple; indeterminate in position because of their closeness, but arrange along the branches in two-leaved sheathed bunches. Leaf - needle-shape, one and three fourths to two and three fourths inches long, stiff, bluntish; on the outer side smooth and rounded; on the inner side flat, and rough downwards. Cones - one and three fourths to three inches long, usually single and pointing downward. Scales - tipped with a stiff, straight prickle. Bark - of the trunk, rough and blackish. Young branches smooth (in other pines scaly). Twigs - purplish. Found - from Long Island along the coast to South Carolina, and through eastern and Middle Kentucky to Southeastern Indiana; in sandy and generally barren soil. General Information - An evergreen tree fifteen to forty feet high, irregular in shape and with straggling, spreading, or drooping branches. The timber is very "pitchy," soft, and durable, but poor even for fuel. "Next to the Gray Pine, the Jersey Pine is the most uninteresting species of the United States." - Michaux, f.

Genus Pinus, L. (Pine)

Leaves - simple; indeterminate in position because of their closeness, but arrange along the branches…

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; indeterminate in position because of their closeness; arranged along the branches in many-leaved bunches without sheaths. Leaf - thread-like, one to two inches long, withering and falling in the autumn. Bark - smooth. Cones - about one half inch long; broad egg-shaped; green or violet when young, becoming purple and brownish as they ripen. Scales - thin, nearly round, their edges entire. Found - from Pennsylvania, Northern Indiana, and Northern Illinois through the Northern States and far northward. It grows usually in low, swampy land, where it often thickly covers large areas. General Information - A tree fifty to one hundred feet high (not evergreen), with a straight trunk and slender, horizontal branches. The wood is durable, hard, and very strong, and is largely used in ship-building, for posts, railroad ties, etc. The Indians and Canadians were accustomed to use the fibres of the Larch roots for sewing their bark canoes; and for tightening the seams, the gum of the Balsam Fir. Give me of your roots, O Tamarak! Of your fibrous roots, O Larch-Tree! My canoe to bind together, So to bind the ends together, That the water may not enter, That the river ma not wet me! Give me of your balm, O Fir-Tree! Of your balsam and your resin, So to close the seams together That the water may not enter, That the river may not wet me! And the Fir-Tree tall and sombre, Sobbed through all its robes of darkness, Answered wailing, answered weeping. 'Take my balm, O Hiawatha!'"

Genus Larix, Tourn. (Larch)

Leaves - simple; indeterminate in position because of their closeness; arranged along the branches in…

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; indeterminate in position because of their closeness; arranged singly all around the branchlets. Leaf - needle-shaped, five twelfths to three fourths of an inch long, four-sided, curved, sharp, rather slender, bluish-green, much lighter than the leaf of the Black Spruce. Bark - lighter than that of the Black Spruce. Cones - five inches and more in length; about one and a half inches in thickness. Branches and branchlets - heavily drooping, especially in the older trees. Scales - broad reverse egg-shape, with an entire edge, and rounded or somewhat two-lobed at the apex. General Information - This spruce is not a native, but is now very widely cultivated, and is sometimes found escaped from cultivation. It is a finer and large tree than the native spruces.

Genus Picea, Link. (Spruce)

Leaves - simple; indeterminate in position because of their closeness; arranged singly all around the…

Leaves - compound (hand-shaped; leaflets, five); opposite; edge toothed. Outline - of leaflet, oval or long oval. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - pointed. Leaflets - three to seven inches long; one and a half to three inches wide. Bark - with a disagreeable odor. Flowers - small, yellowish-white. June. Fruit - about three fourths of an inch in diameter. Husk - prickly when young. Nut - smooth. Found - along the western slopes of the Alleghany Mountains - Pennsylvania to Northern Alabama and westward. General Information - A small, ill-scented tree (eighteen to thirty-five feet high). Its wood is light and hard to split. With the other species of the same genus it is preferred, above any other American wood, for the making of artificial limbs.

Genus Aesculus, L. (Buckeye, Horse Chestnut)

Leaves - compound (hand-shaped; leaflets, five); opposite; edge toothed. Outline - of leaflet, oval…

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…