Vincent Verweij

Winter Tree Identification

What’s left after the leaves leave? • Bark • Buds • Form • Fruit • Branching • Habitat

3

Bark

Twig & Buds

Buds

Tree Form / Shape

Do you know trees that display these forms/shapes?

Fruit

Branching: M A D Cap Horse

• M = Maple (Aceraceae) • A = Ash (Oleaceae)

• Ash, lilac, Forsythia, privet • D = Dogwood (Cornuaceae)

• (except alternate leaf dogwood) • Cap = Caprifoliaceae

• Viburnum, elderberry, honeysuckle • Horse = Hippocastanaceae

• Horsechestnut , buckeye

Habitat – where is the tree growing

How do you identify Arlington’s deciduous trees in winter?

• Acer/Maple • Aesculus/Buckeye • Ailanthus/Tree of Heaven • Amelanchier/Serviceberry • Asimina/Pawpaw • Betula/Birch • Carpinus/Hornbeam • Carya/Hickory • Castanea/Chestnut • Catalpa • Celtis/Hackberry • Cercis/Redbud • Chionanthus/Fringetree • Cladastris/Yellowwood • Cornus/Dogwood • Corylus/Hazel • Cotinus/Smoketree • Crataegus/Hawthorn • Diospyros/Persimmon • Fagus/Beech • Fraxinus/Ash • Ginkgo

• Gleditsia/Honeylocust • Gymnocladus/Coffeetree • Halesia/Silverbell • Juglans/Walnut • Liquidambar/Sweetgum • Liriodendron/Tuliptree • Maclura/Osage Orange • Magnolia • Malus/Crabapple • Metasequoia/Dawn redwood • Morus/Mulberry • Nyssa/Tupelo • Ostrya/Hophornbeam • Oxydendrum/Sourwood • Platanus/Sycamore • Prunus/Cherry • Pyrus/Pear • Quercus/Oaks • Rhus/Sumac • Robinia/Locust • Salix/Willow • Sassafras • Styphnolobium • Taxodium/baldcypress • Tilia/Linden • Ulmus/Elm • Viburnum

Acer/maple

• negundo,rubrum, saccharum,saccharinum

• Opposite • Flaking/cracked bark • Clustered buds • Large canopy • Streams • Sooty mold?

Ailanthus/Tree of Heaven

• altissima • Smooth bark, slightly

bumpy • Giant bud scars • Invaded habitat • Will grow out of

anything • Bark/twigs smell like

rancid peanut butter

Amelanchier/serviceberry

• arborea, canadensis, laevis

• Striped bark • Lichen • Remnant fruit • Cedar apple rust • Small trees • Understory

Betula/birch

• nigra, papyrifera • White bark • Paper-like bark • Thin canopy • Medium size • Often multitrunk • Streams • Common landscape

plant

Carpinus/Hornbeam

• Caroliniana, betulus • Bark like

muscle/sinew • Small tree • Native: gnarly • Non-native: straight

and fastigiate

Carya/Hickory

• cordiformes, glabra, illinoensis, ovata, tomentosa

• Native bark with tight lines and ridges

• Pecans and shagbark more variable

• Buds are often the id • Hickory nuts • Large tree, wide range • Not typically planted

Celtis/Hackberry

• occidentalis, tenuifolia

• Warty bark • Remnant fruit • Uneven form

Cercis/redbud

• canadensis • Stripped/flaking bark • Remnant fruit/beans • Uneven form • Small tree • Common landscape

Cornus/dogwood

• alternifolia, florida, kousa, mas, sericea

• Opposite (except alternifolia)

• Blocky/flaky bark • Distinctive buds • Uneven form • Small tree • Common landscape

Diospyros/persimmon

• virginiana, kaki • Dark blocky bark

(Ebony!) • Remnant fruit • Medium tree • Native rarely planted • Non-native produces

larger fruit, rarely a large tree

Fagus/beech

• grandifolia, sylvatica • Smooth bark • Often vandalized • Big tree • Fruit husks • Buds • This one is easy…

unless you want to know the difference between the two.

Fraxinus/Ash

• Americana, pennsylvanica

• Opposite • Diamonds in the bark,

often with a V bottom to the ridges.

• Horns for branches • Large tree • Common street tree in

the North, now declining, due to EAB

Ginkgo

• biloba • Smooth ridges • Sharp corners • Conservative

branching • Very slow-growing • Stacking buds

Gleditsia/honeylocust

• triacanthos • Witchy branches • Scaly bark • Giant spikes on

naturalized trees • Common landscape • Uneven form • Remnant beans

Juglans/walnut

• nigra, regia, cinerea • Deep ridges • Everything around it

is dead • Walnuts persist on

the ground • Uneven form • Loses leaves very

early

Liquidambar/sweetgum

• styraciflua • Blocky, spongy bark • Persistent spike balls • Corky ridges • Huge buds • Recently destroyed

sidewalk

Liriodendron/tuliptree

• tulipifera • Striped, light bark • Persistent flower

remnants • Don’t forget it’s a

magnolia! • Duckbill Buds • Tallest tree in the

east

Magnolia

• acuminata, stellata, virginiana, soulangeana

• Smooth bark, with lenticels, often grey

• Fuzzy buds • Remnant fruit • Common landscape

plant. • Small to medium

Metasequoia

• Glyptostroboides • Deciduous Conifer • Extremely even form • Flaky, multicolored bark • Opposite, despite not

being mentioned in the MAD Cap Horse

• Remnant fruit • Very tall at maturity

Morus/Mulberry

• Alba, rubra • Orange in the bark,

between ridges • Uneven form • Messy habit • Deep ridges in old

trees. • Medium to large • Invaded habitats

Nyssa/Tupelo

• sylvatica • Blocky bark, similar to

Cornus florida • Large, long-lived tree • Streams • Form very even when

open-grown, very uneven when wild

• Someone sat on it • Fruit retention • Common street tree

Ostrya/hophornbeam

• virginiana • Close, thin strips of

bark • Exfoliating • Common understory • Small to medium

Platanus/sycamore

• occidentalis, x acerifolia

• Do I really need to tell you what you need to look for?

• Bark • 1 Fruit vs. multiple • Streams and streets

Prunus/Cherry

• Serotina, serrulata, x yedoensis, x incamp

• Flaky, shiny bark • Grey to black • Lenticels • Remnant fruit • Native is large, non-

native small to medium

• Can be confused with birches

Pyrus/Pear

• Calleryana, communis, pyrifolia

• Dark, ridgy bark • Branches low • Remnant fruit • Poor branch

attachment • Fruit

attachment/spines • Pyrus calleryana

commonly planted/ hated as street tree

Quercus/Oak – White oaks

• alba, bicolor, montana, stellata

• Grey bark • Strips or deep ridges • Acorns often still found

in winter, rounded, larger than average red oak (except rubra)

• Clustered buds • More common in natural

areas and yards

Quercus/Oak – Red oaks

• Coccinea, falcata, palustris, phellos, rubra, velutina

• Darker bark than white oaks, browns and dark greys

• Clustered buds • Small acorns,

except for rubra. Often striped

• More common as street trees

Rhus/Sumac

• Copallina, typhina • Smooth bumpy bark,

similar to Ailanthus • Fuzzy stems and

buds • Shrubby to medium

tree size • Retains berries

Robinia/Black locust

• pseudoacacia • Deep ridged dark

brown bark • Retain beans • Short spines • Uneven form • Invaded habitats

Salix/Willow

• nigra, babylonica • Wide ridged bark,

often flaking • Rarely upright • Often multitrunk • Streamsides • Weeping forms in

the landscape

Taxodium/Baldcypress

• distichum, ascendens • Very similar to

Metasequoia, except: • Alternate branching • Cone more of a ball • Less even form • Not as tall

Tilia/Linden

• americana, cordata, tomentosa

• Bark Similar to Fraxinus, but alternate branching

• Very round form • Thick, round buds • Common street

tree

Ulmus/Elm

• americana, parvifolia, pumila, rubra

• Stripped bark, very obvious in parvifolia

• Practically spherical buds

• Often vase-shaped form

• Bacterial wetwood • Common street tree

Questions?

Vincent Verweij Arlington County

Urban Forester vverweij@arlingtonva.us

703-228-1863