Lonicera maackii

Family: Caprifoliaceae

Amur honeysuckle

Opposite

Tall shrub to 15'

Twigs pale brown, striped or lightly furrowed

Rhamnus cathartica

Family:  Rhamnaceae

Common Buckthorn

Subopposite

Single thorn at tip of branches

Grayish-brown bark, elongated lenticels;

peels in curly-edged sheets;

orange inner bark

Prunus americana

Family:  Roseaceae

Wild Plum

Suckers often form thickets

Buds & twiglets sharp, thornlike

Tree or shrub 20-35'

Populus deltoides

Family:  Saliaceae

Eastern Cottonwood

Buds 1/2 - 3/4", three-sided at twig tips,

shiny, yellowish-brown, fragrant

Young bark smooth, yellowish-gray

Mature bark gray, furrowed, thick

5-pointed pith

Ulmus rubra

Family: Ulmaceae

Slippery Elm 

Twig slightly zig-zag

Bud not directly above scar

Red, mucilaginous inner bark

Round, papery samara, 3/4 - 1"

Euonymus alatus

Family: Celastraceae

Burning Bush

Four prominent wings on twigs

Buds sharp, reddish brown

Multi-stemmed shrub, to 10'

Gray bark splits slightly to look faintly striped

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Family: Rubiaceae

Buttonbush

Shrub

Fruit are "buttons" -- a round cluster of nutlets,

each 1/4"

Twig: dark reddish brown; light, elongated lenticels;

tips die back

Leaf scar:  D-shaped

Taxodium distichum

Family: Taxodiaceae

Bald Cypress

Buttressed base surrounded by "knees"

Fruit has "soccer-ball" look;

nearly spherical, 3/4-1"

Bark:  Fibrous, red-brown

Fagus sylvatica

Family: Fagaceae

European Beech

Smooth grey bark; may be mottled

Long, 1" buds, light brown,

with slightly fuzzy scales

Fruits:  seeds in a woody, spiny husk, 1"

(Leaves have 7-9 pairs of veins;

margin is somewhat toothed or wavy)

Alnus glutinosa

Family: Betulaceae

Black alder

Fruits in 5/8 - 1 1/2" cones -- persistent

Twigs sticky, with 3-sided pith

Buds stalked, blunt-tipped

Young bark has large horizontal lenticels

Ginkgo biloba

Family: Ginkgoaceae

Ginkgo

Stubby twigs

Shallow diamond bark

(Fan-shaped leaves, 2 lobes)

Acer rubrum

Family: Aceraceae

Red Maple

Twig:  new growth is reddish, has lenticels

Buds blunt, green or red, w. several loose scales

Leave scars v-shaped, 3 bundle scars

Young bark smooth, light grey;

Mature bark -- long, fine, scale plates

Acer saccharinum

Family: Aceraceae

Silver Maple

Fruit:  Large samara, 1 1/2 - 2 1/2"

Reddish twig; buds have large scales;

flower buds in dense clusters

Unpleasant odor when crushed

Young bark light grey and smooth;

Mature bark has long, thin strips, loose at ends

Fagus grandifolia

Family: Fagaceae

American Beech

Fruit:  seeds in woody, spiny husk, 1/2 - 3/4"

Slender twig; light brown, pointed buds, 3/4"

Smooth, grey bark

(Leaf:  11-14 pairs of veins,

each ending in a sharp tooth; 2 1/2 - 5 1/2")

Fraxinus americana

Family: Oleaceae

White Ash

Opposite

Diamond-patterned bark

Stoutish twigs; tip buds reddish brown,

1/4 - 1/2", w. smaller bud on each side

Pyramidal shape

(Leaves compound, 5-9 leaflets, 8-16",

 white beneath w. tiny bumps)

Fraxinus pennsylvanica

Family: Oleaceae

Red (or Green) Ash

Opposite

Leaf stalks narrowly winged

Diamond-patterned bark, reddish-tinged

(Leaves compound, 5-9 leaflets, 10 - 12",

shallow-toothed above the middle)

Tilia americana

Family:  Tiliaceae

American Basswood

"Helicopter," several inches long,

with separate, round fruit attached

Red, 2-scaled bud, bulging on one side

Zig-zag twig

Gymnocladus dioicus

Family:  Fabaceae

Kentucky Coffee Tree

Dark brown pods, 4 - 10"

Pink pith

Zig-zag branches

Heart-shaped leaf scar

(Leaves up to a yard long)

Crataegus mollis

Family:  Rosaceae

Downy Hawthorn

Large, single thorns

Fruits:  bright red haws (small apples)

Round, red buds

Leaf scars:  3 bundle scars

Carpinus caroliniana

Family:  Betulaceae

Hornbeam

Musclewood

Wood is gray, smooth, looks "muscular"

Short, crooked trunk

Quercus alba

Family:  Fagaceae

White Oak

Mulitple reddish terminal buds

Pith 5-pointed

Leaves persistent, deeply pinnately lobed,

rounded tips

Acer saccharum

Family:  Aceraceae

Sugar Maple

Opposite

Seeds:  double helicopter (samara)

Brown buds on brown twigs

Leaf scar: crescent w. indents, 3 bundle scars

Rounded crown

Ostrya virginiana

Family:  Betulaceae

Hophornbeam

Cat-scratch bark

Stiff catkins at end of twigs, in groups of 3

Fruit resembles hops

Magnolia x soulangeana

Family:  Magnoliaceae

Saucer Magnolia

Large, fuzzy terminal bud,

with yellow-green flower inside

Small, multi-stemmed tree

Smooth, mottled grey bark

Cercis canadensis

Family:  Fabaceae

Eastern Redbud

Short brown legume fruit

Zig-zag twig

Reddish, scaling bark

Often multiple purplish buds

Larix decidua

Family:  Pinaceae

European Larch

Loses needles

Prefers dry soils

Cones 3/4 - 1 3/8"

Rounded, reddish buds, on top of knob-like twig

Twigs "droop" slightly

Cornus alternifolia

Family:  Cornaceae

Pagoda Dogwood

Only alternate dogwood

Branches in "tiers" like a pagoda

Dead twigs turn yellow-orange

Fruit on drupes (purple berry on red strings)

Liriodendron tulipifera

Family:  Magnoliaceae

Tuliptree

Yellow Poplar

Tulipflowers -- persistent

Twigs have stipeal scar all around

Buds:  duckbill shape, 2 scales

Barred (diaphragmed) pith

Trunk:  2/3 branch-free

Larix laricina

Family:  Pinaceae

American Larch

Loses needles

Prefers wet soils

Cones 3/8 - 3/4"

Reddish bud on top of knob-like twig

Twigs do not droop

Aesculus hippocastanum

Family:  Hippocastanaceae

Horsechestnut

Opposite

Very large, sticky terminal bud

Spiny green or brown fruits, 2 - 2 1/2"

Large shield-shaped leaf scar

Quercus bicolor

Family:  Fagaceae

Swamp White Oak

Persistent leaves, shallow pinnate rounded lobes,

pale and white-wooly beneath

Crooked, hanging branches below

Multiple terminal buds

Star-shaped pith

Aesculus glabra

Family:  Hippocastanaceae

Ohio Buckeye

Opposite

Large, dry terminal bud;

smaller side buds just below

Green, spiny fruits 3/4 - 1 1/2"

Large shield-shaped leaf scar

Quercus rubra

Family:  Fagaceae

Red Oak

Leaves persistent, pinnately lobed,

sharp tips, bristles

Multiple terminal buds

Star-shaped pith

Catalpa speciosa

Family:  Bignoniaceae

Northern Catalpa

10 - 20" thin pods, green then brown

Leaves "whorled" -- three buds at a node

Leaf scars elliptical or round, sunken;

circular bundle scar

Rhus glabra

Family:  Anicardiaceae

Smooth Sumac

Very large pith

Hairless leaves and twigs

Large cone-shaped, red fruit clusters

Leaf scar almost encircles bud

Carya cordiformis

Family:  Juglandaceae

Bitternut Hickory

Sulfur-yellow buds

4-ridged fruit husk, yellow-felted

Bark:  flat, shallow, grayish ridges

Acer negundo

Family:  Aceracea

Box Elder

Opposite

Green or purple twigs, shiny or waxy-powdered

Bark slightly ridged

Buds covered with waxy white hairs

White, solid pith

Broken twig has acrid odor

Gleditisia triacanthos

Family:  Fabaceae

Honey Locust

Branched thorns, up to 12"

(unless it is "thornless" variety)

Zig-zag twig

Fruits:  Brown, spirally-twisted pods, 6 - 18"

Bark:  gray plates w. orange interior

Celtis occidentalis

Family:  Ulmaceae

Common Hackberry

Bark:  warty bumps on corky ridges

Zig-zag stems; no terminal bud

Fruit:  red-purple, 1/4, berry-like drupes

Juglans nigra

Family:  Juglandaceae

Black Walnut

Bark almost black, ridged, diamond pattern

Chambered pith

Fruits:  round, 1 1/2 - 2 3/8, yellow then brown,

slightly hairy, in clusters of 1 to 3

Prunus serotina

Family:  Rosaceae

Wild Black Cherry

"Burnt potato chip" bark,

reddish-brown underneath

Fruits:  reddish or blackish cherries,

many individually on stems

Few branches; tips droop

Platanus acerifolia

Family:  Platanaceae

London Plane Tree

Bark flakes to expose pale inner bark

Fruit:  paired balls, 3/4 to 1 3/8"

(Deeply lobed leaves, similar to maple)

Platanus occidentalis

Family:  Platanaceae

Sycamore

Bark flakes to expose pale inner bark

Fruit:  solitary balls, 3/4 to 1 3/8"

Stipules encircle twigs

(Leaves:  shallowly 3-5 lobed,

coarse and irregular teeth)

Quercus macrocarpa

Family:  Fagaceae

Burr Oak

Thick, corky bark; big, thick tree

Acorns:  fringed cap almost covers the nut

(Leaves deeply pinnately lobed, rounded,

whitish-hairy underneath, dark green above)

Hamamelis virginiana

Family:  Hamamelidaceae

Witch Hazel

Shrub with two or more small trunks

Fruits:  2-beaked capsule, 1/2",

that opens to shoot out the seed

Buds and twigs densely fuzzy

Crataegus phaenopyrum

Family:  Rosaceae

Washington Hawthorn

Thorns, 1 - 3", along stem

Tiny, bright red haws

Short trunk; as wide as tall

Ulmus americana

Family:  Ulmaceae

American Elm

Bark -- white layers alternating with darker ones

Fruit:  clusters of samaras w. membraneous wing

Trunks buttress at base

No terminal bud

Leaf scar looks like a "cat face"

Rhus typhina

Family:  Anacardiaceae

Staghorn Sumac

Fruit:  large, fuzzy crimson panicle

Very hairy, very thick stems

Carya ovata

Family:  Juglandaceae

Shagbark Hickory

Shaggy grey bark with peeling plates

Buds:  greenish brown, 1/2 - 3/4" at twig tips,

upper scales hairy

Rounded nut, 1 - 1 1/2"

Ailanthus altissima

Family:  Simaroubaceae

Tree of Heaven

Thick branches, thick pith

Twigs short, reddish-brown, velvety

Prominent U-shaped leaf scars

Buds downy, hemispherical,

2-4 scaled, absent at tips of twigs

Salix babylonica

Family:  Saliaceae

Weeping Willow

Long, yellow twigs

Buds single-scaled

Malus pumila

Family:  Rosaceae

Common Apple

Stubby spur-shoots

Fruits:  large pomes

Morus rubra

Family:  Moraceae

Red Mulberry

Fruits:  red to dark purple berry-clusters

Bark dark reddish-brown

with long, flaky strips

Short tree -- max 35'

Robinia pseudoacacia

Family:  Fabaceae

Black Locust

Paired thorns

Fruit:  reddish-brown to black pods, 3 - 4"

Ropy bark; inner bark yellow

Cornus stolonifera

Family:  Cornaceae

Red-osier Dogwood

White pith

White fruit

No fuzz on twigs

Acer platanoides

Family: Aceracea

Norway Maple

Samara -- almost 180 degrees

Rounded red and green bud

(Milky juice in leaves)

Corylus americana

Family:  Betulaceae

American Hazelnut

Shrub with many trunks; smooth grey bark

Catkins

Nuts with wings

Betula papyrifera

Family:  Betulaceae

Paper Birch

Peeling white bark, salmon color inside

Catkins -- 2"

Very thin twigs

Liquidambar styraciflua

Family:  Hamamelidaceae

Sweetgum

Sticky, greenish bud

Twigs with corky ridges

Fruit:  spiny ball

(Leaves:  star-shaped)

Betula nigra

Family:  Betulaceae

River birch

Brownish, heavily peeling bark

Long, single catkins

Fuzzy buds

Myrica pennsylvanica

Family:  Myriaceae

Northern Bayberry

Fruits covered with wax

Fragrant odor

A shrub

Salix nigra

Family:  Saliaceae

Black Willow

Multiple trunks

Flexible twigs

Black bark

Juglans cinerea

Family:  Juglandaceae

Butternut

Dark, chambered pith

"Eyebrows" on the leaf scars

Lemon-shaped nuts, 1 1/2 - 2 3/8"

Populus tremuloides

Family:  Saliaceae

Quaking Aspen

Roots "clone" to form groves

Leaf stalks flat -- leaves shimmer in wind

Catkins

Sassafras albidum

Family:  Lauraceae

Sassafras

Green twig with corky ridges

Delightful odor

(Mitt-shaped leaf)

Fraxinus nigra

Family:  Oleaceae

Black Ash

Very thick twig

Blue-black, pointed bud

Wide samara

Prefers moist, limey soil

Carya illinoinensis

Family:  Julandaceae

Pecan

Diospyrus virginianum

Family:  Ebenaceae

Common Persimmon

Quercus muehlenbergii

Family:  Fagaceae

Chinquapin Oak

Nyssa silvatica

Family:  Nyssaceae

Black (Pepperidge) Tupelo

Asimina triloba

Family:  Annonaceae

Pawpaw

Quercus palustris

Family:  Fagaceae

Pin Oak

Drooping lower branches

Large trees with small, pin-like branchlets

Acorns small, 3/3 - 1/2"

with reddish-brown cap

Cornus obliqua

Family:  Cornaceae

Silky Dogwood

Multiple trunks

Red stems

Silky grey fuzz on twigs

Cornus florida

Family:  Cornaceae

Flowering Dogwood

Fraxinus quadrangulata

Family:  Oleaceae

Blue Ash

Square twig

Fuzzy bud

Potato-chip bark

Cornus racimosa

Family:  Cornaceae

Grey Dogwood

Shrub at edge of woods or in prairies

Thin, pointed bud

White fruits