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Common of

United States Prepared by Alaska Department of Service R10-XX-XXX Agriculture August 2009 hemlock – heterophylla Mountain hemlock – Needles Needles • Light- to medium- on top, with two whit- • Dark green, white lines on both surfaces, more- ish parallel lines beneath, needles are unequal or-less equal in length, 1/2 to 1 inch long; in length from 1/4 to 7/8 inch long; • Soft and growing from all sides of the branch in • Blunt-tipped, soft, shiny, and flat, generally a bottle brush pattern. growing from two sides of branch parallel to Cones the ground. • Purplish when young, brown when mature; Cones • Cylindrical, 1 to 2-1/2 inches long; • Brown, oval-shaped, 5/8 to 1 inch long; • Thin, papery scales. • Thin, papery scales. Bark • Divided into narrow flattened ridges, becoming • Reddish-brown when young, turning gray- thick and deeply furrowed with age; brown; • Gray when young, turning reddish brown with • Scaly when young, becoming thick and fur- age. rowed with age. Size at maturity and life span Size at maturity and life span • 50 to 100 feet in height and 10 to 30 inches in • 100 to 150 feet in height and 2 to 4 feet in diameter, can be prostrate in alpine; diameter; • Slow-growing trees, size 18 to 20 inches in • 200 to 500 years. diameter at 180 – 260 years; Habitat and distribution • 400 to 500 years • Sea level to subalpine areas; Habitat and distribution • Along Coast Range in central to the • Sea level to 3,500 feet elevation; of Alaska. • From crest of the Sierra- in California to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. Mountain hemlock – Tsuga mertensiana Western hemlock – hemlock Western Alaska -cedar Western redcedar – plicata nootkatensis Needles Needles • Scalelike shiny yellow-green. 1/16 to 1/8 inch • Scalelike, overlapping, sharp pointed, 1/16 to long; 1/8 inch long; • Springy, fan-shaped sprays of branches, turning • Yellow-green to deep green; up at ends; • Top and bottom of branch sprays similar, with- • Branch sprays flat and symmetrical, bottom out apparent white stomate markings. side with white stomate markings. Cones Cones • Spherical about 1/2 inch in diameter; • Brown, oval-shaped, 1/2 inch long; • Green, maturing to brown in 2 years; • Clustered near end of branches; • Made of 4-6 shield-shaped scales, sharp cen- • Cone scales overlap, woody, and curve out- tral point on each scale, scales do not overlap. ward at maturity. Bark Bark • Shredding, grayish brown. • Fibrous and stringy; • Cinnamon-red when young, becoming gray Size at maturity and life span with age. • Slow-growing trees; • 40 to 100 feet tall, and 1 to 2 feet in diameter; Size at maturity and life span • -sized and contorted in and at • 70 to 100 feet in height in line; (growing much taller in southern part of range) • Lives up to 1,500 years. and 2 to 4 feet in diameter (occasionally reach- ing 6 feet); Habitat and distribution • 300 to 700 years (occasionally 1,000). • Wetland and subalpine ; • Sea level to ; Habitat and distribution • From north along coast through Prince • Coastal forests; William Sound, Alaska. • Sea level to 500 feet in elevation; • From northwestern California to Southeast Alaska just south of Frederick Sound. Western redcedar – Thuja pilcata Alaska yellow-cedar – Alaska yellow-cedar Sitka White spruce – Alaska’s state tree Needles Needles • 3/4 to 1 inch long, blue-green, four-angled • Dark blue-green, squarish, 5/8 to 1 inch long; with whitish lines on all sides; • Needles sharp, growing on all sides of branch- • Rigid, pointed, but not sharp to the touch; es from woody pegs, a character common to • Usually crowded on upper side of the branch. spruce. Cones Cones • 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches long, light brown; • Light -brown, 2 to 3-1/2 inches long; • Narrowly oblong, nearly stalkless, hanging • Usually found in the top quarter of tree, hang- down; ing down from branches; • Scales thin and flexible with smooth margins. • Papery scales. Bark Bark • Thin, scaly to smooth; • Thin and smooth when young, developing • Gray-brown, with white inner bark. scaly plates with age; Size at maturity and life span • Gray, becoming dark purplish brown with age. • 40 to 70 feet tall, 6 to 18 inches in diameter; Size at maturity and life span • Reaches 80 to 115 feet tall, 30 inches in diam- • 150 to 225 feet in height and 5 to 8 feet in eter; diameter; • Tree crown, narrow or spire-like; • Grows to larger size in southern part of its • Can live an age of 250 to 300 years. range; Habitat and distribution • 500 to 700 years. • From sea level to tree line on a wide variety of Habitat and distribution habitats; • Well-drained, upland and riparian forests; • Throughout southcentral and • Sea level to tree line; east through to Ocean, from • From California, northwest along the the northern tree line south to the Great . coastline to the . White spruce hybridizes with Sitka spruce where their ranges overlap, forming Lutz spruce, Picea xlutzii. It shows characteristics intermediate between the two parent trees. White spruce – Picea sitchensis Picea glauca Sitka Spruce – Black spruce – Shore var. contorta Needles Needles • 1/2 inch long, light blue-green, four-angled • 1 to 2-1/4 inches long; with whitish lines on all sides; • Two half-round needles in a bundle together • Blunt-pointed; making a cylinder when pressed together. • Current year twigs with short red or brown Cones hairs. • Light brown, egg-shaped, 1-1/4 to 2 inches Cones long; • 1 inch long, rounded and dark; • Woody, stiff prickles at the tip of each cone • Scales rigid and brittle, margins rounded to scale; toothed; • Pointed backwards on branches. • Stay on for several years, hang on short stalks. Bark Bark • Dark brown to blackish; • Thin, gray to blackish, becoming flaky with • Resinous and scaly, becoming furrowed with age; age. • Inner bark is yellow. Size at maturity and life span Size at maturity and life span • Shrub-sized and contorted in bogs; • 15 to 30 feet tall and 3 to 6 inches in diameter, • Often a scrubby tree, 20 to 40 feet tall and 8 to larger in ideal situations; 12 inches in diameter; • Can reach 250 years in age. • To 75 feet tall and 18 to 32 inches in diameter Habitat and distribution on well-drained, sunny sites; • Wet and cold sites on flats or north-facing • Lives 200 to 600 years. slopes, also in bogs; Habitat and distribution • Usually at lower elevations; • Abundant in and adjacent to bogs; • Throughout southcentral and interior Alaska • Sea level to subalpine; east through Canada to Alaska Ocean, from the • From northern California to Yakutat, Alaska. northern tree line south to the Great Lakes. Shore pine – Pinus contorta Picea mariana var. contorta

© Mary Stensvold Black spruce – Black Tamarack – (for- Needles merly . papyrifera var. humilis) • , soft, flexible, 1 inch long; • In clusters of 10 to 20 on short spur branches; • 1-1/2 to 3 inches long, 1 to 2 inches wide; • Blue-green needles turn golden yellow and are • Broadly oval with long-pointed tip; shed in the fall. • Margins coarsely double-toothed; Cones • Yellow-green, paler yellowish-green under- • 1/2 inch long, dark brown; neath; • With about 20 rounded, finely toothed scales; • Twigs with dense covering of dots. • Held upright on short stalks from horizontal twigs. • Nutlets borne in short, greenish-brown, dry, 1 Bark to 1-1/4 inch-long ; • Young trees with dark gray, smooth, thin; • Nutlets tiny, with wings broader than the body. • With age becomes reddish brown, scaly, ex- Bark posing darker inner layer. • Red-brown on young trunks; Size at maturity and life span • Lightens with age; • 30 to 60 feet tall, 4 to 16 inches in diameter; • Smooth, thin, paper-like and peeling. • 100 to 200 years. Size at maturity Habitat and distribution • To 80 feet tall, 4 to 24 inches in diameter. • Bogs, moist places, and along river drainages; Habitat and distribution • From the northern slopes of the • Common in a variety of habitats, often in to the southern slopes of the , mixed forests with black and white spruce; east across Canada to Atlantic Ocean, from the • From interior Alaska across northern North northern tree line south to the Great Lakes. America to the southwest side of .

Kenai birch () is nearly identical to paper birch except for slightly smaller size, leaves, and fewer resin dots on twigs. This tree is endemic to Alaska. Paper birch – Betula neoalaskana Larix laricina Tamarack – Tamarack Balsam poplar – balsamifera Quaking subsp. balsamifera Leaves Leaves • 1 to 31/2 inches long; • 3 to 6 inches long, 2 to 4 inches wide; • Nearly round, pointed at tip and rounded at • Broad at base, narrowing to a point at the tip; base, edged with many small rounded teeth; • Dark shiny green above, rust-colored under- • Shiny green, pale underneath; neath; • stalks flat, allowing leaves to tremble in • Swelling leaf are sweetly aromatic in the the slightest breeze. spring. Fruit • Fruit • Capsules on 3 to 4 inch-long catkins; • 2-parted capsules on 6 inch-long catkins con- • Capsules contain numerous tiny cottony . tain numerous tiny cottony seeds. Bark Bark • Smooth, greenish white; • Young stems greenish to reddish brown; • Important wildlife food. • With age becomes thick and deeply furrowed. Size at maturity and life span Size at maturity and life span • 20 to 40 feet tall, 3 to 12 inches in diameter; • 80 to 100 feet tall, to 3 feet in diameter; • 80 to 100 years average, 200 years maximum. • 100 to 200 years. Habitat and distribution Habitat and distribution • South-facing slopes and well drained benches; • River valleys and flood plains, alluvial fans, • Propagates from sprouting after distur- glacial outwash areas, shores; bance; • A shade-intolerant pioneer ; • Throughout interior and , • From interior Alaska across northern portions across Canada and south to New ; of . • Widest distribution of any native tree in North Black cottonwood America. (Poplus balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa) is nearly identical to balsam poplar except leaves are whitish underneath and it grows in south- coastal Alaska. Hybridizes with balsam poplar where ranges overlap. This is the largest balsamifera broadleaf tree in Alaska. Quaking Aspen – Quaking Aspen subsp. Populus tremuloides Populus Balsam poplar – Red Scouler Leaves Leaves • 2-6 inches long; • 2 to 5 inches long, and 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches • Elliptic to ovate, shallowly lobed with coarse, wide; rounded teeth; • Wider above middle, short-pointed at tip, • Leaf margins rolled under; edges without teeth; • Dark green, minute rust-colored hairs under- • Young leaves velvety hairy; neath. • Older leaves dark green, sparse white to rusty Fruit hair underneath; • Look like tiny pine-cones; • Crowded at ends of twigs. • Seeds, tiny dry nutlets with two narrow wings. Fruit Bark • capsules long, slender, gray-wooly. • Thin, smooth, grayish; • Bark • Often appearing white due to incrustation by • Smooth gray, becoming dark brown, divided pale, flat . into broad flat ridges. Size at maturity and life span Size at maturity • 20 to 80 feet tall, 4 to 25 inches in diameter; • Usually about 15 feet tall, 4 inches in diam- • 60 to 90 years; eter; • Rapid growth when young, but short lived. • Can grow to be 50 to 60 feet tall, 16 to 20 inches in diameter. Habitat and distribution • Along rivers, floodplains, open gravelly areas, Habitat and distribution disturbed areas to 1,000 feet in elevation; • Colonizes burned-over areas, thrives away • Often quickly colonizes disturbed areas; from water; • Most common on the Pacific coast- • Forms thickets, often found along forest edges; line; • A fast-growing, short-lived pioneer; • From mid-California to Yakutat, Alaska. • From interior Alaska east to and south to . Scouler willow – Salix scouleriana Alnus rubra Red alder – laska spans a vast array of ecosystems from open, wind-swept bordering Athe Artic Ocean, and through expansive forests of the Interior to impressive temperate rain forests along the Pacific Coast.

Tree composition changes with the prevailing across the state. In the Interior, principal species include white spruce, birch, and quaking aspen on uplands, black spruce and tamarack in forested wetlands, and balsam poplar within floodplains. are abundant in the Interior as well, however most do not reach tree size.

The coastal temperate rain forests of southcentral and southeastern Alaska are comprised mainly of western hemlock, and Sitka spruce. Mountain hemlock, Alaska yellow-cedar, western redcedar, and shore pine are most often encountered where are more poorly drained. Deciduous trees are uncommon in the temperate rain forests of Alaska, and are represented mainly by red alder and black cottonwood.

This brochure was produced by the Alaska Region and Botany Programs.

Copyright illustration by Bruce Lyndon Cunningham, / Artist, Nacogdoches, are used with his permission and funded by the Alaska Region Natural Resources Conservation Education Program. Illustrations are not to scale.

The Alaska Region of the USDA Forest Service is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, call (202) 720-5964.

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