American Chestnut Castanea dentata

Identification Features: • ALTERNATE branching pattern. • SIMPLE, ELLIPTICAL shaped leaves. Leaves have a TOOTHED margin with each tooth having a fine BRISTLE TIP. American chestnut leaves are smooth and hairless on both sides, while Chinese chestnut is fuzzy on the bottom side of the leaves. LEAVES • Twigs have many small, white, raised lenticels. Lenticels are pores on the bark of woody plants that allow gases to be exchanged between the plant and the air. • Fruits are large and brown with a spiny, sharp husk called a BUR. The bur contains 2-3 shiny nuts that are flattened on one side. Nuts ripen in autumn. • Flowers are called CATKINS and appear in spring and summer. • Suffers from the “Chestnut Blight”, which is a disease affecting the bark. Most American chestnuts found today are small stump sprouts but, before the blight began in 1904, American chestnut trees grew to 100 feet tall.

Habitat: • NATIVE to Pennsylvania. • Upland forest.

CATKINS BLIGHT

BURS

TWIG

NUTS

American Elm Ulmus americana

Identification Features: • ALTERNATE branching pattern. • SIMPLE leaves, ELLIPTICAL or OVATE in shape. DOUBLE SERRATE margins and UNEVEN leaf bases. Underside of leaves are soft and hairy. • Flowers are greenish-red and arranged in dense clusters. Flowers mature in early spring. • Fruits are rounded SAMARAS. Each samara contains a single flattened seed surrounded by an oval, thin papery wing. Samaras are deeply notched at the tip. Samaras are in clusters and mature in spring. • Drooping crown giving the tree a vase-shaped appearance. LEAF • Medium size tree reaching 60 feet tall.

Habitat: • NATIVE to Pennsylvania. • Moist soils near streams.

FLOWERS

SAMARAS

Eastern Hemlock Tsuga canadensis LEAVES

Identification Features: • Leaves are EVERGREEN. • Leaves are flattened NEEDLES attached singly to branches. • There are 2 white lines on the underside of each needle. • Seeds are in tiny egg-shaped CONES, ¾ inch long. Two small-winged seeds are found under each cone scale. • Large, long-lived tree, reaching heights of 70 feet tall. Some old-growth forests have hemlocks that are up to 400 years old!

Habitat: • NATIVE to Pennsylvania. CONES • Cool, moist forests. • State tree of Pennsylvania.

FLOWERS

Flowering Dogwood Cornus florida

Identification Features: • OPPOSITE branching pattern. • SIMPLE leaves that are 3-5 inches long. Leaves are OVAL shaped and the leaf margin is ENTIRE. Leaves are clustered towards the tips of the twigs. Leaves turn bright red in autumn. • Buds look like miniature garlic cloves or onions. • Flowers appear large and white, but the white parts are actually bracts, and the flowers are yellow in the center. • Seeds are red egg-shaped DRUPES in clusters of 2-5. LEAF Visible in autumn. • Bark is broken into small blocks like alligator skin. • Small tree that grows about 30 feet tall.

Habitat: • NATIVE to Pennsylvania. • Forest understory

DRUPES FLOWER

Paper Birch Betula papyrifera

Identification Features: • ALTERNATE branching pattern. • SIMPLE, OVATE leaves. DOUBLE SERRATE margins. Leaves are sharp- pointed at the tip with a rounded leaf base. • Male flowers are CATKINS that are green to brown in color and occur in the spring. • Fruits are brown STROBILES (small, soft, and cone-like fruit that contains many winged seeds). LEAF • Bark is thin and white and peels in paper-like layers from the trunk. • Medium size tree that grows about 60 feet tall.

Habitat: • NATIVE to Pennsylvania. CATKINS • Moist soils.

BARK

STROBILE

Red Oak Quercus rubra LEAVES

Identification Features: • ALTERNATE branching pattern. • SIMPLE leaves with LOBES and BRISTLE-TIPPED TEETH. • Male flowers are CATKINS, appear in spring. Female flowers are spikes. • Fruits are ACORNS. Caps cover ¼ of the nut. • Medium to large size tree reaching heights of 60 feet.

Habitat: • NATIVE to Pennsylvania. • Forests, cities

ACORN CATKINS

Virginia Creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Identification Features: • Woody VINE. • ALTERNATE branching pattern. • PALMATELY COMPOUND leaves with five TOOTHED, ELLIPTICAL shaped leaflets. • Small green flowers appear in the spring. • Small clusters of bluish-black BERRIES appear in early summer. • Leaves turn a brilliant red in autumn.

Habitat: • NATIVE to Pennsylvania. • Forests, forest clearings, fencerows, and stream banks.

LEAVES

BERRIES

White Ash LEAF Fraxinus Americana

Identification Features: • OPPOSITE branching pattern. • PINNATELY COMPOUND leaves with ELLIPTICAL to LANCE shaped leaflets. Leaves have 5-9 leaflets. • Small, green flower clusters appear in spring. • Fruits are SAMARAS that occur in late summer through autumn. • A large tree that can reach 80 feet tall.

Habitat: • NATIVE to Pennsylvania. • Forests, school campuses, lawns, and parks.

FLOWERS Clusters of SAMARAS

Single SAMARA