Sugar or hard maple Aceraceae Acer saccharum Opposite, NYS tree, most common and valuable maple, maple syrup, quality lumber, shade etc. fall seed dispersal, buds brown and pointed. ______
black maple Aceraceae Acer nigrum Opposite, not common in NYS but may show up in southern NYS. Similar to sugar maple fall seed dispersal, buds pointed. ______
Silver maple Aceraceae Acer saccharinum Opposite, common to river bottoms and used often as a shade tree because it is fast growing. Early summer seed dispersal, buds reddish brown and rounded, similar to red maple ______
Red or soft maple Aceraceae Acer rubrum Opposite, aka swamp maple as it is common in bottom land, late spring seed dispersal, buds red and rounded. Fast growing shade tree and “target” bark. ______
Box Elder or Mantoba maple Aceraceae Acer negundo Opposite, pinnately compound 3 to 7 leaflets, fall seed dispersal, buds bluish- white, small stems brown to green grows fast, poor form. A weed. ______
Yellow birch Betulaceae Betula alleghaniensis Alternate, bark yellowish exfoliating curls which wet or dry great for starting a fire. A cut stem taste and smell like wintergreen. ______
Paper birch Betulaceae Betula papyrifera Alternate, bark white with exfoliating curls, becomes black and deeply fissured on base of old trees. Pure stands at higher elevations of Adirondacks. ______
Gray Birch aka Brasher maple Betulaceae Betula populifolia Alternate, bark whiteish but not often exfoliating curls, black “triangles” under branches. Common to abandon pastures, a pioneer species. ______
Black Cherry Rosaceae Prunus serotina Alternate, underside of leave has white then orange (older) pubescence along midrib near stem. Valuable for lumber, bark has small gray to black platy scales ______
Willow
Salicaceae Salix species Alternate, over 100 species of willow, are common to river bottoms and wet areas. Extract of bark precursor of aspirin ______
Quaking aspen Salicaceae Populus tremuloides Alternate, leaf stem (petioles) flattened and allow for movement in the slightest breeze. Pioneer species, fast growing. ______
Bigtooth aspen Salicaceae Populus grandidentata Alternate, edge of leaf has a “saw tooth” look, attains a larger size and age than quaking aspen, bark furrowed as ages. ______
Balsam poplar, Balm of Gilead Salicaceae Populus balsamifera Alternate, larger than either quaking or bigtooth, buds are large and when crushed smells of balsam, common to wet sites ______
Eastern cottonwood Salicaceae Populus deltoides Alternate, leaf sort of “triangular” shaped fast growing can easily reach 3 to 4 feet in diameter. Bark on older trees have thick ridges and deep furrows. ______
American beech Fagaceae Fagus grandifolia Alternate, leaf has sharp incurved teeth at end of each vein, young or old bark is a light blue-gray, buds are pointed, often holds brown leaves until spring. ______
American Chestnut Fagaceae Castanea dentata Alternate, leaf is similar to beech except the “points” are more hooked, will often have edible nuts, once very common in northeast, resistant trees on the way. ______
White oak Fagaceae Quercus alba Alternate, leaf ends are not pointed, acorns an important source of foof for man and beast, white oak used for cooperage and water tight vessels. ______
Bur oak Fagaceae Quercus macrocarpa Alternate, a “white oak” with similar to alba, acorn is large and has a bur cap, adapted to poorly drained, alkaline, high clay soils. ______
Red oak or Northern red oak Fagaceae Quercus rubra Alternate, points on lobes of leaves, more of an “upland” oak and often found with white pine, an important lumber species furniture and flooring ______
Black oak Fagaceae Quercus velutina Alternate, a common upland species in southern eastern seaboard states but range stretches into southern of New York and common with shortleaf pine. ______
Pin oak Fagaceae Quercus palustris Alternate, the tree has a “spiny” appearance and range extends up Hudson valley. A common ornamental in the eastern US as it grows fast. ______
Ginkgo Ginkgoaceae Ginkgo biloba Alternate, leaf has a distinctive fan shape, tree often planted as a “street” tree. ______
White pine Pinaceae Pinus strobus 5 blue-green needles per fascicles about 2 to 3 inches long, largest conifer in the northeast, common, bark green when young and furrowed gray when older, many prefer the lumber ______
Jack pine Pinaceae Pinus banksiana 2 needles per fascicles about 1 inch long, produces 2 to 3 whorls of lateral branches per year creating an irregular crown, rare, cone requires fire to open ______
Red pine or Norway pine Pinaceae Pinus resinosa 2 very long needles per fascicles up to 6 inch long, often used in plantations where it grows straight, prefers sandy, light soils, bark has slight orange-red, flat plates ______
Pitch pine Pinaceae Pinus banksiana 3 needles per fascicles 3 to 5 inches long, produces 2 to 3 whorls of lateral branches per year and unusual for a pine will sprout ______
Scotch Pine Pinaceae Pinus sylvestris 2 (3) needles per fascicles 1 to 3 inches long, bark is an orange flake color but turns to a furrowed gray as it ages, orange can be seen on upper branches. ______
Tamarack or Larch Pinaceae Larix Laricina Multiple needles that drop in the fall, common to wet areas, cones are small, varieties can be found in plantations and as an ornamental. ______
Red spruce Pinaceae Picea ruben Needles ½ to 5/8” long bunched all the way around the most pubescent twig of the eastern spruces, generally an upland species, back like black cherry ______
Black spruce Pinaceae Picea mariana Needles slightly shorter than red spruce, most often found in wet areas, swamps and is VERY slow growing, cones purplish. ______
White spruce or cat spruce Pinaceae Picea glauca Needles about ½” long and tend to crowd the upper side of the twig, more common north of NYS, crushed needles have a strong cat urine smell, ornamental. ______
Blue spruce Pinaceae Picea pungens Needles about an inch long and VERY sharp and often have a light blue color, will usually also smell like cat urine, a common ornamental, cones 2 to 4” long. ______
Norway spruce Pinaceae Picea abies Needles ½ to ¾ inches long and tend to crowd the upper side of the twig, a common ornamental and plantation species, cones VERY long 4 to 7” long. ______
Eastern hemlock Pinaceae Tsuga canadensis Needles short at about ½ inch long and flat, yellow-green with 2 white stripes underneath, fresh cut bark shows purple streaks. ______
Douglas-fir Pinaceae Pseudotsuga menziesii Needles flattened 3/4 to 1-1/4 inches long and to be in pairs, tangerine like odor to crushed needles, a western species used in plantations and as an ornamental. ______
Balsam fir Pinaceae Abies balsamea Flattened needles ¾ to 1 ½ inches long, dark green on top and silvery banded below, favored Christmas tree for odor, bark smooth green on young turning gray with resin blisters. ______
White fir Pinaceae Abies concolor Silvery blue-green flattened needles 2 to 3 inches long with a blunt tip, citrus smell if crushed, bark smooth with resin pockets on young trees, common Christmas tree and ornamental. ______
Northern white cedar Cupressaceae Thuja occidentalis Leaf a flat series of green scales with shoots about a ½ inch long, cones small, bark fibrous grayish brown. Common ornamental, aka arborvitae. ______
Eastern red cedar Cupressaceae Juniperus virginiana Scale and needles in threes, pointed on young growth and scale like on older growth, bark like white cedar often ashy gray, gin from “berries”, common ornamental. ______
Black walnut Juglandaceae Juglans nigra Alternate, compound 12 to 24 inches long with 9 to 23 leaflets, husk round, shell corrugated, edible, lumber highly prized for fine furniture and gun stocks. ______
White walnut or Butternut Juglandaceae Juglans cinerea Alternate, compound 15 to 24 inches long with 11 to 17 leaflets, husk football shaped, sticky, shell rugose (wrinkled), edible. ______
Shagbark hickory Juglandaceae Carya ovata Alternate, pinnately compound with 5 to 7 leaflets 8 to 14 inches long, husk is nearly round, edible, bark is distinctive. ______
Bitternut hickory Juglandaceae Carya cordiformis Alternate, compound with 7 to 11 leaflets, nuts roundish, smooth with four sutures (seams), used for tool handles and very long burning. ______
Tulip poplar, Yellow-poplar, Tulip tree Magnoliaceae Liriodendron tulipifera Alternate, distinctive 4 lobed leaf shape 4 to 6 inches long.
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Cucumbertree or Cucumber magnolia Magnoliaceae Magnolia acuminata Leaves 4 to 10 inches long by 3 to 6 inches wide, has distinctive yellow flowers found in western NY along Lake Erie and Ontario. ______
Sycamore or American planetree Platanaceae Platanus occidentalis The largest eastern hardwood, leaf resembles maple but tree has molted, flaky bark that has the look of camouflage, ornamental. ______
Sweetgum Hamamelidaceae Liquidambar styraciflua Leaves alternate 3 to 7 inches in diameter palmately 5 to 7 lobes. ______
Honeylocust Caesalpiniaceae Gleditsia triacanthos Leaves double pinnately compound, has thorns and 6 to 8 inch red-brown seed pods, an common ornamental ______
Black Locust Fabaceae Robinia pseudoacacia Leaves pinnately compound 8 to 14 inches long, has short spines (thorns), bark black and deeply furrowed and poisonous, wood long lasting, used for fence posts ______
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American Elm Ulmaceae Ulmus americana Leaves have a sand papery feel, tree shape is distinctive, suffers from Dutch Elm Disease, common ornamental. ______
American basswood or Linden Tiliaceae Tilia americana Leaves came be very large, 5 to 6 inches long by 3 to 4 inches wide, buds reddish-brown and “mitten” shaped, a great carving wood. ______
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White and Black ash Oleaceae Fraxinus americana – white Fraxinus nigra – black Leaves similar, pinnately compound 8 to 12 inches long with 5 to 9 (7 for white and 9 for black) leaflets, white prefers upland, black prefers wet, black used by native americans for baskets. ______