Cornaceae – dogwood family Cornus florida flowering dogwood Sight ID characteristics Vegetative Features: • Leaf: 2 1/2-5" long, simple, opposite, deciduous, elliptical to ovate with arcuate venation and an entire margin. • Bark: broken into small brown-black plates on mature trees. • Form: usually as several wide-spreading branches with a low dense crown – opposite branching gives candelabra form. • Reproductive Features: • Few, small, perfect, 4-parted flowers with inferior ovaries arranged in heads subtended by 4 notched, showy, white-pink bracts. • Fruits are oval shaped drupes in heads of 5-6, red at maturity, with oval grooved stone. 123 NOTES AND SKETCHES 124 Cornaceae – dogwood family Cornus nuttallii Pacific dogwood Sight ID characteristics Vegetative Features: • Leaf: 2 1/2-4 1/2" long, simple, opposite, deciduous, ovate- elliptical with arcuate venation, margin may be sparsely toothed or entire. • Bark: dark and broken into small plates at maturity. • Form: straight trunk and narrow crown in forested conditions, many-trunked and bushy in open. • Reproductive Features: • Many yellowish-green, small, perfect, 4-parted flowers with inferior ovaries arranged in dense in heads, subtended by 4-7 showy white- pink, petal-like bracts - not notched at the apex. • Fruits are drupes in heads of 30-40, red at maturity and they have smooth stones. 125 NOTES AND SKETCHES 126 Cornaceae – dogwood family Cornus sericea red-osier dogwood Sight ID characteristics Vegetative Features: • Leaf: 2-4" long, simple, opposite, deciduous and somewhat narrow ovate-lanceolate with entire margin. • Twig: bright red, sometimes green splotched with red, white pith. • Bark: red to green with numerous lenticels; later developing larger cracks and splits and turning light brown. • Form: small to medium sized shrub with numerous stems forming thickets up to 15! tall. • Reproductive Features: • Flowers small, perfect, 4-parted, inferior ovary, dull-white inflorescences about 2 inches across. • Fruit a dull white to blueish drupe, 1/4 to 1/3 inch in diameter in rounded clusters. 127 NOTES AND SKETCHES 128 Hydrangeaceae – Hydrangea family Philadelphus lewisii mockorange (Syringa) Sight ID characteristics Vegetative Features: • Leaf: opposite, simple, deciduous, ovate, 1-3” long, green above and paler below, margins nearly entire with a few glandular teeth on each side - (passes the Cornus test so beware!) • Twig: slender, opposite, tan, and widely dichotomous. • Bark: light brown and shreddy. • Form: small to medium sized shrub with numerous stems forming thickets up to 15! tall. • Reproductive Features: • Flowers perfect, 4-petals and numerous stamens, inferior ovary, showy, white, solitary or clustered, about 1 inch in diameter, fragrant. • Fruit small, brown, hard, 4-celled capsule, "” in diameter. 129 NOTES AND SKETCHES 130 Oleaceae – the olive family Fraxinus pennsylvanica green ash Sight ID characteristics Vegetative Features: • Leaf: pinnately compound, opposite, 6-10" long, with 7-9 lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate or elliptical leaflets. Leaves are glabrous to pubescent (lots of variation). • Twig: slender, opposite, tan, and widely dichotomous. • Bark: grayish brown and tightly furrowed. • Form: medium sized tree, 30-50' tall and 1-2' diameter at maturity. • Reproductive Features: • Dioecious, apetalous, male flowers in tight clusters, female flowers in panicles. • Fruits are narrow, oblanceolate samaras ca. 1 1/4-2 1/4" long borne in loose panicles. Persistent on tree throughout winter. 131 NOTES AND SKETCHES 132 Oleaceae – the olive family Syringa vulgaris lilac Sight ID characteristics Vegetative Features: • Leaf: simple, opposite, deciduous, 2–6” long, ovate to cordate, with pinnate venation, a acute to acuminate apex and an entire margin. • Twig: slender, opposite, tan, and widely dichotomous. • Bark: gray to gray-brown, smooth on young stems, furrowed and flaking on older stems. • Form: medium to large shrub or multi-stemmed small tree to 30! • Reproductive Features: • Flowers tubular, ca. 1” long, 4 petal lobes, usually lilac to mauve, occasionally white, arranged in a dense, terminal panicle. • Fruit a capsule, 1–2 cm long, splitting in two to release the two winged seeds. 133 NOTES AND SKETCHES 134.