FIELD GUIDE Trees of Manitoba TABLE OF CONTENTS Manitoba’s Ecozones 2 Deciduous Trees 36 Sustainable Forest American Elm Management 4 (White Elm) 38 Identifying Balsam Poplar Manitoba Trees 7 (Black Poplar) 40 Manitoba Tree Basswood (Linden) 42 Silhouetes 8 Black Ash 44 Acknowledgements 10 Bur Oak (Scrub Oak) 46 Using This Guide 10 Cotonwood 48 Illustrated Terms 12 Green Ash 50 Guide to trees based Hackberry 52 on their leaves 14 Hop-Hornbeam Guide to trees based (Ironwood) 54 on their winter twigs 16 Largetooth Aspen 56 Coniferous Trees 18 Manitoba Maple Balsam Fir 20 (Box-Elder) 58 Black Spruce 22 Peachleaf Willow 60 Eastern White Cedar 24 Showy Mountain Ash 62 Eastern White Pine 26 Trembling Aspen Jack Pine 28 (White Poplar) 64 Red Pine 30 White Birch Tamarack (Larch) 32 (Paper Birch) 66 White Spruce 34 Wild Plum 68 MANITOBA’S ECOZONES SOUTHERN Manitoba is divided into six ecozones: boreal plains, boreal ARCTIC shield, Hudson plains, prairie, southern arctic and taiga shield. TAIGA Each zone has its own characteristics, including native trees. SHIELD BOREAL PLAINS PRAIRIE The boreal plains ecozone This zone is dominated by consists of plains and fat plains, the majority of valleys. Much of it is forested which is used for agriculture. with spruce, balsam fr and The north prairie ecozone HUDSON jack pine. Broadleaf trees features trembling aspen PLAINS such as aspen and poplar and balsam poplar. are common. SOUTHERN ARCTIC BOREAL BOREAL SHIELD Of the arctic ecozones, SHIELD This zone is dominated this ecozone has the most by forests. The dominant extensive vegetation cover coniferous species are and the highest diversity of black spruce, jack pine, species. It is characterized white spruce, tamarack and by dwarf shrubs. balsam fr. Trembling aspen, TAIGA SHIELD white birch and balsam In the taiga shield, much of poplar are the most common BOREAL the forest is open, and tree deciduous species. PLAINS growth is ofen stunted HUDSON PLAINS due to permafrost and cold The northern part of this temperatures. Black spruce ecozone is largely treeless, and jack pine dominate, though areas further south though trees such as grow open forest. Southern, trembling aspen and white wet locations grow willow, birch can be found. tamarack and black spruce. PRAIRIE 3 SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT Sustainable forest In Manitoba, sustainable management is a way forest management of using and caring for decisions and activities are forests to maintain their based on scientifc research, environmental, social, rigorous planning processes and economic values and public consultation. In and benefts. this way, sustainable forest Sustainable forest management protects management balances the long-term value of the demand for natural the forest. resources and the vitality Sustainable forest of the forest. management ensures that forests are available for generations to come. 5 IDENTIFYING MANITOBA’S TREES Although many trees may than trees growing in open look alike, a closer inspection areas. Some trees that grow of their leaves and twigs will tall in one area may hardly reveal their character and develop into more than a distinctiveness. shrub in another. The shape In Manitoba, there are 24 of a tree alone, therefore, is native trees. While some are not always the best guide for seen only in localized areas, identifcation. Leaf shape, the majority are within a bud growth, bark, fowers, half-day’s drive from most and cones should also be homes. This feld guide will used. As well, very young help readers understand trees have diferent forms, what features to look for in leaf stages, etc. from their order to easily identify all mature characteristics. 24 native Manitoba trees. In this guide, a tree is When identifying trees, it is generally defned as a important to note that not woody plant having one all members of the same well-defned trunk and a species will look alike. For recognizable crown. It must example, trees growing in grow to a minimum height of dense forest will shed their 4.5 metres at maturity and lower branches. They will be have a trunk diameter of not more pole-like and narrower less than fve centimetres. 7 MANITOBA TREE SILHOUETTES Trees may look alike, however, a closer inspection of their silhouete will reveal their unique characteristics. BALSAM BLACK EASTERN WHITE BUR COTTONWOOD GREEN 'FIR SPRUCE! tCEDAR OAK ASH EASTERN WHITE JACK RED HACKBERRY HOP-HORNBEAM LARGETOOTH 'PINE PINEt ♦PINE ASPEN • I, , • ,, . ~ . t ,, " -,,,; ' ~ 1_ • • ', . ' - MANITOBA PEACHLEAF SHOWY TAMARACK WHITE AMERICAN SPRUCE ELM MAPLE WILLOW MOUNTAIN ASH . , '._ ;_' . I BALSAM BASSWOOD BLACK TREMBLING WHITE WILD POPLAR ASH ASPEN BIRCH PLUM ' 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Manitoba Sustainable In some instances, Development thanks indigenous language Mr. Oswald, Mr. Nokes, and translations are unavailable. the Canadian Forest Service For example, Dene for producing the original (a language spoken in the publication of the feld guide north), does not have a in 1979. translation for white The Department also thanks pine, which grows in the Indigenous Languages of extreme south east corner Manitoba Inc. for providing of Manitoba. Cree, Dakota, Dene, Michif, Ojibwe and Ojibwe-Cree translations in 2019. USING THIS GUIDE This booklet provides many Look at the leaf shape and ways to identify trees using identify the buds and the tree silhouetes, bark, leaves way they grow on the twig. In and winter twigs. the winter, you can use twigs First, familiarize yourself to identify the tree. with the terms used in this To confrm tree guide. Look at the tree identifcation, turn to the silhouete and compare it full description of the tree in to the ones in this guide. this book and compare other Next, use the charts on the details such as general form, following pages to help bark and distribution. identify the tree. 11 ILLUSTRATED TERMS A graphic guide to technical terms found in this book. Simple Terminal leaf Compound bud leaf Leaf scar Bud Leafets scales Bundle scars Lenticels Lateral bud Buds against Buds away twig from twig Leaf stalk Past year’s growth Previous year’s Leaf growth single-toothed Twigs whorled Buds opposite Leaf bases on spruce twig Leaf Buds double-toothed Twig alternate Leaf Spurs on lobed tamarack twig 13 Guide to trees based on their leaves LEAVES (L) BROAD, FLAT L. COMPOUND L. SIMPLE LEAVES (L) NEEDLE OR SCALE-LIKE LFTS. *7 OR MORE LFTS. 3–5 L. LOBED L. NOT LOBED not lobed some lobed L. NEEDLE-LIKE L. SCALE-LIKE MANITOBA MAPLE BUR OAK L. DOUBLE-TOOTHED E. WHITE CEDAR L. OPPOSITE L. ALTERNATE L. EQUAL AT BASE L. LOP-SIDED L. SINGLE ON BRANCH L. IN CLUSTERS OF 2-10 ON BRANCH ON BRANCH SHOWY MOUNTAIN ASH AMERICAN ELM L. SOFT, FLAT LFTS. NO STALKS LFTS. WITH STALKS L. USU. TRIANGULAR L. OVAL-SHAPED L. STIFF, 4-SIDED BALSAM FIR BLACK ASH GREEN ASH WHITE BIRCH NEW TWIGS HAIRY TWIGS NOT HAIRY BLACK SPRUCE WHITE SPRUCE L. UNDERSURFACE NOT HAIRY L. UNDERSURFACE FINELY HAIRY WILD PLUM HOP-HORNBEAM L. IN CLUSTERS OF 2 L. IN CLUSTERS OF 5 OR MORE L. SINGLE-TOOTHED L. 4" OR LONGER L. UNDER 2" L. 5 IN A CLUSTER CLUSTERS 10 OR MORE L.EQUAL AT BASE L. LOP-SIDED TEETH SMALL TEETH LARGE RED PINE JACK PINE E. WHITE PINE TAMARACK LEAVES WIDE L. NARROW TWIGS HAIRY TWIGS NOT HAIRY L. STALKS ROUND PEACHLEAF WILLOW HACKBERRY BASSWOOD BALSAM POPLAR L. STALKS FLAT TEETH SMALL TEETH LARGE TREMBLING ASPEN *LFTS. = LEAFLETS L. NEARLY ROUND L. TRIANGULAR LARGETOOTH ASPEN COTTONWOOD 15 Guide to trees based on their winter twigs BUDS OPPOSITE BUDS ALTERNATE TWIGS HAIRY TWIGS NOT HAIRY SPURS ALONG TWIG TWIGS NO SPURS MANITOBA MAPLE TAMARACK BUDS BLACK BUDS RUSTY BROWN BUDS STICKY BUDS NOT STICKY BLACK ASH GREEN ASH BUDS HAIRY BUDS NOT HAIRY SHOWY MOUTAIN ASH TWIGS RIDGED TWIGS SMOOTH COTTONWOOD BALSAM POPLAR TWIGS FUZZY OR HAIRY TWIGS NOT FUZZY OR HAIRY LENTICELS LENTICELS TIPS WITH TIPS WITH ROUND ELONGATED 3–4 BUDS SINGLE BUD LEAF SCARS LEAF SCARS BUR OAK TWIGS WRINKLED HOP-HORNBEAM WILD PLUM TWIGS SMOOTH BASSWOOD LATERAL BUDS LATERAL BUDS MANY FEW AGAINST TWIG AWAY FROM TWIG LENTICELS LENTICELS HACKBERRY WHITE BIRCH TERMINAL BUD TERMINAL BUD BUDS SINGLE BUDS MANY BLUNT SHARP SCALE SCALES LARGETOOTH PEACHLEAF TREMBLING AMERICAN ELM ASPEN WILLOW ASPEN 17 Coniferous Trees BALSAM FIR Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. Cree: Napakátik Michif: Lyayr Ojibwe: Zhingob(iig) Ojibwe-Cree: Napakaantak FORM FLOWERS A moderately dense April-May, solitary from base evergreen tree with a of previous year’s leaves, red slender symmetrical or purple, oval. spire-shaped crown. FRUIT BARK An erect, oblong, dark Grey, smooth-to-roughened by purple cone with thin scales raised resin blisters on young atached to upper side of trees, becoming cracked and branches, 4–10 cm long; scaly on older trees. disintegrating at maturity leaving cone axis on branch. TWIGS Opposite, grey, slender, OCCURRENCE smooth, more or less hairy. Fairly common throughout Buds about 5 mm with forested region, except greenish-brown scales extreme north, in moist covered with resin. habitats; usually mixed with other tree species. LEAVES Single, fat, twisted at base, NOTES needle-like, sof, rounded The needles and sap are or notched at tip, 15–25 mm fammable and can help long, usually spreading into to start a fre. one plane; whitened below along two lines. 21 BLACK SPRUCE Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P. Cree: Kakitéwi Minahik Dene: Ehl Michif: La nipinet nwayr Ojibwe: Zesegaandag Ojibwe-Cree: Shikop FORM sides, needle-like, about A dense evergreen tree; crown 8–15 mm long. generally irregularly pyramidal FLOWERS and symmetrical but tip ofen May, solitary on preceding club-shaped; lower branches year’s twig, dark red or drooping, lowest branches purple, oval.