Download Identifying Trees by Bark and Buds - Iowa State University Extension

Identifying Trees by
Bark and Buds
By Jay C. Hayek
Extension Forestry Specialist
© 2015 Jay C. Hayek
Outline
 Essential Terminology
 Principle ID Techniques
 Bark
 Buds / Twigs
 Winter Tree ID Guides
 Summary
Caveats
 This is a 50 minute, basic winter tree ID seminar
 Obviously, it is NOT intended to be exhaustive!
 Dendrology is a 1-2 semester course at most
universities!
 A one semester dendrology course is equivalent to 15-16
weeks of classroom lectures and field labs!
Plant Classification
 Utilize binomial system of nomenclature
 Generic name, or Genus
 Example: Quercus (oak)
 Specific epithet
 Example: alba (white)
 Binomial name, Scientific name, or Species name
 Quercus alba L.
 Preferred common name
 white oak (our state tree)
Principal ID Techniques
Tree/Shrub ID Techniques
 Leaves (growing season; and dormant season)
 Flowers (early spring – early summer)
 Bark (year round)
 Twigs (year round)
 Leaf arrangement
 Buds & Pith
 Fruit (year round; if available)
 Natural Habitat / Native Range (year round)
 Form (year round)
Winter ID Techniques
 Leaves (growing season; and dormant season)
 Flowers (early spring – early summer)
 Bark (year round)
 Twigs (year round)
 Leaf arrangement
 Buds & Pith
 Fruit (year round; if available)
 Natural Habitat (year round)
 Form (year round)
Bark
Bark
Appearance
•
Surface Texture & Pattern
•
•
•
•
•
Mature vs. Young
Thickness
Subtle to extreme variability
does exist w/in species
Different authors use different
bark texture descriptions!
Color
I identify over 90% of trees by
bark…at least to the genus level!
paper birch (Betula papyrifera)
Source: Keith Kanoti, Maine Forest Service, Bugwood.org
Bark Appearance
• Provenance or location
• Age (young vs. mature)
• Subtle to extreme variation can/does occur within
species – that’s Mother Nature for you!
• Growth rate (fast, moderate, or slow)
• Black walnut as a good example
Bark Appearance
• Genetics
• Environment
• Growing Conditions
• Forest grown vs. Open grown
Bark (Surface) Texture
• Ridges
• vertical crests divided by intervening furrows
• uninterrupted (n. red oak)
• interlaced (white ash)
• broken (white oak)
• Furrows
• vertical grooves separated by narrow or broad ridges
• Fissures
• regular or irregular cracks or crevices, narrower than
furrows; may be oriented vertically or horizontally
Source: Field Guide to Trees of North American, National Wildlife Federation
eastern white pine
eastern cottonwood
© Jay C. Hayek
(Pinus strobus)
(Populus deltoides)
Image: Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org
Broken Horizontal Ridges
white oak (Quercus alba)
Image: http://www.ibiblio.org/botnet/AngiospermBark/whiteoak_bark.jpg
Intersecting Ridges
white ash (Fraxinus americana)
mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa)
Images: Keith Kanoti, Maine Forest Service, Bugwood.org; http://usinggeorgianativeplants.blogspot.com
Deeply Furrowed Bark
ridge
furrow
chestnut oak (Quercus montana)
Image: Nancy Loewenstein, Auburn University, Bugwood.org
Age-related Variability
© Jay C. Hayek
© Jay C. Hayek
northern red oak (Quercus rubra)
© Jay C. Hayek
Quercus rubra
Image: Robert Vidéki, Doronicum Kft., Bugwood.org
Bark (Surface) Texture
• Smooth
• flat surface lacking in ridges, furrows, and similar
features
• Plates
• relatively large, distinctively circumscribed portions of
bark; large and flat, small and blocky
• shagbark hickory (Carya ovata)
• shellbark hickory (Carya laciniosa)
Source: Field Guide to Trees of North American, National Wildlife Federation
Smooth Bark
Smooth Bark
© Jay C. Hayek
Am. beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Am. hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana)
Image: Vern Wilkins, Indiana University, Bugwood.org
Plates
shagbark hickory (Carya ovata)
Plates
shellbark hickory (Carya laciniosa)
Image: Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org; Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org
Plates
Broken Horizontal Ridges
© Jay C. Hayek
white oak (Quercus alba)
white oak (Quercus alba)
Image: http://dogsfirebeerjournal.blogspot.com
Bark (Surface) Texture
• Peeling (exfoliating)
• separating into relatively large, thin, and sometimes
curling plates or sheets
• Scales
• small, thin, often flaking plates
• Flaking
• separating into thin slivers, chips, scales, or shavings
Source: Field Guide to Trees of North American, National Wildlife Federation
Burnt Potato Chip Bark
black cherry (Prunus serotina)
Source: http://fieldbioinohio.blogspot.com
Flaking Bark
e. hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)
Peeling Bark
river birch (Betula nigra)
Image: Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org; Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org
Flaky and Mottled Bark
Am. sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Source: Brett Marshall, Sault College, Bugwood.org
Bark (Surface) Texture
• Horizontal lines (lenticels)
• Partially or completely raised lines that are often
derived from lenticels in young bark
• Shredding / Fibrous
• Peeling in long, usually vertical, sometimes frayed
strips or strings
• Corky
• visible corky or wartlike outgrowths
Source: Field Guide to Trees of North American, National Wildlife Federation
Horizontal Lines
yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
Blocky Bark
persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
Image: USDA Forest Service - Northeastern Area Archive, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org; http://fieldbioinohio.blogspot.com
Corky Bark
hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
Shredding / Peeling Bark
e. redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)
Images: Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.or; Keith Kanoti, Maine Forest Service, Bugwood.org
Twigs & Buds
Image: www.biosci.ohio-state.edu
lateral /
axillary bud
vascular bundle
traces
bud scale
leaf scar
terminal bud
scale scar
lenticel
terminal bud
Adapted from: www.biosci.ohio-state.edu
Twigs & Buds
Buds
• Arrangement
• Position
• Size
• Shape
• Color
Bud Arrangement
• Alternate (staggered)
• Opposite (directly across from each other)
• Whorled (directly across from each other)
• Sub-opposite
Bud Arrangement
TADI
alternate
CASP
SACA
opposite
whorled
RHCA
sub-opposite
Image: ohioplants.org/twiginfo/
Mnemonic Device
• “Opposite” Bud Arrangement
• M.A.D. Buck & Vib.rant Cat
• Maple (Acer)
• Ash (Fraxinus)
• Dogwood (Cornus)
• Buckeye (Aesculus)
• Viburnum (Viburnum)
• Catalpa (Catalpa)
More…
• Additional “opposite” woody plants
• Elderberry (Sambucus)
• Bladdernut (Staphylea)
• Buttonbush (Cephalanthus)
Bud Position
• Terminal bud
• bud formed at extreme tip of twig and indicates end of
growth; no twig scar present.
• Lateral, or Axillary bud
• solitary bud located below leaf scar on side of the twig.
• Pseudoterminal bud
• formed when a lateral bud assumes the position and
function of a terminal bud; accompanied by twig scar
Source: (Fralish and Franklin, 2002)
Bud Position
• Superimposed buds
• A second lateral bud located directly above the
normal lateral bud; in Carya and Juglans, the
superimposed bud produces flowers (catkins) and
the lateral bud expands to form twigs and leaves.
• Accessory buds
• located on either side of a lateral bud, or several
may be clustered around a terminal bud as in
Quercus; accessory buds may contain flowers.
Source: (Fralish and Franklin, 2002)
Bud Position Examples
TIAM
lateral
TIAM
pseudoterminal
CACO
terminal
QUMU
clustered
Image: ohioplants.org/twiginfo/
Superimposed Bud
© Jay C. Hayek
(Juglans cinerea)
Chambered Pith
© Jay C. Hayek
(Juglans cinerea)
Pseudoterminal Bud
Catalpa – terminal bud absent
Image: http://www.buildingthepride.com/faculty/pgdavison/images/trees/twigs/catsptb.jpg
Bud Scales
• Nearly all species have scales covering the
miniature leaves and/or flowers of the next
growing season
• These scales, arranged in a systematic
fashion that is consistent for a given
species, are in important aid in ID
Source: (Fralish and Franklin, 2002)
Bud Scales
• Imbricate (Acer saccharum)
• Valvate (Liriodendron tulipifera)
• Capped (Platanus occidentalis)
• Naked (Hamamelis virginiana)
Source: (Fralish and Franklin, 2002)
Bud Scales
LITU
flower bud
valvate
HAVI
ACSC
imbricate
naked
Image: ohioplants.org/twiginfo/
Caov
Cato
Caco
Cagl
Cala
Image: floraofohio.blogspot.com/2011/02/care-to-learn-your-caryas.html
White Ash vs. Green Ash
• White ash (left)
• crescent shaped leaf
scar
• Green ash (right)
• D-shaped leaf scar
Image: ohiodnr.com
Stipular Scar
Image: bobklips.com/latewinter2009.html
Pith
Twig Pith
• Pith
• The central portion of a twig is composed of a cylinder of
parenchyma cells called “pith.”
• Continuous, solid (Diospyros virginiana)
• Continuous, diaphragmed (Nyssa sylvatica)
• Chambered (Juglans nigra)
• Spongy (Sambucus canadensis)
• Hollow, excavated (Diospyros virginiana)
Source: (Fralish and Franklin, 2002)
Continuous
Diaphragmed
Chambered
“solid”
“solid w/ partitions”
“hollow w/ partitions”
Source: Woody Plants in Winter by Core and Ammons, 1958.
Pith Type
LITU
ALAL
LOSP
JUNI
© Jay C.
Hayek
solid
diaphragmed chambered
hollow
Image: ohioplants.org/twiginfo/
Butternut vs. Walnut
© Jay C. Hayek
Butternut vs. Walnut
© Jay C. Hayek
Twig Appearance
• Color
• Odor & Taste
• Lenticels
• Outgrowths
• Winged, or angled
Source: (Fralish and Franklin, 2002)
Bur Oak – Corky Ridges
© Jay C.
Hayek
Image: www.portraitoftheearth.com/trees/bur%20oak/P1110463.JPG
Winged / Angled Twigs
© michigannatureguy.com
© Jay C.
Hayek
Image: www.portraitoftheearth.com/trees/bur%20oak/P1110463.JPG
Twig Appearance
• Surface
• Glabrous (smooth)
• Pubescent (hairy)
• Glaucus (whitish coating, film)
• Polished or dull
• Armament
• Thorns, spines, prickles
Armament
• Spines are modified leaves or stipules
and as such are generally thinner and
shorter than thorns, which are
modified branches.
• Prickles are slender outgrowths of the
epidermis.
Image: ohioplants.org/twiginfo/
Armament
ROPS
stipular spine
CRSP
RUAL
thorn
prickle
Image: ohioplants.org/twiginfo/
Armament Examples
• honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
• black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
• Osage-orange (Maclura pomifera)
• devils walking-stick (Aralia spinosa)
• prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum americanum)
Twig Color
• Twig color can be an extremely helpful ID tool
• Focus on newest growth twigs
• Boxelder (Acer negundo)
• Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
• Redosier dogwood (Cornus sericea)
Twig Color
© Jay C.
Hayek
boxelder (Acer negundo)
Image: www.phytoimages.siu.edu
Twig Odor / Taste
• Sassafras (pleasant, spicy aromatic smell)
• Yellow birch (pleasant, wintergreen smell)
• Black cherry (pungent, bitter-almond smell)
• Spicebush (pleasant, spicy aromatic smell)
• Common hoptree (pungent smell)
Field Guides
Summary
• Learn botanical terminology
• Work with what you have (process of elimination):
1. Bark
2. Twigs & Buds
3. Fruit (not covered in this presentation)
• Take high-quality pictures
• Compare to Internet Photos
• Compare to Tree/Shrub ID Guides
• If necessary, revisit the tree during the growing season if
leaves and flowers are essential to properly ID the
tree/shrub to the species level
Questions & Answers
Jay C. Hayek, Extension Forestry Specialist
W-521 Turner Hall (MC-047)
1102 S. Goodwin Ave
Urbana, IL 61801
Email: jhayek (at) illinois (dot) edu