Download DendrologyHMWK1102

Alison Boutin
Dendrology Homework
Due October 9, 2002
Aesculus flava, Hippocastanaceae
Aesculus octandra Marsh. (Synonym)
Distinguishing Characteristics: Leaves have 5 pinnately compound elliptical leaflets
that are yellow to green. The fruit is a smooth light brown capsule, unlike the spiky
capsule of Aesculus glabra. smell
Yellow Buckeye
The native range is down the Ohio River Valley. This is the largest of the buckeyes. The
wood is the softest of all American hardwoods and makes poor lumber; but it is used for
pulpwood and woodenware. The young shoots and seeds contain poison that is harmful to
animals, but the shape and foliage make this an attractive shade tree. The abundant, large
nuts of yellow buckeye contain much starch but are apparently not suitable for food
because they contain a poisonous glucoside, aesculin. The American Indian ate yellow
buckeye nuts but first they roasted the nuts among hot stones and then peeled and mashed
them and leached them with water for several days. This treatment apparently removed
the aesculin.
All data from: Sylvics of North America (www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual)
Information provided by Alison Boutin, October 9, 2002
Betula nigra, Betulaceae
Black Birch
Distinguishing Characteristics: The bark is papery with a white outer color and a
red to salmon inner color. Twigs are brown, pubescent, the pith is homogenous and
the buds imbricate. Leaves like most birch are simple, alternate, pinnately veined,
and double serrated with a lustrous and glabrous topside.
The primary range of river birch is the southeastern quarter of the United States.
Scattered populations are found along rivers and streams as far north as southern
Minnesota, central Wisconsin, and the middle New England States. The tree's beauty
makes it an important ornamental, especially at the northern and western extremes of its
natural range. Because of its tolerance to acid soils, river birch has been used successfully
in strip mine reclamation. It has also been used in erosion control. Its graceful form,
attractive bark, and high resistance to the bronze birch borer make it desirable for
ornamental planting. River birch is used mainly for local enterprises such as the
manufacture of inexpensive furniture, basket hoops, and turned articles. Experiments in
North Carolina did not indicate that it is desirable for commercial pulpwood production,
but naturally occurring merchantable-sized trees are often harvested for pulpwood when
mixed with other bottomland hardwoods. Strength of the wood makes it suitable for the
manufacture of artificial limbs and children's toys. “The most beautiful of American
trees” is what Prince Maximilian thought of river birch when he toured North America
before he became the short-lived Emperor of Mexico.
All data from: Sylvics of North America (www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual)
Information provided by Alison Boutin, October 9, 2002
Fagus grandifolia, Fagaceae
American Beech
Distinguishing Characteristics: Leaves have more than 10 pairs of pinnate veins and
the leaf margin is blatantly serrate. The bark is a smooth gray, the twigs are in a
zigzag pattern. Buds are spindle like.
This slow-growing, common, deciduous tree reaches its greatest size in the alluvial soils
of the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys and may attain ages of 300 to 400 years.
Beech mast is palatable to a large variety of birds and mammals, including mice,
squirrels, chipmunks, black bear, deer, foxes, ruffed grouse, ducks, and blue jays. Beech
is the only nut producer in the northern hardwood type.???? Beech wood is excellent for
turning and steam bending. It wears well, is easily treated with preservatives, and is used
for flooring, furniture, veneer, and containers. It is especially favored for fuel wood
because of its high density and good burning qualities. Creosote made from beech wood
is used internally and externally as a medicine for various human and animal disorders.
Data from Sylvics of North America (www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual)
Information provided by Alison Boutin, October 9, 2002
Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Cercidiphyllaceae
Cercidiphyllum japonicum Sieb. & Zucc. ex J. Hoffmann & H. Schult.
Katsura tree
Distinguishing Characteristics: Leaves are light green to yellow and have a cordate
base and an overall heart shape leaf. Crenate margins The fruit on the female tree
are banana like clusters of capsules. Bud scales on the twigs are red, and the bark is
shedding.
This plant is introduced to the United States from Japan and China planted in the early
1900's as part of a Japanese garden (1). Heart-shaped leaves are blue-green in the
summer and turn scarlet to yellow in the fall. This tree often has more than one trunk.
The leaves start out in spring as a beautiful light pink before turning to light green. (2) In
summer the leaves are a bluish green before turning yellowish-apricot in the fall.
Suggested uses for this plant include shade tree, specimen plant, and street tree. Named
Cersidiphyllum because its foliage resembles that of the Redbud (Cercis). (3) As the
leaves fall and decompose, they give off an odor of caramel or cotton candy.
Data from:
1) USDA Plant database (http://plants.usda.gov/)
2) University of Pennsylvania Morris Arboretum
http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum/katsura1.html
3) Virginia Cooperative Extension
www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/factsheets/trees/kattr.html
Information provided by Alison Boutin, October 9, 2002
Catalpa speciosa, Bignoniaceae
Catalpa speciosa (Warder) Warder ex Engelm.
Northern catalpa
Distinguishing Characteristics: Leaves are cordate shaped in whorls of three with
no terminal bus showing. Fruit is a distinctive cigar shaped terminal capsule or
legume. The fruit has many winged seeds inside.
Originally native to the lower Ohio River valley and central Mississippi River Valley,
this tree has been widely distributed through human intervention. Farmers first brought it
into Ohio, commonly using it for fence posts. By way of intentional planting and
"escapes" this tree has become established in most of Ohio's counties. People also have
planted the Northern Catalpa as an ornamental tree for its showy, spring flowers. The
wood, mostly used for fence posts, also has been used for railroad ties, cheap furniture,
and interior finish. This is the favored food-plant of the Catalpa Sphinx Moth, which
sometimes strips a tree of its leaves.
Data from: http://www.oplin.lib.oh.us/products/tree/fact%20pages/catalpa/catalpa.html
Information provided by Alison Boutin, October 9, 2002
Acer nigrum, Aceraceae
Black maple
Distinguishing Characteristics: The characteristic palmately lobed Acer leaf is
distinguishable from other species by its persistent leaf like stipules on the twigs,
below the petiole base of full leaves. Double samara angle. Repand leaf blade.
Black Maple is Native to the US. (1) The wood properties of black and sugar maple
overlap in a narrow range and for all practical purposes are considered the same. (2)
Black maples are tapped for sap in the process of making maple syrup. Tests on
unreplicated plots of black and sugar maple showed little differences between the two
taxa in the sugar content of sap (2) Black maple is cut and sold with sugar maple as hard
maple lumber. In most practical forest treatments, because of its similarities in wood
properties, black maple has been included with sugar maple and treated as a subspecies.
Data From:
1) USDA Plant Database http://plants.usda.gov/
2) Sylvics of North America
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/acer/nigrum.htm
Information provided by Alison Boutin, October 9, 2002