Winter Tree Identification
What’s left after the leaves leave? • Bark • Buds • Form • Fruit • Branching • Habitat
Twig & Buds
Fruit
Branching: M A D Cap Horse
• M = Maple (Aceraceae) • A = Ash (Oleaceae)
• Ash, lilac, Forsythia, privet • D = Dogwood (Cornuaceae)
• (except alternate leaf dogwood) • Cap = Caprifoliaceae
• Viburnum, elderberry, honeysuckle • Horse = Hippocastanaceae
• Horsechestnut , buckeye
Habitat – where is the tree growing
How do you identify Arlington’s deciduous trees in winter?
• Acer/Maple • Aesculus/Buckeye • Ailanthus/Tree of Heaven • Amelanchier/Serviceberry • Asimina/Pawpaw • Betula/Birch • Carpinus/Hornbeam • Carya/Hickory • Castanea/Chestnut • Catalpa • Celtis/Hackberry • Cercis/Redbud • Chionanthus/Fringetree • Cladastris/Yellowwood • Cornus/Dogwood • Corylus/Hazel • Cotinus/Smoketree • Crataegus/Hawthorn • Diospyros/Persimmon • Fagus/Beech • Fraxinus/Ash • Ginkgo
• Gleditsia/Honeylocust • Gymnocladus/Coffeetree • Halesia/Silverbell • Juglans/Walnut • Liquidambar/Sweetgum • Liriodendron/Tuliptree • Maclura/Osage Orange • Magnolia • Malus/Crabapple • Metasequoia/Dawn redwood • Morus/Mulberry • Nyssa/Tupelo • Ostrya/Hophornbeam • Oxydendrum/Sourwood • Platanus/Sycamore • Prunus/Cherry • Pyrus/Pear • Quercus/Oaks • Rhus/Sumac • Robinia/Locust • Salix/Willow • Sassafras • Styphnolobium • Taxodium/baldcypress • Tilia/Linden • Ulmus/Elm • Viburnum
Acer/maple
• negundo,rubrum, saccharum,saccharinum
• Opposite • Flaking/cracked bark • Clustered buds • Large canopy • Streams • Sooty mold?
Ailanthus/Tree of Heaven
• altissima • Smooth bark, slightly
bumpy • Giant bud scars • Invaded habitat • Will grow out of
anything • Bark/twigs smell like
rancid peanut butter
Amelanchier/serviceberry
• arborea, canadensis, laevis
• Striped bark • Lichen • Remnant fruit • Cedar apple rust • Small trees • Understory
Betula/birch
• nigra, papyrifera • White bark • Paper-like bark • Thin canopy • Medium size • Often multitrunk • Streams • Common landscape
plant
Carpinus/Hornbeam
• Caroliniana, betulus • Bark like
muscle/sinew • Small tree • Native: gnarly • Non-native: straight
and fastigiate
Carya/Hickory
• cordiformes, glabra, illinoensis, ovata, tomentosa
• Native bark with tight lines and ridges
• Pecans and shagbark more variable
• Buds are often the id • Hickory nuts • Large tree, wide range • Not typically planted
Cercis/redbud
• canadensis • Stripped/flaking bark • Remnant fruit/beans • Uneven form • Small tree • Common landscape
Cornus/dogwood
• alternifolia, florida, kousa, mas, sericea
• Opposite (except alternifolia)
• Blocky/flaky bark • Distinctive buds • Uneven form • Small tree • Common landscape
Diospyros/persimmon
• virginiana, kaki • Dark blocky bark
(Ebony!) • Remnant fruit • Medium tree • Native rarely planted • Non-native produces
larger fruit, rarely a large tree
Fagus/beech
• grandifolia, sylvatica • Smooth bark • Often vandalized • Big tree • Fruit husks • Buds • This one is easy…
unless you want to know the difference between the two.
Fraxinus/Ash
• Americana, pennsylvanica
• Opposite • Diamonds in the bark,
often with a V bottom to the ridges.
• Horns for branches • Large tree • Common street tree in
the North, now declining, due to EAB
Ginkgo
• biloba • Smooth ridges • Sharp corners • Conservative
branching • Very slow-growing • Stacking buds
Gleditsia/honeylocust
• triacanthos • Witchy branches • Scaly bark • Giant spikes on
naturalized trees • Common landscape • Uneven form • Remnant beans
Juglans/walnut
• nigra, regia, cinerea • Deep ridges • Everything around it
is dead • Walnuts persist on
the ground • Uneven form • Loses leaves very
early
Liquidambar/sweetgum
• styraciflua • Blocky, spongy bark • Persistent spike balls • Corky ridges • Huge buds • Recently destroyed
sidewalk
Liriodendron/tuliptree
• tulipifera • Striped, light bark • Persistent flower
remnants • Don’t forget it’s a
magnolia! • Duckbill Buds • Tallest tree in the
east
Magnolia
• acuminata, stellata, virginiana, soulangeana
• Smooth bark, with lenticels, often grey
• Fuzzy buds • Remnant fruit • Common landscape
plant. • Small to medium
Metasequoia
• Glyptostroboides • Deciduous Conifer • Extremely even form • Flaky, multicolored bark • Opposite, despite not
being mentioned in the MAD Cap Horse
• Remnant fruit • Very tall at maturity
Morus/Mulberry
• Alba, rubra • Orange in the bark,
between ridges • Uneven form • Messy habit • Deep ridges in old
trees. • Medium to large • Invaded habitats
Nyssa/Tupelo
• sylvatica • Blocky bark, similar to
Cornus florida • Large, long-lived tree • Streams • Form very even when
open-grown, very uneven when wild
• Someone sat on it • Fruit retention • Common street tree
Ostrya/hophornbeam
• virginiana • Close, thin strips of
bark • Exfoliating • Common understory • Small to medium
Platanus/sycamore
• occidentalis, x acerifolia
• Do I really need to tell you what you need to look for?
• Bark • 1 Fruit vs. multiple • Streams and streets
Prunus/Cherry
• Serotina, serrulata, x yedoensis, x incamp
• Flaky, shiny bark • Grey to black • Lenticels • Remnant fruit • Native is large, non-
native small to medium
• Can be confused with birches
Pyrus/Pear
• Calleryana, communis, pyrifolia
• Dark, ridgy bark • Branches low • Remnant fruit • Poor branch
attachment • Fruit
attachment/spines • Pyrus calleryana
commonly planted/ hated as street tree
Quercus/Oak – White oaks
• alba, bicolor, montana, stellata
• Grey bark • Strips or deep ridges • Acorns often still found
in winter, rounded, larger than average red oak (except rubra)
• Clustered buds • More common in natural
areas and yards
Quercus/Oak – Red oaks
• Coccinea, falcata, palustris, phellos, rubra, velutina
• Darker bark than white oaks, browns and dark greys
• Clustered buds • Small acorns,
except for rubra. Often striped
• More common as street trees
Rhus/Sumac
• Copallina, typhina • Smooth bumpy bark,
similar to Ailanthus • Fuzzy stems and
buds • Shrubby to medium
tree size • Retains berries
Robinia/Black locust
• pseudoacacia • Deep ridged dark
brown bark • Retain beans • Short spines • Uneven form • Invaded habitats
Salix/Willow
• nigra, babylonica • Wide ridged bark,
often flaking • Rarely upright • Often multitrunk • Streamsides • Weeping forms in
the landscape
Taxodium/Baldcypress
• distichum, ascendens • Very similar to
Metasequoia, except: • Alternate branching • Cone more of a ball • Less even form • Not as tall
Tilia/Linden
• americana, cordata, tomentosa
• Bark Similar to Fraxinus, but alternate branching
• Very round form • Thick, round buds • Common street
tree
Ulmus/Elm
• americana, parvifolia, pumila, rubra
• Stripped bark, very obvious in parvifolia
• Practically spherical buds
• Often vase-shaped form
• Bacterial wetwood • Common street tree