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Illustrated key of simple-leaved trees |
back to main tree key oak key key of maples elm family key
(Modified from a text key to common trees of Radnor Lake by W.G. Eickmeier)
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1. Leaves alternate:
go
to 2
1. Leaves opposite:
go
to 29
2. Leaves pinnately to
palmately lobed or very coarsely toothed: go
to 3
2. Leaves unlobed but sometimes with a
finely toothed margin: go to 8
3. Leaves palmately lobed:
go
to 4
3. Leaves pinnately lobed or coarsely
toothed, fruit an acorn: go to key of oaks
4. Leaves only in part
palmately lobed (leaves variable on the same tree from unlobed to
mitten-shaped): go to 5
4. Leaves all palmately lobed:
go to 6
5.
Leaves with toothed margins and not aromatic, main veins looping at ends to
veins above, sap milky, fruit multiple druplets (a conglomerate of single-seeded
fleshy fruits):
Morus
rubra
5. Leaves with entire margins and aromatic when crushed, main veins
not looping at ends, sap not milky, fruit a single drupe looking like a golf
ball on a tee:
Sassafras
albidum
6. Stipule scars completely encircle the twig, leaves 4 lobed, fruit erect
and an elongated aggregate of winged seeds:
Liriodendron
tulipifera
6. Stipule scars not encircling twig, leaves 3 or 5
lobed, fruit hanging and ball shaped: go to 7
7. Leaves with shallow lobes and no strong smell,
fruit a ball of wind-dispersed seeds that break away from the center, bark thin
and shedding to
leave white patches on trunk, frequently along streams:
Platanus
occidentalis
(sycamore)
7. Leaves deeply lobed and star shaped with 5
definite lobes and an aromatic scent when crushed, fruit a hard spiky ball with
holes, bark not shedding:
Liquidambar
styraciflua
8. Leaves entire, margin
smooth to wavy: go to 9
8. Leaves toothed
or containing at least some teeth:
go
to 14
9.
Leaves heart-shaped, fruit a legume often found directly attached to larger branches,
small tree:
Cercis
canadensis
9. Leaves elongated, longer than wide, fruit
not a legume: go to 10
10. Leaves spicy-aromatic
when crushed, fruit a small red drupe, leaves about 10 cm
long, shrub to small tree:
Lindera
benzoin
(spicebush)
10. Leaves not spicy-aromatic when crushed,
fruit not red: go to 11
11. Leaves 3 to 5 cm long
or less, small tree to erect shrub, leaves leathery and semi-evergreen:
Vaccinium
arboreum (farkleberry) [Note: other less common Vaccinium
species are also present in the area]
11. Leaves greater than 10 to 13 cm long:
go
to 12
12. Leaves about 13 to 15
cm long: go to 13
12. Leaves to 25 cm long, twigs and lower
leaf surfaces rusty pubescent, long and thin terminal bud distinctively rusty, leaves malodorous when crushed:
Asimina
triloba
(paw-paw)
13. Leaves often purple
spotted in late summer and fall, medium tree, bark deeply angular and blocky,
leaf scar with a single banana-shaped bundle trace, fruit a 4 cm fleshy berry, orange when ripe:
Diospyros
virginiana
(persimmon)
13. Leaves often crowded at tips of twigs,
widest about 2/3 from base, bark not blocky, leaf scar with three bundle-traces,
fruit a small blue drupe, early red fall coloration:
Nyssa
sylvatica
14. Leaf base uneven or asymmetrical,
or bud asymmetrical in scar:
go to 15
14. Leaf base even and symmetrical:
go to 18
15. Leaves once toothed:
go to 16
15. Leaves twice toothed ( large teeth again
bearing smaller teeth): go to key of the elms
16.
Bark not warty, only two
terminal bud scales, leaf broadly heart-shaped:
Tilia
americana
(basswood)
16. Bark of trunk with warty raised
ridges, imbricate terminal bud scales, leaf not heart-shaped:
go to 17
17. Leaves narrow, less than half as
broad as long, teeth reduced:
Celtis
laevigata
17. Leaves wide, more than half as broad as long,
teeth coarse:
Celtis
occidentalis
18. Leaves clearly once toothed or
twice toothed: go to 21
18. Leaves irregularly toothed, or not clearly once
or twice toothed: go to 19
19. Twigs armed with sharp spines with short spur-shoots present,
fruit small and apple-like. Note: Crataegus
species are numerous and difficult to identify. Crataegus
phaenopyrum (Washington hawthorn) is illustrated here.
Crataegus
sp. (hawthorn)
19. Twigs not armed and without spur-shoots, fruit not apple-like:
go to 20
20. Bark smooth and fluted
as a muscle, fruit in a winged bract:
Carpinus
caroliniana
(American hornbeam)
20. Bark rough and scaley, seed in an
inflated bag, bud scales with fine striations under hand lens:
Ostrya
virginiana
(hop hornbeam)
21. Leaves once toothed: go to 22
21. Leaves twice toothed ( large teeth again
bearing smaller teeth): go to 27
22. Leaves more than 3 times as long as wide:
go to 23
22. Leaves less than twice as long as wide, or about two times as long
as wide: go to 24
23. Petioles with 2 prominent glands, more than one
bud scale, bark with horizontal rows of lenticels and flaky on large trees,
fruit a fleshy drupe (single-seeded):
Prunus
serotina
(black cherry)
23. Petioles without 2 prominent glands, one bud scale, bark
cracking to form vertical ridges with lenticels not in rows, fruit a cottony
capsule, commonly found along streams and lakes:
Salix nigra (black willow)
24. Main veins looping at ends to veins above,
lobed or mitten-shaped leaves may be found but some trees may have only unlobed
leaves, sap milky, fruit a multiple of druplets (a conglomerate of single-seeded
fleshy fruits):
Morus
rubra
24. Main veins not looping, leaves not lobed, sap not milky, fruit not
as above: go to 25
25. Leaves somewhat triangular and regularly toothed,
petioles flattened, fruit a cottony capsule:
Populus
deltoides
25. Leaves not triangular or if triangular then with irregular teeth, petioles round, fruit otherwise: go to 26
26. Teeth small but prominent, veins distinctly
parallel, twigs with long pointed winter buds, fruit a triangular nut in a spiny
covering, smooth gray bark:
Fagus
grandifolia
26. Teeth
somewhat irregular, veins not strikingly parallel, twigs with small buds and
armed with sharp spines, fruit small and apple-like,
bark not smooth. Note: Crataegus
species are numerous and difficult to identify. Crataegus
phaenopyrum (Washington hawthorn) is illustrated here.
Crataegus
sp. (hawthorn)
27. Bark smooth and fluted
as a muscle, fruit in a winged bract:
Carpinus
caroliniana
(American hornbeam)
27. Bark scaly,
ridged, or smooth with corky wings, but not fluted; fruit an winged samara or in
an inflated bag: go to 28
28. Teeth tending to be irregular, twigs without
corky ridges, seed in an
inflated bag, bud scales with fine striations under hand lens:
Ostrya
virginiana
(hop hornbeam)
28. Teeth tending to be regular, twigs with corky ridges, seed a
winged samara:
Ulmus
alata
29. Leaves palmately lobed,
fruit a double samara: go to key of maples
29. Leaves not lobed:
go
to 30
30. Leaf margin smooth,
tree small, fruits clustered, leaf veins running parallel to margin at edge of
leaf, distinctive large terminal buds:
Cornus
florida
30. Leaf margin finely toothed, shrub to
small tree, thick reddish brown pubescence on petiole:
Viburnum
rufidulum (blue
haw)
