Endemic trees of the Cache River and Tree Identification Jon E. Schoonover Email: jschoon@siu.edu Phone: 618-453-7468

Education A.S. Kaskaskia Jr. College B.S. Forest Resource Management, SIUC M.S. Forest Hydrology, SIUC Riparian Buffers in Ag. Systems Ph.D. Urban Hydrology and Watershed Management, Auburn University Hydrology, water quality, and channel morphology across an urban-rural gradient

Courses taught at SIU Courses FOR 202 – Tree ID (Fall) FOR 415 / 515 – Urban Ecosystem Management (Spring) FOR 429 – Watershed Management, Field Lab (Fall) FOR 452 – Forest Soils (Spring) FOR 452L – Forest Soils Field Lab Course (Spring)

Current and Past Research Projects Agriculture Related: HGBF Paired watershed, SIU Building better buffers Giant cane nursery Forestry Related: West Virginia

Other Research Military Installations: Ft. Knox, KY Ft. Benning, GA Urban Development: Kaskaskia River Watershed

Cache River

The history of trees in the Cache The Cache has trees of more than 1000 years old, probably some of the oldest living things East of the Mississippi It’s estimated that the Cache River Watershed supported over 250,000 acres of mature cypress-tupelo forests in pre-settlement times Prior to the Post Creek (constructed between 1912-1915) cutoff, the area was considered a mosquito infested swamp that harbored malaria

A natural snackbar Persimmons Pawpaws Wild goose plums Blackhaws/Redhaws Blackberries/Raspberries Hickories/Walnuts Pokeweed Hickory root Sassafras

Harvesting in the Cache Between 1810 and 1890 timber harvesting became a major industry in the Cache Cypress was sought for it’s light, decay/water resistant properties Sawmills began popping up along the borders of the Cache specializing in timber for lumber, railroad ties, charcoal, and packaging crates Karnak once known as “Cachetown” In 1898, the Main Brothers Box Lumber Co. came to Pulaski county and set up a sawmill along the Cache Cut 2 million bdf annually for 20 yrs in the Big Black Slough region Floated logs down the Cache to New Columbia (between present day Vienna and Metropolis)

Cache River Giants >12 State Champions 2 National Champions Cherrybark Oak, Baldcypress, Willow Oak 2 National Champions Water locust, Green hawthorn Around the 1900s sawyers were harvesting cypress tree >130’ tall Cane plants were “upwards of 30’ in height” In 1855, state fair visitors witnessed a trumpet creeper vine over 1’ thick and a 3” thick poison-ivy that came from the Cache

Forest Succession in Cache River Uplands Across the Central Hardwoods Region, forests appear to be in transition from oak-hickory to more shade tolerant species (beech-maple) Climatic change (increased precipitation) Removal of anthropogenic and natural disturbances Selective harvesting Oaks-hickories are disturbance dependant species

Dominant tree species on reforested bottomland in the Lower Cache % Composition Common Name Fraxinus pennsylvatica 31.92 Green ash Acer negundo 25.76 Boxelder Liquidambar styraciflua 12.02 Sweetgum Populus deltoides 4.62 Eastern cottonwood Platanus occidentalis 4.02 Sycamore Acer rubrum 3.48 Red maple Celtis laevigata, occidentalis 3.25 Sugarberry, Hackberry Quercus pagoda 1.63 Cherrybark oak Quercus palustris 1.43 Pin oak Salix nigra 1.41 Black willow

Cypress-Tupelo Swamps

Adaptations - Pneumatophores

Wetland Forest Function

Unique Plant Community in Riparian Areas of the Cache River Watershed Giant cane [Arundinaria gigantea (Walt.) Muhl.]

Giant Cane Distribution

Giant Cane Communities Formerly vast monotypic canebrakes – now small patches Lost due to urban and agricultural conversion, altered fire regime, grazing Support a variety of unique species associates

Associated Species 16 Bird Species 4 Reptiles 23 Mammals Swainson’s and Bachman’s Warbler s (extinct) 4 Reptiles Canebrake Rattlesnake 23 Mammals Swamp Rabbit (a.k.a, Cane-cutter) 7 Invertebrate Species 6 Lepidoptera

Dendrology Defined: The science and study of woody plants, which include trees, shrubs, and lianas (vines).

FOR 202-Course Objectives Be able to identify 135 plant species (primarily trees) important to southern Illinois forests. Provide the Family, Genus, Species, and common name for each quiz specimen. Identify the correct terminology for various plant components including leaf shapes, fruit types, and other structures. (Laboratory quiz) Understand silvicultural and ecologically significant characteristics of the species and ecosystems in which they occur.

Course Format Four hour laboratory will be held outside rain, shine, or snow. Two sections: M 8-12, W 8-12. Each section will begin at 8 am sharp since many days we will be travelling off campus. Each week approximately 10-15 new species will be introduced. Quizzes will be held weekly (beginning week 2) on previously introduced species

FOR 202 Fall 2011, Tentative Schedule Week Date Section 1, Mon. 8am-12pm Section 2, Weds. 8am-12pm Week 1 Aug. 22 / Aug. 24 Campus #1 Week 2 Aug. 29 / Sept. 31 Heron Pond Week 3 Sept. 5 / Sept. 7 No Class, Labor Day Week 4 Sept. 12 / Sept. 14 Computer Lab & Indoor Quiz Week 5 Sept. 19 / Sept. 21 Giant City State Park #1 Giant City State Park # 1 Week 6 Sept. 26 / Sept. 28 Campus #2 Week 7 Oct. 3 / Oct. 5 Pomona Natural Bridge Week 8 Oct. 10 / Oct. 12 No Class, Fall Break Campus #3 Week 9 Oct. 17 / Oct. 19 Ferne Clyffe State Park Week 10 Oct. 23 / Oct. 26 Giant City State Park #2 Week 11 Oct. 31 / Nov. 2 Campus #4 Week 12 Nov. 7 / Nov. 9 Carbondale Arboretum Week 13 Nov. 14 / Nov. 16 Campus #5 Week 14 Nov. 21 / Nov. 23 No Class, Thanksgiving Break Week 15 Nov. 28 / Nov. 30 Campus Review Session Week 16 Dec. 5 / Dec. 7 Campus Final Exam

Importance of Scientific Names Common names are given to all plants and are for the everyday person to use, they are easy to pronounce and are usually descriptive. BUT: trying to communicate with someone from a different region or country can be difficult. sometimes the same plant has many different common names - Sweetgum, Stargum, American sweetgum, Redgum different plants may have the same common name - Ironwood=Muslewood, Bluebeech, Eastern hophornbeam Different ethnicities use different names - Osage-orange, Bois d’Arc (Bodark), Hedge-apple, Horse-apple some plants are so rare that no common name is given.

The Father of Botany Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) was the first to consistently use a system of binomial nomenclature which literally means two names. Scientific names of plants consist of a generic name and a specific epithet, in Latin either underlined or in italics.

TAXONOMIC CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Plantae – Plants Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons Order: Fagales Family: Fagaceae – Beech Family Genus: Quercus - oak Species: alba – white oak

Usually the first question about the leaves will be their arrangement: alternate, opposite, or whorled

Opposite Leaf Arrangement MAD CAP HORSE (or BUCK) Maples Ashes Dogwoods Caprifoliaceae Family Horsechestnut/Buckeye

Second division will be the leaf type: compound or simple.

Leaf Tips, Bases, and Venation Leaf Shapes

Leaf Margins

Other characteristics to look for when identify trees, shrubs, and vines Texture of leaf or bark Shagbark hickory, sycamore Smell or odor when leaf is crushed Black cherry, sassafras, spicebush Hairs, glands, scales or lack thereof on bottom of leaf Black cherry Milky or clear sap when stem is pinched Norway maple, osage-orange Habitat found growing Blackjack oak, Baldcypress Leaf surface shiny or dull Red vs white mulberry, Southern magnolia

ISBN-13: 978-1-883097-64-6 https://pubsplus.illinois.edu/C1396.html

Tree Species Ulmus alata Juglans nigra Fagus grandifolia Quercus macrocarpa Acer sacharrum Cercis canadensis Quercus velutina Magnolia grandiflora Acer negundo Platanus occidentalis Liriodendron tulipifera Sassafras albidum Juniperus virginiana Tilia americana Prunus serotina Fraxinus pennsylvanica Pinus strobus