Types of Leaves

Ginkgo  Family: Ginkgoaceae  Genus: Ginkgo  Species: biloba  Scientific name: Ginkgo biloba

MAPLES Family: Aceraceae Genus: Acer

MAPLES Seeds!!

 Ex: Red maple: Acer rubrum Most maples have simple palmate leaves

Some maples have compound leaves  Box elder maple:  Acer negundo  Paper bark maple  Acer griseum  Papery bark, peels, looks like cinnamon

MAPLES  For species of maples and scientific names, see the tree ID list.  To identify specific species, use field guides, the internet, or talk to Mrs. McCarrey about using her book to compare leaves.

SYCAMORES (aka plane trees)  Family: Platanaceae  Genus: Platanus  Can be confused with maples; the difference is the sycamores don’t have the classic maple seeds and sycamores have very distinctive bark that looks like dried and cracked mud (right) or sometimes sloughs off (below)

OAKS  Family: Fagaceae  Genus: Quercus

OAKS  Seeds = acorns

BEECHES  Family: Fagaceae  Genus: Fagus  Typically have a smooth gray bark (like an elephant, but smoother!)  Classic beech leaves have wide-spread veins in a pinnate leaf and are pubescent on margins and bottom of leaf.

WILLOWS  Family: Salicaceae  Genus: Salix  Usually have narrow, pointed leaves (except for pussy willows)  Seeds: catkins (in spring)  Some “weep” (but not all – this is true of weeping willows and corkscrew willows” Above and right: catkins Left and below: leaves and tree of weeping willow

Cottonwoods & Poplars  Family: Salicaceae  Genus: Populus  Tall, grow by water, cottonwood seeds in spring  Deeply furrowed bark

ASPEN  Family: Salicaceae  Genus: Populus  Species: Populus tremuloides  Classic white bark with black lines on it; live in clumps (clonal)  Leaves: flat, soft teeth, pointed

Birches  Family: Betulaceae (same family as alders and hornbeams)  Genus: Betula (alder genus: alnus, hornbeam genus: Carpinus)  Serrated leaves  Usually have white bark (paper birch bark peels like paper, weeping birches have deeply serrated teeth and white bark with black lines)

Pine Trees  Family: Pinaceae  Genus: Pinus  Needles usually come in fascicles/bundles of 2, 3, or 5 (rarely as 1) and are usually 2” or longer  Pinecones  Needles in 2s: Austrian, Bosnian Red Cone, 2-needle pinyon, Scots/Scotch  Needles in 3s: Jeffrey and Ponderosa  Needles in 5s: Bristlecones, Limber

Spruces  Family: Pinaceae  Genus: Picea  Needles are shorter than pine needles; come in bundles/fascicles of 1  Pokey/sharp needles (typically stiffer than pine needles)  Blue spruce: Picea pungens

Cedars  Family: Pinaceae  Genus: Cedrus  More elegant appearing than pines/spruces; boughs often droop with age  Needles are whorled in clusters of at least 20

Firs and Douglas Firs  Family: Pinace  Genus for firs: Abies  Genus for Douglas-fir: Pseudotsuga  Fur needles are soft and not sharp; less stiff than spruces “firs are friendly!”  Fir cones are papery (douglas fir cones have little “tails” on the paper) Left: white fir cone Right: Douglas fir cone

Horsechestnuts/Buckeyes  Family: Sapindaceae  Genus: Aesculus  Compound palmate leaves with either 5 or 7 leaflets; seeds are spikey balls  Good shade trees

Elms  Family: Ulmaceae  Genus: Ulmus  These have prolific papery seeds (seeds almost look like petals)  Many species are messy (lots of sap, pollen, and seeds)  Serrated pinnate leaves with widely spread veins; leaf is asymmetrical where it comes off of the petiole

Linden  Family: Tiliaceae  Genus: Tilia  Key features: light serration on leaves, leaves usually asymmetrical (slightly heart shaped) where blade comes off of petiole, leaves have a petal which accompanies them and dries out/turns yellow/white as summer progresses

Walnut trees  Family: Juglandaceae  Genus: Juglans  In Utah there are two main types:  English walnut (Juglans regia)  Black Walnut (Juglans nigra )  Compound leaves Walnut seeds in spring/summer 

Fruit Trees  Family: Rosaceae  Same family as rosebushes  Many different cultivars or breeds (often people label cultivars or specific types by adding a word to the end of the scientific name, e.g. Tilia cordata greenspire, but you don’t have to identify this cultivar)

Hawthorn  Family: Rosaceae  Genus: Crataegus  Serrated leaves of varying shapes, small round berries that birds eat

Pear  Family: Rosaceae  Genus: Pyrus  Common pears are European pear Pyrus communis (has fruit) and Bradford pear (tiny non-edible fruits)

Apple  Family: Rosaceae  Genus: Malus  Includes crabapples (right) and apples (below)

Plum, cherry, apricot, peach  Family: Rosaceae  Genus: Prunus

Rowan  Family: Rosaceae  Genus: Rowan  In legend, rowan wood is used to ward off witches (see The Last Apprentice series).

Image sources  BYU TREE TOUR website  Wikimedia commons  Google images when first two sources were inadequate to portray key characteristics