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Title: Forest Trees of Texas - How to Know Them
Author: Matoon, W. R., Webster, C. B.
Language: English
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Forest Trees of Texas
_How To Know Them_
_Eighth Edition
Ninth Printing
October, 1990_
TEXAS FOREST SERVICE
A PART OF
THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
BULLETIN 20 APRIL, 1963
CROWN
TRUNK
HEARTWOOD (INACTIVE) GIVES STRENGTH
SAPWOOD CARRIES SAP FROM ROOT TO LEAVES
CAMBIUM (MICROSCOPIC) BUILDS THE CELLS
INNER BARK CARRIES PREPARED FOOD FROM LEAVES TO CAMBIUM LAYER
OUTER BARK PROTECTS TREE FROM INJURIES
ROOTS
SURFACE ROOTS
TAPROOT
_Tree increases each year in height and spread of branches by adding on
new growth of twigs_
_Air supplies carbon the principal food of the tree taken in on under
surface of leaves._
_Leaves prepare the food obtained from air and soil and give off
moisture by transpiration. Light and heat are necessary for the chemical
changes_
_The breathing pores of the entire tree,—on leaves, twigs, branches,
trunk and roots take in oxygen. Flooding, poisonous gases, or smoke may
kill a tree_
_Root tips or root hairs take up water containing small quantity of
minerals in solution_
_The buds, root tips, and cambium layer are the growing parts of the
tree. Water containing a small quantity of minerals in solution is
absorbed by the roots, carried up through the sapwood to the leaves and
there combined with carbon from the air to make food. This food is
carried by the inner bark to all growing parts of the tree, even down to
the root tips_
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The first edition of _Forest Trees of Texas—How to Know Them_ was
assembled by W. R. Matoon and C. B. Webster in 1928. The sections,
“Trees as Mankind’s Friends”, “Studying a Tree”, “Other Texas Trees”,
drawings of twigs, leaves and fruits, and the glossary were incorporated
into the fourth and fifth editions by S. L. Frost and D. A. Anderson.
The sixth and seventh editions were edited by H. E. Weaver and W. A.
Smith, respectively. Some of the drawings used in this publication were
made available by the United States Forest Service.
The eighth edition was revised and edited by John A. Haislet to conform
with the nomenclature in _Check List of Native and Naturalized Trees of
the United States (Including Alaska)_, Agriculture Handbook No. 41,
prepared under the direction of the United States Forest Service Tree
and Range Plant Committee. D. A. Anderson’s “A Guide to the
Identification of the Principal Trees and Shrubs of Texas” was revised
and incorporated in the eighth edition to give it greater utility to the
non-technical student of trees.
TREES ... MANKIND’S FRIENDS
Trees have held an important place in man’s way of life since he has
been on the earth. Trees provided early man with weapons to defend
himself and helped provide him with food, shelter and fuel.
Trees have played an important role in the history of the United States.
Timber was our nation’s first export. The forest also provided our
forefathers with their homes, farm implements, rifle stocks and wagons.
The forest, by furnishing ties and utility poles, made possible the
expansion of railroad systems, electric power and telephone networks.
Every industry depends upon forest products in one way or another.
Trees are more important today than ever before. More than 10,000
products are reportedly made from trees. Through chemistry, the humble
woodpile is yielding chemicals, plastics and fabrics that were beyond
comprehension when an axe first felled a Texas tree.
The American standard of living depends to no small extent on the care
with which we use our forest resource. Fortunately, trees are a
renewable resource. They can be grown as a crop and harvested in such a
way that the stand is kept productive, and a steady supply of forest
products is assured.
TEXAS TREES
A tree is generally defined as a woody plant having one well-defined
stem and a more or less definitely formed crown, usually attaining a
height of at least eight feet. Using water and minerals from the soil,
gases from the air and energy from the sun, a tree manufactures the food
it needs for growth and reproduction. Trees, like man, grow rapidly when
they are young but gradually their growth decreases; they begin to
deteriorate and eventually die. Nature then reduces them to the elements
from which they were derived.
The terms “hardwood,” “softwood,” “deciduous” and “non-deciduous” are
often encountered in tree literature. These terms are confusing and
often misleading. Needle-bearing or cone-bearing trees are designated as
softwoods even though the wood may be dense. Hardwoods are the
broad-leaved (unlike needles or scales) trees, the wood of which may be
dense or soft.
The conifers, or softwoods, generally retain their leaves more than one
growing season and produce seed in cones; however, there are exceptions.
Baldcypress, a conifer, is deciduous since it sheds its leaves in
autumn. Cedar and juniper produce berry-like cones that scarcely
resemble cones.
The hardwoods, or broad-leaved trees, are generally deciduous; i.e.,
they shed their leaves in autumn. Texas has many exceptions, for
example: southern magnolia, live oak and American holly which retain
green leaves through the winter.
More than half of the 1,100 species of native trees in the United States
are found in the South. Of these, more than 200 species and varieties
are native to Texas. In addition, many exotic species have been
introduced and now grow in many parts of the state.
The four main forest regions of Texas include: the Southern pine forest
in East Texas; the central hardwoods, the post oak and cross timbers of
North-central Texas; the semi-tropical forest in the Rio Grande Valley
region of Texas; and the mountain forest, the timbered areas of West
Texas which are a continuation of the timber types of the Southern Rocky
Mountains. In Texas, trees are the principal vegetative cover on an
estimated area of 28,805,617 acres.
[Illustration: TREE REGIONS]
PINE-HARDWOOD
CEDAR BREAKS
POST OAK
WEST CROSS TIMBERS
EAST CROSS TIMBERS
MOUNTAIN FORESTS
Texas also has minor tree areas which are almost restricted to Texas;
the cedar breaks and the oak shinneries. Some of the shinnery trees are
among the smallest in America. In places, fully matured trees are not
over knee-high and resemble pigmy forests. In other areas, the same
species grows 20 to 30 feet tall to form almost impenetrable thickets.
The pine-hardwood forests of East Texas, comprise 12,525,417 acres in
all or part of 42 counties. Lumber, paper, baskets, boxes, ties, poles,
piling, posts, handles and shingles constitute the main forest products
manufactured in the Piney Woods of East Texas.
Farther west, in East Central Texas, the post oak forests cover
approximately 5,030,200 acres in all or part of 39 counties.
The east and west “cross timbers”, occur on an area of approximately 3
million acres. The term “cross timbers” originated with the early
settlers who, in their travels from east to west, crossed alternating
patches of forests and prairies and so affixed the name “cross timbers”
to these forests.
Farther south in the Edwards Plateau region, are the cedar breaks which
extend over 3¾ million acres. Cedar grows on the steep slopes and
rolling hills common to this region, in association with live oak and
mesquite.
Other tree areas of the state include an estimated 500,000 acres of
mountain forests in the Trans-Pecos Region and the live oak area along
the Gulf Coast.
Two of Texas’ trees, guaiacum and ebony, produce the hardest woods in
the United States. Both species are found in the Rio Grande Valley. The
tree with the lightest wood in the United States, corkwood, grows near
the mouth of the Brazos River. Drooping or weeping juniper, so named for
the drooping characteristic of its branches, grows in the Big Bend area
but has not been reported to be native elsewhere in this country.
Catclaw, huisache, mimosa, baretta, pistache, black persimmon, Mexican
ash, anaqua, flatwoods plum (sloe) and guajillo are other trees common
only in Texas.
TEXAS FOREST SERVICE
In 1915, the 34th Texas Legislature created by law the State Department
of Forestry and made it a part of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas. In 1925, the department became the Texas Forest
Service. As it grew, its service to Texas increased. It now helps
protect Texas’ forest resources against fire, insects and disease;
assists woodland owners in the proper management of their lands; makes
available seedlings for reforestation and windbreak purposes; conducts
research in forest tree improvement, management and utilization; and
conducts an educational program to acquaint Texans as to the
desirability of practicing forestry.
The Texas Forest Service, with more than 300 employees, has four
departments: Forest Fire Control, Forest Management, Forest Products,
and Information and Education. The offices of the Director, and of the
Forest Management and the Information and Education Departments are in
College Station. Forest Fire Control and Forest Products Department
headquarters are in Lufkin.
Seven administrative districts, each headed by a district forester, are
responsible for the activities of the Texas Forest Service in the areas
of intensive and extensive forest fire protection. District headquarters
are located at Linden, Henderson, Lufkin, Woodville, Kirbyville, Conroe
and College Station.
More than 10 million acres of state and privately owned timberland in
the Piney Woods are now under intensive protection against fire, insects
and diseases. An additional area of 5 million acres, commonly referred
to as the post oak region, west of and adjacent to the pine-hardwood
area, has been under extensive protection beginning with 1962.
TEXAS FORESTRY ASSOCIATION
The Texas Forestry Association is a statewide, nonprofit agency
concerned primarily with the educational phase of forest conservation.
Organized in 1914, the Association was largely responsible for the
passage of the law which created the Department of Forestry at the
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, and from which the Texas
Forest Service emerged.
For more than 48 years, this organization has cooperated with the Texas
Forest Service and other interested agencies in promoting the forest
economy of Texas. Membership in the Texas Forestry Association is open
to all conservation-minded citizens.
ARBOR DAY
The growing dependency of man upon forest resources for raw materials,
products, watershed protection, conservation of certain wildlife and
recreation gives added significance to Arbor Day which is set aside
annually to pay tribute to trees.
Arbor Day originated in Nebraska in 1872. It was first celebrated in
Texas in 1889 on George Washington’s birthday, February 22. In 1949, the
Texas State Legislature adopted the following resolution:
_Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the State of Texas, the
Senate concurring, That the third Friday in January of each year be
designated as “Arbor Day”, to be devoted to the planting and
cultivation of forest, shade and ornamental trees throughout the State
and to be observed for that purpose in such manner as may seem best to
the people of each community; and be it further_
_Resolved, That the Governor of Texas be requested to issue an
appropriate proclamation annually to encourage the proper observance
of such “Arbor Day”._
Arbor Day can best be celebrated by planting one or more suitable trees
around a school or club area or by establishing a school plantation. In
addition to paying tribute to the beauty of trees, one can call
attention to the importance of trees to man’s welfare. The Texas Forest
Service continues to assist clubs and schools in organizing Arbor Day
programs.
STATE TREE
The pecan, _Carya illinoensis_, (Wangenh.) K. Koch, was officially
designated as the state tree of Texas by an act of the legislature in
June 1919.
By an amendment in 1927, certain state agencies were requested to give
due consideration to the pecan tree when beautifying state parks and
other public property belonging to the state.
STUDYING TREES
Trees, like people, become friends only when we have become well
acquainted with them and have a knowledge of the characteristics that
make them something special to us. This bulletin about the trees of
Texas may be used as a handy reference for identifying trees you do not
know, or it may be used as the basis for developing tree friends. The
following is a guide or lesson plan that will help make a friend of each
tree studied.
I. Object of Study
Each kind of tree has certain identifying characteristics which
mark it as being different from other kinds of species of trees.
By careful observation and examination these identifying points
may be learned and you can feel that you know the tree.
II. Source of Study Material
1. The locality in which you live probably has some trees you know.
Why do you know them? Start by studying these trees and make
them fast friends.
2. You also will find some trees you are not sure about or do not
know; next, study these one by one until you are sure you will
always know them.
3. Wherever you may be or whenever you see a tree you do not know,
observe it carefully, collect enough facts and sample material
to study until you learn to know it.
4. Books, articles, pictures and references will help to learn some
trees you cannot actually see but which are of interest to
you.
III. Approach to Tree Study
1. One tree should be studied at a time as a general rule although
it may be an advantage to select somewhat similar trees and
study them by comparisons.
2. Field study of the growing tree is the most satisfactory. Observe
a number of the same kind of trees as there are individual
variations in some characteristics.
3. If possible collect for reference and further study samples of
leaves, twigs, bark, wood, flowers and fruit. BE CAREFUL in
collecting samples. It is better not to have samples than to
deface or injure the tree. No one will object to your studying
their trees if you do no damage.
IV. Procedure
1. General
(a) First observe the tree as a whole taking into consideration
all the points that attract your attention. Very often there
will be some one thing that either alone or in relation to
other points attracts your attention. That feature when
studied may be the key to your really learning to know the
tree.
(b) The suggestions that follow as to observations of various
parts of the tree do not limit the study of those points for
perhaps you will learn to know the tree from some feature not
listed.
2. Form of tree
Note the size, shape and branching habit; observe its location
in relation to other trees that might affect its form.
3. Bark
Observe thickness, roughness, type of fissures and color of
bark. Studying the bark as a means of winter identification is
particularly worthwhile.
4. Leaves
Study type, size, shape and variations on the same tree; note
arrangement on twigs; describe by the blade, stalk, margin,
venation, base and tip; know their texture and color.
5. Twigs
Note lateral arrangement on branches; observe whether flexible
or stocky and whether rough or smooth; study differences
between new growth and old; learn any distinctive color,
smell, or taste; cut a cross-section and note size, shape,
color and size of pith; note presence or absence of lenticels.
6. Buds
Like bark, the buds are helpful in winter identification. Note
size, scale coverings, and shape. Observe arrangement and
position on twigs; compare terminal and lateral buds.
7. Leaf-scars
Study scars left by falling leaves as to size, form, position
and occurrence; note bundle-scars (appear as marks in scar) as
to number, shape, size, and arrangement.
8. Flowers
Study promptly at proper season; trees vary widely in
flowering habits; observe as to size, form, shape of parts,
color and arrangement; and learn whether the tree has one or
two kinds of flowers—if two, whether male and female flowers
are on same tree.
9. Fruit
Study of fruit also is seasonal. When it is available, observe
type, form, structure and method of distribution.
10. Wood
Identification of trees by wood forms a separate study but
often field identification of trees can be aided by
observation of distinctive points about the wood such as
color, taste and general structure.
11. Habitat
An interesting and often useful help in tree identification is
to note the growing habits of trees, whether in dry or moist
places, what other species same type sites, whether it grows
better in open places or in more sheltered locations and the
like.
V. Summary
If you have followed through on your study of a tree, covering the
eleven points listed, you will really know the tree for all time.
However, even if you cannot or do not make your study as
thoroughly as is suggested, you should at least select enough
distinctive characteristics about the tree to study that you will
be able to identify it both in the summer and the winter seasons.
VI. References
Your school and public library should have one or more books on
trees. You will find books on southern trees most helpful. While
it is impractical to provide a complete list of books on trees,
the partial list below is furnished for your information, with the
understanding that no discrimination is intended:
Fernald, M. L. _Gray’s Manual of Botany._ Eighth edition. American
Book Company, 1950.
Green, C. H. _Trees of the South._ The University of North
Carolina Press, 1939.
Harrar, E. S., Harrar, J. G. _Guide to Southern Trees._ Whittlesey
House, 1946.
Kearney, T. H., Peebles, R. H. _Arizona Flora._ University of
California Press, 1951.
Sargent, C. S. _Manual of the Trees of North America._ Second
Edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1922 (_at LibraryBlog_).
Vines, R. A. _Native East Texas Trees._ Houston Museum of Natural
History, 1953.
Vines, R. A. Trees, _Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southwest._ The
University of Texas Press, 1960.
[Illustration: Cross Section of the Trunk of an Oak Tree.]
A. Cambium
B. Inner bark
C. Outer bark
D. Sapwood
E. Heartwood
F. Pith
G. Ray
[Illustration: TWIG FEATURES]
Terminal Bud
False Terminal Bud
Twig Scar
Bud Scales
Superposed Bud
Lateral Leaf Buds
Bundle Scar
Flower Bud
Leaf Scars
Lenticel
Stipule Scar
Terminal Bud Scale Scars
Pith
Chambered
Solid
TWIGS AND LEAVES
[Illustration: TYPES OF TWIG BRANCHING]
Alternate
Whorled
Opposite
[Illustration: LEAF TYPES]
Simple
Compound
Doubly Compound
Opposite Leaves
Alternate Leaves
Awl-Shaped Needles
Pine Needles
Scale-like Needles
[Illustration: PARTS OF LEAF]
Lamina or blade
Base
Stem
Apex
Leaf margin
Primary vein
Secondary or lateral veins
Petiole (Sessile leaves have no petiole but are attached directly to
the stem)
LEAF SHAPES
[Illustration: LEAF FORMS]
Lanceolate
Ovate
Obovate
Star-shaped
Linear or Rectangular
Heart-Shaped or Orbicular
Oval
Elliptical
Deltoid
[Illustration: LEAF APEXES]
Acuminate
Acute
Obtuse
Truncate
Bristle Pointed
Rounded
[Illustration: LEAF MARGINS]
Entire
Dentate
Toothed or Serrate
Sinuate or Wavy
Doubly Serrate
Lobed
Incised
[Illustration: LEAF BASES]
Wedge-Shaped or Cuneate
Oblique or One-Sided
Rounded
Heart-Shaped or Cordate
Truncate or Square
[Illustration: THE COMPLETE FLOWER]
Stamen
Anther
Filament
Sepal
Receptacle
Petal
Pistil
Stigma
Style
Ovary
Peduncle
Sepals collectively designated as _calyx_.
Petals collectively designated as _corolla_.
The ripened ovary comprises the fruit.
Ripened ovules of the ovary comprise the seed of the fruit.
A flower lacking either calyx, corolla, stamens, or pistil is an
incomplete flower. If the male and female flower parts occur in separate
flowers on the same tree the species is said to be _monoecious_. If the
male and female flowers occur on separate trees, the species is said to
be _dioecious_.
[Illustration: FLOWER CLUSTERS]
Spike
Catkin or ament
Cylindrical cyme
Flat-topped cyme
Raceme
Panicle
Corymb
Umbel
Compound umbel
Head
[Illustration: COMMON TYPES OF FRUITS AND SEEDS]
Acorn (Oak)
Multiple Fruit (Mulberry)
Nuts in Prickly Bur (Beech)
Drupe (Cherry)
Pod (Locust)
Samara (Elm)
Samara (Ash)
Samara (Maple)
Cone (Pine)
Hairy Seed (Willow)
Nuts in Bladder-Like Bracts (Hophornbeam)
Berry (Persimmon)
Nut in Husk (Hickory)
A Nut-Like Drupe (Basswood)
Drupe (Hackberry)
Winged Seed (Pine)
Multiple Fruit—Achene Enlarged (Sycamore)
Nuts in Spiny Bur (Chinkapin)
Texas Trees
LIMBER PINE (Rocky Mountain White Pine)
Pinus flexilis var. flexilis James
Limber pine is abundant in the Rocky Mountains and in scattered areas
over much of the West. In Texas, limber pine may be found in the
Guadalupe and Davis Mountains of West Texas.
As the name indicates, the branches and twigs are especially flexible
and tough, often light purple in color. The branches form a rounded tree
top or head. The trunk is stout and noticeably tapered.
The needle-like LEAVES are in clusters of five. They are stiff and
stout, about 2 to 3 inches long, and arranged in clusters or tufts near
the ends of the branches. They stay on the twig for five or six years.
[Illustration: LIMBER PINE (Fruit and leaves, one-third natural size)]
The “FRUIT”, a cone, is relatively short or stocky, mostly from 3 to 6
inches long, made up of rounded rather thick scales, some turned forward
and some backward. The cone is short-stalked. As with all the pines, the
seeds mature at the end of the second season of growth.
The WOOD is relatively soft, close-grained, slightly yellowish or
reddish. It is not cut in quantity and the trees are usually rather
limby and short-bodied, which largely accounts for the small commercial
use.
PINYON (Nut Pine)
Pinus edulis Engelm.
Pinyon is found as scattered trees or in small groves over the mountains
and canyons in the western part of the state to elevations of 8,000
feet. It is a small tree, grows on warm slopes or in sheltered
locations, and forms a bushy top with orange-colored branchlets.
The needle-like LEAVES grow in bundles of two (rarely 3); whereas in
Pinus cembroides Zucc., the Mexican Pinyon, there are usually three
needles per cluster. The dark green needles are approximately one inch
long, stiff, stout, and curved. They remain on the tree from 5 to 8
years.
[Illustration: PINYON (Natural size)]
Like all the pines, it has male and female “FLOWERS” separate on the
same tree. The “FRUIT”, a cone, is rounded, about 1 to 2 inches across,
and produces large seeds or “nuts”, from ½ to ¾ inch long. The seeds are
rich in food value and form an important article of diet for the
Indians. The seeds are gathered and sold widely as fancy “nuts” in many
larger towns and cities.
The WOOD is light, soft, close-grained, and pale brown, used for fuel
and sometimes as fencing. A close relative P. cembroides is found
scattered in the Texas cedar breaks.
PONDEROSA PINE (Western Yellow Pine)
Pinus ponderosa Laws.
Ponderosa pine is the most important commercial pine of the Southwest
and many parts of the Rocky Mountain region. It reaches the southeastern
limit of its range in the Guadalupe and Davis Mountains of West Texas
where it is scattered and of little commercial value. It is favored as
an ornamental in the Texas Panhandle.
[Illustration: PONDEROSA PINE (Fruit and leaves, one-half natural size)]
The needle-like LEAVES are in bundles of three and are mostly 5 to 8
inches long. The needles, massed toward the ends of naked branches,
remain on the tree about 3 years.
The “FRUIT”, a short-stalked cone, is oval-shaped, reddish-brown, and
armed with stout recurved prickles.
The WOOD of this species, from trees in the commercial part of its
range, is of excellent quality for lumber. The wood is hard, strong, and
rather fine grained. The heartwood is light reddish-white and the
sapwood nearly white. Lumber from this tree is widely used for house
construction and furniture.
LOBLOLLY PINE
Pinus taeda L.
This fast-growing yellow pine is the most abundant and valuable species
in Southeast Texas from Orange County west to Walker and Waller
Counties. The species is also abundant northward to the Oklahoma line.
Loblolly pine also constitutes the pine of the “Lost Pine Region” in the
vicinity of Bastrop.
[Illustration: LOBLOLLY PINE (Fruit and leaves, one-half natural size)]
Loblolly invades abandoned fields rapidly. For this reason it is often
called old field pine. In the virgin forest of Texas, loblolly pine was
most common along banks of streams. It is still the dominant pine on
moist sites, but may also be found in relatively dry sites.
The dark-colored BARK is deeply furrowed and often attains a thickness
of as much as 2 inches on large-sized trees. The needle-like LEAVES, 6
to 9 inches long, are borne three (occasionally two) in a cluster. In
the spring bright green clumps of needles grow at the end of branches
and give the tree a luxuriant appearance. The “FRUIT”, a cone, ripens in
the autumn of the second year and is 3 to 5 inches long. Many seeds with
wings an inch long are shed during the fall and early winter.
The resinous WOOD is coarse-grained. There is marked contrast, as in
other yellow pines, between the bands of springwood and summerwood. The
wood of second-growth trees has a wide range of uses such as building
material, box shooks, barrel staves, basket veneers, pulpwood, lath,
mine props, piling, and fuel.
SHORTLEAF PINE (Yellow Pine)
Pinus echinata Mill.
Shortleaf pine is an important pine over a wide area in Northeast Texas,
and is common in other parts of the “Piney Woods.” Essentially a tree of
the hilly section, growing in pure stands and in mixture with hardwoods,
the mature tree has a tall straight stem and an oval crown, reaching a
height of about 100 feet and a diameter of about 2½ feet. Unlike other
southern pines, young shortleaf pine trees may reproduce by sprouts when
cut or burned back.
[Illustration: SHORTLEAF PINE (Fruit, natural size; leaves, two-thirds
natural size)]
The BARK is brownish-red, broken into rectangular plates; it is thinner
and lighter-colored than that of loblolly pine.
The needle-like LEAVES are in clusters of two or three (3 to 5 inches
long), slender, flexible, and dark blue-green. The “FRUIT”, a cone, or
bur, the smallest of the Texas pines, are 1½ to 2½ inches long, oblong,
with small sharp prickles; are generally clustered, and often hold to
the twigs for 3 or 4 years. The small mottled seeds have a wing which is
broadest near the center.
The WOOD of old trees is rather heavy and hard, yellow-brown or orange,
fine-grained, and less resinous than that of the other important
Southern pines. It is used for finishing, general construction, veneers,
paper pulp, excelsior, cooperage, mine props, and other purposes.
LONGLEAF PINE
Pinus palustris Mill.
Young longleaf pine with its single upright stem, candle-like silvery
buds, and long, shiny leaves form a handsome tree. In later youth the
stalwart, sparingly-branched sapling, with heavy twigs and gray bark,
attracts immediate attention. Mature trees have tall, straight trunks,
1-3 feet in diameter and open irregular crowns.
Longleaf pine grows in sandy soils from Orange County, north to Sabine
County and west to Trinity County. A hybrid cross between longleaf and
loblolly pine is often found in this range and is known as Sonderegger
pine.
[Illustration: LONGLEAF PINE (Fruit and leaves, one-third natural size)]
The needle-like LEAVES are grey-green, from 10 to 15 inches long, in
clusters of three, and gathered toward the ends of the thick, scaly,
twigs. The “FLOWERS”, appearing in early spring before the new leaves,
are a deep rose-purple, the male in prominent, short, dense clusters and
the female in inconspicuous groups of two to four. Unlike other Southern
pines, common to Texas, this species grows in a “grass” stage for 2 to 5
years during which time it resembles a clump of grass. Once longleaf
pine starts its height growth, it grows rapidly.
The “FRUIT”, a cone bur, is 6 to 10 inches long, and slightly curved,
the thick scales armed with small curved prickles. The cones usually
fall soon after the seed ripens, leaving their bases attached to the
twigs.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, tough and durable. It is used for
construction. Naval stores such as turpentine and rosin are obtained
from the tree.
SLASH PINE
Pinus elliottii var. elliottii
Slash pine is not a native of Texas, its natural range in the United
States being along the coast from South Carolina to eastern Louisiana.
The initial planting of slash pine in East Texas was made on the E. O.
Siecke State Forest near Kirbyville in 1926. It has been widely planted
in East Texas, and has been so successful in its growth and adaptability
to the region that it is now accepted as a forest tree of the State. It
is much favored for reforestation by planting because of its exceedingly
rapid height growth, good survival, and comparative freedom from
tip-moth damage.
[Illustration: SLASH PINE (One-half natural size)]
In its native habitat a mature tree ranges to 100 feet high, with a
roundtopped head and a trunk 1 to 3 feet in diameter.
The BARK ranges in thickness from ¾ to 1 inch, separating freely on the
surface into large thin scales.
The needle-like LEAVES occur in clusters of 2 and 3, are from 8 to 12
inches long, and lustrous. The “FLOWERS” appear in late winter, the male
dark purple, the female pink, the “FRUIT”, a cone usually 4 to 6 inches
long, is brown and glossy, the thin scales armed with fine prickles.
Slash pine WOOD is exceedingly hard, very strong, durable, coarse
grained, rich, dark orange color, with thick, nearly white sapwood. In
this respect it is similar to longleaf, being sold as such, and used for
the same purpose. Naval stores, lumber, pulpwood and other products can
be produced from this tree.
DOUGLAS-FIR
Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Belssn.) Franco
This valuable timber tree of the western United States reaches its
extreme southeastern limit in the mountains of West Texas. It is a small
tree locally but in the Pacific Northwest Douglas-fir reaches a height
of 250 feet and a diameter of 10 to 12 feet.
The needle-like LEAVES are linear, more or less flattened, about an inch
in length, bluish green, and arranged closely in spirals around the
stem. They remain on the twigs for many years. The buds are a rich
reddish-brown and pointed.
[Illustration: DOUGLAS-FIR (Fruit and leaves, one-half natural size)]
The “FRUIT”, a cone, unlike that of true firs, hangs downward and is
easily identified by the protruding bracts, or “straws.” The mature
cones are 2 to 4 inches long, and brownish-red.
The WOOD is moderately light, reddish tinted and surrounded by nearly
white sapwood. It varies widely in respect to density, quality and width
of sapwood. Much high grade plywood is made from this species. Young
Douglas-firs are sold as Christmas trees.
BALDCYPRESS
Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.
Baldcypress grows in swamps which are flooded for prolonged periods, and
on wet stream banks and bottomlands. It occurs in East Texas west to the
Nueces River. The straight trunk has numerous ascending branches, and
narrow conical outline. In old age the tree generally has a broad
fluted, or buttressed base, a smooth slowly tapering trunk and a broad,
open, flat top of a few heavy branches and numerous small branchlets.
Virgin-growth timber attains heights up to 130 feet and diameters up to
10 feet.
[Illustration: BALDCYPRESS (Cone and leaves, seven-eighths natural size)]
The BARK is silvery to cinnamon-red, finely divided by numerous
longitudinal fissures. The light green LEAVES about ½ to ¾ inch long,
are arranged in feather-like fashion along two sides of small branchlets
which fall in the autumn with the leaves still attached.
The “FRUIT”, a rounded cone, is about one inch in diameter, with thick
irregular scales.
The WOOD is light, soft, easily worked, with a light sap wood and
dark-brown heartwood. It is particularly durable in contact with the
soil. Cypress is in demand for exterior trim of buildings, greenhouse
planking, boat and ship building, shingles, posts, poles, and crossties.
ASHE JUNIPER (Mexican Juniper--Mountain Cedar)
Juniperus ashei Buchholz
In Central and West Texas are found no less than nine species of cedars
or junipers, including one eastern, one southern, and seven western
species. Of these, the most abundant and important is the Mexican
juniper. This tree often forms extensive low forests or dense breaks on
the limestone hills and slopes of the Edwards Plateau and Grand Prairie.
[Illustration: ASHE JUNIPER (Berry-like fruit and leaves, two-thirds
natural size)]
The trunk is covered with shreddy, brown or reddish-brown BARK. The
LEAVES are dark blue-green, small, opposite or arranged in 3’s, scale
like, blunt pointed, and fringed with minute teeth. On vigorous young
plants the leaves are sharp pointed and longer, up to ½ inch long.
The “FRUIT”, a nearly round, dark blue, berry-like cone is covered with
glaucous bloom; has a thin, pleasant-scented, sweet flesh, enclosing 1
or 2 seeds; and ripens in one season.
The WOOD is light, hard, light brown, close-grained but weak. It is
extensively used for fence posts and fuel. The tree is sometimes planted
as an ornamental.
EASTERN REDCEDAR
Juniperus virginiana L.
Redcedar is scattered through East Texas, usually on gravelly ridges and
rocky hillsides of the uplands.
There are two kinds of LEAVES, usually both on the same tree. The most
common is dark green, minute, and scale-like, clasping the twig in four
ranks, so that the twig appears square. The other kind, usually
appearing on young growth, or vigorous shoots, is awl-shaped, quite
sharp-pointed, spreading, and whitened.
The BARK is thin, reddish-brown, turning ashy-gray on exposed surfaces,
and peels off in long shred-like strips. The trunk is usually more or
less grooved.
The male and female FLOWERS blooming in February or March, are at the
end of minute twigs on separate trees.
The “FRUIT” which matures in one season is pale blue, ¼ inch in
diameter, and berry-like, the sweet flesh enclosing one or two seeds.
[Illustration: EASTERN REDCEDAR (Fruit and leaves, three-fourths natural
size)]
The HEARTWOOD is distinctly red, and the sapwood white, this color
combination making very striking effects when finished as cedar chests,
closets, and interior woodwork. The wood is aromatic, soft, strong, and
of even texture, very durable in contact with the soil, and in great
demand for posts, poles, and rustic work.
Since redcedar spreads the cedar-rust of apples, it is inadvisable to
plant this tree in or near orchards, or anywhere in regions devoted to
commercial apple production.
BLACK WALNUT
Juglans nigra L.
This valuable forest tree occurs on rich bottomlands and moist fertile
hillsides as far west as the San Antonio River. It may attain a height
of nearly 100 feet with a straight stem, clear of branches for half of
its height.
The BARK is thick, dark brown in color, and divided by rather deep
fissures into rounded ridges.
The LEAVES are alternate, compound, 1 to 2 feet long, consisting of from
15 to 23 leaflets of a yellowish-green color. The leaflets are about 3
inches long, extremely tapering at the end, and toothed along the
margin.
[Illustration: BLACK WALNUT (Leaf, one-fifth natural size; fruit,
one-fourth natural size; twig, about natural size)]
The FRUIT is a nut, borne singly or in pairs, and enclosed in a solid
green husk which does not split open, even after the nut is ripe. The
nut itself is black with a very hard, thick, finely ridged shell,
enclosing a rich, oily, edible kernel.
The HEARTWOOD is heavy, hard and strong. Its rich chocolate-brown color,
freedom from warping, and checking, susceptibility to a high polish, and
durability make it highly prized for furniture and cabinet work and
gunstocks. Walnut is easily propagated from the nuts, and should be more
widely planted and grown for timber and nuts.
LITTLE WALNUT or TEXAS WALNUT (Juglans microcarpa Berlandier) is found
on limestone banks of streams in western Texas. The stumps supply a
beautiful veneer.
PECAN
Carya illinoensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch
Pecan, the “State tree” of Texas, is found native in the state from the
Piney Woods west throughout Central Texas, centering in the watershed of
the Colorado River. It makes an excellent shade tree and is very
valuable for the nut crop it bears. Many varieties are planted in
orchards. The pecan is a tall-growing tree, attaining heights of over
100 feet. When grown in the open it forms a large, rounded, symmetrical
top.
The outer BARK is rough, hard, tight, but broken into scales; on the
limbs it is smooth at first but later tends to scale or divide as the
bark grows old.
The LEAVES resemble those of the other hickories and the black walnut.
They are made up of 9 to 17 leaflets, each oblong, toothed and
long-pointed, and 4 to 8 inches long by about 2 inches wide.
[Illustration: PECAN (Leaf, one-sixth natural size; fruit, one-third
natural size)]
The FLOWERS appear in early spring and hang in tassels from 2 to 3
inches long. The FRUIT is a nut 1 to 2 inches long, and ½ to 1 inch in
diameter, in a thin husk which opens along its grooved seams when the
fruit ripens in the fall. The nuts vary in size and thickness of shell.
Cultivated varieties are sold on the market in large quantities.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, brittle, not strong, and of little value except
for fuel and wagon stock. Some wood is satisfactory for making softball
bats.
BITTERNUT HICKORY (Pignut)
Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch
Bitternut, the only hickory with bright yellow buds, is a tall slender
tree with a broad pyramidal crown, attaining a height of 100 feet and a
diameter of 2 to 3 feet. It is found in the eastern part of the state on
moist rich soils, and is not abundant.
The BARK on the trunk is granite-gray, faintly tinged with yellow, less
rough than in most hickories, yet broken into thin, plate-like scales.
[Illustration: BITTERNUT HICKORY (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and
fruit, one-third natural size)]
The bright yellow winter BUDS are compressed and scurfy. The LEAVES are
alternate, compound, from 6 to 10 inches long, and composed of 5 to 11
leaflets. The individual leaflets are smaller and more slender than
those of the other hickories.
The male and female FLOWERS are on the same tree. The FRUIT is about 1
inch long and thin-husked, while the nut has a thin, smoothish, gray,
brittle shell. The kernel is bitter.
The WOOD is hard, strong, and heavy; reddish-brown in color, and often
called red hickory. It has the same uses as the other hickories but is
said to be inferior.
WATER HICKORY
Carya aquatica (Michx. f.) Nutt.
This tree, as its name indicates, grows in bottomlands and rich, wet
woods. It is found throughout the eastern portion of the state. It is
not a large hickory, seldom attaining a height of 100 feet or a diameter
of 2 feet. It is slender, with upright branches forming a narrow head.
It is easily distinguished from other hickories by its reddish-brown
winter buds which are covered with yellow glands that fall off easily.
[Illustration: WATER HICKORY (Fruit and twig, two-thirds natural size;
leaf, one-fourth natural size)]
The light brown BARK separates freely into long, loose, thick,
plate-like scales.
LEAVES are alternate, compound, 9 to 15 inches long, with 7 to 13
slender leaflets. The FLOWERS are like those of other hickories. The
FRUIT, often borne in clusters of 3 or 4, is a rather oblong nut,
conspicuously four-angled, with a thin, red-brown hull that splits
tardily. The nut itself is nearly as broad as long, four-angled and
ridged, with a thin shell and bitter kernel.
The WOOD is heavy, strong, close grained, brown, and rather brittle.
Probably used only for fuel.
SHAGBARK HICKORY
Carya ovata (Mill.) K. Koch
Shagbark hickory is found from eastern Texas to Florida and north to the
St. Lawrence River and Minnesota. It is a large tree of commercial
importance reaching 100 feet in height and 2 to 3 feet in diameter. It
thrives best on rich, damp soil.
The BARK of the trunk is rougher than on other hickories, light gray and
separating into thick plates which are only slightly attached to the
tree. The large terminal winter buds are egg-shaped, the persistent
outer bud-scales having narrow tips.
[Illustration: SHAGBARK HICKORY (Leaf, one-third natural size; twig,
one-half natural size; fruit, one-fourth natural size)]
The LEAVES are alternate, compound, from 8 to 15 inches long and
composed of 5, rarely 7, obovate to ovate leaflets. The twigs are smooth
or clothed with short hairs.
The male and female FLOWERS open after the leaves have attained nearly
full size.
The FRUIT is borne singly or in pairs and is globular. The husk is thick
and deeply grooved at the seams. The nut is pale, the shell thin, and
the kernel sweet. It is sold in commercial quantities.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, tough, and strong. It is used in the
manufacture of agricultural implements, tool handles, wagons, and sports
equipment.
MOCKERNUT HICKORY
Carya tomentosa Nutt.
Mockernut, white, or bigbud hickory, is common on well-drained soils in
the eastern part of the state. It is a short-limbed tree up to 60 feet
high and 1 to 2 feet in diameter.
The BARK is dark gray, hard, closely and deeply furrowed, often
apparently cross-furrowed or netted. The winter BUDS are large, round or
broadly egg-shaped, and covered with downy, hard scales. The outer, dark
scales fall off readily in the autumn. The recent shoots are short,
stout and more or less covered with a downy growth.
The LEAVES are large, strong-scented, and hairy; composed of 7 to 9
obovate to oblong, pointed leaflets pale to orange-brown on the lower
surface. The leaves turn a beautiful yellow in the fall.
[Illustration: MOCKERNUT HICKORY (Leaf, one-fifth natural size; twig,
two-thirds natural size; fruit, one-third natural size)]
The FLOWERS are of two kinds on the same tree; the male in
three-branched catkins, the female in clusters of 2 to 5. The FRUIT is
oval, nearly round or slightly pear-shaped with a very thick,
strong-scented husk which splits nearly to the base when ripe. The nut
sometimes has 4 to 6 ridges; is reddish-brown, thick shelled, and has a
small, sweet kernel.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, tough, and strong. It is white except for the
comparatively small, dark-brown heart, hence the name white hickory. It
is used for the same purpose as shagbark hickory and makes an excellent
fuel.
BLACK HICKORY
Carya texana Buckl.
This is a common hickory in northern and eastern Texas, growing on
hillsides and sandy uplands with post and black jack oaks. It is
distinguished by its rusty brown hairs found on the young leaves and
branches. It forms a tree 60 to 75 feet high, with a trunk 2 feet in
diameter.
[Illustration: BLACK HICKORY (Leaf, one-fourth natural size; fruit,
one-third natural size; twig, three-fourths natural size)]
The BARK is dark gray or nearly black, deeply divided into rough ridges,
or it may be irregularly fissured and separated into thin scales. The
winter buds are ovoid and covered with rusty hairs mixed with silvery
scales.
The LEAVES, 8 to 12 inches long with 5 to 7, usually 7, leaflets and
rusty-hairy slender petioles, are dark green, lustrous above; much paler
beneath. The FLOWERS are similar to other hickories.
The FRUIT is obovoid, narrow, or abruptly contracted into a short stalk
at the base, with a husk ¹/₁₂ to ⅙ inch thick, splitting to the middle
or nearly to the base. The sweet-seeded nut is nearly obovoid to oblong,
rounded at the ends, compressed and slightly four-angled, with a shell ⅙
to ⅕ inch thick.
The hard, brittle WOOD is used chiefly for fuel.
CORKWOOD
Leitneria floridana Chapm.
This lightest of all native woods in the United States grows in river
swamps near the Gulf, about the mouth of the Brazos River. It is a small
tree reaching a height of 20 feet, or a shrub, depending upon the
location and natural conditions. The base is usually swollen. The
straight, gradually tapering trunk is crowned with a loose, open-topped
head. The young branchlets are coated with hairs which later drop,
leaving a smooth, dark, red-brown stem.
[Illustration: CORKWOOD (Leaf, one-half natural size; fruit and winter
twig, natural size)]
The simple, alternate LEAVES are from 4 to 6 inches long and about 2
inches wide, borne on petioles 1 or 2 inches long. The leaves are shiny
above.
The FLOWERS are in catkins of two kinds or sexes, the male about 1½
inches long, the female about ¾ inch long. Both kinds are borne on the
same tree and appear about the first of March. The FRUIT is solitary or
in clusters of 2 to 4, each about ½ to ¾ inch long, and ripens when the
leaves are about one-half grown. The WOOD is soft, exceedingly light,
generally uniform in texture and of a pale yellow color. It is used as a
substitute for cork for floats on fishing nets.
EASTERN COTTONWOOD
Populus deltoides (Bartr.)
This cottonwood is found along streams throughout the state. The tree is
easily propagated by cutting and grows rapidly, hence it has been widely
planted to get shade quickly. The tree is often unsatisfactory for shade
because it begins to shed its leaves by midsummer. The cotton-bearing
seeds from the pistillate tree are often a nuisance. The soft wood is
easily broken by winds; and the rank growth of the roots often results
in stopping drain pipes and cracking and lifting sidewalks.
[Illustration: EASTERN COTTONWOOD (Leaf, one-half natural size; twig,
one-third natural size)]
The LEAVES are simple, alternate, broadly ovate or triangular, pointed,
square at the base, and coarsely toothed on the edges, 3 to 5 inches
across each way, covered with soft white hairs on the under side,
supported by flattened slender petioles, 2 to 3 inches long. The winter
buds are covered with chestnut-brown, resinous scales. The male and
female FLOWERS are in catkins on separate trees and appear before the
leaves. The FRUIT, a capsule, contains a number of seed with white silky
hairs which permit the winds to carry the seed for long distances.
The WOOD is soft, light-weight, warps easily upon drying, but is used
for many purposes, sometimes as a substitute for yellow poplar and
linden.
Three other species of Southern cottonwood occur in western Texas. One
species, P. sargentii Dode, which has long pointed leaves, is found in
the Panhandle.
BLACK WILLOW
Salix nigra Marsh.
Black willow is found along streams throughout the state. It rarely
grows taller than 50 feet and is frequently found growing singly or in
clumps along the water courses. In winter the easily separable bright
reddish-brown or golden, naked twigs are quite conspicuous.
The BARK is deeply divided into broad, flat ridges which separate into
thick plate-like scales. On old trees it becomes shaggy. In color it
varies from light brown tinged with orange, to nearly black.
The LEAVES are from 3 to 6 inches long, and less than ½ inch wide; the
tips are greatly tapered and the entire margin finely toothed. The
leaves are bright green on both sides, turning pale yellow in the early
autumn.
The FLOWERS are in catkins, the male and female on separate trees.
The FRUIT is a capsule containing numerous minute seeds with long silky
hairs which enable them to be blown long distances.
[Illustration: BLACK WILLOW (Leaf, two-thirds natural size; fruit and
twig, natural size)]
The WOOD is soft, light, and not strong. A high grade of charcoal, used
in the manufacture of gunpowder, is obtained from willow wood, and it is
the chief wood used in manufacture of artificial limbs.
AMERICAN HORNBEAM (Blue Beech)
Carpinus caroliniana Walt.
American hornbeam or blue beech, also known as ironwood and water beech,
is a small slow-growing, bushy tree with a spreading top of slender,
crooked or drooping branches. It is found along streams and in low
ground, usually in the shade of other trees. Its height is usually from
20 to 30 feet and its diameter 4 to 8 inches, although it sometimes
grows larger.
[Illustration: AMERICAN HORNBEAM (Leaf and fruit, one-half natural size;
twig, natural size)]
The TRUNK is fluted with irregular ridges or “muscles” extending up and
down the tree. The BARK is smooth, light brownish-gray to dark
bluish-gray in color, sometimes marked with dark bands extending
horizontally on the trunk.
The LEAVES are simple, alternate, oval, long-pointed, doubly toothed
along the margin, and 1 to 3 inches long. They resemble those of the
black or sweet birch, but are smaller.
The FLOWERS are borne in catkins separately on the same tree; the male
catkin about 1½ inches long, the female, about ¾ of an inch, with small,
leaf-like, three-lobed green scales. The FRUIT is a nutlet about ⅓ inch
long. It falls, attached to the leaf-like scale which acts as a wing
aiding its distribution by the wind.
The WOOD is tough, close-grained, heavy, and strong. It is sometimes
selected for use for levers, tool handles, wooden cogs, mallets, wedges,
etc. The tree is of little commercial importance and often occupies
space in the woods that should be utilized by more valuable species.
EASTERN HOPHORNBEAM (Ironwood)
Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch
The tree gets its common names from the qualities of its wood and the
hop-like fruit. It is a small, slender, generally round-topped tree,
from 20 to 30 feet high and 7 to 10 inches in diameter. The top consists
of long slender branches, commonly drooping toward the ends. It is found
mostly on rather dry soils throughout the uplands of the eastern part of
the state.
The BARK is mostly light, gray-brown, or reddish-brown, and finely
divided into thin scales.
[Illustration: EASTERN HOPHORNBEAM (Twig, three-fifths natural size;
leaf and fruit, one-half natural size)]
The LEAVES are simple, alternate, generally oblong with narrow tips,
sharply doubly toothed along the margin, and from 2 to 3 inches long.
The FLOWERS are of two kinds on the same tree; the male, in drooping
catkins which form the previous summer, the female, in erect catkins on
the newly formed twigs. The FRUIT, which resembles that of the common
hop vines, consists of a branch of leafy bracts 1 to 2 inches long
containing a number of flattened ribbed nutlets.
The WOOD, strong, hard, durable, light brown to white, with thick, pale
sapwood, is often used for handles of tools, mallets, and other small
articles.
RIVER BIRCH (Red Birch)
Betula nigra L.
This is the only native birch found at low elevations in the South. It
occurs in East Texas and, as the name implies, in the deep, rich soils
along the borders of streams, ponds, lakes, and swamps.
The BARK provides a ready means of identifying this tree. It varies from
reddish-brown to cinnamon-red in color, and peels back in tough papery
layers. These layers persist on the trunk, presenting a very ragged and
quite distinctive appearance. Unlike the bark of other birches the thin
paper layers are usually covered with a gray powder. On older trees, the
bark on the main trunk becomes thick, deeply furrowed, and a
reddish-brown color.
[Illustration: RIVER BIRCH (Twig, natural size; leaf and fruit,
one-half natural size; male flower, one third natural size)]
The LEAVES are simple, alternate, 2 to 3 inches long, more or less oval
in shape, with double-toothed edge. The upper surface is dark green and
the lower a pale yellowish green.
The FLOWERS are in catkins, the two kinds growing on the same tree. The
FRUIT is cone-shaped about one inch long, and densely crowded with
little winged nutlets that ripen from May to June.
The WOOD is strong and fairly close-grained. It has been used to some
extent in the manufacture of wooden-ware, in turnery, and for wagon
hubs. However, this tree is scattered in its distribution and is not of
commercial importance.
AMERICAN BEECH
Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.
Beech is found in East Texas to the Trinity River on the bottomland of
streams and the margins of swamps. It is one of the most beautiful of
all trees, in summer or winter.
The simple, alternate, oblong-ovate LEAVES are 3 to 4 inches long,
pointed at the tip, and coarsely toothed and hairy along the margin.
When mature, they are almost leathery in texture. The beech produces a
dense shade. The light brown winter buds are long, slender, and pointed.
[Illustration: AMERICAN BEECH (Fruit, leaves, and twig, one-half natural
size)]
The BARK is, perhaps, the most distinctive characteristic, as it
maintains an unbroken, light gray surface throughout its life.
The little, brown, three-sided FRUITS or beechnuts are almost as well
known as chestnuts. The nuts are in pairs in a prickly involucre. The
kernel is sweet and edible. The fallen fruit, known as mast, is a
favorite food of wildlife.
The WOOD of the beech is hard, strong, and tough, though it will not
last long on exposure to weather or in the soil. The tree is of economic
importance as a lumber tree, the wood being used for furniture,
flooring, carpenters’ tools, and novelty wares.
ALLEGHENY CHINKAPIN
Castanea pumila Mill.
Chinkapins may grow as trees or form shrubby thickets; consequently
their identification is at times confusing.
Some taxonomists credit East Texas with one species and a variety.
Others list four species. Further study is needed.
C. pumila grows in dry woods, sandy ridges, and on borders of swamps
from Florida to East Texas north to Ark., Tenn., Pa., and N. J. It may
grow into a small tree 10 to 30 feet high and may reach 50 feet. If
burned back by fires, it may send out stolons or sprouts and form dense
shrubby growths. BRANCHLETS pubescent, gradually changing to a lustrous
olive-green or orange-brown, then darker. The LEAVES are 4 to 6 inches
long, 1½ to 2 inches wide, oblong to ovate and acute, the margin
coarsely toothed with slender, rigid, spreading or incurved teeth. Base
of leaf unequal, either rounded or wedge-shaped. Leaf at first tomentose
above and below, later yellow-green above and whitish-downy below.
Petiole short, stout, and flattened on the upper side. FRUIT a single
brown, ovoid, pointed, plump, sweet, edible nut, ¾ to 1 inch long,
encased in a bur covered with erect, crowded spines approximately ¾ inch
long. WOOD light, hard, strong, coarse-grained; used for fence posts and
railway ties. Of little economic importance because of its relative
scarcity. C. pumila is a nut-producing tree of potential commercial
importance.
[Illustration: ALLEGHENY CHINKAPIN (Fruit, leaves and twig, two-thirds
natural size)]
ASHE CHINKAPIN (C. pumila var. ashei Sudw.) is a small tree of dry sandy
soils. Leaves are felt-like below. This variety is distinguished by its
bur which has scattered, forked, and horizontally divergent bristles.
The surface of the bur has smooth areas free of bristles.
A variation of chinkapin with leaves 3 to 4 inches long and lustrous
below is frequently described as FLORIDA CHINKAPIN (C. alnifolia var.
floridana Sarg.)
SHUMARD OAK (Spotted Oak)
Quercus shumardii Buckl.
This species, one of the largest Southern red oaks, was named for
Benjamin F. Shumard, an early state geologist of Texas. SHUMARD OAK is
found in the eastern part of the state on well-drained alluvial soils
and on fertile slopes. It forms a tall, wide-spreading, rather open
head. The BARK is dark, rough, divided into ridges, and usually from 1
to 1½ inches thick. It seldom comprises the principal species of any
forest stands, but more often occurs as individual trees. It attains a
diameter of more than 3 feet and a height of more than 100 feet, but is
usually smaller.
Winter BUDS covered with gray, smooth scales, while the buds of Texas
oak (page 44) are covered with red, densely pubescent scales.
[Illustration: SHUMARD OAK (Twig and leaf, one-half natural size; fruit,
natural size)]
The LEAVES are deciduous, simple, alternate 6 to 8 inches long by 4 to 5
inches wide; 7-lobed, rarely 5, and each lobe 2 or 3-lobed or deeply
toothed. The lobes are frequently thicker than is shown in the drawing.
The leaves are smaller and more deeply lobed than those of the black
oak. Leaves smooth except for dense tufts of pale hairs at the axils of
the veins below.
The FRUIT is a small acorn, about ⅔ inch in diameter and ¾ to 1¼ inches
long, set in a shallow saucer-like cup.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, and light reddish-brown
in color, and commercially important for lumber and cross ties.
The variety shumardii has leaves with narrow lobes, a rougher, dark
grayish bark, and deeper cups to the acorns. It is the more common form
in Texas.
TEXAS OAK
Quercus shumardii var. texana (Buckl.) Ashe
Texas oak is found on the dry limestone hills and ridges, and in the
more fertile soils at their base, in Central and western Texas to the
Edwards Plateau. It is rarely over 30 feet tall or 10 inches in
diameter.
[Illustration: TEXAS OAK (Leaf, two-thirds natural size; fruit, and
twig, natural size)]
The BARK is light brown, red-tinged, deeply ridged, and broken into
plate-like scales.
The LEAVES are deciduous 2½ to 3 inches wide, 3 to 3½ inches long;
widest above the middle; divided into 5 to 7 lobes, with the terminal
lobe 3-lobed; dark green and shiny above, pale-shiny below; petiole
slender, about 1 inch long.
The FRUIT is short-stemmed, usually single, ¼ to ¾ inch long and broad,
varying to nearly 1 inch long and ⅓ inch broad, set in a cup that covers
one-third or less of the fruit, reddish-brown and often streaked with
dark lines.
The WOOD is most useful for fuel.
GRAVES OAK (Q. gravesii Sudw.) is found in the Davis and Chisos
Mountains of southwestern Texas.
BLACK OAK
Quercus velutina Lam.
Black oak, also called yellow oak, reaches 80 feet in height and 1 to 3
feet in diameter. It grows in East Texas, and in the hills and canyons
near the mouth of the Pecos River. The crown is irregularly shaped and
wide, with a clear trunk for 20 feet or more on large trees. The BARK on
the very young trunks is smooth and dark brown, but soon becomes thick
and black with deep furrows and rough broken edges. The bright yellow
color and bitter taste of the inner bark are distinguishing
characteristics.
[Illustration: BLACK OAK (Twig and fruit, one-half natural size; leaf,
one-third natural size)]
The LEAVES are deciduous, alternate, simple, 5 to 10 inches long and 3
to 8 inches wide, shallow or deeply lobed, the shape varying greatly.
When mature, the leaves are dark green and shiny on the upper surface,
pale on the lower, more or less covered with a scurfy yellow or orange
down, and with conspicuous rusty brown hairs in the forks of the veins.
The FRUIT matures the second season. The light brown nut is from ½ to 1
inch long, more or less hemispherical in shape, and from one-half to
three-fourths enclosed in the thin, dark brown, scaly cup. The yellow
kernel is bitter.
The WOOD, used and marketed as red oak, is hard, heavy, strong,
coarse-grained, and checks easily. It is a bright red-brown with a thin
outer edge of paler sapwood.
SOUTHERN RED OAK
Quercus falcata Michx.
Southern red oak, commonly known as red oak and formerly as Spanish oak,
usually reaches a height of 80 feet and diameter of 3 feet, although
larger trees are found. It grows on dry hills in the eastern part of the
state to the Brazos River, while three varieties are found in richer,
more moist locations. Its large spreading branches form a broad, round,
open top. The BARK is rough, not deeply furrowed, and varies from light
gray on younger trees to dark gray or almost black on older ones.
[Illustration: SOUTHERN RED OAK (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural
size; twig, one-half natural size)]
The LEAVES are deciduous, with pear-shaped or irregular, rounded or
narrow bristle-tipped lobes, the central lobe often longest. Variety
pagodaefolia Ell., (Cherrybark Oak) has more numerous lobes. All leaves
have brown or gray down beneath.
The staminate FLOWERS appear as catkins 3-5 inches long in April while
the leaves unfold. The FRUIT ripens the second year. The small, rounded,
½ inch long acorn is set in a thin saucer-shaped cup that tapers to a
short stalk.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, coarse-grained, and valuable for
lumber. The bark is rich in tannin. The tree is also desirable for shade
and ornamental use.
BLACKJACK OAK
Quercus marilandica Muenchh.
The occurrence of blackjack oak is said to indicate poor soil since it
often occurs on dry or poorly drained, gravelly, clay, or sandy upland
soils where few other forest trees thrive. This perhaps accounts chiefly
for its slow rate of growth. It is found in those parts of the state
that support a natural tree growth, as far west as Callahan County. The
tree sometimes reaches a height of 50 or 60 feet and a diameter of 16
inches, but it is usually much smaller. Its hard, stiff, drooping
branches form a dense crown which usually contains many persistent dead
twigs.
The BARK is rough, very dark, often nearly black, and “blocky”; inner
bark bright orange or yellow.
[Illustration: BLACKJACK OAK (Twig, two-thirds natural size; leaf and
fruit, one-third natural size)]
The LEAVES are deciduous, tawny-pubescent, of leathery texture, dark
green on the upper surface, lighter underneath, broadly wedge-shaped,
and variable in shape, 4 to 10 inches long and about the same in width.
The FRUIT is an acorn about ¾ inch long, yellow-brown and often striped,
enclosed for half its length or more in a thick, light-brown cup. The
acorns mature at the end of the second season; flesh of cotyledons
yellow.
The WOOD is heavy, hard and strong. It is used for firewood and is made
into charcoal.
WATER OAK
Quercus nigra L.
Water oak is native along the borders of swamps and streams and on rich
bottomlands in Texas as far west as the Colorado River. It has been
widely planted along streets and in parks as a shade tree. When fully
grown this tree reaches a height of about 80 feet and a diameter
exceeding 1 to 3 feet. The BARK is smooth, light brown tinged with red,
and has many smooth, thin scales over the surface. Water oak can be best
distinguished from the willow oak—a close associate, but longer-lived—by
the differences in the general shape and size of leaves.
[Illustration: WATER OAK (Leaf, one-third natural size; twig and fruit,
one-half natural size)]
The LEAVES are simple, quite variable in shape, mostly oblong, broader
near the point, and more narrow at the base, giving a wedge-shaped
effect, often slightly three-lobed at the outer end, thin, and of a dull
bluish-green color, paler below than above; mostly smooth, and usually 2
or 3 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide; remain green for some time,
then turn yellow and gradually fall from the tree during the winter.
The FLOWERS appear in April when the leaves begin to unfold. The FRUIT,
an acorn, matures at the end of the second season. The acorn is from ½
to ⅔ inch long and nearly as broad, light brown or yellowish-brown and
often striped, enclosed at the base only in a thin saucer-shaped cup.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, and strong, light brown in color, with
lighter-colored sapwood. The wood is utilized chiefly for crossties and
fuel.
WILLOW OAK (Pin Oak)
Quercus phellos L.
Willow oak, also called water oak, and pin oak, occurs in the eastern
part of the state to the Brazos River. It is frequently found in
lowlands and along the borders of rivers and swamps, but often also on
rich sandy uplands. It is a beautiful and long-lived tree, and desirable
for roadsides, lawns and parks.
The BARK is generally smooth and of a reddish-brown color; with age, the
bark becomes slightly roughened and divided by narrow ridges.
[Illustration: WILLOW OAK (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and fruit,
one-third natural size)]
The slender willow-like LEAVES on a tree whose habit of growth is
manifestly that of an oak, make the tree easy to identify in the forest.
The deciduous leaves are 2 to 5 inches long and ½ to 1 inch wide,
smooth, light green and shiny above, but dull and usually smooth below;
alternate in arrangement on the twig and borne on a short stout petiole.
The FRUIT, small acorns, closely set along the stem, matures at the end
of the second year. The nut is a light yellow-brown hemisphere, about ½
inch in diameter, its base scarcely enclosed in the shallow, pale
greenish-red or reddish-brown cup. The nuts are eaten as food by
bluejays, grackles (blackbirds), several other species of birds, and by
rodents.
The WOOD is not separated commercially from other species in the red oak
group. It is heavy, strong, rather coarse-grained, light brown tinged
with red, and not durable when exposed to the weather. It is used
locally for crossties, bridge planks, barn sills, and general
construction.
BLUEJACK OAK (Sandjack Oak)
Quercus incana Bartr.
This species, which grows on dry sand hills, is usually no more than 25
feet in height and 5 or 6 inches in diameter; ranging mainly through
East Texas extending as far west as the Brazos River and scattering in
Central and Northwest Texas.
The BARK is similar to that of blackjack, being divided into thick
nearly square blocks 1 to 2 inches in length and covered with small dark
brown or nearly black scales slightly tinged with red.
[Illustration: BLUEJACK OAK (Leaves, twigs, and fruit about two-thirds
natural size)]
The LEAVES of this tree are oblong-lanceolate, pale blue-green above,
almost white beneath; 2 to 5 inches in length and 1 to l½ inches in
width with a stout yellow midrib. The tree is most attractive in early
spring when it is covered with the light red flowers and young leaves.
ACORNS are produced in great profusion, sessile, or on a short stock.
They are rounded at the ends, striate, and about ½ inch in length, and
mature at the end of the second year.
The WOOD is hard, strong, close-grained, light brown, tinged with red.
It has a dark colored sapwood. The wood is of no value except for fuel.
There are several hybrids of this species reported in Texas.
EMORY OAK
Quercus emoryi Torr.
In the canyons and on the southern slopes of the Davis and Chisos
Mountains occurs this interesting oak with glossy, spiny, “holly-like”
leaves, and sweet, edible acorns. A small round-topped tree up to 30 or
40 feet in height, the emory oak has drooping branches and slender,
decidedly reddish branchlets.
The LEAVES are mostly persistent, oblong, pointed, smooth or sharply
toothed along the margin, thick, very glossy green, about 2 inches long
and less than 1 inch wide.
[Illustration: EMORY OAK (Leaf three-fourths natural size; fruit and
twig, three-fourths natural size)]
The acorn, or FRUIT, is borne close to the branchlet and matures in one
season. It is oblong in shape, ½ inch or more in length, with a dark
brown or nearly black nut enclosed for about one-third its length in a
narrow cup. The latter is lined with dense gray fuzz or “tomentum.”
The WOOD is heavy, strong, somewhat brittle, close-grained, dark brown,
with light brown sapwood tinged with red. The acorns are an important
article of food for Mexicans and Indians.
MEXICAN BLUE OAK (Q. oblongifolia Torr.), closely resembling emory oak,
is a smaller tree and does not occur at the higher elevations (over
6,000 ft.) where emory oak may be found.
GRAY OAK (Quercus grisea Liebm.) occurs in the Trans-Pecos area in
Texas. This species is a scrub or small tree 20 to 30 feet high, but
sometimes reaching a height of 65 feet.
LIVE OAK
Quercus virginiana Mill.
Live oak range extends from southeastern Virginia through the lower
Coastal Plain of the Atlantic and Gulf States; in Texas, from the mouth
of the Rio Grande north to the Red River and west to the Guadalupe
Mountains, also in southern Mexico and Cuba. It is a tree of striking
character from its wide-spreading habit; sometimes reaching more than
100 feet in spread; with a short stout trunk, 3 to 4 feet in diameter,
dividing in several large limbs with nearly horizontal branches, forming
a low, dense, round-topped head. Its height is commonly from 40 to 50
feet. The BARK on the trunk and large branches is dark brown tinged with
red, and slightly furrowed. It grows to largest size on the rich
hammocks and low ridges near the coast and only a few feet above the
water level. Slow-growing and long-lived, it is one of the most
desirable trees for roadside and ornamental planting throughout most of
its range. It is one of the very few trees that is apparently immune to
cotton root-rot.
[Illustration: LIVE OAK (Leaf, natural size; fruit and twig, one-half
natural size)]
The LEAVES are simple, persistent, thick, leathery, oblong, smooth
above, pale and silvery white beneath; from 2 to 4 inches in length and
1 to 2 inches in breadth.
The FRUIT is an acorn about 1 inch long and ⅓ inch wide, borne on a long
stem or peduncle; it is oblong, dark brown and lustrous, and set in a
top-shaped, downy cup of a light reddish-brown color. The acorn matures
at the end of the first season.
The WOOD is very heavy, hard, strong and tough, light brown or yellow,
with nearly white, thin sapwood. It was formerly largely used in ship
building.
MOHRS OAK (Shin Oak)
Quercus mohriana Buckl.
Over a wide section of Central Texas, on inferior soils, are found four
or more species of “shin” oaks, so called from their low-growing bushy
habit. Mature trees vary from 3 to 18 feet high. These are considerably
alike in foliage and fruit. The “oak shinneries” form a forest cover in
Central Texas that affords watershed protection on the head waters of
some of the state’s main rivers.
[Illustration: MOHRS OAK (Fruit, natural size; leaf, two-thirds natural
size)]
The tree has a thin, pale-colored BARK, rough, with deep furrows running
up and down the tree.
The deciduous LEAVES of the above small-tree species of shin oak are
elliptical, pointed or rounded at the end, smooth or wavy or sometimes
lobed or slightly toothed along the margin. They are thick, gray-green,
dense hairy beneath, about 3 inches long by 1 inch wide.
The acorns, or FRUIT, occur solitarily or in pairs, on very short
peduncles, and mature in one season. They are small, deeply enclosed in
a relatively heavy cup, thin toward the outer end.
The WOOD of Mohrs oak is not of economic importance.
DURAND OAK (Durand White Oak)
Quercus durandii Buckl.
This oak is found on the well-drained soil of river bottoms from the
coast region of East Texas to the bottoms of the Guadalupe River
(Victoria County) and inland to San Saba County, and the Dallas area.
It forms a tree 60 to 90 feet high with a tall trunk 2 to 3 feet in
diameter; comparatively small branches, the lower horizontal, the upper
ascending, forming a dense, round-topped, handsome head.
[Illustration: DURAND OAK (Leaves and fruit, one-half natural size)]
The BARK is thin, light gray or nearly white and broken into loose
appressed scales.
The deciduous LEAVES are 2½ to 7 inches long, yellow-green, thin, smooth
on the edges, three-lobed toward the tip, or irregularly lobed, the
three forms appearing on different branches of the same tree.
The FRUIT, an acorn, solitary or in pairs on a very short peduncle, is
nearly egg-shaped, pale chestnut-brown, shinning, ½ to ¾ inch long, and
barely enclosed at the base in the thin saucer-shaped cup. The acorn
matures in one season.
The WOOD is hard and heavy and is used largely as fuel.
WHITE OAK
Quercus alba L.
Within its natural range, which includes practically the entire eastern
half of the United States, the white oak is one of the most important
timber trees. Found in East Texas to the Brazos River, it commonly
reaches a height of 80 feet and a diameter of 3 feet. It is found on
high quality soils. Grown in a dense stand it has a long, straight
trunk, free of side branches for over half of its height. In the open,
it develops a short trunk and broad crown with far-reaching limbs.
The BARK is thin, light ashy gray and covered with loose scales or broad
plates.
[Illustration: WHITE OAK (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and fruit,
one-third natural size)]
The deciduous LEAVES are alternate, simple, 5 to 9 inches long and about
half as broad. They are deeply divided into 5 to 9 rounded, finger-like
lobes. The young leaves are a soft silvery-gray or yellow or red while
unfolding, later becoming bright green and lustrous or dull above and
much paler and glaucous below. The FRUIT, an acorn maturing in one
season, is ¾ to 1 inch long, light brown, and about one-fourth enclosed
in a warty cup. The acorn is relished by hogs and other livestock.
The WOOD is heavy, strong, hard, tough, close-grained, durable, and
light brown in color. The uses are many, including construction,
watertight barrels, furniture, wagons, implements, interior finish,
flooring, and fuel. Although white oak is slow growing, it is valuable
for forest, highway and ornamental planting.
POST OAK
Quercus stellata Wangenh.
Post oak of Texas is usually a medium-sized tree, with a rounded crown,
commonly reaching a height of 50 feet and a diameter of 1 foot, but
sometimes considerably larger. It is the common oak in Central Texas and
occurs frequently in East Texas. It occurs most abundantly on the poorer
upland soils that have poor drainage.
The deciduous LEAVES are usually 4 to 5 inches long and nearly as broad,
deeply five-lobed with broad rounded divisions, the lobes broadest at
the ends. They are thick and somewhat leathery, dark green and shiny on
the upper surface, lighter green and rough hairy beneath.
[Illustration: POST OAK (Leaf and twig, one-third natural size; fruit,
one-fourth natural size)]
The FLOWERS, like those of the other oaks, are of two kinds on the same
tree, the male in drooping clustered catkins, the female inconspicuous.
The FRUIT, an oval acorn ½ to 1 inch long, is set in a rather small cup
which has thin scales and may or may not be stalked. The fruit matures
in one season.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, close-grained, light to dark brown, and durable
in contact with the soil. It is used for crossties and fence posts, and
occasionally for furniture and lumber.
Aside from the typical form, two varieties are found in the state. The
variety margaretta (Ashe) Sarg. is the common post oak of eastern Texas.
BUR OAK (Mossy-Cup Oak)
Quercus macrocarpa Michx.
Bur oak occurs throughout the eastern part of the state and as far west
as Callahan and Menard Counties, in rich bottomlands along streams, or
on rich hillsides along spring-fed rivers. The name alludes to the
fringe around the cup of the acorn, which is sometimes large. The tree
usually has a broad top of heavy spreading branches and a relatively
short body. In maturity it attains a diameter of 5 feet or more and a
height of over 80 feet.
The branches frequently have conspicuous corky ridges after the second
year.
[Illustration: BUR OAK (Illustrations, one-third natural size)]
The BARK is light gray and is usually broken up into small narrow
flakes. The deciduous LEAVES resemble somewhat those of the common white
oak, but are much larger and have a pair of deep indentations on their
border near the base, and wavy notches on the broad, middle and upper
portions of the leaf. They range from 6 to 12 inches long and 3 to 6
inches wide. The FRUIT, or acorn, is set deeply in the fringed cup. The
fruit is usually 1 inch or more in diameter but varies widely in respect
to size and the degree to which the nut is enclosed in the mossy-fringed
cup. The fruit matures in one season.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, tough and durable. It is used for much
the same purposes as the other white oaks—for lumber, crossties, and
fuel.
OVERCUP OAK
Quercus lyrata Walt.
Overcup oak, sometimes known as the swamp post oak or water white oak,
becomes a large tree with small, often pendulous branches. It is found
in moist, rich bottomlands in East Texas to the Navasota River Valley.
The LEAVES are deciduous, 7 to 9 inches long, 1 to 4 inches broad,
oblong, wider toward the point, narrowed at the base, dark green above,
often whitish beneath, with 7 to 9 distinct pointed lobes. They
frequently turn to a bright scarlet or to scarlet and orange in the
fall. The BARK is rough, flaky, and gray tinged with red.
[Illustration: OVERCUP OAK (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size;
twig, two-thirds natural size)]
The FLOWERS open with the unfolding of the leaves. The FRUIT, an acorn,
ripens in one season. The large rounded or somewhat flattened acorn, an
inch or more across and ½ to 1 inch high, is nearly covered by the ovate
or nearly spherical cup, which is thickened at the base but gradually
grows thinner, often irregularly split at the margin of the cup.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, and durable and is used for the same
purposes as that of white oak.
SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK
Quercus michauxii Nutt.
This species, also called basket oak and cow oak, is distinguished by
having a wavy leaf-margin, a large fruit which is sessile or very short
stalked, and by the fact that it occurs in its greatest abundance in
bottomlands. It is confined chiefly to the eastern part of the state as
far west as the Trinity River.
In the appearance of its bark and branches it closely resembles the
ordinary white oak, but the leaf lacks deep indentations and the acorn
is usually larger. The tree attains heights of about 100 feet and
diameters of about 4 feet.
The LEAVES are deciduous, obovate or oblong ovate, notched on the edge
somewhat like the chinkapin oak, but the lobes are rounded instead of
pointed. They vary from 4 to 8 inches in length, are downy beneath and
turn a rich crimson in the fall. The BARK is very light gray, and on old
trees is broken into broad flakes or divided into strips.
[Illustration: SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK (Twig, one-half natural size; fruit
and leaf, one-third natural size)]
The acorn, or FRUIT, matures in one season and attains a diameter of
more than an inch and a length of 1½ inches. The acorn is a bright,
shiny brown and set in a rather shallow cup. The acorn is frequently
eaten by cows and this fact gives the tree one of its common names.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, tough, strong, and takes an excellent polish.
It is used in manufacturing lumber, veneer, boards (shakes), water-tight
barrels, fuel, fence posts, and baskets.
CHINKAPIN OAK
Quercus muhlenbergii Engelm.
This oak, also known as chestnut oak, occurs over the eastern part of
the state and west to the Guadalupe River; also on the Guadalupe
Mountains. It grows on most classes of soils, except in swamps, and is
tenacious on shallow, dry, limestone soil. The BARK is light gray, and
breaks up in the short narrow flakes on the main trunk and old limbs.
It reaches a height of 20 to 50 feet. The straight, shapely trunk bears
a round-topped head composed of small branches, which makes it an
attractive shade tree.
The LEAVES are deciduous, oblong, 3 to 6 inches in length, 1½ to 3
inches wide, equally toothed or notched on the edges, resembling the
leaves of chestnut oak. The FRUIT, which ripens in the fall of the first
season, is light to dark brown when ripe, and edible if roasted. This
acorn is ½ to nearly 1 inch long, usually less than 1 inch in diameter,
and set in a shallow cup.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, durable, and takes an excellent polish.
It is used for barrels, fencing, crossties, fuel, and occasionally for
furniture.
[Illustration: CHINKAPIN OAK (Leaf, one-half natural size; twig and
fruit, one-third natural size)]
AMERICAN ELM (White Elm)
Ulmus americana L.
The range of this famous American shade tree extends west to the Dakotas
and southward to Coke County, Texas. Within this vast area, it is
generally common except in the high mountains and wet bottomlands. It
reaches an average height of 60 feet and a diameter of 3 feet. The BARK
is dark gray, divided into irregular flat-topped, thick ridges, and is
generally firm. An incision into an outer ridge of bark will show
alternate brown and cream colored layers. A cross section of slippery
elm bark is uniformly cream or tan colored.
[Illustration: AMERICAN ELM (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and
fruit, one-third natural size)]
The LEAVES are alternate, simple, 4 to 6 inches long, rather thick,
somewhat lopsided, double toothed on the margin, and either smooth or
scabrous above and soft pubescent or glabrate below. The leaf veins are
very pronounced and run in parallel lines from the midrib to the leaf
margin.
The FLOWERS are small, perfect, greenish, on slender pedicels, soon
pendulous, and appear before the leaves. The FRUIT ripens in the spring
and is a light green, oval-shaped samara (winged fruit) with the seed
portion in the center and surrounded entirely by a wing. A deep notch in
the end of the wing is distinctive of the species.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, tough, and difficult to split. It is
used for hubs of wheels, saddle trees, veneer for baskets and crates,
and slack cooperage.
American elm is rapidly being destroyed in the East and Midwest by the
Dutch elm disease and by phloem necrosis.
WINGED ELM
Ulmus alata Michx.
Winged elm gets its common name from the thin corky growth or “wings”,
usually found on smaller branches. These “wings” generally end abruptly
at the leaf nodes as contrasted by the cedar elm (p. 63) whose “wings”
are generally continuous. On large rapidly growing trees the wings are
often absent. It occurs in eastern Texas south to the valley of the
Guadalupe River, on dry uplands, and in moist soils along streams and
swamps. It grows rapidly in moist situations, and may also be planted
along roadsides in relatively dry, poor locations. It is comparatively
free from disease, though not long-lived. Winged elm is a medium-sized
tree 40 to 50 feet in height and rarely as large as 2 feet in diameter.
It forms a rather open, round-topped head.
[Illustration: WINGED ELM (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size;
twig, one-half natural size)]
The BARK is light brown tinged with red, and divided by irregular
shallow fissures into flat ridges.
The LEAVES are simple alternate, 2 to 4 inches long and 1 to 2 inches
broad, coarsely double-toothed, thick, dark green and smooth above, and
pale and pale-pubescent or glabrous below with auxiliary hairs and
prominent veins. The leaves are small and pointed at the tip, which
distinguishes them from the small blunt leaves of the cedar elm.
The FLOWERS appear in early spring, long before the leaves unfold. The
FRUIT ripens in the spring about the time the leaves appear; it is
winged, tipped with two, small, incurved arms or beaks; oblong,
reddish-brown; about ⅓ inch long, with a long, slender pedicel at the
base, and covered with white hairs.
The WOOD is very similar to that of the other elms—heavy, hard, and
difficult to split. It is occasionally used for hubs and mauls.
Formerly, rope made of the inner bark was used for binding the covers to
cotton bales.
CEDAR ELM
Ulmus crassifolia Nutt.
Cedar elm is distributed widely over the state, near streams, in deep
rich soil, and on dry, limestone hills. It is the most common elm tree
of Texas, extending to the Pecos River. It forms a tree up to 75 feet
high with a tall straight trunk 2 to 3 feet in diameter, and with an
inversely conic round-topped head and drooping branches. It reaches its
largest size on the bottomlands of the Guadalupe and Trinity Rivers.
[Illustration: CEDAR ELM (Illustrations, three-fourths natural size)]
The BARK is light-brown tinged with red, deeply fissured, with
flattened, scaly ridges. The young twigs are finely velvet and reddish,
sometimes developing thin corky wings which continue around the leaf
nodes.
The LEAVES are small, the largest less than 2 inches long, often double
toothed and usually rather blunt at the tip. Their upper surface is dark
green and rough, while the lower surface and petiole are hairy.
The FLOWERS, which appear in the autumn, are in small short-pedicelled
clusters at the axils of the leaves. The FRUIT, an oval-shaped samara
slightly more than ¼ inch long, is hairy all over, especially on the
edges and is deeply notched at the tip.
The WOOD is reddish-brown, brittle, and with a thick layer of lighter
colored sapwood. The wood is sometimes used in the manufacture of hubs,
furniture, and fencing.
SLIPPERY ELM (Red Elm)
Ulmus rubra Muhl.
Slippery elm, or red elm, is found in the eastern and southern parts of
the state as far as the upper Guadalupe and Leon Rivers in Kerr and
Comal Counties. It is found principally on the banks of streams and on
low hillsides in rich soil. It is a tree of small to moderate size, but
noticeably wide-spreading. It is usually less than 40 feet in height and
6 inches in diameter, although trees of larger dimensions are
occasionally found.
The BARK on the trunk is frequently 1 inch thick, dark grayish-brown on
the surface, uniformly tan or cream colored in cross section, and broken
by shallow fissures into flat ridges. The inner bark is used to some
extent for medicinal purposes and, when chewed, affords a slippery
mucilaginous substance, whence the tree gets its name.
The LEAVES are simple, alternate on the stem, 4 to 6 inches in length,
sharp-pointed, their bases unsymmetrical, doubly toothed on the edges,
thick, dark green, and very rough above, pubescent below.
[Illustration: SLIPPERY ELM (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size;
twig, one-half natural size)]
The FLOWERS appear in early spring and are nearly sessile. The FRUIT, a
samara, ¾ inch long and ½ inch in diameter, consists of a seed
surrounded by a thin, broad, greenish wing. The fruit ripens when the
leaves are about half grown. The margin of the fruit is not ciliate.
The WOOD is close-grained, tough, strong, heavy, hard, and moderately
durable in contact with the soil. Slippery elm and American elm are sold
commercially as “soft elm,” and have similar uses.
PLANER TREE (Water Elm)
Planera aquatica (Walt.) Gmel.
Planer tree or water elm is found on low wet lands along the streams of
the eastern part of the state as far west as Brazos and Matagorda
Counties. It forms a small spreading tree with a low broad head 30 to 40
feet in height and with a maximum trunk diameter of 20 inches.
[Illustration: PLANER TREE (Illustrations, nearly natural size)]
The BARK is light brown or gray, about ¼ inch thick, and separates into
large scales.
The LEAVES resemble those of the small-leaved elms. They are 2 to 2½
inches long, ¾ to 1 inch wide on a short petiole, dark dull green above
and paler on the lower surface, and have yellowish veins.
The FLOWERS appear with the leaves in March or early April. The small
flowers are sometimes perfect; occasionally the male and female flowers
are borne separately on the same tree. The FRUIT is a peculiar, rounded,
shaggy-appearing structure, about ⅜ inch long. It consists of a nut-like
center covered with soft and irregular wing-like outgrowths which extend
out on all sides from the center.
The WOOD is light brown, coarse-grained and soft, very light in weight,
and has a broad zone of nearly white sapwood. The wood has little
economic value.
HACKBERRY
Celtis occidentalis L.
Hackberry is found over eastern Texas on various types of soil. It is
usually a medium-sized to large tree, becoming 60 to 100 feet or more
high and 10 to 20 inches in diameter. Its limbs are often crooked and
angular and bear a head made of slender, pendant branches or short,
bristly, stubby twigs. In the open, the crown is generally symmetrical.
It makes an excellent shade tree.
The BARK is brownish-gray, one inch or more thick, and generally very
rough with many scale-like or warty projections of dead bark.
[Illustration: HACKBERRY (Leaf and fruit, two-thirds natural size;
twig, one-half natural size)]
The LEAVES are simple, ovate, alternate, one-sided, 2 to 4 inches long,
thick, very rough above, green on both surfaces, and the edges toothed
toward the long point. The FLOWERS are inconspicuous, and the two kinds
are borne on the same tree. They appear in April or May, and are of a
creamy greenish color. The FRUIT is a round, somewhat oblong, drupe or
berry, dark purple, ⅓ inch in diameter, ripening in September. The
peduncle (fruit stem) is much longer than the petiole of the leaf. It
has a thin, purplish skin, and sweet yellowish flesh. The berries
frequently hang on the tree most of the winter.
The WOOD is heavy, rather soft, weak, and decays readily when exposed.
It is used chiefly for fuel, and occasionally for lumber.
The range of this hackberry extends far into the northern and
northeastern parts of the United States.
SUGARBERRY (Sugar Hackberry)
Celtis laevigata Willd.
Sugarberry is distributed widely over the eastern half of the state. It
occurs most abundantly and attains greatest size in rich alluvial soil,
but thrives on various soil types. The species may grow 30 to 50 feet
high and 10 to 20 inches in diameter, though sometimes much larger. Its
limbs are spreading or pendulous, forming a broad head. Its branchlets
are slender, light green, glabrous or pubescent when young, and bright
reddish-brown during their first winter.
The BARK is pale gray and covered with prominent excrescences.
The LEAVES are simple, oblong-lanceolate, one-sided, 2½ to 5 inches
long, thin, smooth, with the edges entire.
[Illustration: SUGARBERRY (Leaf, fruit, and twig, three-fourths natural
size)]
The FLOWERS, not conspicuous, are borne on slender, smooth peduncles in
April or May, and are of a creamy-greenish color. The FRUIT is
short-oblong to pear shaped, orange-red or yellow, ¼ inch in diameter,
and ripens in September. The peduncle of the fruit is shorter or
slightly longer than the petiole of the leaf.
The WOOD is soft, weak, close-grained, and light yellow, and is used
occasionally for flooring and furniture, but chiefly for fuel.
RED MULBERRY
Morus rubra L.
Red mulberry occurs in eastern Texas and west to the canyon of Devils
River, Valverde County. It prefers rich moist soils. It is a small tree,
rarely 50 feet high and 2 feet in diameter, often growing in the shade
of larger trees.
The BARK is rather thin, dark grayish-brown, and peels off in long
narrow flakes.
[Illustration: RED MULBERRY (Twig, two-thirds natural size; leaves and
fruit, one-third natural size)]
The LEAVES are alternate, thin, rounded or somewhat heart-shaped,
toothed, pointed, 3 to 5 inches long, rough hairy above and soft hairy
beneath. Some of the leaves are mitten-shaped or lobed.
The FLOWERS are of two kinds, on the same or different trees, in long
drooping catkins, the female catkins shorter, appearing with the leaves.
The multiple FRUIT is edible, dark purple or black when ripe, and ¾ to 1
inch long.
The WOOD is rather light, soft, not strong, light orange-yellow, and the
heartwood is durable in contact with the soil. It is chiefly used for
fence posts.
The TEXAS MULBERRY (Morus microphylla Buckl.) is found in West Texas and
south from the Colorado River. Its leaves are rarely longer than 1½
inches.
The WHITE MULBERRY (Morus alba L.) a native of China, has become
naturalized in the United States.
OSAGE-ORANGE (Bois-d’arc)
Maclura pomifera (Raf.) Schneid.
Osage-orange, “bodark”, hedge apple, or mock orange is native to eastern
and Central Texas; attaining its largest size in the valley of the Red
River in the northeast part of the state. It commonly reaches a height
of 20 to 40 feet and a diameter of 4 to 12 inches. The BARK is thin,
gray, sometimes tinged with yellow; on old trees it is divided into
strips or flakes. It contains tannin and has been used for tanning
leather. The twigs are armed with stout, straight thorns ⅜ to 1 inch
long.
[Illustration: OSAGE-ORANGE (Leaf and fruit, one-fourth natural size;
leaf and twig, nearly one-half natural size)]
The LEAVES are simple, alternate, oval-pointed and lustrous green on the
upper surface, 3 to 5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide, and entire.
The leaves turn bright yellow in the autumn.
The yellowish FLOWERS appear in May; two kinds on the same tree—the male
flowers in a linear cluster and the female flowers a rounded ball. The
FRUIT is globular, from 2 to 5 inches in diameter, resembling a rough,
green orange.
The WOOD is heavy, exceedingly hard, very strong, and very durable in
contact with the soil. The heartwood is bright orange in color, turning
brown upon exposure. It is largely used for posts. The Indians prized
the wood for bows and war clubs. The tree is planted for windbreaks and
hedges. The bark of the roots supply a yellow dye.
SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA (Evergreen Magnolia)
Magnolia grandiflora L.
Magnolia is one of the best-known trees in the eastern part of the
state. No other tree excels it in the combined beauty of leaves and
flowers. Occurring naturally in rich moist soil on the borders of river
swamps and nearby uplands in the Coastal Plain to the valley of the
Brazos River, it has been widely cultivated for its ornamental value. In
its natural habitat, it attains heights generally of 60 to 80 feet and
trunk diameters up to 4 feet. The dense pyramidal head, or crown, is
made up of numerous small spreading branches and branchlets.
[Illustration: SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA (Leaf and flower, one-fourth natural
size; twig, one-half natural size)]
The LEAVES are evergreen, thick, leathery, elliptical or oval, dark
green and shiny above, rusty or silvery beneath, and mostly from 5 to 8
inches long, and 2 to 3 inches wide, with prominent midribs. They remain
on the tree for approximately 2 years.
The large FLOWERS are 6 to 8 inches broad, with pure white petals
surrounding a splash of bright purple in the center, and have a pleasing
fragrance.
The FRUIT is a rounded or oval aggregate 3 to 4 inches long containing
many seeds, each enclosed in a follicle. These open in the fall and
display the bright red seeds dangling on slender threads.
The WOOD is moderately heavy, hard, and of a creamy color. It is used
chiefly for furniture, Venetian blinds, and fuel.
SWEETBAY (Sweetbay Magnolia)
Magnolia virginiana L.
Sweetbay, better known locally as white or swampbay, is found in the
southern part of the Texas pine belt to western Montgomery County, in
swamps and rich, moist soils. Often appearing as a clump of sprouts in
open woods, in dense forests it grows as a tree 60 to 90 feet high, and
up to 3 feet in diameter.
The bark is light gray; the branchlets silky-white.
The LEAVES are simple, oblong, pale green above and hairy-white beneath,
4 to 6 inches long, 1 to 2 inches wide, remaining on sprout growth to
spring, usually dropping from older trees in the fall.
[Illustration: SWEETBAY (Leaf, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds
natural size; fruit, one-fourth natural size)]
The fragrant FLOWERS, with 9 to 12 creamy-white petals on slender smooth
stems, measure 2 to 3 inches across. They continue to open during
several weeks of spring and early summer. The FRUIT aggregate or “bur”
is oval-shaped, dark red or brown, about 2 inches long, and contains
scarlet seeds which are usually oval, flattened, and less than ½ inch
long.
The WOOD is soft, creamy white to reddish, and is used for furniture,
boxes, woodenware, and venetian blinds.
PAWPAW
Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal
This odd and attractive tree does not grow abundantly in Texas and seems
to be little known. It is found near streams in the extreme east portion
of the state and in greater abundance in Harrison and Grayson Counties.
It is seldom over 30 feet high with a trunk 8 or 10 inches in diameter.
The BARK on young trees and branches is a smooth, clean brown; on older
trees becoming blotched with gray, and bearing a few small wart-like
excrescences.
The LEAVES are obovate—lanceolate, 8 to 12 inches long, light, bright
green above and paler below.
The FLOWERS are strikingly characteristic. The three light green, hairy
sepals are early deciduous. The outer three petals are a rich
brownish-purple and deeply veined. The inner three petals are pointed,
glandular, and erect.
The FRUIT is an oblong berry 3 to 6 inches long, and contains a number
of large, brown seeds. When ripe it falls to the ground, turning dark
brown. The deep yellow flesh is palatable, though some people do not
care for its unique flavor. The tree blooms and bears as a shrub or
tree.
The WOOD is light, weak, and spongy, yellow in color, and is of no known
value.
[Illustration: PAWPAW (Leaf, one-fourth natural size; twig, two-thirds
natural size)]
REDBAY
Persea borbonia (L.) Spreng.
Redbay is native to the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states from Virginia to
southeastern and southern Texas and is a member of the Laurel family. In
all, about 100 species of Persea are found in North and South America.
Redbay grows to 70 feet in height and 3 feet in diameter, with a
well-shaped head of erect, stout, dark green branches. It grows in
moist, rich soils along the streams and in swamps and sometimes in drier
soils along with longleaf pine, over the coastal region.
[Illustration: REDBAY (Illustrations, two-thirds natural size)]
The aromatic LEAVES are oblong, thick or leathery, up to 4 inches in
length and 1½ inches in width, bright green with the margin entire and
with a narrow, orange-colored midrib. They remain green over the first
winter. The yellowish-white FLOWERS are in small clusters.
The FRUIT is a nearly round, rather fleshy, shiny, dark blue or nearly
black drupe, about ½ inch long. It ripens in the autumn and contains a
large rounded stone.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, bright red, with thin, lighter colored
sapwood. It is used for cabinet-making, and interior house finish, and
has been used for boat construction.
SILKBAY (Persea humilis Nash) is a dwarf or low growing shrub or tree 6
to 10 feet in height occurring in southern Texas.
SASSAFRAS
Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees
This small tree with aromatic leaves and twigs is usually not over 40
feet in height or a foot in diameter. It is common in Texas west to the
Brazos River on the drier soils, and is one of the first broad-leaved
trees to grow on abandoned fields, where the seeds are dropped by birds.
The species is closely related to the camphor tree of Japan. The BARK is
red-brown and deeply furrowed while the bark of the twigs is bright
green.
The LEAVES are unusual in that they vary widely in shape on the same
tree, or even on the same twig. Some are oval and entire, 4 to 6 inches
long; others have one lobe, resembling a mitten; while still others are
divided at the outer end into 3 distinct lobes.
[Illustration: SASSAFRAS (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and fruit,
one-third natural size)]
The FLOWERS are clustered, greenish-yellow, and open with the first
unfolding of the leaves. The male and female flowers are usually on
different trees. The FRUIT is an oblong, dark blue or black lustrous
drupe surrounded at the base by what appears to be a small orange-red or
scarlet cup at the end of the scarlet peduncle.
The WOOD is light, soft, weak, brittle, and durable in the soil; the
heartwood is dull orange-brown. It is used for posts and crossties. The
bark of the roots yields the very aromatic oil of sassafras much used
for flavoring candies and various commercial products. The bark of the
root is sold in small bundles for making sassafras tea.
WITCH-HAZEL
Hamamelis virginiana L.
This tall-growing shrub which has the peculiar habit of blooming in the
late fall and ripening its fruit in early spring is native to the
extreme eastern portion of Texas, being found on rich soils of streams
or along the borders of the forest.
The BARK is smooth, white, gray, and mottled with light brown.
The LEAVES are usually obovate, 3 to 5 inches long, prominently veined,
with a wavy margin, very irregular at the base, bright green above and
slightly paler below. They are generally smooth.
The odd, yellow FLOWERS are borne in clusters along the branch, with
long, very narrow twisted petals. They develop during November,
December, and January, the time depending somewhat on the weather, and
possess a refreshing fragrance. The FRUIT is a hard, tough, two-celled
capsule, with two beaks. It divides in half, each half containing a
shiny black seed. In the late summer or early autumn the capsules pop
open, discharging the seeds.
[Illustration: WITCH-HAZEL (Leaf, one-half natural size; flower and
fruit, natural size)]
The WOOD is hard and close-grained. The trees do not grow large enough
to be of commercial value.
An analgesic extract used in lotions and balms is obtained from the
inner bark by distillation.
SWEETGUM (Redgum)
Liquidambar styraciflua L.
Sweetgum is a valuable and sometimes troublesome forest tree in East
Texas. It occurs on rich river bottoms and in swamps subject to frequent
overflow, as well as on the dried uplands, as far west as the San
Jacinto River Basin. The BARK is a light gray, roughened by corky
scales, later becoming deeply furrowed. After the second year the twigs
often develop corky projections of bark, which give them a winged
appearance.
The simple, alternate star-shaped LEAF with its 5 to 7 points or lobes,
is 5 to 7 inches across and aromatic. In the fall its coloring ranges
from pale yellow through orange and red to a deep bronze.
[Illustration: SWEETGUM (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig,
two-thirds natural size)]
The FLOWERS of both sexes appear on the same tree and open with the
leaves. The FRUIT, a head an inch or more in diameter, is made up of
many capsules with projecting spines. It hangs on the tree late into the
winter.
The WOOD is moderately hard, close-grained, and not durable on exposure.
The reddish-brown heartwood, which suggests the name red gum, is not
present to any appreciable extent in logs under 16 inches in diameter.
The wood is extensively used for flooring, interior finish, paper pulp,
and veneers for baskets of all kinds.
In the uplands, this species competes aggressively with the more
valuable Southern pines. The control of sweetgum is, therefore, a
problem. This attractive species should be more widely planted for
ornamental use.
AMERICAN SYCAMORE
Plantanus occidentalis L.
American sycamore, also called planetree and buttonwood, is considered
the largest hardwood tree in North America. It occurs throughout eastern
Texas to Zavalla County. It is most abundant and reaches its largest
size along streams and on rich bottomlands. It grows rapidly and
occasionally attains a height of 140 to 170 feet and a diameter of 10 to
11 feet.
The BARK of the sycamore is a characteristic feature; on the younger
trunk and large limbs it is smooth, greenish-gray in color. The outer
bark of limbs and upper trunk flakes off in large patches and exposes
the nearly white younger bark. Near the base of old trees, the bark
becomes thick, dark brown and divided by deep furrows.
[Illustration: AMERICAN SYCAMORE (Fruit and leaf, one-third natural
size)]
The LEAVES are simple, alternate, 4 to 7 inches long and about as broad;
light green and smooth above, and paler below. The base of the petiole
is hollow and in falling off exposes the winter bud. The multiple FRUIT
forms a ball about 1 inch in diameter, which hangs on its flexible
peduncle—3 to 5 inches long. During early spring the fruit ball breaks
up, and the small nutlets are scattered widely by the wind.
The WOOD is hard and moderately strong, but decays rapidly in the
ground. It is used for butchers’ blocks, tobacco boxes, furniture, and
interior finish.
HAWTHORN (Haw)
Crataegus L.
Hawthorn, as treated here, represents about 30 different species and
varieties distributed throughout the state. Members of the group occur
on the poorest and richest soils, on the shallowest and deepest, and on
the limestone hills as well as on the rich bottom and swamp lands. Most
of the forms have a common likeness in possessing thorns and bearing
white blossoms and red or yellow fruit. Some species are planted as
ornamental trees, but otherwise the group is of little commercial value.
[Illustration: HAWTHORN (Leaf and twig, two-thirds natural size; fruit,
one-half natural size)]
The BARK is generally thin, gray in color, and on the old stems broken
up into thin, narrow scales.
The LEAVES are simple, alternate, mostly oval or wedge-shaped, notched
on the edges, and usually from 2 to 3 inches long.
The FLOWERS are white, some fragrant and others with a slightly
unpleasant odor; they appear in early spring. The FRUIT varies from
globular to oblong, from ¼ to ¾ inch in diameter; some when ripe have a
pulpy, sweet, edible flesh, surrounding from 1 to 5 bony seeds.
The WOOD is strong, tough, heavy, hard, but rarely used for any purpose.
Many species of birds are attracted to these trees and bushes by the
fruit and for the protection offered for nesting. Blueberry hawthorn, C.
brachyacanthu, fruit ripens in the late summer and is valuable for deer
food. The fruit of most species ripens in the fall, and one or two
varieties yield a fruit highly prized for making jelly.
RIVERFLAT HAWTHORN (Mayhew)
Crataegus opaca Hook. and Arn.
This species is a native of East Texas, being found as far west as the
Trinity River. It grows along rivers at the edges of swamps and ponds,
where water stands a part of the year. These trees often form extensive
thickets. The FRUIT of this haw, unlike other Texas haws, matures in
late April or May. After the fruit is gone, it is more difficult to
distinguish it from other haws. It is of low, spreading habit, sometimes
becoming a tree 20 to 30 feet high and about a foot in diameter. It
usually bears a few thorns about 1 inch long on branches two years old.
[Illustration: RIVERFLAT HAWTHORN (Leaves, flowers, and fruit, one-half
natural size)]
On old trees the BARK is deeply fissured and divided into dark brown,
persistent scales. The wood has no commercial value.
The LEAVES are about 2 inches long, pointed, narrowing toward the stem,
finely toothed from the middle of the tip, sometimes slightly lobed,
dull green, and rather downy beneath.
The FLOWERS appearing in March are the largest of Crataegus, 1 inch in
diameter, white, and borne in clusters of only 2 or 3. The FRUIT, an
unusually large haw, is sometimes nearly an inch in diameter. When fully
ripe, these haws are scarlet, lustrous, mellow, and pleasantly acid. The
fruit is gathered in large quantities for making mayhaw jelly.
MEXICAN PLUM
Prunus mexicana S. Wats.
This common wild plum is a small tree reaching 20 to 25 feet in height
and 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Uncommonly it attains only large shrub
size.
The BARK is dark, varying from gray to nearly black. There are curling
scales on young branches but on old trunks the bark becomes rough and
deeply furrowed.
[Illustration: MEXICAN PLUM (Leaf, three-fourths natural size; flowers
and fruit, one-half natural size)]
The LEAVES, when mature, are alternate, oval, abruptly pointed, finely
and doubly toothed along the margin, dark yellow-green, smooth and
shiny, thick and firm, 2 to 3 inches long by 1 to 2 inches wide,
narrowed or rounded at the base and prominently veined on both surfaces.
The white FLOWERS appear in numerous small clusters in March before the
leaves. With a profusion of flowers, this tree is one of the delights of
early spring in the woods. The FRUIT, or plum, which ripens in late
summer, is dark purple-red color with a bluish “bloom”, about 1¼ inches
in diameter, and varies widely in its palatability. The stone is about ¾
inch long, and smooth. The dorsal edge is ridged; the ventral edge
grooved.
This species of plum does not sucker to form thickets, is drought
resistant, and has been used for grafting stock for the production of
commercial plums.
FLATWOODS PLUM (Black Sloe)
Prunus umbellata Ell.
This shrub or small tree with a short, often crooked, or inclining trunk
and a flat-topped head and slender branches is rarely over 20 feet high.
Branchlets at first covered with a dense, pale pubescence, soon become
smooth and bright red during the first year and dull dark brown the
second year. It occurs throughout the eastern portion of the state.
[Illustration: FLATWOODS PLUM (Two-thirds natural size)]
BARK ¼ inch thick, dark brown, almost black, and broken diagonally into
small, hard, appressed, persistent scales. LEAVES bright bronze-green
with red margins and petiole when they unfold; at maturity, usually less
than 2½ inches long, ovate-lanceolate to oblong with a rounded or
slightly cordate base; leaf thin, dark green above, paler below; usually
furnished with two large dark glands at the base; margins finely and
sharply serrate with incurved teeth.
Small white FLOWERS appearing in umbels of 3 or 4 flowers before the
leaves. Flowers ⅔ inch in diameter. FRUIT a drupe on a stem ½ to 1 inch
long, round, ½ inch in diameter, and with a tough, black, yellow, or
bright red skin covered with a glaucous bloom, and with thick, acid
flesh. Stone flattened, brittle-walled, and wrinkled. Dorsal edge
grooved; ventral edge with conspicuous ridge. The fruit is relished by
deer.
BLACK CHERRY
Prunus serotina Ehrh.
A medium-sized tree, up to about 70 feet high and 1 to 3 feet in
diameter, black cherry is found in eastern Texas and in the mountains of
West Texas. The forest-grown trees have long clear trunks with little
taper. Open-grown trees have short trunks with many branches and
irregular spreading crowns. The BARK on branches and young trunks is
smooth and bright reddish-brown, marked by conspicuous, narrow, white,
horizontal lines, and has a bitter almond taste. On the older trunks the
bark becomes rough and broken into thick, irregular plates.
[Illustration: BLACK CHERRY (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size;
twig, two-thirds natural size)]
The LEAVES are alternate, simple, oval to lance-like in shape, 2 to 6
inches long and 1-1½ inches wide, with fine, incurved serrations, shiny
above, and paler beneath. Cattle eating wilted leaves may be fatally
poisoned.
The FRUIT is a dull purplish-black drupe, about as large as a pea, and
is borne in long hanging panicles. The fruit ripens in late summer, is
edible though slightly bitter, and is relished by wildlife.
The WOOD is reddish-brown with yellowish sapwood, moderately heavy,
hard, strong, fine-grained, and does not warp or split in seasoning.
With the exception of black walnut, cherry lumber has a greater unit
value than any other hardwood of the eastern United States. Cherry is
prized for furniture.
The SOUTHWESTERN BLACK CHERRY, Prunus serotina var. rufula (Woot. and
Standl.) McVaugh is found in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas. At
least five other cherry species are native to Texas. All have shrubby
growth.
CAROLINA LAURELCHERRY
Prunus caroliniana (Mill.) Ait.
Called by many local names such as cherry laurel, wild peach, and mock
orange, this species is native to the eastern portion of the state to
the valley of the Guadalupe River, where it is found on deep rich moist
bottomlands. It is apparently free from disease and quite adaptable for
landscape planting. It is usually a small tree but sometimes reaches a
height of 50 to 60 feet and 18 inches in diameter when cultivated. The
partially withered leaves and young branches can be fatal to animals
browsing upon them, owing to presence of poisonous hydrocyanic acid.
[Illustration: CAROLINA LAURELCHERRY (Two-thirds natural size)]
The BARK is rather smooth, gray, and marked by almost black blotches.
The LEAVES are persistent, oblong-lanceolate, with a few tiny sharp
teeth along the margins, dark lustrous green above, paler below. They
cling until the second year.
The small white FLOWERS come in clusters, in early spring. The FRUIT, a
lustrous black drupe, ripens in autumn, and clings until the following
spring. The fruit is eaten by some birds.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, rich brown in color,
with a thick, lighter colored sapwood.
EBONY BLACKBEAD (Texas Ebony)
Pithecellobium flexicaule (Benth.) Coult.
This beautiful evergreen occurs as a small tree or shrub in South Texas
from Matagorda Bay and south into Mexico. Its short spreading branches,
forming a wide, round head, carry stout zigzag brachlets, dark
reddish-brown or light gray, armed with persistent stipular spines ¼ to
½ inch long.
The LEAVES, about 2 inches long, are feather-like (twice pinnate) with
sessile, leathery leaflets that are dark green and shiny on the upper
surface, paler on the lower surface, and ¼ to ⅓ inch long.
[Illustration: EBONY BLACKBEAD (Leaf and fruit, two-thirds natural size)]
The FLOWERS are light yellow or cream colored, fragrant, and bloom from
June to August in dense cylindric or interrupted spikes 1½ inches long.
The FRUIT ripens in the fall and remains on the branches until after the
flowering season the following year. It is a flattened, curved, hairy
pod, 4 to 6 inches long, and about 1 inch wide.
The WOOD is very heavy, hard, close-grained, dark red-brown tinged with
purple, almost indestructible when used for fence posts, and valued for
cabinet work.
The tree is considered the most valuable species in the lower Rio Grande
Valley. Mexicans use the seed as a substitute for coffee.
CATCLAW ACACIA (Una de Gato)
Acacia greggii A. Gray
Found on dry gravelly mesas, the sides of low canyons and the banks of
mountain streams in the Rio Grande Valley and westward, this small tree
rarely reaches a height of 30 feet, and has a trunk up to 12 inches in
diameter. The top or head consists of numerous spreading branches and
smooth pale brown or red branchlets, armed with stout curved spines.
[Illustration: CATCLAW ACACIA (Fruit and leaves, one-half natural size)]
The small, bipinnately compound LEAVES with 1 to 3 pinnae, the leaflets
of which are about ¼ inch long.
The fragrant yellow FLOWERS appear during the summer in dense, oblong,
pubescent spikes, usually 2 to 3 in a cluster at the end of a branch.
The FRUIT matures by midsummer into a twisted or distorted pod, 2 to 4
inches long by about ¾ inch wide. The pod is smaller between each of the
6 to 8 seeds, which are nearly round, flattened, dark brown and shiny.
The pods hang unopened on the branches until the winter or the following
spring.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, durable, and clear brown
or red in color.
GREGG LEADTREE
Leucaena greggii S. Wats.
This small, beautiful tree grows wild in western Texas from the upper
San Saba River to Devil’s River. It grows along the banks of streams and
in moist ravines, and reaches a size of 15 to 20 feet in height and 4 to
5 inches in diameter.
[Illustration: GREGG LEADTREE (Leaf and fruit, two-thirds natural size)]
The LEAVES are finely and doubly compound; with 10 to 14 feather-like
pinnae, each containing from 30 to 60 small leaflets, arranged along
opposite sides of the rachis. Each leaflet is elliptical, grayish-green
or bluish-green, smooth, and about ⅓ inch long.
The white FLOWERS are clustered in dense round heads, about 1 inch in
diameter, borne on a long peduncle. Each tiny flower has protruding
hairs which give the head a fuzzy appearance.
The pods, or FRUIT, are 6 to 8 inches long and about ½ inch wide, flat,
and with narrow wing-like edges.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, close-grained, clear brown streaked with red,
with thin, clear sapwood.
Two other species of mimosa are found in Texas: L. pulverulenta
(Schlect.) Benth., found above the mouth of the Rio Grande; and L.
retusa Benth., in Jeff Davis, Kimble, Real, Uvalde, and Valverde
Counties.
HONEY MESQUITE
Prosopis juliflora var. glandulosa (Torr.) Cockerell
This well-known small tree is found in the central and western part of
the state. The short trunk, usually only 6 to 8 inches in diameter,
divides into many branches forming a loose, open top or crown.
The root system is very large, consisting of a thick taproot sometimes
extending downward to a depth of 30 to 40 feet, with many radiating
roots.
[Illustration: HONEY MESQUITE (One-fourth natural size)]
The LEAVES are pinnately compound, consisting of 12 to 20 leaflets
attached along a central rachis, or “stem”, 8 to 10 inches long. The
leaflets are often 2 inches long, smooth, dark green, and pointed. Near
their bases are small spines.
The fragrant FLOWERS are tiny and in clusters (spikes) from 2 to 4
inches long. The FRUIT is a pod about 4 to 9 inches, narrowed between
each of the 10 to 20 seeds enclosed in a thick sweet pulp, used by the
natives as food and eagerly sought by wildlife and livestock.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, and dark reddish-brown in color. It is much
used for fuel and, because it is durable in the ground, for fence posts.
Mesquite has long been designated as P. juliflora (Sw.) D.C., with the
varieties glandulosa (Torr.) Cockerell and velutina (Woot.) Sarg. found
in Texas.
WESTERN HONEY MESQUITE (P. juliflora var. torreyana L. Benson) occurs in
southern and Trans-Pecos regions of Texas. This species is usually a
shrub or sometimes a small tree.
EASTERN REDBUD
Cercis canadensis L.
Eastern Redbud, sometimes called Judas-tree from its oriental relative
of that name, is a small tree scattered through the woods of East Texas
to the Brazos River. It attains a height of 25 to 50 feet and a diameter
of 6 to 12 inches. Its stout branches usually form a wide flat head.
[Illustration: EASTERN REDBUD (Twig, two-thirds natural size; fruit and
leaf, one-third natural size)]
The BARK of the trunk is divided into long narrow plates, the bright
red-brown surface separating into thin scales.
The LEAVES are alternate, heart-shaped, entire, 3 to 5 inches long and
wide, glossy green, turning a bright clear yellow in autumn.
The conspicuous, bright purplish-red FLOWERS are in clusters along the
twigs and small branches, and appear before or with the leaves in early
spring.
The FRUIT is an oblong, flattened, many-seeded pod, 2 to 4 inches long,
reddish during the summer and often hanging on the tree through the
following summer.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, not strong, rich dark brown in color, and of
little commercial importance. The redbud is cultivated as an ornamental
tree and for that purpose might be more generally planted in this state.
Several varieties of Cercis canadensis have been described in Texas.
HONEYLOCUST
Gleditsia triacanthos L.
Honeylocust occurs naturally in the eastern part of the state to the
Brazos River. It grows under a wide variety of soil and moisture
conditions and is a popular tree for planting in the drier portions of
Texas. It reaches a diameter of 30 inches and a height of 75 feet. The
BARK on old trees is dark gray and is divided into thin, tight scales.
The strong, straight or branched, brown, sharp and shiny thorns, which
grow on the 1-year-old wood and remain for many years, are sufficient to
identify the honeylocust.
The LEAF is pinnate or feather-like, with 18 to 28 leaflets; or it is
bi-pinnate, consisting of 4 to 7 pairs of pinnae, each 6 to 8 inches
long.
[Illustration: HONEYLOCUST (Twig, three-quarters natural size; leaves
and fruit, one-quarter natural size)]
The FRUIT, a 10 to 18 inch pod, is often twisted, 1 to 1½ inches wide,
flat, dark brown or black when ripe, and contains a yellow sweetish pulp
and dark brown seeds. The seeds are hard and separated by pulp. The pods
are eaten by many animals, and as the seeds are hard to digest, many are
widely scattered from the parent tree.
The WOOD is coarse-grained, hard, strong, and moderately durable in
contact with the ground.
Honeylocust is a good tree to substitute for the black locust which has
been almost exterminated in West Texas by the locust borer.
TEXAS HONEYLOCUST (G. texana Sarg.), found in the Brazos River
bottomlands, is reported to be a hybrid between G. triacanthos and G.
aquatica.
WATERLOCUST
Gleditsia aquatica Marsh.
In river bottoms and swamps along the Gulf Coast to the Brazos River and
north to Arkansas is found the waterlocust, a close relative of the
well-known black locust. It can be distinguished by the small pod having
one seed, rarely two or three.
[Illustration: WATERLOCUST (One-half natural size)]
The waterlocust reaches a height of 60 feet and diameter up to 3 feet.
The trunk is usually short, dividing into several spreading, and often
distorted, branches. The branchlets have sharp spines from 3 to 5 inches
in length, dark red and shiny.
The pinnately compound LEAVES are 5 to 8 inches long with 12 to 20
leaflets arranged on opposite sides of the leaf rachis. Each leaflet is
an inch or so in length, oblong, sometimes slightly toothed on the edge,
dull green or yellow-green above and dark green on the lower surface.
The FLOWERS appear in small clusters of green flowers on purple pedicels
in a raceme 3 to 4 inches long, and grow from the axil of the leaf
rachis and twig. The flowers bloom well after the leaves are out. The
FRUIT pods hang in graceful racemes. The pods are 1 inch wide and 1 to 2
inches long, thin walled, tough, papery, chestnut brown, and shiny. The
SEEDS are flattened, nearly round, about ½ inch wide, and orange-brown.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, light reddish-brown, and surrounded by
a wide band of clear yellow sapwood.
BLACK LOCUST (Yellow Locust)
Robinia pseudoacacia L.
Black locust is not native to Texas, so far as known, but has been
widely planted here and has escaped from cultivation. Black locust
requires deep, well-drained, moist soil for good growth. It grows
indifferently to poorly on well-drained, dry sites. Of late years it has
been severely damaged by the locust borer and is no longer recommended
for planting in pure stands.
[Illustration: BLACK LOCUST (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size;
twig, two-thirds natural size)]
The twigs and branchlets are armed with paired, straight or slightly
curved, sharp, strong spines, sometimes as much as 1 inch in length,
which remain attached to the outer bark for many years.
The LEAVES are pinnate, or feather-like, from 6 to 10 inches long, with
7 to 19 oblong, thin leaflets.
The FLOWERS are fragrant, white or cream-colored, and appear in graceful
pendant racemes.
The FRUIT is a pod from 3 to 5 inches long containing 4 to 8 small hard
seeds which ripen late in the fall. The pod splits open during the
winter, discharging most of the seeds. Some seeds usually remain
attached to each half of the pod.
The WOOD is yellow, coarse-grained, heavy, very hard, strong, and
durable in contact with the soil. It is used extensively for fence
posts, poles, tree nails, insulator pins, and occasionally for lumber
and fuel.
HERCULES-CLUB (Prickly-Ash)
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis L.
This tree is a native of East Texas and ranges westerly to the valley of
the Colorado River and northward to Dallas and Tarrant Counties, and to
some extent to the Rio Grande Valley. It is a small tree, seldom over 30
feet in height, with a short trunk usually under 1 foot in diameter. It
seems to prefer a well-drained, light, sandy soil, and is often found
growing on bluffs near rivers.
[Illustration: HERCULES-CLUB (Leaf and fruit, one-half natural size;
spines natural size)]
The BARK is the most characteristic feature of this tree. It is gray,
and with numerous corky tubercles. The aromatic inner bark, with its
strong pungent juice, has given this tree a number of local names, such
as “tingle-tongue”, and “toothache tree.” The inner bark was a favorite
in old-time home remedies for the relief of toothache.
The LEAVES are compound, 5 to 8 inches long, with 7 to 17 ovate,
toothed, bright green leaflets.
The small, pale green FLOWERS, borne in loose, wide-branched cymes, 4 to
5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide, bloom in early spring when the
leaves are almost half grown. The small FRUIT, a one-seeded carpel,
ripens in early summer. The seeds hang outside the carpels and are eaten
by birds.
The soft, light brown WOOD has no special known value.
A variety, fruiticosum (A. Gray) S. Wats., is a shrubby form found in
West Texas. It has short, often 3-foliate, pubescent leaves and blunt,
leathery leaflets.
COMMON HOPTREE (Wafer-Ash)
Ptelea trifoliata L.
This small tree or large shrub is found scattered over the eastern
portion of the state. The bark and leaves are bitter and strong-scented
and possess tonic qualities.
The hoptree has a straight, slender trunk 6 to 8 inches in diameter and
seldom reaches a height of more than 20 feet.
[Illustration: COMMON HOPTREE (Fruit, three-fourths natural size; leaf,
one-third natural size)]
The LEAVES are composed of 3 leaflets, sometimes 5, each of which is
oval or pear-shaped and pointed, about 4 to 6 inches long and 2 to 3
inches wide, and dark green on the upper surface. The central leaflet is
the largest.
The FRUIT consists of a small, round, 2-seeded, winged “key” or
“samara”, resembling somewhat the familiar paper caps for toy pistols.
The seeds occur in dense drooping clusters and hang on the tree over
winter.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, yellowish-brown, and close-grained. The shrub
is often planted as an ornamental.
SHINING SUMAC (Dwarf or Flameleaf Sumac)
Rhus copallina L.
Shining sumac is found growing naturally west to the San Antonio River.
It is more commonly a shrub than a tree and grows in clumps and thickets
around the edges of the fields and in other open places. The leaves turn
crimson in the fall and add a vivid note to the autumn coloring. The
tree spreads by means of shallow root-runners.
The BARK is almost smooth, with horizontal splashes of light and dark
gray, and many small excrescences. This papery outer bark cracks at
irregular intervals, exposing spots of reddish-brown beneath.
[Illustration: SHINING SUMAC (Leaf and fruit one-half natural size)]
The compound LEAVES are alternate, 6 to 8 inches long, with 9 to 21
small ovate-lanceolate leaflets, glossy green above, downy beneath. This
sumac is easily distinguished from others by the fact that the leaf
rachis is winged. The leaves are rich in tannin, and are used in large
quantities for curing leather, and for the manufacture of dyes.
The tiny, pale green FLOWERS are borne in compact conical, panicles in
July. Male and female flowers are borne on separate trees. The small
FRUIT is red, covered with short hairs, and has an acid taste. The
fruits cling, and are eaten by birds in late winter.
The reddish-brown WOOD is soft, light, and coarse-grained.
PRAIRIE SUMAC (R. lanceolata [A. Gray] Britton) is found on the prairies
of eastern Texas to the valley of the Rio Grande, often forming thickets
on the banks of small streams. This species is distinguished by its
narrow, acute leaflets and its larger flowers and fruit.
POISON-SUMAC
Toxicodendron vernix (L.) Kountze
All parts of this beautiful plant give off toxic oils that may irritate
and blister the skin like the oils of poison ivy. Poison-sumac may grow
as a shrub with several clustered stems, or as a tree occasionally 25
feet high with a trunk 5 to 6 inches in diameter. The slender, smooth
branchlets are at first reddish-brown with orange-colored lenticels,
later becoming light gray and marked with elevated and conspicuous
leaf-scars.
[Illustration: POISON-SUMAC (Leaf, one-half natural size; fruit often
larger)]
The compound, alternate LEAVES are quite different from those of other
sumacs, shaped more like those of ash, for which reason it is often
called “poison ash.” The leaf-stems are always reddish, and usually
quite conspicuous. The leaves are 7 to 14 inches long, with 7 to 13
ovate-oblong leaflets, 3 to 4 inches long. The leaflets are bright green
above, paler beneath, usually with a red midrib.
The small FLOWERS are borne in panicles much less compact than those of
other sumacs. The FRUIT is a lustrous white drupe, born in slender,
drooping panicles. The fruit matures in September and is eaten by birds
and rabbits. The sap can be used to make a black, durable varnish.
AMERICAN HOLLY
Ilex opaca Ait.
American holly is found on rich, moist soils of bottomlands in East
Texas and westward to Wilson County. A tree often 50 feet high,
frequently attains heights of 80 to 100 feet and diameters up to 4 feet.
A large specimen may be seen at the Texas Forest Service’s Indian Mound
Nursery near Alto.
[Illustration: AMERICAN HOLLY (Leaf and fruit, two-thirds natural size)]
The BARK is light gray and roughened by wart-like growths. The numerous,
short, slender branches form a dense pyramidal head of striking dark
green color which is more pronounced when the conspicuous red drupes are
present.
The LEAVES are simple, alternate, rather oval, thick and leathery, 2 to
4 inches long and usually armed with spiny teeth. They remain on the
branches three years, dropping off in the spring.
The FLOWERS are small and whitish; male and female flowers are usually
borne on separate trees. The FRUIT, ripening late in the fall on the
trees bearing female flowers, is dull red or sometimes yellow, round or
somewhat oval-shaped berry-like drupe about ¼ inch in diameter and with
4 to 6 grooved, ribbed nutlets.
The WOOD is light, tough, not strong, white when cut, turning brown when
aged. Valued and much used for cabinet making, interior finish, and
turnery. Many of the largest and best holly trees have been cut and
marketed.
Holly is a highly desirable Christmas decoration and a desirable
ornamental tree for yards. Wild holly is becoming scarce. Excessive
cuttings should be avoided.
YAUPON
Ilex vomitoria Ait.
This close relative of the American holly is found in East Texas to
Matagorda Bay, Rio Blanco and the Guadalupe River, and north to southern
Arkansas. On the rich bottomlands of eastern Texas, yaupon is a small
tree, 20 to 25 feet high with a trunk rarely over 6 inches in diameter;
elsewhere it is a shrub.
The LEAVES are 1 to 2 inches long, ¼ to 1 inch wide, thick, glossy green
above, paler below, and persistent for 2 or 3 years.
[Illustration: YAUPON (Two-thirds natural size)]
The FLOWERS, male and female, are borne on separate plants. The FRUIT, a
scarlet berry-like drupe, is produced in great abundance by the female
plant.
The WOOD is of little value except for fuel.
Yaupon is used in the South as a hedge plant, and is much prized for
Christmas decorations. A tea made from leaves was once popular with the
Indians. The plant is now grown on the Atlantic Coast for the commercial
production of yaupon tea for medicinal purposes.
I. decidua Walt. known as POSSUM HAW (WINTER BERRY) is similar to
yaupon, but the leaves shed in the fall; the fruits, which remain over
winter, are orange to orange-scarlet in color.
SILVER MAPLE
Acer saccharinum L.
Silver, or soft, maple is found on moist land and along streams in the
extreme eastern part of the state. In its best region of growth, the
valley of the lower Ohio River, it attains heights of 100 feet or more
and diameters of 3 feet or over.
[Illustration: SILVER MAPLE (Twig and fruit, one-half natural size;
leaf, one-third natural size)]
The BARK on old trunks is dark gray and broken into long flakes or
scales. The twigs are slender, brittle, reddish-brown, and shiny.
The buds are rounded, red or reddish-brown, blunt-pointed, generally
like those of red maple.
The simple, opposite LEAVES have from 3 to 5 lobes ending in long points
with toothed margins and separated by deep angular sinuses or openings;
the leaves are pale green on the upper surface, silvery-white
underneath, and have a red petiole.
The FLOWERS arising from the large prominent flower buds are a
greenish-yellow color and appear in clusters in the spring before the
leaves. The FRUIT ripens in the spring and consists of a pair of wing
samaras or “keys” with wings 1 to 2 inches long on a slender, flexible,
thread-like peduncle about an inch long.
The WOOD is soft, weak, even-textured, rather brittle, easily worked,
and decays readily when exposed. It is occasionally used for flooring,
furniture and fuel.
The silver maple grows rapidly and has been planted in Texas as a shade
tree. It is somewhat undesirable because of its brittleness and
susceptibility to insects and fungus diseases.
RED MAPLE
Acer rubrum L.
Red maple is abundant in low moist areas in the eastern part of the
state. It is usually a medium-sized tree, quick-growing, and relatively
short-lived. It is used as a shade tree, though of inferior quality for
this purpose. The BARK is smooth and light gray on young limbs and
trunks, and dark gray and rough on old limbs and trunks.
The LEAVES are 2 to 5 inches long and have from 3 to 5 pointed,
saw-toothed lobes separated by sharp angular sinuses or openings. The
upper leaf surface when mature is light green, the lower surface whitish
and partly covered with pale down. In autumn the leaves turn to
brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow.
[Illustration: RED MAPLE (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig,
one-half natural size)]
The red FLOWERS appear in dense clusters in early spring before the
leaves, the buds turning a deep red sometimes before they open. The
winter buds are small, red, and round or blunt-pointed. The FRUIT ripens
in the late spring or early summer. It consists of pairs of winged
samaras, or keys, ½ to 1 inch in length, on a long drooping peduncle
(fruit stem), red, reddish-brown, or yellow in color.
The WOOD, known commercially as soft maple, is heavy, close-grained,
rather weak, and of a light brown color. It is used in the manufacture
of furniture, and for turnery, woodenware, and fuel.
BOXELDER
Acer negundo L.
Boxelder, the only Texas maple with compound leaves, is a native of
eastern and southern Texas to the lower Rio Blanco River. It is
generally found on the banks of streams and lakes and the borders of
swamps. It grows rapidly, making a quick shade, and is quite shapely.
The branches are brittle and break easily. The tree is short-lived and
rather subject to disease. It sometimes attains a height of 50 to 60
feet, with a trunk 2 feet in diameter, but is usually smaller.
[Illustration: BOXELDER (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig,
two-thirds natural size)]
The BARK of the twigs is green; of the trunk grayish-brown, divided into
broad, rounded ridges, and separating on the surface into short, thick
scales.
The LEAVES are opposite, compound, usually with 5 leaflets, occasionally
3 or 7. The leaflets are 2 to 4 inches long, coarsely and irregularly
toothed, light green above, paler beneath.
The tiny FLOWERS are borne in drooping clusters. The FRUIT is like that
of the other maples, green, turning light tan when mature. Unlike the
seeds of other maples, they cling until after the leaves are shed.
The WOOD is creamy-white, light, and soft and weak but close-grained. It
is sometimes used in other states for the manufacture of low grade
furniture and interior finish; it is also used for woodenware,
cooperage, and paper pulp.
OHIO BUCKEYE
Aesculus glabra Willd.
Ohio buckeye occurs as far west as eastern Texas along streams in rich
soils. Though often only a shrub, it becomes a medium-sized tree in rich
alluvial bottoms. Its leaves and fruit are poisonous to stock.
The BARK is white and, on old trees, divided or broken into light brown
flat scales, which make the stems of the tree rough; the bark is
ill-smelling when bruised.
[Illustration: OHIO BUCKEYE (Twig, two-thirds natural size; nut,
one-third natural size; leaf, one-fourth natural size)]
The LEAVES are opposite, palmately compounded, with 5 to 7 smooth, pale
green leaflets, ill-smelling when bruised. The leaves usually turn
yellow during the summer.
The FLOWERS are cream-colored and appear in clusters, 5 to 8 inches
long, in April or May.
The FRUIT is generally rounded, pale brown, generally thin-walled,
roughened with blunt prickles or warts, and breaking into 2 to 3 valves,
disclosing the bright shiny seeds 1 to 1½ inches wide.
The WOOD is light, soft and weak, and decays rapidly when exposed. It is
used for woodenware, artificial limbs, paper pulp, lumber, and fuel.
Aesculus pavia L., the RED BUCKEYE, is found as a shrub in Comal and
Wilson Counties and is common through eastern Texas to Bexar and Kendall
Counties, as a shrub 9 to 12 inches high. This species was formerly
classified as A. discolor Parsh and A.d. var. Mollis (Raf.) Sarg.
WESTERN SOAPBERRY (Wild China-Tree)
Sapindus drummondii Hook. Arn.
This species, sometimes called Indian soap plant, grows on moist clay
soils or dry limestone uplands. It ranges through eastern Texas to New
Mexico and the Rio Grande, becoming a tree 40 to 50 feet high and 1 to 2
feet in diameter, with usually erect branches, and branchlets at first
slightly many-angled.
[Illustration: WESTERN SOAPBERRY (Leaf, two-fifths natural size; fruit,
one-third natural size)]
The BARK is broken by deep fissures into long narrow plates which in
turn are broken on the surface into small red-brown scales.
The LEAVES appearing in March or April, bear 4 to 9 pairs of alternate,
opposite or both, lance-shaped leaflets which are pale, yellow-green,
about 2½ inches long and ½ to ⅔ inch wide. The leaves fall in autumn or
early winter.
The FLOWERS are whitish, in large, dense panicles.
The FRUIT, round yellow berries, ½ inch in diameter, and containing dark
brown seeds, ripen in September and October and fall in the spring.
The WOOD is heavy, strong, close-grained, light brown tinged with
yellow. It splits easily into thin strips and is used for cotton basket
and the frames of pack saddles.
AMERICAN BASSWOOD (American Linden)
Tilia americana L.
Three species of basswood are reported to grow in Texas from the
Arkansas line to the Brazos River and westward to Uvalde, Kerr and
Bandera Counties, usually on rich, moist soils. They are rarely over 50
feet tall and 12 inches in diameter.
The BARK is light brown and deeply furrowed.
[Illustration: AMERICAN BASSWOOD (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural
size; twig, one-half natural size)]
The LEAVES are more or less heart-shaped, 3 to 6 inches long, thin,
saw-toothed, smooth on both sides in some species, but woolly on the
under surface of others.
The fragrant FLOWERS, a favorite of bees, are yellowish-white, in
drooping clusters opening in early summer, and the flower-stem is united
to the middle of a long, narrow, leaf-like bract.
The FRUIT, a dry, 1 to 2-seeded nut-like drupe, ¼ to ½ inch in diameter,
is covered with short, thick, gray-brown wool. It remains attached in
clusters to the leafy bract, which later acts as a wing to bear the
fruit away in the wind.
The WOOD is light, soft, tough, not durable, and light brown in color.
It is used in states where the growth is better for the manufacture of
pulp, woodenware, furniture, trunks, excelsior, and many other articles.
The principal use of basswoods in Texas is for shade and ornament.
DEVILS-WALKINGSTICK (Hercules-Club)
Aralia spinosa L.
This tree, a native of Northeast Texas, is armed from the ground up with
many sharp spines, a characteristic that has given the tree many names
such as Hercules-club, prickly-elder, and prickly-ash. The last name
properly belongs to another tree. Devils-walkingstick possesses
sufficient beauty to compensate for its spitefulness. The tree is
usually small, but occasionally attains a height of 30 feet, the leaves
forming a flat-topped, spreading crown.
[Illustration: DEVILS-WALKINGSTICK (Branch, one-half natural size; leaf
and fruit greatly reduced)]
The brown BARK is divided by broad shallow fissures into circular,
horizontal ridges. The sharp spines along its trunk best identify this
tree.
The LEAVES are doubly compounded, or bi-pinnate, the main rachis
(leaf-stem) 3 or 4 feet long, clasping the stem with an enlarged base,
and leaving conspicuous scars when they fall. The oval leaflets are
toothed, pointed, dark green above and paler beneath. They turn yellow
in autumn.
In mid-summer each plant bears one immense panicle of small, white
FLOWERS, which rises well above the leaves. The tree presents its most
striking appearance in autumn when the small black FRUIT ripens, for the
fruit-stems turn a rich wine-red. Birds eat the juicy drupes. The WOOD
is of no commercial importance.
BLACK TUPELO (Blackgum)
Nyssa sylvatica Marsh.
Black gum, often called sour gum, is found in eastern Texas to the
valley of the Brazos River; usually in swampy wet soil, but sometimes on
dry slopes with the oaks.
The BARK on younger trees is furrowed between flat ridges, and gradually
develops into quadrangular blocks that are dense, hard, and nearly
black.
[Illustration: BLACK TUPELO (Twig, leaf, and fruit one-half natural
size)]
The LEAVES are simple, 2 to 3 inches long, entire, obovate to elliptic,
shiny, and dark green in color. In the fall the leaves turn brilliant
red.
The greenish FLOWERS on long, slender peduncles appear in early spring
when the leaves are about one-third grown. They are usually of two
kinds, the male in many-flowered heads, and the female in two or
several-flowered clusters on different trees. The FRUIT is drupe-like,
dark blue ⅔ inch long, containing a single hard-shelled stone, and is
borne 2 to 3 in a cluster on 1 to 2½-inch peduncles.
The WOOD is very tough, cross-grained, not durable in contact with the
soil, hard to work, and warps easily. Once considered a weed tree, the
species is now valuable for basket veneer, box boards, and paper pulp.
In the old days, the hollow trunks were used for “bee-gums.”
Swamp tupelo (N. s. var. biflora [Walt.] Sarg.), found mainly on the
Coastal Plain, has narrowly obovate to narrowly oblanceolate leaves and
fruiting peduncles ⅜ to 1⅜ inches long. The base of the trunk is swollen
when submerged.
WATER TUPELO (Cotton-Gum or Tupelo-Gum)
Nyssa aquatica L.
Water tupelo is found only in deep river swamps or coastal swamps which
are often flooded. The commonly enlarged base, large-sized fruit,
hanging on a long peduncle (stem), and the brittleness of the twigs,
serve to distinguish this species from the black gum. It forms a tall,
often slowly tapering somewhat crooked trunk 50 to 75 feet in height and
2 to 3 feet in diameter. The spreading small branches form a narrow,
oblong or pyramidal head. The branches are generally smooth and light
brown in color. The BARK of the trunk is thin, dark brown and furrowed
up and down the trunk.
[Illustration: WATER TUPELO (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size;
twig, two-thirds natural size)]
The LEAVES are simple, ovate or oblong in shape, acute and often
long-pointed. When mature they are thick, dark green and lustrous on the
upper side, pale and somewhat downy on the lower side, 5 to 7 inches
long and 2 to 4 inches wide, wedge-shaped at the base, and entire or
irregularly toothed on the margin. The petiole is stout, 1 to 2 inches
long, grooved, and enlarged at the base.
The FLOWERS, which appear in March or April are of two kinds, usually
borne on separate trees, the male flowers in dense round clusters, and
the female flowers solitary.
The FRUIT, ripening in early fall, is a dark purple drupe, oblong or
obovate in shape, about 1 inch long, with a thick, tough skin enclosing
a flattened stone, and borne on a slender peduncle 3 to 4 inches long.
The WOOD is light, soft, and not strong. It is used for woodenware,
broom handles, fruit and vegetable baskets, marketed as tupelo or bay
poplar lumber, and paper pulp.
FLOWERING DOGWOOD
Cornus florida L.
Dogwood grows in the forests of eastern Texas, usually under the larger
forest trees. It is a small tree, up to 30 feet high and 12 inches in
diameter, occasionally larger, with a rather flat and spreading crown
and short, often crooked trunk.
[Illustration: FLOWERING DOGWOOD (Leaf and fruit, one-half natural
size; twig, two-thirds natural size)]
The BARK is reddish-brown to black and broken up into small 4-sided,
scaly blocks.
The LEAVES are opposite, ovate, 3 to 5 inches long, 2 to 3 inches wide,
pointed, entire or wavy on the margin, prominently veined, bright green
above, pale green or grayish beneath.
The FLOWERS, which unfold from the conspicuous, round, grayish, winter
flower buds before the leaves come out, are small, greenish-yellow,
arranged in dense heads surrounded by large white or pinkish petal-like
bracts, which appear like large spreading flowers 2 to 4 inches across.
The FRUIT is a bright scarlet drupe one-half an inch long and containing
a hard, two-celled nutlet containing 1 or 2 seeds. Usually several
fruits are contained in one head, and are relished by birds, squirrels,
and other animals.
The WOOD is hard, heavy, strong, close-grained, and brown to red in
color. It is in demand for cotton-mill machinery, turnery, handles, and
forms.
With its masses of early spring flowers, its dark red autumn foliage,
and bright red berries, dogwood is probably our most ornamental native
tree. It should be used more extensively in eastern Texas for ornamental
planting.
TREE SPARKLEBERRY (Farkleberry)
Vaccinium arboreum Marsh.
In the coastal belt of eastern Texas as far as Matagorda Bay,
farkleberry, or tree huckleberry, grows in moist sandy soil along the
banks of ponds and streams. Although it is found from Virginia to
Missouri and southward, it reaches its largest size, 20 to 30 feet, near
the Gulf Coast of Texas. The crooked trunk may attain a diameter of 8 to
10 inches. Further inland it is a large shrub.
[Illustration: TREE SPARKLEBERRY (Nearly natural size)]
The LEAVES are oval and glossy green, varying up to 2 inches in length
and 1 inch in width. They are mostly evergreen, or at least persist on
the twigs during the winter.
The FLOWERS are small, white, and bell-shaped, and appear in long open
clusters on racemes.
The FRUIT consist of small, round, shiny, nearly black berries which
ripen in the fall and, unless eaten by birds or animals, remain until
spring. They have a slightly puckering but pleasing flavor.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, close-grained, and light reddish-brown. It is
sometimes used for tool handles.
GUM BUMELIA (Woolly Buckthorn—Gum-Elastic)
Bumelia lanuginosa (Michx.) Pers.
Gum bumelia, often called false buckthorn or chittamwood, occurs along
streams in sandy woods in eastern Texas to the San Antonio River and
over the Edwards Plateau to Palo Pinto County. It reaches its largest
development probably in Central Texas where it occasionally grows as a
tree 80 feet high and 3 feet in diameter.
[Illustration: GUM BUMELIA (Three-fourths natural size)]
The branches are short, stout, and stiff, and often armed with straight
or curved spines.
The LEAVES are oblong, more or less grouped near the ends of short
spurs; rounded at the apex, narrowed at the base; thick, firm, dark
green and shiny above, and rusty-woolly beneath. They are from 1 to more
than 2 inches long and up to ¾ inch wide.
The FLOWERS are small and open in summer, each borne on a hairy
flower-stem (pedicel) about ⅛ inch long. They are borne in fascicles of
15 to 18, near the axils of the new leaves or near the leaf-scars of old
leaves. The petals are white and lobed. The fruit is fleshy, black,
oblong, about ½ inch in length, borne singly or in a cluster of 2 or 3,
and usually dry and firm on the outside and contain a light brown, firm
rounded seed. The ripe fruit falls from the tree in autumn.
The WOOD is light brown streaked with white and surrounded by a band of
lighter colored sapwood. It is heavy, hard, and close-grained.
B. lanuginosa var. Rigida A. Gray, is found in western and southern
Texas, while B. lycioides L. Pers., is found in eastern Texas to Milam
County.
COMMON PERSIMMON
Diospyros virginiana L.
Persimmon is a well known tree throughout its range. It is small, rarely
exceeding 50 feet in height and 18 inches in diameter, occurring in the
state as far west as the Colorado River. It prefers dry, open
situations, and is most abundant in old fields, though it occurs on rich
bottomlands.
[Illustration: COMMON PERSIMMON (Leaf and fruit, one-half natural size;
twig, three-fourths natural size)]
The BARK of old trees is almost black and separated into thick, nearly
square blocks.
The LEAVES are alternate, oval, entire, 4 to 6 inches long, dark green
and shining above, paler beneath.
The small FLOWERS, which appear in May, are yellowish or cream-white,
somewhat bell-shaped, the male and female flowers occurring on separate
trees; the male in clusters of 2 or 3, the female solitary. They are
visited by many insects.
The FRUIT is a pulpy, round, orange-colored or brown berry, an inch or
more in diameter and containing several flattened, hard, smooth seeds.
The fruit is strongly astringent while green, but often quite sweet and
delicious when thoroughly ripe. It is relished by both man and animals,
especially after a few frosty nights.
The WOOD is hard, dense, strong, the heartwood brown or black, the wide
sapwood white or yellowish. It is particularly valued for shuttles, golf
club heads, and similar special uses, but is not of sufficient
commercial use to warrant its growth as a timber tree.
The TEXAS or BLACK PERSIMMON (D. texana Scheele) is described on page
127.
COMMON SWEETLEAF (Horse-Sugar)
Symplocos tinctoria (L.) L’Hér.
Sweetleaf is usually found along the borders of streams and swamps,
chiefly in East Texas. It seldom grows to a height of more than 30 feet
or a diameter of more than 8 inches. The slender upright branches,
forming an open head, are bluish or grayish, and decidedly roughened by
elevated leaf-scars, or places of attachment of the last crop of leaves.
[Illustration: COMMON SWEETLEAF (Fruit and flowers about natural size;
leaf, one-half natural size)]
The thick, shiny, dark green LEAVES, arranged alternately along the
stem, vary from 5 to 6 inches in length and 1 to 2 inches in width. They
remain on the twigs until spring. The leaves are sweet and eagerly
sought for food by livestock.
The tiny, pale yellow fragrant FLOWERS are produced in close clusters at
intervals along the branchlets. The FRUIT, a small, one-seeded drupe,
has a thin dark orange or brown skin. The fruit is eaten to some extent
by deer.
The WOOD is light, soft and pale red or brown, and has no commercial
value. Both leaves and bark yield a yellow dye. The bitter aromatic
roots have been used as a tonic.
TWO-WING SILVERBELL (Snowdrop Tree)
Halesia diptera Ellis
This attractive tree or shrub, may grow as a small tree, sometimes as
much as 30 feet high, with a trunk 6 to 10 inches in diameter. It occurs
in rich, wet woods and on the borders of swamps and streams, but is
adaptable to many sites. It is found in the southeastern portion of
Texas, being a native of the Gulf Region.
[Illustration: TWO-WING SILVERBELL (Twig, leaf, and flower one-half
natural size; fruit about one-sixth natural size)]
The BARK of the trunk is brown, divided by irregular longitudinal
fissures, and separating on the surface into thin scales. The bark on
the twigs forms long, loose, brown fibers, which makes it easy to
identify during the winter.
The alternate, ovate to obovate LEAVES are bright green above, paler and
downy underneath, 3 to 4 inches long, and 2 to 2½ inches wide. They are
much larger on young shoots. The leaves have minute callous teeth.
The white FLOWERS, usually about 1 inch long, come before the leaves and
are borne in clusters of 3 to 5. The tree is charming when thickly hung
with its “silver bells.” The FRUIT is about 2 inches long with two wide,
thin wings, and two (rarely three) narrow wings in between.
The WOOD is light, soft, strong, close-grained, and light brown, with
thick, lighter-colored sapwood. It is not of commercial importance.
CAROLINA ASH (Water Ash)
Fraxinus caroliniana Mill.
Water ash is common in shaded swamps, westward to the valley of the
Neches River. It forms a tree, rarely more than 40 feet high, with a
trunk sometimes 12 inches in diameter, and has small branches, making a
narrow, often round-topped head.
[Illustration: CAROLINA ASH (Leaflet and fruit, three-fourths natural
size; leaf, one-fourth natural size)]
The BARK is thin, light gray, and marked by large irregularly shaped
round patches which separate into small, thin, close scales.
The LEAVES are compounded, 7 to 12 inches long, thick and firm when
mature, with 5 to 7, ovate to oblong, finely to coarsely toothed
leaflets, 3 to 6 inches long, 2 to 3 inches wide, dark green above, and
paler below.
The small male and female FLOWERS appear on separate trees, in February
or March. The FRUIT is elliptic to oblong-ovate, frequently
three-winged, 2 inches long, ⅓ to ¾ inch wide. The wing extends below
the body of the fruit and narrows into a stipitate (stalk-like) base.
The WOOD is light, soft, weak, close-grained, nearly white, sometimes
yellowish, with thick, lighter-colored sapwood. It is used chiefly for
fuel.
WHITE ASH
Fraxinus americana L.
White ash is found in East Texas to the valley of the Trinity River. It
grows best in the rich moist soils of upper bottomlands. The bark is
gray and furrowed, the branchlets smooth and gray with rust-colored
winter buds.
[Illustration: WHITE ASH (Twig and fruit, one-half natural size; leaf,
one-third natural size)]
The compound opposite LEAVES are generally straight, 8 to 12 inches
long, with 5 to 9 (usually 7) sharp pointed leaflets, dark green above
and paler and whitish beneath.
The male and female FLOWERS appear on separate trees, the male in dense
reddish-purple clusters and the female in more open branches. The FRUIT
is a samara, 1 to 1½ inches long, resembling the blade of a canoe paddle
in outline, with the smooth, terete body at the handle end. The fruit
matures in late summer and is distributed effectively by the winds.
The WOOD of white ash is extremely valuable because of its toughness and
elasticity. It is preferred for small tool handles, athletic equipment,
and agricultural implements, and is used extensively for furniture and
interior finish.
The ashes comprise the only group of trees in eastern America that have
opposite, pinnately compound leaves with 5 or more leaflets. This fact
provides a ready means of identifying the group. There are at least
seven other species of ash in Texas.
GREEN ASH
Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.
Green ash is a common tree along streams as far west as the Guadalupe
River. It attains a height of 50 feet or more, has spreading branches
and a trunk ranging up to 2 feet in diameter. The TWIGS are smooth,
round, and ashy gray, marked by pale lenticels and rusty bud-scales.
[Illustration: GREEN ASH (Fruit, two-thirds natural size; leaf,
one-third natural size; twig, three-fourths natural size)]
The BARK is ½ inch or more thick; brown, tinged with red, and slightly
furrowed or ridged. The LEAVES are opposite compound, 10 to 12 inches
long, with 5 to 9 pointed leaflets slightly toothed on the margin. They
differ from those of white ash in being lustrous green on both sides or
slightly paler beneath. The terminal leaflet is frequently askew from
the main axis of the rachis.
The small, male and female FLOWERS occur on separate trees.
The FRUIT is flat, winged, 1 to 1½ inches long, ¼ to ⅓ inch wide, the
wing portion extending well down past the middle of the terete,
many-rayed body. The wing is sometimes square or slightly notched at the
outer end.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, rather strong, brittle, and coarse-grained. It
is used for the same purposes as white ash but is not as desirable.
SWAMP PRIVET (Common Adelia)
Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir.
Swamp privet or forestiera is found along river banks, lakes, and
standing water over eastern Texas to the Colorado River. It is usually a
large shrub but often becomes a small tree, less than 30 feet high, with
a short trunk usually less than 8 inches in diameter. Its youngest
branches are slender, somewhat hairy, slightly angular, and vary in
color from yellowish-green to brown. They become darker and more rounded
the second season.
[Illustration: SWAMP PRIVET (Leaves, one-fifth natural size; fruit,
one-half natural size)]
The BARK is thin, dark brown to brownish-gray, close, and slightly
ridged.
The LEAVES are thin, simple, opposite, 2½ to 4 inches long, 1 to 1½
inches wide, pointed at both ends, yellowish-green on the upper surface,
paler on the lower surface, and slightly toothed above the middle.
The FLOWERS appear in April before the leaves. They are of two kinds,
borne separately on the same tree, rather small and in clusters.
The FRUIT, a drupe, falls when ripe in May or June. It is about 1 inch
long and ¼ inch wide, oblong, and tipped with a point. The ripe fruit is
deep purple, and contains a tough, dry pulp and a one-seeded stone.
The WOOD is close-grained, yellowish-brown, weak, and rather soft. It
has no economic use.
FRINGETREE (White Fringetree)
Chionanthus virginicus L.
Children give this tree, with its drooping, fringy, white flowers, such
names as “grancy-gray beard” and “old-man’s beard.” Beautiful both in
flower and fruit, it is a desirable tree for ornamental planting. It
occurs naturally in loamy soil over the eastern part of the state to the
valley of the Brazos River and generally grows in the shade of other
trees.
[Illustration: FRINGETREE (Flower, three-fourths natural size; leaf and
fruit, one-half natural size)]
The BARK is similar to that of a young ash, but is rougher and whiter.
It has tonic properties, and is used in domestic remedies.
The rather large, ovate LEAVES are 4 to 8 inches long, and ½ to 4 inches
wide, dark green on the upper surface, paler underneath, and turning a
clear bright yellow in autumn. The leaves are opposite, and leave
conspicuous scars when they fall.
The odd white FLOWERS, which appear with the very young leaves, are
borne in long, loose drooping panicles. The petals are very narrow and
long, giving the effect of fringe.
The FRUIT is a dark blue-purple drupe, sometimes as much as an inch
long, with a glaucous bloom, and borne in loose, drooping panicles. It
is an excellent deer and bird food.
NORTHERN CATALPA (Western Catalpa)
Catalpa speciosa Warder
Catalpa, often miscalled “catawba”, is found naturalized in eastern
Texas and occurs on various qualities of soil, most frequently on rich,
moist bottoms. It is a medium-sized tree, rarely exceeding 50 feet in
height and 15 inches in diameter. The trunk is usually short and the
head broad with spreading branches.
[Illustration: NORTHERN CATALPA (Leaf, one-third natural size; twig and
seed, two-thirds natural size; pod, one-fourth natural size)]
The BARK varies from dark gray to brown, and is slightly rough, being
divided into narrow, shallow strips or flakes.
The LEAVES are simple, opposite, cordate-based, long-pointed, 6 to 10
inches long, and softly pubescent beneath.
The FLOWERS appear in clusters or panicles in April or May, and are 1 to
2 inches long, trumpet-shaped, the wavy and spreading corolla irregular,
two-lobed, and with a narrow notch on the margin; corolla white with
purple and yellow markings.
The FRUIT consists of a bean-like capsule 8 to 16 inches long and from ⅜
to ½ inch in diameter. It hangs on the tree over winter and gradually
splits into two parts, or valves. The seeds are about 1 inch long and
terminate in wings that are rounded and short-fringed at the ends.
The WOOD is rather soft, light, coarse-grained, and durable, in contact
with the soil. It is used for fence posts, poles and fuel, and
occasionally for railroad ties. It is a mistake to attempt to grow
catalpa for fence posts or other uses except on good agricultural soil.
SOUTHERN CATALPA (C. bignonioides Walt.) has a thin, scaly bark,
abruptly short-acuminate leaf, fetid when crushed. Margin of lower lobe
of flower entire. The valves of the capsule flatten after dehiscence.
The terminal tuft on the seed forms a point.
DESERTWILLOW
Chilopsis linearis (Cav.) Sweet
This interesting tree, so named because of its willow-like leaves, is
closely related to the catalpa. Often reaching a height of 25 feet and a
diameter of 10 to 12 inches, it is found usually in dry, gravelly,
porous soils in the valley of the lower Rio Grande and through West
Texas.
The LEAVES are less than ½ inch wide and from 6 to 12 inches long, light
green, and pointed. Their arrangement on the twig is either opposite or
alternate.
[Illustration: DESERTWILLOW (Leaf, one-third natural size; fruit and
flowers, one-half natural size)]
The white FLOWERS shade into pale purple and are blotched in their
“throats” with pale purple. They occur in an elongated cluster, or
raceme, opening successively toward the end of the flower stalk.
The FRUIT “pods” are capsules 7 to 12 inches long, hard or woody, very
slender, and contain numerous small seeds.
The soft, weak, close-grained WOOD is brown streaked with yellow. The
sapwood turns to heartwood in 2 or 3 years.
COMMON BUTTONBUSH
Cephalanthus occidentalis L.
Buttonbush of Texas is a small tree or large shrub up to 18 feet high,
with a straight, tapering trunk up to 12 inches in diameter. Attaining
its largest size in moist rich soil of eastern Texas, it is also found
to the valley of the Rio Grande. The branches are generally upright, the
spreading branchlets with pithy in the centers, often occurring in
whorls of three from one place on the stem.
[Illustration: COMMON BUTTONBUSH (Leaf, one-third natural size; fruit
and flowers, two-thirds natural size)]
The LEAVES occur in pairs or whorls of 3 (occasionally more) each oval
or elliptical, pointed, rounded at the base, from 2 to 7 inches long by
1 to 3 inches wide. They are thin, dark green above, with a large
central midrib, and somewhat hairy beneath. They fall in autumn or
remain on branchlets over winter.
The FLOWERS form a creamy white or yellow round head about 1 inch in
diameter and are borne in clusters. The many small flowers in the head
are fragrant and nectar-bearing. The long thread-like projecting styles
are conspicuous on the flowering heads.
The FRUIT consists of a mass of nuts in a globular head forming an
aggregate fruit ¾ inch in diameter. The red-brown nutlets have 2 to 4
closed, 1-seeded portions. The WOOD is of little value.
RUSTY BLACKHAW (Viburnum)
Viburnum rufidulum Raf.
Rusty blackhaw is found in woods and thickets over East Texas. It forms
a tree, sometimes 35 feet high, with a trunk over a foot in diameter,
but is usually much smaller, often flowering as a shrub. The twigs are
ashy-gray, becoming dark dull reddish-brown after one to several years.
The winter buds are densely covered with rusty brown hairs which persist
for some weeks at the base of the leaf-stalks.
The BARK is ¼ to ½ inch thick, becoming roughened into small plate-like,
dark brown scales tinged with red.
[Illustration: RUSTY BLACKHAW (Fruit and twig, three-quarters natural
size; leaf, two-thirds natural size)]
The simple LEAVES are opposite or whorled, elliptic to obovate or oval,
pointed or blunt at the apex, wedge-shaped or rounded at the base, and
with fine teeth on the margin. They are leathery in texture, lustrous
dark green above, pale and dull below, about 3 inches long, and 1 to 1½
inches wide.
The FLOWERS are small and white; each has five petals and five stamens,
and appear in the spring in dense clusters at the tips of branches.
The FRUIT ripens in the fall. It is a bright blue, oval drupe, over ½
inch long, covered with a glaucous bloom, and containing a stony seed ¼
inch long and ⅓ inch wide.
The bad smelling WOOD has no economic use.
Other Texas Trees
ARIZONA CYPRESS
(Cupressus arizonica Greene)
is an evergreen native to the mountains of the south Trans-Pecos Region.
It grows from a height of 30 to 70 feet and 18 to 24 inches in diameter.
The needles are blue-green. Fruit a cone as large as 1¼ inches in
diameter. The wood is heavy and used to some extent for fence posts.
ALLIGATOR JUNIPER
(Juniperus deppeana Steud.)
grows in the mountains of southwestern Texas, normally as a small tree,
or even as a sprawling shrub under adverse conditions. Its name derives
from the fact that the bark on older trees somewhat resembles alligator
hide, being broken up into square plates 1 to 2 inches across. The
leaves are about ⅛ inch long, and blue-green in color. The fruit is
berry-like, nearly round, reddish-brown, and matures in two seasons.
Seeds 3-4.
DROOPING JUNIPER (Weeping Juniper)
(Juniperus flaccida Schlect.)
occurs in this country only on the slopes of the Chisos Mountains in
Brewster County, Texas. It has graceful spreading branches with long
slender, drooping branchlets. After the leaves fall, the thin bright
cinnamon-brown bark separating into thin loose papery scales is
characteristic.
ONE-SEED JUNIPER
(Juniperus monosperma [Engelm.] Sarg.)
occurs throughout western Texas, usually as a spreading shrub or small,
much branched tree. The bark is ashy gray, ridged and shreddy. The
leaves resemble those of the alligator juniper, but are gray-green in
color, and fringed with minute teeth. The fruit is smaller, usually
copper colored or occasionally blue, usually one-seeded, and matures in
one season.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN JUNIPER
(Juniperus scopulorum Sarg.)
occurs in western Texas where it is often the largest of the junipers
found there. The bark is reddish-brown or grayish-brown, thin, fibrous,
and divided into flat, interlacing ridges. The leaves are similar to
those of the alligator juniper, but pale to dark green in color. The
fruit is nearly round, blue, and matures in two seasons. Seeds 1 to 3,
usually 2.
TEXAS PALMETTO
(Sabal texana [O. F. Cook] Becc.)
sometimes called palm, but not to be confused with the dwarf palmetto
(Sabal minor [Jacq.] Pers.) found in East Texas, reaches to heights of
30 to 50 feet and often 2 feet in diameter. It is a native of the rich
bottomlands on the Bernando River in Cameron County, Texas, but has been
widely cultivated and is found along the Gulf Coast, where the trunks
are sometimes used for wharf piles. On the lower Rio Grande the leaves
are used for the thatch of houses.
SOUTHERN BAYBERRY (Sweet Myrtle or Wax Myrtle)
(Myrica cerifera L.)
sweet myrtle is found in East Texas, usually in swamp lands. Its small
yellow-green leaves are fragrant with a balsam-like resinous odor. Light
green berries, about ⅛ inch in diameter remain on the trees during the
winter months and are coated with a thick, pale blue wax. Bay berry
candles are made from the wax.
RIO GRANDE COTTONWOOD
(Populus fremontii var. wislizenii S. Watts)
is one of several cottonwoods growing in West Texas. Five other
cottonwoods are native to the western part of the state. Wood is used
for fuel and rafters of Mexican houses. It is not durable in the ground,
but is fast growing on most areas. Populus tremuloides Michx., called
quaking aspen or aspen popple, is a small-leafed, white-barked tree of
the Trans-Pecos Region.
SPECKLED ALDER (Hazel Alder)
(Alnus rugosa [Du Roi] Spreng.)
occurs in East Texas west to approximately the 97th meridian. It is a
thicket-forming shrub with thick foliage and is one of the first plants
to leaf out in the spring. Birds feed upon the numerous nutlets produced
by the woody, cone-like structure.
SWEET ACACIA (Huisache)
(Acacia farnesiana [L.] Willd.)
found mainly in South Texas, is a small, spiny shrub, with bright yellow
flowers. Fruit a turgid, woody pod. The wood is heavy, hard, and a rich,
reddish-brown.
GUAJILLO
(Acacia berlandieri Benth.)
pronounced “wa-he-o”, is the famous honey plant of the Lone Star State.
From its white flowers bees produce a water-white honey, highly valued
for its flavor and purity. Guajillo occurs in South Texas, and resembles
the other trees in the acacia group. The wood is used locally for fuel.
GREAT LEADTREE (Mexican Leadtree)
(Leucaena pulverulenta [Schlecht] Benth.)
sometimes called “tepehuaje” or mimosa, is found on the rich moist soil
of river banks and small streams only a few miles from the mouth of the
Rio Grande River. It grows 50 to 60 feet high and 18 inches in diameter.
The finely divided leaves give the tree the appearance of a huge fern.
Seed pods are 10 to 12 inches long. The wood is heavy, hard, very
close-grained, rich dark brown with a clear yellow sapwood. It is
considered valuable and is sometimes manufactured into lumber. Two other
species, (L. greggii S. Wats.) and (L. retusa Benth.), are found in West
Texas but are smaller.
TEXAS SOPHORA (Coral Bean)
(Sophora affinis Torr. and Gray)
also called “bear berry”, and pink or beaded locust, is a native to most
all of Texas. It occurs as a small sized tree, 18 to 20 feet tall and 8
to 10 inches in diameter. The branches are slightly zigzag, bright green
when young turning to orange-brown. The leaves are 6 to 9 inches long,
made up of from 13 to 19 leaflets. In the fall, it is loaded with
clusters of black bean pods. The pods are peculiar in shape in that they
are pinched in at each seed giving it the appearance of a string of
beads. In fact, it is often called the “necklace tree” for that reason.
The wood is very hard, light red in color, with a thick bright clear
yellow sapwood.
TEXAS PORLIERIA (Guayacan)
(Porlieria angustifolia [Engelm.] A. Gray)
or soap bush, an evergreen of southern and western Texas, is usually a
shrub, but occasionally reaches 8 inches in diameter and 30 feet in
height. It is a source of early spring honey in the Rio Grande Valley.
Its wood is heavy, hard, and exceptionally durable. Guayacan, sometimes
called guaiacum, is the hardest wood in Texas and the United States. The
lignum-vitae of commerce is produced from another species.
BARETTA
(Helietta parvifolia [A. Gray] Benth.)
a native of the Rio Grande Valley and abundant in Starr County where it
may form considerable thickets, this small, slender evergreen is seldom
more than 5 or 6 feet tall. On limestone ridges of the Sierra Madre of
Nuevo Leon it reaches 20 to 25 feet high. Its leaves are trifoliate, 1½
to 2 inches long, and conspicuously marked with black glandular dots.
The branches are brownish-red, but with bright yellow, new growth. The
species is not native to any other section of the United States.
TREE OF HEAVEN
(Ailanthus altissima [Mill.] Swingle)
is native to the Orient but has been introduced to this country where it
has grown wild and occurs generally throughout Texas. The long,
pinnately compound leaves, 24 to 48 inches long, with 11 to 41 leaflets,
are glandular toothed at the base. The flowers and bruised leaves have a
disagreeable odor. The tree is fast growing and spreads by suckers as
well as by seed.
CHINABERRY
(Melia azedarach L.)
although a native of Asia, is so widely grown in Texas as an ornamental
that it can be seen almost anywhere. It is a member of the mahogany
family. The bark is furrowed, with the ridges flat-topped. The alternate
leaves are twice-compound and 10 to 32 inches long. The leaflets are
alternate, ovate to elliptic, sharply toothed or lobed, ¾ to 2 inches
long, light green and usually smooth. The flowers are showy,
lilac-colored, fragrant, nearly an inch across, and arranged in loose
clusters which appear in April. The fruit is nearly round, ½ to ¾ inch
in diameter, fleshy, and yellow when mature. The wood is moderately
heavy and moderately hard, light reddish-brown in color, with a rather
narrow, yellowish sapwood. Formerly it was much used for cabinet-work.
AMERICAN SMOKETREE (Chittamwood)
(Cotinus obovatus Raf.)
a member of the sumac family, it grows along the Medina and Guadalupe
Rivers and in Kendall County, Texas. Occasionally it reaches a height of
30 feet and 12 inches in diameter, but usually grows as a shrub or small
tree, its trunk dividing into several stems 10 feet or so above the
ground. The wood is bright, clear, rich orange color, and yields the
same color dye. Sometimes it is used for fence posts. C. coggygria, the
smoketree of gardens, is cultivated in the United States.
TEXAS PISTACHE
(Pistacia texana Swingle)
a less common member of the sumac family, is found native on limestone
cliffs and the rocky bottoms of canyons along the lower Pecos River in
Valverde County, Texas. It reaches a height of 15 to 20 feet and
produces a fruit resembling the pistachio nut of commerce, except that
it is smaller in size.
EASTERN WAHOO
(Euonymus atropurpureus Jacq.)
also called arrow-wood and burning bush in some localities is a small
tree rarely over 20 feet high and 4 to 6 inches in diameter. The bark is
thin and covered with thin, tiny scales. The wood is heavy, hard, white,
tinged with orange. The leaves are opposite, thin, and finely serrate.
In the fall and winter the tree is characterized by bright red berries
in lighter red, 4-lobed capsules. It is a native of East Texas.
FLORIDA MAPLE (Southern Sugar Maple)
(Acer barbatum Michx.)
grows in East Texas and resembles the sugar maple (A. saccharum Marsh.)
with which it blends in Northeast Texas, except that the tips of the
leaves of A. barbatum Michx. are more rounded and the young leaves are
hairy on the underside when they first unfold.
BIGTOOTH MAPLE
(Acer grandidentatum Nutt.)
a maple native to the mountains and canyons of the Trans-Pecos Region of
Texas, grows to 30 and 40 feet high and occasionally 8 to 10 inches in
diameter. Its bright red branchlets are nearly encircled by the narrow
leaf-scars. Leaf lobes few toothed or nearly entire. When accessible,
the wood is valuable for fuel and building material.
UVALDE BIGTOOTH MAPLE (Sugar or Mountain Maple)
(Acer grandidentatum var. sinuosum [Rend.] Little)
resembles the above two maples but is confined to the Balcones
Escarpment in western Texas along creek bottoms in parts of Kendall,
Bandera, and Uvalde Counties. It is a rare tree, seldom more than 20
feet high. Branchlets pale red-brown and marked by pale lenticels during
their first season, ultimately turning dull gray-brown.
FLORIDA BASSWOOD
(Tilia floridana Small)
grows from East Texas to the Edwards Plateau. The leaves are coarsely
serrate with sharp-pointed tips, dark green and glaucous above, and pale
or covered with a silvery-white bloom and often axillary hairs below.
The tree may reach 40 to 50 feet high and 12 to 15 inches in diameter.
CAROLINA BASSWOOD
(Tilia caroliniana Mill.)
located in East Texas to the Edwards Plateau, Kendall County. Underside
of the ovate leaves covered with soft, short, brownish-white hairs;
smooth on upper surface and coarse-veined. Leaves usually obliquely
truncate at the base.
TAMARISK
(Tamarix species)
all of the many species of Tamarix are native to the Mediterranean
Region or to East Asia and India. However, three of them (T. araiculata
Vahl, T. gallica L., and T. pentandra Pall.), are widely planted in the
South. All are shrubby in nature, or they may attain the stature of
small trees. When of tree size, the trunk normally is short, with main
branches quite close to the ground. This gives rise to a wide-spreading
bushy crown. The leaves are sparse, delicate, evergreen, alternate,
simple, small, scale-like, pale green to dull or bluish-green, ovate or
rhombic, sharp pointed, sometimes with thin, dry margins, and without
petioles. The foliage presents a leathery appearance. The wood is hard,
heavy, white to light straw colored, shows a prominent mottled wavy
pattern when quarter-sawn, and takes a high polish.
BUCKTHORN BUMELIA (Buckthorn)
(Bumelia lycioides [L.] Pers.)
also called ironwood, is found along the Southeast Coastal Region of
Texas. In contrast to B. lanuginosa, the leaves are smooth instead of
hairy on the underside. They are also thin. Sometimes grows 25 to 30
feet in height with a short trunk rarely more than 6 inches in diameter.
It has stout, flexible branches, usually unarmed.
TEXAS BUMELIA
(Bumelia lanuginosa var. rigida A. Gray)
occurs in Texas from the upper Brazos River to the Rio Grande and upper
Guadalupe River. It has thick, leathery-like leaves smooth on the
underside. The lateral branches are spiny and occasionally end in stout
pines; branchlets slender, often zigzag, and lustrous. The fresh-cut
wood of the bumelias in Texas usually produces considerable quantities
of clear viscid gum. Mexicans have given some species of this small tree
the name “chickle” for that reason.
TEXAS PERSIMMON (Black Persimmon)
(Diospyros texana Scheele)
also called Mexican persimmon, is native to southern and southwestern
Texas, from the Colorado River. It is characterized by 1 to 2 inch
leaves and small edible black fruits, about ¾ inch in diameter. They
will stain the skin black. Mexicans make a hair dye from the ripe fruit,
which has given the plant the local name of “capote”. The wood is heavy
with a black heartwood often streaked with yellow, and with a bright
yellow sapwood. The wood is used in turnery and for the handles of
tools.
TEXAS ASH
(Fraxinus texensis [A. Gray] Sarg.)
a small tree, rarely more than 50 feet high, of the dry limestone bluffs
and ridges of the Dallas area to the valley of the Colorado River and
the Edwards Plateau. Leaves 5 to 8 inches long with usually five,
long-stalked leaflets. Fruit in short, compact clusters.
BERLANDIER ASH (Mexican Ash)
(Fraxinus berlandieriana A. DC.)
grows along the banks of streams and canyons in the San Antonio and
Neuces River watersheds and over the Edwards Plateau. It is rarely more
than 30 feet tall. The three to five leaflets are smooth. The wood is
light brown and soft.
ANACAHUITA (Texas Wild-Olive)
(Cordia boisseri A. DC.)
occurs along the lower Rio Grande Valley, is said to be almost extinct.
It is a small tree, sometimes 20 feet tall and 6 to 8 inches in
diameter, noted for its large velvety leaves (4 to 5 inches long and 3
to 4 inches wide), clusters of yellow and white flowers and delicate
ivory-white coated fruit. The bark is thin, gray, tinged with red.
ANAQUA
(Ehretia anacua [Mier and Berland.] Johnst.)
also called knackaway, anama, and yara, occurs in West Texas from the
upper San Marcos River to the Rio Grande River. It is a tree of the
tropics and of about 40 species in its family, is the only one found in
the United States, and here only in Texas. It is valued as a shade tree
in some communities of South Texas and is noted for its growth and
beauty. Occasionally it grows to a height of 40 to 50 feet with a trunk
3 feet in diameter, attaining its largest size on the Guadalupe and
Nueces Rivers. Anaqua has slender branchlets, without terminal buds, and
leathery, very rough leaves which are almost evergreen. It blooms with
white flowers in March and April and has large groups of edible red
berries in June and July. The wood is heavy, close-grained, light brown
and of little value.
TEXAS MADRONE
(Arbutus texana Buckl.)
also called Texas Madroño is a small poorly shaped tree found on dry
limestone hills, and in the valley of the Rio Blanco, and among the
Eagle Mountains. The trunk is seldom over one foot in diameter and is
usually divided into several branches near the ground. The leaves are
oval to oblong and persistent until the new leaves are formed. The bark
of young stems and branches is smooth, thin, and yellowish-green in
color tinged with red. At the base of old trunks the bark, sometimes ¼
inch thick, is dark reddish-brown in color.
AUSTRIAN PINE
(Pinus nigra Arnold)
is similar in appearance to red pine (P. resinosa Ait.) but needles are
more rigid. Bark is black to dark brown and the cones are 1½ to 2 inches
long. The tree is a native of central and southern Europe and Asia
Minor. It has been planted extensively in the U. S. as an ornamental but
is apparently not yet naturalized. It is planted in Texas in windbreak
plantings.
RUSSIAN-OLIVE
(Elaeagnus angustifolia L.)
is a small tree, not more than 25 feet tall, usually with thorny
branches. Leaves are simple, alternate, narrow and 2 to 3 inches long,
bright green on the upper surface and silvery underneath. It is a native
of Europe and Asia and is used as an ornamental and in windbreak
plantings in the United States.
BUFFALOBERRY (Silver Buffaloberry)
(Shepherdia argentea [Pursh] Nutt.)
is a small silver gray-green tree with edible scarlet colored fruit
which is useful for making jelly, which may reach 18 to 23 feet in
height. It generally has narrow oblong leaves ¾ to 2 inches long and
twigs are often thorny. Its native range is from the northern Great
Plains to Kansas. Useful for windbreak plantings and erosion control.
SIBERIAN ELM (Chinese Elm)
(Ulmus pumila L.)
is more commonly known in the Plains area as Chinese elm. It is
drought-resistant and tolerant of a variety of sites but cannot stand
too much water. A small tree with slender drooping branches. Clusters of
short pedicelled winged fruit appear in April or May. The leaves are
simple, alternate, oval to elliptical, 1 to 2 inches long and leaf edges
are doubly serrate. Widely used for shade and windbreak plantings.
WINTERBERRY EUONYMUS
(Euonymus bungeanus Maxim.)
was introduced from China and has adapted well to the southern Great
Plains area centered around the Texas Panhandle. The small tree is very
hardy and drought-resistant. Its very light green leaves are 2 to 4
inches long, pointed and borne on slender petioles. The heavy leaves
cause the petioles to bend giving the foliage a limp or drooping
appearance. Young stems and branches are green, older ones are gray. The
fruit is a four-lobed capsule which, before ripening in the fall, has a
pinkish cast. The ripened seeds are bright red.
Tree Identification Guide
The following guide has been included in the Eighth edition to assist
school children and interested adults in the identification of Texas
trees.
The guide is non-technical and should be treated as such. More detailed
keys are available in most public libraries.
In the guide, trees are grouped according to their outstanding
characteristics which include leaves, leaf arrangement, flowers, fruit
and site.
THE SOFTWOODS
Needles Cones
Shortleaf[1] (page 21) 2 to 3 in a bundle (usually 1½″-2½″ long
2); 3″-5″ long
Loblolly (page 20) 3 in a bundle; 6″-9″ long 3″-5″ long
Longleaf (page 22) 3 in a bundle; 10″-15″ long 6″-10″ long
Slash (page 23) 2 to 3 in a bundle (usually 4″-6″ long
2); 8″-12″ long
Note: Not included above but commonly found in the longleaf pine range
is a cross between loblolly and longleaf pine. This hybrid tree has
characteristics of both parents.
[1]Only native pine in Texas that sprouts. Pitch pockets are usually
present in bark of older trees.
THE HARDWOODS
TREES WITH SIMPLE LEAVES
[Illustration: Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves opposite on twig)]
Fruits: Page
Drupe (or berry)
Dogwood 107
Fringetree 117
Pod
Catalpa 118
Desertwillow 119
Multiple Fruit
Buttonbush 120
[Illustration: Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves alternate on twig)]
Fruits: Page
Pod
Corkwood 35
Pawpaw 72
Redbud 88
Acorn
White oaks 48-50, 52-59
Drupe (or berry)
Hackberry 66
Redbay 73
Sassafras 74
Blackgum 105
Farkleberry 108
Gum Elastic 109
Southern Buckthorn 109, 127
Persimmon 110, 127
Privet Swamp 116
Multiple Fruit
Bios-d’arc 69
Magnolia 70
Sweetbay 71
Witch-hazel 77
Sycamore 77
Winged
Silverbell 112
[Illustration: Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves opposite on twig)]
Fruits: Page
Winged
Silver Maple 98
Red Maple 99
Southern Sugar Maple 126
Sugar Maple 126
Big Tooth Maple 126
Mountain Maple 126
Pod
Desertwillow 119
Wahoo 125
Drupe (or berry)
Blackhaw 121
[Illustration: Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves alternate on twig)]
Fruits: Page
Drupe (or berry)
Hawthorn 78
Mayhaw 79
Mexican Plum 80
Black Sloe 81
Black Cherry 82
Laurelcherry 83
Holly 96
Yaupon 97
Basswood 103, 126
Tupelo Gum 106
Sweetleaf 111
Sweet Myrtle 123
Anaqua 128
Winged
The Elms 61-64
Multiple Fruit
Cottonwood 36, 123
Black Willow 37
Red Mulberry 68
Sweetgum 76
Alder (cone-like) 123
Nut
Blue Beech (nut-like) 38
Ironwood (cone-like) 39
River Birch (cone-like) 40
American Beech 41
Chinkapin 42
Planer Tree 65
Acorns
Red Oaks 43-47
White Oaks 51, 60
TREES WITH COMPOUND LEAVES
[Illustration: Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves opposite on twig)]
Fruits: Page
Winged
Baretta 124
[Illustration: Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves alternate on twig)]
Fruits: Page
Pod
Mesquite 87
Black Locust 91
Coral Bean 124
Guajillo 123
Multiple Fruit
Flameleaf Sumac (large headed) 94
Guayacan (capsule) 124
Drupe (or berry)
Poison-Sumac 95
Wild China-tree 102
Tree of Heaven 125
Chinaberry 125
Smoke Tree 125
Pistache 125
[Illustration: Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves opposite on twig)]
Fruits: Page
Winged
Boxelder 100
Water Ash 113
White Ash 114
Green Ash 115
Mexican Ash 128
[Illustration: Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves alternate on twig)]
Fruits: Page
Nut
The Walnuts 28
The Hickories 29-34
Ohio Buckeye 101
Drupe (or berry)
Devils-Walkingstick (capsule-like) 92
Pod
Waterlocust 90
Winged
Hoptree 93
TREES WITH DOUBLY-COMPOUND LEAVES
[Illustration: Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves alternate on twig)]
Fruits: Page
Pod
Texas Ebony 84
Catclaw Acacia 85
Leadtree (Mimosa) 86, 124
Honeylocust 89
Huisache (Sweet Acacia) 123
[Illustration: Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves alternate on twig)]
Fruits: Page
Drupe (or berry)
Devils-Walkingstick 92
Hercules-Club 104
TREES THAT PREFER WET SITES
Page
Baldcypress 25
Water Hickory 31
Corkwood 35
Cottonwood 36
Black Willow 37
Blue Beech (Hornbeam) 38
Ironwood (Hophornbeam) 39
Red Birch (River Birch) 40
Water Oak 48
Willow Oak 49
Bur Oak 57
Overcup Oak 58
Swamp Chestnut Oak 59
Sweetbay 71
Sweetgum 76
The Hawthorns 78, 79
Waterlocust 90
Poison-Sumac 95
Yaupon 97
Blackgum (Black Tupelo) 105
Tupelo-Gum (Water Tupelo) 106
Water Ash 113
Swamp Privet 116
Alder 123
HARDWOOD TREES WITH EVERGREEN LEAVES
Page
Live Oak 52
Southern Magnolia 70
Redbay 73
American Holly 96
Yaupon 97
Tree Sparkleberry (Tree Huckleberry) 108
Baretta 124
TREES WHOSE LEAVES TURN RED IN AUTUMN
Page
Red Oak 46
Sweetgum 76
The Hawthorns 78
The Sumacs 94
Red Maple 99
Blackgum 105
Flowering Dogwood 107
Sugar Maple (yellow as well) 126
TREES WHOSE LEAVES TURN YELLOW IN AUTUMN
Page
The Hickories 29-34
The Cottonwoods 36, 123
Black Willow 37
Hophornbeam (Blue Beech) 38
River Birch 40
Most of the Oaks (except Red Oak) 43-60
Bios-d’arc (Osage Orange) 69
Southern Magnolia 70
Pawpaw 72
Mesquite 87
Redbud 88
Hercules-Club 92
Red Maple 99
Ohio Buckeye 101
Devils-Walkingstick 104
The Ashes 113-115, 128
Fringetree 117
Catalpa 118
Sugar Maple (red as well) 126
TREES WITH SEEDS WINGED OR WITH PARACHUTE-LIKE ATTACHMENTS
Page
The Cottonwoods 36, 123
Black Willow 37
American Hornbeam (Blue Beech) 38
Ironwood 39
River Birch 40
The Elms 61-64
Planer Tree 65
Sweetgum 76
American Sycamore 77
Hoptree 93
The Maples 98-99, 126
The Basswoods 103, 126
Silverbell 112
The Ashes 113-115, 128
Catalpa 118
Desertwillow 119
Buttonbush 120
Alder 123
Tree of Heaven 125
TREES WITH SOFT BERRY-LIKE FRUIT
Page
The Hackberries 66, 67
The Mulberries 68
Osage Orange (Bois-d’arc) 69
Redbay 73
Sassafras 74
The Hawthorns 78-79
The Cherries and Plums 80-83
American Holly 96
Yaupon 97
Black and Tupelo Gum 105, 106
Dogwood 107
Tree Sparkleberry (Tree Huckleberry) 108
Gum Bumelia (Gum Elastic) 109
Persimmon 110, 127
Fringetree 117
Rusty Blackhaw 121
TREES WHICH PRODUCE NUTS
Page
The Walnuts 28
The Hickories 29-34
American Beech 41
Chinkapin 42
The Oaks 43-60
Ohio Buckeye 101
TREES WITH PODS AS FRUIT
Page
Corkwood 35
Texas Ebony 84
Catclaw Acacia 85
Leadtree (Mimosa) 86, 124
Mesquite 87
Redbud 88
Honeylocust 89
Waterlocust 90
Black Locust 91
Catalpa 118
Desertwillow 119
Huisache (Sweet Acacia) 123
Guajillo 123
Coral Bean 124
Mexican Leadtree 124
TREES WITH BRIGHT RED FRUIT
Page
Red Mulberry 68
The Magnolias 70, 71
The Hawthorns 78, 79
Shining Sumac 94
American Holly 96
TREES WITH SPINES OR THORNS
Page
Osage-Orange (Bois-d’arc) 69
The Hawthorns 78, 79
Texas Ebony 84
Catclaw Acacia 85
Leadtree (Mimosa) 86, 124
Mesquite 87
Honeylocust 89
Waterlocust 90
Black Locust 91
Prickly Ash 92
Devils-Walkingstick 104
Huisache (Sweet Acacia) 123
TREES WITH CORKY PROJECTIONS ON TWIGS
Page
Bur Oak (Mossy-Cup Oak) 57
Winged Elm 62
Cedar Elm 63
Sweetgum 76
TREES WHOSE TWIGS HAVE A CHAMBERED PITH
Page
Walnut 28
Hackberry 66
Sugarberry 67
TREES KNOWN BY THE COLOR AND SHAPE OF THE TWIG PITH
Page
Star-shaped in Cross-section
The Cottonwoods 36, 123
The Oaks 43-60
Triangular in Cross-section
Alder 123
Brown in Color
The Walnuts 28
The Sumacs 94
TREES WITH SINGLE LARGE FLOWERS
Page
Magnolia 70
Pawpaw 72
TREES WITH FLOWERS IN CLUSTERS
Page
Redbay 73
The Hawthorns 78-79
The Plums and Cherries 80-83
Redbud 88
Black Locust 91
Devils-Walkingstick 92
Hercules-Club 92
Hoptree 93
The Sumacs 94
Poison-Sumac 95
Yaupon 97
Ohio Buckeye 101
Western Soapberry 102
The Basswoods 103, 126
Flowering Dogwood 107
Silverbell 112
Fringetree 117
Catalpa 118
Rusty Blackhaw 121
TREES WHOSE BLOSSOMS APPEAR BEFORE OR WITH THE LEAVES
Page
The Walnuts 28
The Hickories 29-34
The Cottonwoods 36, 123
Black Willow 37
Ironwood 38
Eastern Hophornbeam 39
River Birch 40
The Oaks 43-60
The Elms 61-64
Sassafras 74
Redbud 88
The Maples 98, 99, 126
The Ashes 113-115, 128
Alder 123
TREES WHOSE BLOSSOMS APPEAR AFTER THE LEAVES
Page
Chinkapin 42
Magnolia 70
Honeylocust 89
Black Locust 91
The Sumacs 94
Ohio Buckeye 101
Basswood 103, 126
Flowering Dogwood 107
Persimmon 110, 127
Silverbell 112
Fringetree 117
Catalpa 118
Mountain Maple 126
Glossary
A
Achene—A small, hard, dry, 1-celled, indehiscent fruit.
Acrid—Sharp or biting to the taste.
Acuminate—Tapering at end to a gradual point.
Acute—Terminating in a sharp angle.
Aggregate fruit—Cluster of ripened ovaries produced from a single
flower containing numerous pistils inserted on a common
receptacle. Example: fruit of magnolia or blackberry.
Alternate—Not opposite on the axis, but borne at regular intervals
at different levels.
Anther—Pollen-bearing structure of a stamen.
Apex—The tip or end of a bud or leaf, i.e., the part opposite the
base.
Apical—Pertaining to the tip, end, or apex.
Appressed—Lying tight or close against.
Aromatic—Fragrant; with a pleasing odor.
Astringent—Contracting; drawing together.
Axil—The upper angle formed by a leaf or branch with a stem.
Axis—The central line of an organ; a stem.
B
Bark—The outer covering of a trunk or branch.
Basal—Pertaining to or situated at the base.
Berry—A fruit which is fleshy or pulpy throughout, and with
several seeds imbedded in the pulpy mass.
Bisexual—Having both stamens and pistils, i.e., male and female.
Bloom—A powdery or somewhat waxy substance easily rubbed off.
Also, to produce or yield blossoms.
Bole—The main axis or trunk of a tree.
Bract—Modified leaf subtending a flower or belonging to an
inflorescence.
Bud-scales—Modified leaves covering a bud.
Bundle-scars—Scars on the surface of a leaf-scar. Severed ends of
the fibro-vascular bundles which connected the twigs with
the leaves.
C
Calyx—The outer perianth or floral envelope, usually green in
color; sepals, collectively.
Cambium—A thin-walled formative tissue between the bark and wood.
The active growing portion of the tree.
Carpel—A simple pistil or one member of a compound pistil.
Capsule—A dry fruit composed of more than one carpel and splitting
open at maturity.
Catkin—An ament or spike of unisexual flowers.
Chambered—Said of the pith when interrupted by hollow spaces at
rather regular intervals.
Ciliate—Fringed with hairs on the margin.
Collateral—Accessory buds at the sides of auxiliary buds.
Compound—Composed of two or more similar parts united in a whole.
Conical—Cone-shaped.
Conifers—A group of trees which usually produce their fruit in the
form of a cone or modified cone.
Coniferous—Cone-bearing.
Corolla—The petals of a flower collectively.
Cordate—Heart-shaped.
Crenate—Rounded teeth.
Crown—The upper mass of branches; also known as head.
Cuneate—Wedge-shaped.
D
Deciduous—Falling off, usually at the close of the season.
Defoliation—Removal of foliage.
Dehiscent—Splitting open at maturity.
Deliquescent—Said of the form of a tree with a broad spreading
habit. The branches sub-divide until they apparently
disappear.
Deltoid—Triangular like Greek symbol for delta.
Dentate—Toothed, usually with the teeth directed outwards.
Diffuse-porous—Equal-pored. Said of wood when pores in a growth
ring are equal in size.
Dioecious—Unisexual, with the staminate and pistillate flowers on
separate plants.
Disseminated—Scattered, thrown, broadcast.
Divergent—Pointing away; extending out. Said of buds which point
away from the twigs.
Downy—Covered with fine hairs.
Drupe—A fleshy fruit with a pit or stone like a cherry.
E
Elliptical—Shaped like an ellipse with sloping ends.
Elongated—Long, drawn out.
Entire-margined—Margin smooth, not cut or toothed.
Excurrent—Said of a tree with a continuous trunk and erect habit
of growth.
Exfoliation—Splitting or cleaving off of outer layers of bark.
Exotic—Of foreign origin.
Exudation—Oozing out of sap, resin, or other juice.
F
Fascicle—A close bundle or cluster.
Fetid—Ill smelling.
Fissures—Grooves, furrows, or channels as in the bark.
Fluted—Grooved, corrugated, channeled.
Follicle—A dry fruit produced from a simple pistil and dehiscing
along one line of suture.
Fruit—The ripened ovary of a flower.
G
Glabrate—Somewhat glabrous or becoming glabrate.
Glabrous—Smooth, without hairs.
Glandular—Bearing glands or gland-like.
Glaucous—Covered with a bluish or whitish waxy coating; a bloom.
Globose—Ball-like or nearly so.
Globular—Ball-like.
H
Habitat—Site or place of growth.
Hardwood—A collective term for broad-leaved trees, the wood of
which may or may not be dense.
Heartwood—The physiologically dead, central, usually darker
colored portion of the tree trunk.
Hybrid—A crossbreed of two species.
I
Increment—Growth; increase.
Incised—Divided into lobes separated by narrow or acute sinuses
which extend halfway or more to midrib.
Indehiscent—Applied to fruits that do not split open to discharge
the seeds, remaining closed at maturity.
Indigenous—Applied to plants that are native to a certain
locality. Not introduced.
Intolerant—Not shade enduring. Requiring sunlight.
Involucre—A cluster of bracts subtending a flower.
L
Lamina—The blade or flattened portion of a leaf.
Lanceolate—Shaped like a lance; several times longer than wide,
and growing to a point.
Lateral—Situated on the side, as the buds along the side of the
twig.
Leaflets—One of the small blades or divisions of a compound leaf.
Leaf-scar—The scar left after a leaf falls.
Lenticel—A corky growth on young or sometimes older bark, which
admits air to the interior of the twig or branch.
Linear—Line-like, long and narrow, with parallel edges.
Lobed—Said of leaves that have the margins more or less cut or
divided.
M
Medullary—Pertaining to the pith or medulla.
Medullary Ray—Radial lines of tissues crossing the growth of rings
at right angles and extending into the bark.
Midrib—The central or main rib or vein of a leaf.
Monoecious—Bearing male and female flower parts in separate
flowers on the same plant.
Mucilaginous—Slimy or gummy when touched or chewed.
Multiple fruit—A cluster of fruits of separate flowers crowded
together and forming what appears to be a single fruit.
Examples: mulberry, strawberry, osage-orange fruits.
N
Naked—Said of buds without scales, and seeds without a covering.
Naval Stores—Refers to tar, turpentine, resin, etc.
Node—A place on a twig where one or more leaves originate.
Nut—A dry, 1-seeded, fruit with a hard indehiscent covering and
encased partly or wholly in an involucre or husk.
Nutlet—A small nut.
O
Oblique—Slanting, uneven. Uneven sided.
Oblong—About twice as long as wide, the sides nearly parallel.
Obovate—Reversed egg-shaped.
Obtuse—Blunt
Opposite—Said of leaves and buds, directly across from each other.
Orbicular—Circular.
Oval—Rounded.
Ovate—Egg-shaped.
Ovoid—Egg-shaped or nearly so.
P
Palmate—Radiately lobed or divided from the petiole; hand-like as
leaflets of buckeye.
Panicle—A loose, irregularly compound flower cluster with flowers
on pedicels.
Pedicel—The support or stem of a single flower or fruit in a
cluster.
Peduncle—A primary flower stalk supporting a cluster of flowers or
a solitary flower, later the fruit. A fruit-stem.
Perennial—Lasting for more than one year.
Persistent—Remaining after blooming, fruiting, or maturing.
Petiole—The stalk of a leaf.
Pinnate—Feather-like with leaflets on both sides of rachis or leaf
stalk.
Pistil—Seed bearing organ of flower. May consist of stigma, style,
and ovary.
Pith—The soft central part of a twig or stem.
Pod—Any dry, one chambered, dehiscent fruit.
Pollen—The dust-like substance from the anthers of a flower.
Pollination—The process of bringing the pollen of the male flower
in contact with the stigma of the female flower.
Pome—A fleshy fruit with a core, such as the apple or pear.
Porous—With open tubes (through wood).
Prickle—A sharp-pointed, needle-like outgrowth.
Pubescent—With short, soft, down-like hairs.
Pungent—Acrid or sharp to smell.
Pyramidal—Shaped like a pyramid with the broadest part near the
base.
R
Rachis—The stalk supporting the leaflets of a compound leaf.
Resin-ducts—A passage for the conduction of resin found in the
leaves and wood.
Ring-porous—Said of wood which has pores of unequal size, the
larger ones being found in the spring wood and the smaller
ones in the summer wood.
S
Samara—An indehiscent winged fruit such as that of maple.
Sapwood—The recently formed, usually light colored wood, lying
outside of the heartwood.
Scabrous—Rough, with stiff, bristly hairs.
Scales—The small, modified leaves which protect the growing-point
of a bud or the part of a cone which bears the seeds. The
small flakes into which the other bark of a tree divides.
Scurfy—Covered with small bran-like scales.
Serrate—Having sharp teeth on margin.
Sessile—Seated; without a stalk.
Sheath—A tubular envelope or covering such as surround the base of
pine-needles.
Silky—Covered with long, soft, straight, fine hairs.
Simple—Consisting of one part, not compound.
Sinus—The cleft or opening between two lobes.
Sinuate—Wavy.
Softwood—A general term given conifers, the wood of which may or
may not be of low density.
Stamen—Male organ of flower. Consists of a pollen-bearing anther
on a filament.
Stipule—A leaf-appendage at the base of the leaf-stalk.
Stipule-scar—The scar left by the fall of the stipule.
Stolon—A runner or basal branch that may root.
Striate—Marked with fine elongated ridges or lines.
Striations—Long narrow lines or ridges.
Strobile—A fruit marked by overlapping scales as in the pine,
birches, etc.
Sucker—A shoot arising from an underground bud.
Superposed—Said of buds when they are arranged one above the
other.
Symmetrical—Regular as to the number of parts. Having the same
number of parts in each circle.
T
Terminal—Located at the outer end.
Thorn—A stiff, woody, sharp-pointed projection as found on locust;
a spine.
Tolerant—Applied to trees which endure certain factors,
particularly shade.
Tomentose—Densely pubescent; hairy. Covered with matted-hairs.
Tomentum—A dense layer of woolly hairs.
Truncate—Ending abruptly, as if cut off at the end.
Tufted—Growing in clusters.
U
Unisexual—Consisting of one sex only, either staminate or
pistillate.
V
Valvate—Said of buds in which the scales merely meet without
overlapping. Fruit opening by valves.
Veins—Threads of fibro-vascular tissue in leaves or other organs.
W
Whorl—A group of three or more similar organs, as leaves or buds,
arranged about the same place of attachment.
Whorled—Borne in a whorl.
Index
A
Acacia berlandieri 123
Acacia, catclaw 85
Acacia farnesiana, sweet 123
Acacia greggii 85
Acer barbatum 126
Acer grandidentatum 126
Acer grandidentatum var. sinuosum 126
Acer negundo 100
Acer rubrum 99
Acer saccharinum 98
Adelia, common 116
Aesculus glabra 101
Aesculus pavia 101
Ailanthus altissima 125
Alder, hazel, speckled 123
Alnus rugosa 123
Anacahuita 128
Anama 128
Anaqua 128
Apple, hedge 69
Aralia spinosa 104
Arbutus texana 129
Arizona cypress 122
Arrow-wood 125
Ash, Berlandier 128
Ash, Carolina 113
Ash, green 115
Ash, Mexican 128
Ash, poison 95
Ash, prickly 92, 104
Ash, Texas 128
Ash, wafer 93
Ash, water 113
Ash, white 114
Ash juniper 26
Asimina triloba 72
B
Baldcypress 25
Baretta 124
Basswood, American 103
Basswood, Carolina 126
Basswood, Florida 126
Bayberry, Southern 123
Beaded locust (Sophora) 124
Bear berry 124
Beech, American 41
Beech, blue 38
Beech, water 38
Betula, nigra 40
Birch, river (red) 40
Bitternut hickory 30
Blackhead, ebony 84
Blackgum 105
Blackhaw, rusty 121
Bois-d’arc 69
Boxelder 100
Buckeye, Ohio 101
Buckeye, red 101
Buckthorn 127
Buckthorn, wooly 109
Buffaloberry 129
Bumelia, buckthorn, gum, elastic 109
Bumelia lanuginosa 109
Bumelia lanuginosa var. rigida 109
Bumelia, lycioides 109
Bumelia, Texas 127
Burning bush (Euonymous) 125
Buttonbush, common 120
Buttonwood (sycamore) 77
C
Capote 127
Carpinus caroliniana 38
Carya aquatica 31
Carya cordiformis 30
Carya illinoensis 29
Carya ovata 32
Carya texana 34
Carya tomentosa 33
Castanea pumila 42
Catalpa, northern 118
Catalpa, speciosa 118
Catalpa, western 118
Cedar, eastern red 27
Cedar, mountain 26
Celtis laevigata 67
Celtis, occidentalis 66
Cephalanthus occidentalis 120
Cercis canadensis 88
Cherry, black 82
Cherry, southwestern black 82
Chicle 127
Chilopsis linearis 119
Chinaberry 125
China-tree, wild 102
Chinkapin, Allegheny 42
Chionanthus virginicus 117
Chittamwood 125
Coral bean 124
Cordia boisseri 128
Corkwood 35
Cornus florida 107
Cotinus obovatus 126
Cottonwood, eastern 36
Crataegus 78
Crataegus opaca 79
Cupressus arizonica 122
Cypress (baldcypress) 25
D
Desertwillow 119
Devils-walkingstick 104
Diospyros texana 128
Diospyros virginiana 110
Dogwood, flowering 107
E
Ebony, Texas (blackbead) 84
Ehretia anacua 128
Elastic, gum 109
Elaeagnus angustifolia 129
Elm, American 61
Elm, cedar 63
Elm, Chinese 129
Elm, red 64
Elm, Siberian 129
Elm, slippery 64
Elm, water 65
Elm, white 61
Elm, winged 62
Euonymus atropurpureus 125
Euonymus bungeanus 129
F
Fagus grandifolia 41
Farkleberry 108
Fir, Douglas 24
Forestiera acuminata 116
Fraxinus americana 114
Fraxinus berlandieriana 128
Fraxinus caroliniana 113
Fraxinus pennsylvanica 115
Fraxinus texensis 128
Fringetree, white 117
G
Gleditsia aquatica 89, 90
Gleditsia texana 89
Gleditsia triacanthos 89
Grancy-gray beard 117
Great leadtree 124
Gregg leadtree 86, 124
Guaiacum 124
Guajillo 123
Guayacan 124
Gum, black 105
Gum, cotton 106
Gum, elastic 109
Gum, red 76
Gum, sour 105
Gum, sweet 76
Gum, tupelo 106
H
Hackberry 66
Hackberry, sugar 67
Halesia diptera 112
Hamamelis virginiana 75
Haw 78
Haw, rusty black 121
Hawthorn 78
Hawthorn, riverflat 79
Hazel, alder 123
Helietta parvifolia 124
Hercules-club 92, 104
Hickory, bigbud 33
Hickory, bitternut 30
Hickory, black 34
Hickory, mockernut 33
Hickory, pignut 30
Hickory, shagbark 32
Hickory, water 31
Hickory, white 33
Holly, American 96
Honeylocust 89
Hophornbeam, eastern 39
Hoptree, common 93
Hornbeam, American 38
Horse-sugar 111
Huckleberry, tree 108
I
Ilex decidua 97
Ilex opaca 96
Ilex vomitoria 97
Indian soap plant 102
Ironwood 38, 39
J
Judas tree 88
Juglans, microcarpa 28
Juglans, nigra 28
Juniper, alligator 122
Juniper, ashe 26
Juniper, drooping 122
Juniper, Mexican mountain cedar 26
Juniper, one seed 122
Juniper, Rocky Mountain 122
Juniper, weeping 122
Juniperus ashei 26
Juniperus deppeana 122
Juniperus flaccida 122
Juniperus monosperma 122
Juniperus scopulorum 122
Juniperus virginiana 27
K
Knackaway 128
L
Laurel, cherry 83
Laurelcherry, Carolina 83
Leadtree, Gregg 86
Leadtree, Mexicana, great 124
Leitneria floridana 35
Leucaena greggii 86, 124
Leucaena pulverulenta 86, 124
Leucaena retusa 86, 124
Linden, American 103
Liquidambar styraciflua 76
Locust, beaded 124
Locust, black 91
Locust, honey 89
Locust, pink 124
Locust, water 90
Locust, yellow 91
M
Maclura pomifera 69
Madrone, Texas 129
Magnolia, evergreen 70
Magnolia, grandiflora 70
Magnolia, Southern 70
Magnolia, sweetbay 71
Magnolia, virginiana 71
Maple, Florida 126
Maple, mountain, or sugar 126
Maple, red 99
Maple, silver 98
Maple, soft 98, 99
Maple, Southern sugar 126
Maple, Uvalde bigtooth 126
Mayhaw 79
Melia azedarach 125
Mesquite, honey 87
Mimosa 86, 124
Morus alba 68
Morus microphylla 68
Morus rubra 68
Mulberry, red 68
Mulberry, Texas 68
Mulberry, white 68
Myrica cerifera 123
Myrtle, sweet 123
Myrtle, wax 123
N
Necklace tree 124
Northern catalpa 118
Nyssa aquatica 106
Nyssa sylvatica 105
O
Oak, basket 59
Oak, black 45
Oak, blackjack 47
Oak, bluejack 50
Oak, bur 57
Oak, chestnut 59
Oak, chinkapin, chestnut 60
Oak, cow 59
Oak, Durand (white) 54
Oak, Emory 51
Oak, Graves 44
Oak, gray 51
Oak, live 52
Oak, Mexican blue 51
Oak, Mohrs 53
Oak, mossy-cup 57
Oak, overcup 58
Oak, pin 48, 49
Oak, post 56
Oak, red 46
Oak, sandjack 50
Oak, shin 53
Oak, Shumard 43
Oak, Spanish 46
Oak, Southern red 46
Oak, spotted 43
Oak, swamp chestnut 59
Oak, swamp post oak 58
Oak, Texas 44
Oak, water 48, 49
Oak, water white 58
Oak, white 55
Oak, willow 49
Old man’s beard, 117
Olive, Russian 129
Olive, Texas wild 128
Orange, mock 83
Osage-orange 69
Ostrya virginiana 39
P
Palmetto, Texas (palm) 123
Pawpaw 72
Peach, wild 83
Pecan 29
Persea borbonia 73
Persimmon, black 127
Persimmon, common 110
Persimmon, Texas 127
Pine, Austrian 129
Pine, limber, Rocky Mtn. white 17
Pine, loblolly 20
Pine, longleaf 22
Pine, nut 18
Pine, ponderosa, western yellow 19
Pine, shortleaf, yellow 21
Pine, slash 23
Pine, Sonderegger 22
Pinus echinata 21
Pinus edulis 18
Pinus elliottii 23
Pinus flexilis 17
Pinus nigra 129
Pinus palustris 22
Pinus ponderosa 19
Pinus taeda 20
Pinyon 18
Pistache, Texas 125
Pistacia texana 125
Pithecellobium flexicaule 84
Planer tree 65
Planera aquatica 65
Platanus occidentalis 77
Plum, flatwoods 81
Plum, Mexican 80
Popple, aspen 123
Populus deltoidea 36
Populus fremontii var. wislizenii 123
Populus sargentii 36
Populus tremuloides 123
Porlieria, Texas 124
Possumhaw 97
Prickly ash 92
Privet, swamp 116
Prosopsis juliflora 87
Prunus caroliniana 83
Prunus mexicana 80
Prunus serotina 82
Prunus serotina var. rufula 82
Prunus umbellata 81
Pseudotsuga menziesii 24
Ptelea trifoliata 93
Q
Quercus alba 55
Quercus durandii 54
Quercus emoryi 51
Quercus falcata 46
Quercus gravesii 44
Quercus grisea 51
Quercus incana 50
Quercus lyrata 58
Quercus macrocarpa 57
Quercus marilandica 47
Quercus michauxii 59
Quercus mohriana 53
Quercus muhlenbergii 60
Quercus nigra 48
Quercus oblongifolia 51
Quercus phellos 49
Quercus shumardii 4
Quercus shumardii var. shumardii 43
Quercus shumardii var. texana 44
Quercus stellata 56
Quercus velutina 45
Quercus virginiana 52
R
Redbay 73
Redbud, eastern 88
Redcedar, eastern 27
Redgum 76
Rhus copallina 94
Robinia pseudoacacia 91
Rusty blackhaw 121
S
Sabal minor 123
Sabal texana 123
Salix nigra 37
Sapindus drummondii 102
Sassafras 74
Sassafras albidum 74
Shepherdia argentea 129
Siberian elm 129
Silverbell, two-wing 112
Sloe, black 81
Smoketree, American 125
Snowdrop tree 112
Soapberry, western 102
Soapbush 124
Soap plant, Indian 102
Sophora affinis 124
Sparkleberry tree 108
Sugarberry 67
Sumac, shining, dwarf, flameleaf 94
Sumac, poison 95
Swampbay 71
Sweetbay magnolia 71
Sweetgum 76
Sweetleaf, common 111
Sycamore, American 77
Symplocos tinctoria 111
T
Tamarisk 127
Tamarix araiculata 127
Tamarix gallica 127
Tamarix pentandra 127
Taxodium distichum 25
Tepehuaje 124
Texas sophora 124
Texas wild olive 128
Tilia americana 103
Tilia caroliniana 126
Tilia floridana 126
Tingle-tongue 92
Toothache tree 92
Toxicodendron vernix 95
Tree-huckleberry 108
Tree of heaven 125
Tree Sparkleberry (Farkleberry) 108
Tupelo, black 105
Tupelo, swamp 105
Tupelo, water 106
U
Ulmus alata 62
Ulmus americana 61
Ulmus crassifolia 63
Ulmus pumila 129
Ulmus rubra 64
Una de Gato 85
V
Vaccinium arboreum 108
Viburnum rufidulum 121
W
Wafer-ash 93
Wahoo, eastern 125
Walnut, black 28
Walnut, little 28
Walnut, Texas 28
Waterlocust 90
Wild china-tree 102
Wild olive, Texas 128
Wild peach 83
Willow, black 37
Willow, desert 119
Winterberry 97
Winterberry euonymus 129
Witch-hazel 75
Y
Yara 128
Yaupon 97
Z
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis 92
[Illustration: TREE PLANTING REGIONS OF TEXAS]
PARTIAL LIST OF TREES RECOMMENDED FOR SHADE AND WINDBREAKS
East Texas
American elm
arborvitae
Arizona cypress
basswood
black locust
black walnut
bur oak
catalpa
Chinese tallow
green ash
hackberry
holly
live oak
loblolly pine
longleaf pine
magnolia
pecan
red oak
shortleaf pine
silver maple
slash pine
sweetgum
sycamore
water oak
white ash
willow oak
Coastal Prairie
American elm
arborvitae
Arizona ash
Arizona cypress
athel
Carolina poplar
Chinese tallow
Gulf Coast cedar
hackberry
holly
Italian cypress
live oak
loblolly pine
pecan
swamp ash
sweetgum
sycamore
Central Texas
Arizona cypress
American elm
Texas walnut
cedar elm
Chinese arborvitae
Chinese elm
eastern redcedar
green ash
hackberry
live oak
pecan
sycamore
thornless honeylocust
South Texas
anaqua
Arizona cypress
athel
Australian pine
Carolina poplar
Chinese arborvitae
Chinese tallow
eucalyptus
fan palm
Gulf Coast cedar
gum elastic
hackberry
Italian cypress
Japanese varnish tree
live oak
ornamental date palm
pecan
pistacia
Rio Grande ash
sycamore
West Texas
Arizona ash
Arizona cypress
aspen popple
Austrian pine
Chinese arborvitae
Chinese elm
green ash
hackberry
live oak
mountain cottonwood
pistacia
redcedar
Rocky mountain
juniper
Russian mulberry
Russian olive
silver poplar
Spanish oak
thornless honeylocust
western yellow pine
Panhandle
American elm
apricot
Arizona cypress
Austrian pine
black locust
Carolina poplar
Chinese arborvitae
Chinese maple
Chinese elm
Colorado blue spruce
green ash
hackberry
loblolly pine
pistacia
redcedar
red mulberry
Russian mulberry
Russian olive
sand plum
shortleaf pine
Siberian elm
silver poplar
sycamore
thornless honeylocust
western yellow pine
CODE OF BEHAVIOR
WITH
OUTDOOR FIREBRANDS
1. Burn household trash only in a metal or cinder block container on
an area cleared to bare soil.
2. Burn fields and brush piles only in the late afternoon when the
wind is low and after a 5-foot fire-break has been plowed around the
field.
3. Break matches and crush smokes before discarding.
4. Use car ash tray for smokes and used matches when traveling in a
vehicle. Don’t pitch them out the window.
5. Clear the area around a warming or camp fire before lighting it.
6. Extinguish all warming and camp fires when you leave. Be sure all
fires are Dead Out.
Transcriber’s Notes
--Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
--Corrected a few palpable typos.
--In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.
--Included a transcription of the text within some images.
--Added a caption “Flower Clusters” to an uncaptioned illustration on p.
15.
--The HTML version contains relative hyperlinks to the _Manual of the
Trees of North America_ (Gutenberg eBook #46450), so that offline
copies can be interlinked.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Forest Trees of Texas - How to Know Them" ***
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