Part 1

Produced by Mark C. Orton, Turgut Dincer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

+-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's note: | | | | Names in bold characters are enclosed within plus signs. | +-----------------------------------------------------------+

STATE OF ILLINOIS

OTTO KERNER, Governor

FOREST TREES

OF ILLINOIS

HOW TO KNOW THEM

A POCKET MANUAL DESCRIBING THEIR MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS

Revised by Dr. George D. Fuller, Professor Emeritus of Botany, University of Chicago, Curator of Botany, Illinois State Museum, and State Forester E. E. Nuuttila.

(_1st. ed., 1927, by Mattoon, W. R., and Miller, R. B._)

_Revised 1955_

DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION DIVISION OF FORESTRY SPRINGFIELD WILLIAM T. LODGE, Director

(Printed by Authority of the State of Illinois)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Ailanthus 54

Alder, black 19 speckled 19

Apple, crab 45

Arbor vitae 7

Ash, black 65 blue 65 green 64 pumpkin 65 red 64 white 64

Aspen, large-tooth 8 quaking 8

Bald cypress 6

Basswood 60 white 60

Beech 22 blue 19

Birch, black 21 river 21 white 20 yellow 21

Black locust 53

Black walnut 11

Bois d'arc 37

Box elder 58

Buckeye, Ohio 59

Buttonwood 44

Butternut 2

Catalpa 66

Cedar, northern white 7 red 7

Cherry, black 50 choke 50 wild red 50

Chestnut 22

Coffee tree, Kentucky 52

Cottonwood 9 swamp 9

Crab, apple 45 Bechtel's 45 prairie 45 sweet 45

Cucumber, magnolia 39

Cypress, bald 6

Dogwood, alternate-leaved 61 flowering 61

Elm, American 34 cork 34 red 35 rock 34 slippery 35 water 35 winged 34

Gum, cotton 62 sour 62 sweet 43 tupelo 62

Hackberry 36 southern 36

Haw, green 48 red 48

Hawthorn, cock-spur 47 dotted 47 green 48 red 48

Hedge apple 37

Hercules' club 63

Hickories, key of Illinois 13

Hickory, big shell-bark 16 bitternut 14 Buckley's 18 king-nut 16 mockernut 17 pecan 15 pignut 18 shag-bark 16 sweet pignut 17 water 14 white 17

Honey locust 51

Hornbeam, American 19 hop 20

Horse-chestnut 59

Kentucky coffee-tree 52

Larch, American 6 European 6

Linden, American 60

Locust, black 53 honey 51 water 51

Magnolia, cucumber 39

Maple, ash-leaved 58 black 56

Norway 58 red 57 river 57 silver 57 sugar 56 swamp 57

Mulberry, red 38 Russian 38 white 38

Oak, basket 26 black 29 black jack 32 bur 25 chinquapin 26 jack 29 northern pin 29 northern red 28 overcup 24 pin 30 post 27 red 28 rock chestnut 26 scarlet 30 shingle 33 Shumard's 28 southern red 31 Spanish 31 swamp chestnut 26 swamp Spanish 31 swamp white 25 white 24 willow 33 yellow chestnut 26

Oaks, of Illinois, a key 23

Ohio buckeye 59

Orange, osage 37

Papaw 41

Paulownia 66

Pecan 15

Persimmon 63

Pine, Austrian 4 jack 5 Scotch 5 shortleaf 5 white 4

Plane tree 44

Plum, Canada 49 wild 49 wild goose 49 yellow 49

Poplar, balsam 9 Carolina 9 European white 9 Lombardy 9 yellow 40

Redbud 52

Red cedar 7

Sassafras 42

Service-berry 46 smooth 46

Shadblow 46

Sour gum 62

Spruce, Norway 5

Sweet gum 43

Sumac, shining 55 smooth 55 staghorn 55

Sycamore 44 European 44

Tamarack 6

Thorn, cock-spur 47 dotted 47 pear 47 Washington 48

Tree of Heaven 54

Tulip tree 40

Tupelo gum 62

Walnut, black 11 white 12

Willow, black 10 crack 10 peach-leaved 10 weeping 10 white 10

See pages 70 and 71 for Index of Scientific Names

+WHITE PINE+ _Pinus strobus_ L.

THE white pine is found along the bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan in Lake and Cook counties and is also scattered along river bluffs in Jo Daviess, Carroll, Ogle and LaSalle counties. The only grove of this beautiful tree in Illinois is in the White Pines Forest State Park near Oregon, Ogle County, where there are trees over 100 years old that have attained a height of 90 feet with a diameter of 30 inches. This tree formerly formed the most valuable forests in the northeastern United States, stretching from Maine through New York to Minnesota. The straight stem, regular pyramidal shape and soft gray-green foliage made it universally appreciated as an ornamental tree and it has been freely planted throughout the State.

The _leaves_, or needles, are 3 to 5 inches in length, bluish-green on the upper surface and whitish beneath, and occur in bundles of 5, which distinguishes it from all other eastern pines. The pollen-bearing _flowers_ are yellow and clustered in cones, about 1/3 inch long at the base of the growth of the season. The seed-producing flowers occur on other twigs and are bright red in color. The cone, or _fruit_, is 4 to 6 inches long, cylindrical with thin usually very gummy scales, containing small, winged seeds which require two years to mature.

The _wood_ is light, soft, durable, not strong, light brown in color, often tinged with red, and easily worked. It was formerly much used in old colonial houses where even the shingles were of white pine. It is excellent for boxes, pattern making, matches, and many other products.

Its rapid growth and the high quality of the wood make it one of the best trees for reforestation on light soils in the northern part of the State. The white pine blister rust was introduced into America about 35 years ago, and has since become widespread and highly destructive of both old trees and young growth.

The Austrian pine, _Pinus nigra_ Arnold, has been naturalized in Lake County and has been planted as an ornamental tree throughout the State. Its leaves in 2's, from 3 to 5 inches long, stiff and dark green. The cone is heavy, 3 inches long with short prickles.

+SHORTLEAF PINE+ _Pinus echinata_ Mill.

THE shortleaf pine, sometimes called yellow pine, occurs in very small stands in the "Pine Hills" of Union County, in Jackson County, in Giant City State Park, and near "Piney Creek" in Randolph County. It forms forests on light sandy soils in Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. At maturity, the tree has a tall, straight stem and an oval crown, reaching a height of about 100 feet and a diameter of about 4 feet.

The _leaves_ are in clusters of two or three, from 3 to 5 inches long, slender, flexible, and dark blue-green. The cones are the smallest of our pines, 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches long, oblong, with small sharp prickles, generally clustered, and often holding to the twigs for 3 or 4 years. The _bark_ is light brownish-red, broken into rectangular plates on the trunk but scaly on the branches.

The _wood_ of old trees is rather heavy and hard, of yellow-brown or orange color, fine grained and less resinous than that of other important southern pines. It is used largely for interior and exterior finishing, general construction, veneers, paper pulp, excelsior, cooperage, mine props, and other purposes. The tree transplants readily, grows rapidly, succeeds on a variety of soils and has proved valuable for reforestation.

A few trees of jack pine, _Pinus banksiana_ Lamb., are found in Lake County. It is a small northern tree with leaves about an inch long, borne in 2's, with cones about 2 inches long. It is planted for reforestation in the State. The Scots pine, _Pinus sylvestris_ L., has been freely planted in Illinois and may be known by its orange-brown bark and its twisted leaves 2 to 3 inches long, arranged in 2's. It has become naturalized on the sand dunes in Lake County.

The Norway spruce, _Picea abies_ Karst., has been freely planted throughout the State. It forms a dense conical spire-topped crown and reaches a height of 50 to 70 feet. The leaves are needle-shaped, about an inch long, dark green, and persist for about 5 years. The pendulous cones are from 3 to 6 inches long. It is desirable for ornamental planting.

+BALD CYPRESS+ _Taxodium distichum_ Richard

THE bald cypress is a tree found exclusively in deep swamps and was found in southern Illinois from the Mississippi bottoms to Shawneetown. Its straight trunk with numerous ascending branches, and narrow conical outline makes the tree one of considerable beauty. 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. The original-growth timber attained heights of 80 to 130 feet and diameters of 5 to 10 feet.

The _bark_ is silvery to cinnamon-red and finely divided by numerous longitudinal fissures. The _leaves_ are about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch in length, arranged in feather-like fashion along two sides of small branchlets, which fall in the autumn with the leaves still attached.

The _fruit_ is a rounded cone, or "ball", about one inch in diameter, consisting of thick irregular scales.

The _wood_ is light, soft, easily worked, varies in color from light to dark brown, and is particularly durable in contact with the soil. Hence it is in demand for exterior trim of buildings, greenhouse planking, boat and shipbuilding, shingles, posts, poles and crossties.

The tamarack, or American larch, _Larix laricina_ K. Koch, resembles the bald cypress in growing in swamps and in shedding its leaves in autumn. This tree is found in Illinois growing in bogs in Lake and McHenry counties. The leaves are flat, soft, slender, about one inch long and borne in clusters. The cones are only 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. The European larch, _Larix decidua_ Mill., may be distinguished from the native species by having slightly longer leaves and larger cones that are more than an inch long.

+RED CEDAR+ _Juniperus virginiana_ L.

RED cedar, the most plentiful coniferous tree in the State, is very valuable, growing on a great variety of soils, seeming to thrive on hills where few other trees are found. It is more common in the southern counties.

There are two kinds of _leaves_, often both kinds being found on the same tree. The commoner kind is dark green, minute and scale-like, clasping the stem in four ranks, so that the stems appear square. The other kind, often appearing on young growth or vigorous shoots, is awl-shaped, quite sharp-pointed, spreading and whitened beneath. The two kinds of _flowers_, appearing in February or March, are at the ends of the twigs on separate trees. The staminate trees assume a golden color from the small catkins, which, when shaken, shed clouds of yellow pollen. The _fruit_, ripening the first season, is pale blue with a white bloom, 1/4 inch in diameter, berry-like with sweet flesh. It is a favorite winter food for birds.

The _bark_ is very thin, reddish-brown, peeling off in long, shred-like strips. The tree is extremely irregular in its growth, so that the trunk is usually more or less grooved.

The _heartwood_ is distinctly red, and the sapwood white, this color combination making very striking effects when finished for cedar chests, closets, and interior woodwork. The wood is aromatic, soft, strong, and of even texture, and these qualities make it most desirable for lead pencils. It is very durable in contact with the soil, and on that account is in great demand for posts, poles and rustic work.

The arbor vitae or northern white cedar, _Thuja occidentalis_ L., is found occasionally on the bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan, on the cliffs of Starved Rock, in Elgin City Park, and in bogs in Lake County. The leaves are aromatic, scale-like, 1/8 inch long, arranged to give small flat branches. The fruit is a cone 1/2 inch long. The wood is light, soft, durable, fragrant, and pale brown.

+QUAKING ASPEN+ _Populus tremuloides_ Michx.

THIS is one of the most widely distributed trees in North America. Its range goes from Labrador to British Columbia and from New England and New York far south in the Rocky Mountains to Arizona. In Illinois it is common in the north, but of infrequent occurrence in the south.

The aspen is a small tree, reaching heights of 40 to 60 feet and diameters of 10 to 20 inches. The young branches are reddish-brown soon turning gray. The _winter buds_ are about 1/4 inch long, pointed and shining. The _bark_ is thin, smooth, light gray tinged with green.

The _leaves_ are on slender flat petioles, arranged alternately on the twigs, and broadly oval, short pointed and shallowly toothed. They are green, shiny above and dull below, ranging from 2 to 4 inches long and about the same in breadth.

The _flowers_ are in catkins and appear before the leaves begin to expand. The two kinds are borne on separate trees, the staminate catkins are about 2 inches long, but the seed-producing flowers form a long slender cluster 4 inches in length. The _fruit_ is a conical capsule filled with tiny cottony seeds which ripen in late spring before the leaves are fully expanded.

The _wood_ is light brown, almost white. It is light, weak and not durable, and is used for pulpwood, fruit-crates and berry boxes.

The large-tooth aspen, _Populus grandidentata_ Michx., is found in the northern half of Illinois and frequently grows alongside the quaking aspen. Its leaves are larger than those of the quaking aspen and the edges are coarsely and irregularly toothed. The winter buds have dull chestnut-brown scales and are somewhat downy. The bark is light gray tinged with reddish-brown.

+COTTONWOOD+ _Populus deltoides_ Marsh.

THE cottonwood, or Carolina poplar, is one of the largest trees in Illinois, growing on flood plains along small streams and in depressions in the prairie. It is one of the best trees for forestry purposes for planting where quick shade is desired. The wood is soft, light, weak, fine-grained but tough. It is good for pulp, boxes and berry baskets.

The _leaves_ are simple, alternate, broadly triangular, pointed and coarse toothed on the edges, 3 to 5 inches across, thick and firm supported by flattened slender petioles, 2 to 3 inches long. The _winter buds_ are large and covered with chestnut-brown shining resinous scales.

The _flowers_ are in catkins, of two kinds, on different trees and appear before the leaves. The _fruit_ ripens in late spring, appearing as long drooping strings of ovoid capsules filled with small seeds. These strings of fruit, 5 to 8 inches long, give to the tree the name of "necklace poplar." The seeds are covered with white cottony hairs.

The swamp cottonwood, _Populus heterophylla_ L., occurs in swamps in the southern part of Illinois, and may be known by its broadly ovate leaves, 3 to 5 inches wide and 4 to 7 inches long with blunt-apex and cordate base. A few trees of the balsam poplar, _Populus tacamahaca_ Mill., are found in Lake County near the shores of Lake Michigan. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, pointed, and cordate. The large buds are covered with fragrant resin.

The European white poplar, _Populus alba_ L., with light gray bark and leaves, white wooly beneath, is often found near old houses and along roadsides. The Lombardy poplar, a tall narrow form of the European black poplar, _Populus nigra_ var. _italica_ Du Roi, is often planted and is a striking tree for the roadside.

+BLACK WILLOW+ _Salix nigra_ Marsh.

THE black willow is not only a denizen of the forest but it is at home on the prairies and on the plains and even invades the desert. It grows singly or in clumps along the water courses, a tree 40 to 60 feet in height with a short trunk.

The _bark_ is deeply divided into broad flat ridges, often becoming shaggy. The twigs, brittle at the base, are glabrous or pubescent, bright red-brown becoming darker with age. The _winter buds_ are 1/8 inch long, covered with a single smooth scale. The _wood_ is soft, light, close-grained, light brown and weak. It is often used in the manufacture of artificial limbs.

The alternate simple _leaves_ are 3 to 6 inches long, and one-half inch wide on very short petioles; the tips are much tapered and the margins are finely toothed. They are bright green on both sides, turning pale yellow in the early autumn. The _flowers_ are in catkins, appearing with the leaves, borne on separate trees. The staminate flowers of the black willow have 3 to 5 stamens each, while the white willow has flowers with 2 stamens.

The native peach-leaved willow, _Salix amygdaloides_ Anders., is a smaller tree with leaves 2 to 6 inches long, 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches wide, light green and shining above, pale and glaucous beneath, on petioles about 3/4 inch long.

The white willow, _Salix alba_ L., and the crack willow, _Salix fragilis_ L., with bright yellow twigs, are European species which are often planted for ornamental purposes. Their flowers have only 2 stamens each and their leaves are silky, bright green above and glaucous beneath. The latter has twigs that are very brittle at the base. Another European species is the weeping willow, _Salix babylonica_ L., which may be known by its slender drooping branches.

+BLACK WALNUT+ _Juglans nigra_ L.

THIS valuable forest tree occurs on rich bottom lands and on moist fertile hillsides throughout the State. The black walnut is found from Massachusetts westward to Minnesota and southward to Florida and Texas. In the forest, where it grows singly, it frequently attains a height of 100 feet with a straight stem, clear of branches for half its height. In open-grown trees, the stem is short and the crown broad and spreading.

The _bark_ is thick, dark brown in color, and divided by rather deep fissures into rounded ridges. The twigs have cream-colored chambered pith and leaf-scars without downy pads above.

The _leaves_ are alternate, compound, 1 to 2 feet long, consisting of from 15 to 23 leaflets of yellowish-green color. The leaflets are about 3 inches long, extremely tapering at the end and toothed along the margin.

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 kernel edible and highly nutritious.

The _heartwood_ is of superior quality and value. It is heavy, hard and strong, and its rich chocolate-brown color, freedom from warping and checking, susceptibility to a high polish, and durability make it highly prized for a great variety of uses, including furniture, cabinet work, and gun-stocks. Walnut is easily propagated from the nuts and grows rapidly on good soil, where it should be planted and grown for timber and nuts. It is the most valuable tree found in the forests of Illinois and originally grew extensively throughout the State.

+BUTTERNUT+ _Juglans cinerea_ L.

THE butternut, sometimes called the white walnut, is a smaller tree than the black walnut, although it may reach a height of 70 feet and a diameter of 3 feet. It is found all over the State, but the best is in the ravines of southern Illinois. The butternut is found from Maine to Michigan and southward to Kansas, Tennessee and northern Georgia. The trunk is often forked or crooked and this makes it less desirable for saw timber.