Part 8

Range: Newfoundland to southern Ontario, south to Arkansas, east to North Carolina.

Distinguishing Features: The Pruinose Haw is distinguished by its bluish-green leaves which are widest just below the middle.

OTHER HAWTHORNS

Many other hawthorns occur in Illinois. Several of them have been found only a very few times. Most of them are difficult to distinguish unless leaves, flowers, and fruits are available. A few of the hawthorns which are likely to be encountered are described on this and the following page.

Scarlet Hawthorn (_Crataegus coccinioides_ Ashe). This hawthorn grows to a height of 15 feet and has very scaly brown bark. The slender gray twigs have many stout, sharp spines up to 2 inches long. The ovate leaves are coarsely toothed and usually shallowly lobed. There are some hairs on both surfaces of the leaves. The spherical fruits, when mature, are deep red speckled with several pale dots. There are usually 5 nutlets inside each fruit. The Scarlet Hawthorn is found primarily on rocky hills.

Urn-shaped Hawthorn (_Crataegus calpodendron_ (Ehrh.) Medic.) The Urn-shaped Hawthorn is named for the shape of its fruit, which is usually about ½ inch long, red, with sweet flesh and 2-3 nutlets inside. This small tree only grows to a height of about 15 feet. The leaves are usually ovate and are coarsely toothed and often shallowly lobed. They have a greenish-yellow color and are hairy, at least on the underneath surface. This hawthorn frequently grows along rocky streams.

Green Haw (_Crataegus viridis_ L.). The Green Haw is primarily a tree of low, wet woods, where it grows to a height of nearly 30 feet and has a gray, scaly bark. The rather variable leaves range from elliptic to elliptic-ovate and toothed to occasionally shallowly lobed. The leaves are thin and smooth on both surfaces, except for some tufts of hair along the axils of the veins on the lower surface. The orange-red fruits are spherical and about ⅓ inch in diameter. There are 5 nutlets embedded in the rather sweet flesh.

Dotted Haw (_Crataegus punctata_ Jacq.). This hawthorn grows to a height of about 20 feet and has many stout thorns on its twigs. The leaves generally are broadest above the middle and are obovate. The edges of the leaves are usually toothed from the middle to the tip. Sometimes lobes are formed. The leaves have a relatively thick texture and are hairy on the veins of the under surface of the leaves. The usually spherical fruit is about ¾ inch in diameter and contains 3 or 5 nutlets. The Dotted Thorn often forms thickets along the edges of woods or in rocky fields.

PERSIMMON _Diospyros virginiana_ L.

Growth Form: Medium tree up to 50 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 1 foot; crown broad and rounded or flattened. (At one time in the Wabash Valley, Persimmon trees nearly 3 feet in diameter were known.)

Bark: Dark gray to black, broken at maturity into squarish blocks.

Twigs: Slender, brown, smooth or hairy, usually with lenticels; leaf scars alternate, half-elliptic, with 1 bundle trace.

Buds: More or less rounded, smooth, dark reddish-brown, up to ⅛ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades elliptic to oval, pointed at the tip, tapering or rounded at the base, up to 5 inches long and about half as broad, smooth along the edges, dark green, smooth, and shiny on the upper surface, paler and smooth on the lower surface; leafstalks stout, up to 1 inch long, smooth or sparsely hairy.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate usually borne on separate trees, appearing after the leaves are half grown, the staminate in clusters of 2-3, tubular, up to ½ inch long, the pistillate solitary, ½ to ¾ inch long. Sometimes flowers with both stamens and pistils can be found.

Fruit: Fleshy, spherical, but with the greenish calyx persistent at one end, yellow-orange to orange (rarely blue), up to 2 inches in diameter, sweet when ripe, few-seeded.

Wood: Heavy, hard, the heartwood nearly black.

Uses: Golf club heads, billiard cues.

Habitat: Dry woods, rich bottomland woods, edge of fields, fence rows.

Range: Connecticut across to southern Iowa and eastern Kansas, south to eastern Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The leaves of the Persimmon are most often confused with those of the Sour Gum, but usually the tip is not as abruptly pointed in the Persimmon. The pith of the Persimmon also lacks the distinct partitions found in the Sour Gum.

BEECH _Fagus grandifolia_ Ehrh.

Growth Form: Large tree to nearly 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 4 feet; crown widely spreading, usually rounded.

Bark: Smooth, gray, thin, often marred by human carving.

Twigs: Gray or yellowish, slender, smooth, more or less zigzag; leaf scars alternate, half-round, with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Slender, narrow, long-pointed, smooth, reddish-brown, up to ¾ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades up to 4 inches long and 2½ inches broad, oblong, pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering to the somewhat asymmetrical base, coarsely toothed along the edges, blue-green to yellow-green, smooth and shiny on the upper surface, smooth or finely hairy on the lower surface; leaf stalk very short, sometimes hairy.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately on the same tree, appearing after the leaves have unfolded, the staminate numerous in small spherical heads, the pistillate in groups of 2.

Fruit: Spiny burs up to ¾ inch long, prickly, reddish-brown, containing 1-3 triangular nuts.

Wood: Hard, strong, close-grained, deep reddish-brown.

Uses: Fuel, chairs, tool handles.

Habitat: Rich woods.

Range: Nova Scotia across to Ontario, south to eastern Texas, east to northern Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The stately Beech is recognized by its smooth gray bark and its long, pointed winter buds.

SWAMP PRIVET _Forestiera acuminata_ (Michx.) Poir.

Growth Form: Small tree to 30 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 5 inches; crown spreading, irregular.

Bark: Brown, shallowly furrowed or nearly smooth.

Twigs: Slender, brown, warty or smooth; leaf scars opposite, shield-shaped, with 1 bundle trace.

Buds: Spherical, up to ⅛ inch in diameter, smooth.

Leaves: Opposite, simple; blades elliptic, pointed at the tip, tapering to the base, up to 4 inches long, up to 1½ inches broad, finely toothed along part of the edges, yellow-green and nearly smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth on the lower surface; leafstalks slender, usually smooth, up to ½ inch long.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately on different trees, appearing before the leaves begin to unfold; staminate many in rounded clusters, yellow, without petals; pistillate several in branched clusters, yellowish, without petals.

Fruit: Slender, oblong, slightly curved, dark purple, about 1 inch long, up to ¼ inch wide, fleshy but dry, containing 1 seed.

Use: Occasionally planted as an ornamental.

Habitat: Swamps, along rivers.

Range: South Carolina across to Kansas, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: Swamp Privet is distinguished by its opposite, pointed leaves which are finely toothed along the edges.

WHITE ASH _Fraxinus americana_ L.

Growth Form: Large tree up to 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 4 feet; crown pyramidal or ovoid, with slender branches; trunk straight, columnar.

Bark: Light or dark gray, with diamond-shaped furrows between flat-topped, sometimes scaly, ridges.

Twigs: Slender, gray or brown, sometimes with a few hairs; leaf scars opposite, horseshoe-shaped, with several bundle traces forming a half-moon.

Buds: Rounded, dark brown, finely hairy, up to ½ inch long.

Leaves: Opposite, pinnately compound, with 5-9 leaflets; leaflets lance-shaped to lance-ovate, often curved, pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering to the base, up to 5 inches long and about half as broad, shallowly toothed along the edges, green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth or hairy on the lower surface.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne on separate trees before the leaves begin to expand, minute, without petals, purplish, in crowded clusters, soon becoming elongated and less crowded.

Fruit: Paddle-shaped, winged, up to 2½ inches long and ¼ inch wide, several in a cluster, 1-seeded at the base.

Wood: Heavy, strong, hard, coarse-grained, brown.

Uses: Furniture, baseball bats, tool handles, interior finishing.

Habitat: Bottomlands and wooded slopes.

Range: Nova Scotia across to Minnesota, south to Texas and Florida.

Distinguishing Features: White Ash differs from Green Ash in having distinctly paler lower leaf surfaces. Plants with hairy leaves resemble Red Ash, but the fruits do not have the wing extending down beyond the seed in the White Ash.

BLACK ASH _Fraxinus nigra_ Marsh.

Growth Form: Medium tree up to 70 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2 feet; crown broadly rounded, with many stout, straight branches.

Bark: Light gray, scaly, without diamond-shaped furrows.

Twigs: Stout, gray or brown, smooth; leaf scars elliptic or oval, with several bundle traces arranged in a half moon.

Buds: Conical, blue-black, finely hairy, about one-fourth inch long.

Leaves: Opposite, pinnately compound, with 7-11 leaflets; leaflets without stalks, lance-shaped, long-pointed at the tip, tapering or rounded at the sometimes asymmetrical base, up to 6 inches long, less than one-half as wide, toothed along the edges, dark green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and with rusty hairs along the veins on the lower surface. The leaflets turn reddish-brown in the autumn.

Flowers: Small, in elongated clusters, appearing before the leaves begin to unfold, purplish, without any petals, some with both stamens and pistils, others only with stamens, others only with pistils.

Fruit: Oblong, winged fruits, barely notched at the tip, up to 1½ inches long, up to one-half inch broad, with a single seed at the base.

Wood: Soft, heavy, dark brown.

Uses: Cabinets, baskets, fence posts.

Habitat: Swampy woods.

Range: Newfoundland across to Manitoba, south to Iowa, central Illinois, West Virginia, and Delaware.

Distinguishing Features: This is the only ash in Illinois where none of the leaflets has stalks.

RED ASH _Fraxinus pennsylvanica_ Marsh.

Growth Form: Medium tree up to 60 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2 feet; crown usually pyramidal; trunk straight, rather stout, sometimes slightly buttressed at base.

Bark: Light or dark gray, with diamond-shaped furrows between flat-topped, sometimes scaly ridges.

Twigs: Slender to rather stout, gray or brown, covered by velvety hairs, leaf scars opposite, half-round and straight across the top, with several bundle traces forming a half-moon.

Buds: Rounded, dark brown, finely hairy, about ¼ inch long.

Leaves: Opposite, pinnately compound, with 7-9 leaflets; leaflets elliptic to elliptic-ovate, pointed at the tip, tapering to the base, up to 6 inches long, about ⅓ as wide, sparsely toothed along the edges, hairy on both surfaces.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate on separate trees, appearing after the leaves have begun to open, minute, crowded in purplish or greenish dense clusters.

Fruit: A cluster of paddle-shaped fruits, each fruit up to 2½ inches long and less than ½ inch broad, with a single seed at one end.

Wood: Hard, strong, heavy, coarse-grained, pale brown.

Uses: Tool handles, interior finishing, furniture.

Habitat: Bottomland forests.

Range: Nova Scotia across to North Dakota, south to Kansas, east to Louisiana and northern Florida.

Distinguishing Features: Red Ash is characterized by its hairy leaf stalks and its narrow wings along the stalks between the leaflets.

GREEN ASH _Fraxinus pennsylvanica_ Marsh var. _subintegerrima_ (Vahl) Fern.

Growth Form: Medium tree up to 60 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2½ feet; crown broadly rounded, with slender, spreading branches.

Bark: Light or dark gray, with diamond-shaped furrows between flat-topped, sometimes scaly, ridges.

Twigs: Slender to rather stout, gray or brown, smooth; leaf scars half-round and straight across the top, with several bundle traces forming a half-moon.

Buds: Rounded, dark brown, finely hairy, up to one-fourth inch long.

Leaves: Opposite, pinnately compound, with 7-9 leaflets; leaflets lance-shaped to elliptic, long-pointed at the tip, tapering to the base, up to 6 inches long and one-and-one-half inches wide, toothed along the edges, green and smooth on both surfaces. The leaflets turn reddish-brown or yellowish in the autumn.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate flowers borne on separate trees, in branched clusters, appearing as the leaves begin to unfold, small, purplish, without petals.

Fruit: Lance-shaped or reversely lance-shaped, winged fruits, usually rounded at the tip, up to 2½ inches long and less than one-third inch broad, with a single seed at the base.

Wood: Hard, heavy, strong, light brown.

Uses: Interior finishing, tool handles, baseball bats; sometimes grown as an ornamental.

Habitat: Bottomland forests.

Range: Maine across to Saskatchewan and Minnesota, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The Green Ash has leaflets which are green on both surfaces.

BLUE ASH _Fraxinus quadrangulata_ Michx.

Other Name: Square-stemmed Ash.

Growth Form: Moderate tree to seventy feet tall; trunk diameter up to 3 feet; crown irregular, with many short, sturdy branches.

Bark: Gray, scaly, without diamond-shaped furrows.

Twigs: Stout, square, gray or brown, smooth; leaf scars half-round and concave across the top, with several bundle traces forming a half-moon.

Buds: Rounded, gray, finely hairy, up to one-half inch long.

Leaves: Opposite, pinnately compound, with 5-11 leaflets; leaflets lance-shaped, long-pointed at the tip tapering to the sometimes asymmetrical base, up to 6 inches long, less than half as wide, coarsely toothed along the edges, yellowish-green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and usually with tufts of hairs along the veins on the lower surface. The leaflets turn yellow in the autumn.

Flowers: Small, in branched clusters, appearing as the leaves begin to unfold, purplish, without any petals.

Fruit: Oblong, winged fruits, notched at the tip, up to 2 inches long and one-half inch broad, with a single seed near the bottom.

Wood: Hard, heavy, yellow-brown.

Uses: Flooring; the inner bark produces a blue dye when placed in water.

Habitat: Wooded slopes, limestone cliffs.

Range: Western Pennsylvania across Wisconsin to Iowa, south to Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Alabama; southern Ontario.

Distinguishing Features: The square stems immediately distinguish this tree from any other ash in Illinois.

PUMPKIN ASH _Fraxinus tomentosa_ Michx. f.

Growth Form: Large tree sometimes nearly 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 3 feet; crown broadly rounded, with stout spreading branches.

Bark: Gray, becoming scaly.

Twigs: Stout, gray or brown, usually velvety; leaf scars opposite, horseshoe-shaped, with several bundle traces arranged in a half-moon.

Buds: More or less conical, brown, hairy, about one-fourth inch long.

Leaves: Opposite, compound, with 7-9 leaflets; leaflets lance-shaped to elliptic, pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering at the slightly asymmetrical base, up to 10 inches long and about half as wide, smooth or finely toothed along the edges, yellow-green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and velvety-hairy on the lower surface. The leaves turn yellow in the autumn.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate flowers borne on separate trees, in elongated clusters, appearing before the leaves, small, greenish-purple, without any petals.

Fruit: Oblong, winged fruits, usually rounded at the tip, up to 3 inches long and one-half inch broad, with a single seed near the bottom.

Wood: Heavy, strong, hard, close-grained, brown.

Uses: Boxes, paper pulp, fuel.

Habitat: Floodplains, swamps.

Range: New York across Ohio to southern Illinois and southern Missouri, south to Louisiana, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The Pumpkin Ash is the only ash in Illinois with velvety-hairy twigs and usually toothless leaves.

WATER LOCUST _Gleditsia aquatica_ Marsh.

Growth Form: Small to medium tree to 60 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2 feet; crown widely but irregularly spreading; trunk short and stout.

Bark: Dark gray or dark brown, shallowly furrowed.

Twigs: Slender, gray or brown, smooth, usually with unbranched thorns; leaf scars alternate, more or less 3-lobed, with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Rounded, nearly hidden beneath the leaf scars, dark brown, smooth, up to ⅛ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, both singly and doubly pinnately compound on the same tree, with many leaflets; leaflets oblong to oblong-ovate, rounded or slightly pointed at the tip, rounded at the slightly asymmetrical base, toothless or minutely toothed along the edges, smooth except for some hairs along the veins, up to 1 inch long, about half as wide.

Flowers: Some flowers with both stamens and pistils, others with only one or the other, in elongated clusters up to 4 inches long, greenish, small, appearing in May and June.

Fruit: Short, pointed legumes up to 2 inches long and 1 inch broad, borne several in a drooping cluster, chestnut-brown, smooth, with 1 or 2 seeds and no pulp.

Wood: Hard, heavy, coarse-grained, reddish-brown.

Uses: Fence posts, coarse construction.

Habitat: Swampy woods.

Range: North Carolina across to southern Missouri, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The short, 1- or 2-seeded legume without pulp differentiates this locust from the Honey Locust.

HONEY LOCUST _Gleditsia triacanthos_ L.

Growth Form: Medium tree to 70 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 3 feet; crown broadly rounded, often with dropping outer branches; trunk straight, rather stout, usually with large, purple-brown, 3-parted thorns.

Bark: Dark brown, deeply furrowed and scaly at maturity.

Twigs: Slender, angular, reddish-brown, smooth, zigzag, with 3-parted or unbranched thorns; leaf scars alternate, more or less 3-lobed, with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Rounded, nearly hidden beneath the leaf scars, dark brown, smooth, up to ⅛ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, often doubly pinnately compound, with many leaflets; leaflets oblong to oblong-lanceolate, rounded or slightly pointed at the tip, rounded at the slightly asymmetrical base, minutely toothed along the edges, smooth except for some hairs along the veins, up to 1½ inches long, less than half as wide.

Flowers: Some flowers with both stamens and pistils, others with only one or the other, in elongated clusters up to 3 inches long, yellowish, small, appearing in May and June.

Fruit: Elongated legumes up to 1½ feet long and up to 2 inches wide, flat, often twisted or curved, purple-brown, containing several seeds embedded in a thick pulp.

Wood: Hard, strong, coarse-grained, reddish-brown.

Uses: Fence posts, coarse construction; a spineless form sometimes cultivated.

Habitat: Moist, wooded ravines, thickets, along roads.

Range: New York across to South Dakota, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: Honey Locust has more leaflets than any other kind of tree in Illinois. The large 3-parted spines and the long fruits are also distinctive.

KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE _Gymnocladus dioicus_ (L.) K. Koch

Growth Form: Medium to large tree to 85 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2½ feet; crown with a narrow, rounded top; trunk stout, usually branching a few feet above the ground.

Bark: Dark gray, deeply furrowed and scaly at maturity.

Twigs: Stout, dark brown with orange lenticels, slightly hairy; leaf scars alternate, heart-shaped, with 3 or 5 bundle traces; pith chocolate-colored.

Buds: Tiny, sunken in hairy cavities immediately above each leaf scar.

Leaves: Alternate, doubly pinnately compound, with many leaflets; leaflets ovate, pointed at the tip, rounded at the base, up to 2 inches long and about half as broad, without teeth along the edge, dark green and smooth on the upper surface, yellow-green and smooth or hairy on the veins on the lower surface.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately on separate trees, in more or less elongated, greenish clusters, appearing after the leaves have unfolded, each flower with 5 oblong, hairy petals.

Fruit: Short, thick legumes up to 10 inches long and up to 2 inches wide, dark brown, leathery, smooth, containing several large seeds embedded in a thick, sweet pulp.

Wood: Heavy, strong, durable, coarse-grained, reddish-brown.

Uses: Fence posts, fuel, rough construction. The seeds can be used as a substitute for coffee.

Habitat: Rich, often bottomland, woods.

Range: New York across to South Dakota, south to Oklahoma, east to Tennessee.

Distinguishing Features: The doubly compound leaves with large leaflets, the short, thick legumes, and the thick twigs with sunken buds readily distinguish this tree. It is one of the last trees to put forth its leaves in the spring.

SILVER BELL _Halesia carolina_ L.

Growth Form: Small tree to 30 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 8 inches; crown widely spreading.

Bark: Reddish-brown, with whitish stripes, somewhat scaly.

Twigs: Slender, reddish-brown, usually smooth; leaf scars alternate, half-round, with a cluster of bundle scars.

Buds: Ovoid, pointed, reddish-brown, somewhat hairy, up to ⅛ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades oval to elliptic, pointed at the tip, tapering to rounded at the base, up to 6 inches long, about half as broad, finely toothed along the edges, dark green and usually smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth or slightly hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks slender, smooth or finely hairy, up to ½ inch long.

Flowers: Few in hanging clusters, showy, white, each bell-shaped and up to one inch long, appearing in April.

Fruit: 4-winged, dry, brown, up to 2 inches long, containing 1 seed.

Wood: Light in weight, soft, close-grained, brown.

Use: Occasionally grown as an ornamental.

Habitat: Rich woods.

Range: Virginia across southern Illinois to Oklahoma, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The bell-shaped white flowers and the 4-winged fruits readily distinguish this handsome tree.