Part 2

Trees with thorns and a milky sap. Maclura in Moraceæ 155

Trees without thorns, sap not milky.

Leaves 3-5 nerved at the base.

Leaves 3-nerved at the base. Celtis in Ulmaceæ 146

Leaves 5-nerved at the base. Cercis in Cæsalpinaceæ 227

Leaves with 1 primary nerve.

Leaves usually more than 1.5 dm. (6 inches) long, flowers solitary.

Flowers appearing before or with the leaves. Anonaceæ 161

Flowers appearing after the leaves. Magnoliaceæ 155

Leaves less than 1.5 dm. (6 inches) long, flowers in clusters.

Bark and leaves aromatic Lauraceæ 163

Bark and leaves not aromatic. Fruit dry, an acorn Quercus imbricaria in Fagaceæ 119

Fruit fleshy.

Fruit with one seed, stone cylindrical Nyssa in Cornaceæ 259

Fruit with more than one seed, rarely one, seeds flat Ebenaceæ 265

B. Leaves finely serrate, coarsely toothed or lobed.

C. Leaves with one primary vein.

Bark and leaves aromatic Lauraceæ 163

Bark and leaves not aromatic.

Staminate and pistillate flowers and fruit in catkins.

Scales of winter buds 2, ovary many-seeded, seeds with a tuft of hairs at the summit Salix in Salicaceæ 34

Scales of winter buds more than 2, ovary 1-seeded, seeds without a tuft of hairs at the summit Betulaceæ 78

Staminate and pistillate flowers and fruit not in catkins.

Fruit dry.

Fruit a samara Ulmus in Ulmaceæ 137

Fruit not a samara

Bark smooth; fruit spiny Fagaceæ 92

Bark furrowed; fruit a smooth capsule Ericaceæ 263

Fruit fleshy.

Flowers more than 8 mm. (1/3 inch) broad, fruit edible, apple-like.

Trees mostly with thorns, fruit with remnant of calyx at apex of fruit, normally with more than 1 seed. Malaceæ 171

Trees without thorns, fruit with no remnant of calyx at the apex, fruit a 1-seeded edible drupe. Amygdalaceæ 216

Flowers less than 8 mm. (1/3 inch) across, fruit a non-edible drupe Cornaceæ 259

C. Leaves with more than 1 primary vein.

Staminate and pistillate flowers in catkins.

Fruit dry Populus in Salicaceæ 45

Fruit fleshy Morus in Moraceæ 151

Staminate and pistillate flowers not in catkins.

Pistillate and staminate flowers separate.

Leaves 3-nerved at the base, fruit a 1-seeded drupe Celtis in Ulmaceæ 146

Leaves 5-nerved at the base, fruit a head of carpels or achenes.

Bark fissured, not peeling off in flakes, leaves aromatic Altingiaceæ 166

Bark peeling off in flakes, leaves not aromatic Platanaceæ 168

Pistillate and staminate flowers in one.

Fruit dry Tiliaceæ 255

Fruit fleshy Malaceæ 171

=PINÀCEAE.= The Pine Family.

Trees and shrubs with a resinous sap, which yields rosin, tar, turpentine and essential oils. The leaves are linear or scale-like, alternate, whorled or clustered; flowers naked, appearing in the spring; fruit a cone or sometimes berry-like. A large family of trees and shrubs, containing over 200 species, found in many parts of the world, and of great economic importance. In Indiana only nine species are native, and the distribution of seven of these species has always been very limited.

Leaves linear, in clusters of 2, 3, 5 or more than 5.

Leaves in bundles of 2-5. 1 Pinus.

Leaves in bundles of more than 5. 2 Larix.

Leaves linear and solitary, or scale-like.

Leaves all linear.

Leaves obtuse. 3 Tsuga.

Leaves sharp-pointed.

Leaves green on both sides, alternate. 4 Taxodium.

Leaves glaucous beneath, opposite or whorled. 6 Juniperus.

Leaves all scale-like, or some of the branches with linear sharp-pointed leaves.

Leaves all scale-like, fruit a cone of 8-12 imbricated scales. 5 Thuja.

Leaves scale-like or some linear and sharp-pointed, fruit berry-like. 6 Juniperus.

=1. PÌNUS.= The Pines.

Evergreen trees with needle-shaped leaves in bundles of 2-5 or 7; flowers appearing in the spring, the staminate clustered at the base of the season's shoots, the pistillate on the side or near the end of the shoots; fruit a woody cone which matures at the end of the second season, or more rarely at the end of the third season; scales of the cone variously thickened; seeds in pairs at the base of the scales.

There are about 70 species of pines of which three are native to Indiana. Commercially the pines are classed as soft and hard. In our area the soft pines are represented by the white pine, while the gray and Jersey pines are classed as hard pines.

Leaves 5 in a bundle, 6-12 cm. long. 1 P. Strobus.

Leaves 2-3 in a bundle.

Scales of cones unarmed, leaves usually 2-4 cm. long. 2 P. Banksiana.

Scales of cones tipped with a short spine, leaves usually over 4 cm. long. 3 P. virginiana.

=1.= =Pinus Stròbus= Linnæus. White Pine. Plate 2. Bark greenish and smooth on young trees, becoming reddish or gray and furrowed on old trees; young twigs scurvy-pubescent, soon smooth and light brown; leaves normally 5 in a bundle, sometimes more, 6-12 cm. long, 3-sided, sharp-pointed, bluish-green, maturing and falling at end of second season; cones ripening at end of second season, usually 10-20 cm. long; wood light, soft, not strong, works easily, takes a good polish, and warps little.

=Distribution.=--Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Iowa, Kentucky and along the Alleghany Mountains to northern Georgia. The mass distribution of this species is to the north of our area, and in Indiana it is local and found in small numbers. It is a common tree on some of the dunes bordering Lake Michigan, and is found locally throughout the area bordering Lake Michigan. Its distribution in this part of the State has not been studied, but it is believed that in Lake and Porter Counties it is not at present found far from the Lake. Blatchley[1] reports "a thicket of this species about a peat bog on the Hayward farm one mile east of Merrillville in Lake County." The writer has seen it as a frequent tree in a black oak woods about four miles southwest of Michigan City, also quite a number of large trees seven miles northeast of Michigan City in a swampy woods, associated with white elm, black ash, soft maple, etc.

Nieuwland[2] reports a single tree found in a tamarack swamp 25 miles east of Michigan City near Lydick in St. Joseph County. The next appearance of this species is to the south in Warren County on the outcrops of sandstone along Big Pine, Little Pine, Rock and Kickapoo Creeks. It is found more or less on bluffs of these creeks. It was the most abundant along Big Pine Creek, and followed up the creek for a distance of about ten miles, or midway between Rainsville and Indian Village. To the south it is next found in Fountain County on the outcrops of sandstone along Big Shawnee and Bear Creeks. Franklin Watts who owns the "Bear Creek Canyon" just south of Fountain says he remembers the area before any cutting was done along the creek. He says that the white pine was a common tree along the creek for a distance of half a mile and that a few scattered trees were found as far as 40 rods from the creek. He stated that the largest trees were about 30 inches in diameter and as high as the highest of the surrounding trees. Moving southward it is next found on a ridge of sandstone in Montgomery County on the south side of Sugar Creek about a mile east of the shades. Here it is closely associated with hemlock which is absent in all of the stations to the north. Coulter[3] reports a colony in the "knobs" of the northeast corner of Floyd County. This species was also reported from Clark County by Baird and Taylor. The writer has made inquiry and diligently searched for this species in this county but failed to locate it. In the vicinity of Borden where the Jersey pine grows, millmen distinguish two kinds of pines. Investigation showed that both are Jersey pine. The one with resinous exudations along the trunk is one kind, and trunks without exudation is the other. Since Baird and Taylor include cultivated trees in their list of the plants of Clark County, it is proposed to drop this reference.

=Remarks.=--White pine on account of the excellent qualities of its wood is in great demand, and has always ranked as one of our leading timber trees. In fact it was so highly prized that practically all of the original stand of this species has been cut.

The tree adapts itself to many habitats, hence has been used extensively for forestry purposes both in America and Europe. In fact it was the most used tree in forestry until about ten years ago when the white pine blister rust was discovered in America. This disease is now found in practically all of the states where this species forms dense stands. However, Federal and State authorities are trying to stamp out the disease. In Indiana it is a species well worth a trial for forestry purposes, especially in windbreaks where other species are used.

=2.= =Pinus Banksiàna= Lambert. Gray Pine. Jack Pine. Plate 3. A small tree 10-15 m. high with reddish-brown bark, broken into short flakes; shoots of season yellow-green, turning reddish-brown, smooth; leaves dark green, in twos, 2-5 cm. long, divergent, curved or twisted, rigid, sharp-pointed, persisting for two or three years; cones sessile, sharp-pointed, oblique at the base, 3-5 cm. long, usually pointing in the direction of the branch; wood light, soft and weak.

=Distribution.=--The most northern of all of our pines. Nova Scotia to northern New York, northern Illinois, Minnesota and northward. In Indiana it is found only on and among the sand dunes in the immediate vicinity of Lake Michigan, and in no instance has it been seen more than three miles from the Lake. Found sparingly in Lake, Porter and Laporte Counties. It is the most abundant in the vicinity of Dune Park.

=3.= =Pinus virginiàna= Miller. Jersey Pine. Scrub Pine. Plate 4. Bark dark-brown with rather shallow fissures, the ridges broken, somewhat scaly; shoots green, light brown or purplish with a bloom, becoming a gray-brown; leaves in bundles of two, rarely three, twisted, usually about 4-5 cm. long, deciduous during the third or fourth year; cones sessile or nearly so, narrowly conic when closed, 4-7 cm. long, opening in the autumn of the second season; scales armed with a curved spine 2-4 mm. long; wood light, soft, weak, brittle and slightly resinous.

=Distribution.=--Long Island to South Carolina, Alabama and north to Indiana and Licking County, Ohio. The distribution in Indiana is quite limited, and has never been understood by authors who variously give it as found throughout the southern part of Indiana. It is confined to the knob area of Floyd, Clark and Scott Counties, and the southeastern part of Washington County. In the original forest it is confined to the tops of the knobs where it is associated with Quercus Prinus (Gray's Man. 7th Edition). It propagates easily from self-sown seed, hence is soon found on the lower slopes of cut-over lands, and soon occupies fallow fields. It is now found in the open woods several miles east of the knobs in the preceding counties, but pioneers of this section say it was not a constituent of the original forests but has come in since the original forests were heavily cut over. It is believed that it crowned the knobs over our area from 5-10 miles wide extending through the counties named and extending northward about 25 miles. This species is found in the open woods on a few hills on the Millport Ridge in the northern part of Washington County, and it appears as if native, but investigation showed that it had spread from a tree on the site of a pioneer's cabin. It is also found as a frequent escape on the wooded bluff of Raccoon Creek in the southern part of Owen County, and appears as native here. It is associated on the bluff and slope with hemlock. Chas. Green, a man of sixty years, who owns the place says the trees were seeded by a tree planted in his father's yard nearby. His father also planted a white pine in his yard, and it is to be noted while the Jersey Pine has freely escaped the white pine has not, although the habitat seems favorable.

=Remarks.=--In its native habitat on the exposed summits of the "knobs" it is usually a small tree about 3 dm. in diameter and 10 m. high. When it finds lodgement on the lower slopes and coves it may attain a diameter of 7 dm. and a height of 25 m. This tree is really entitled to be called "old field pine" on account of its ability to establish itself on them.

From the ease with which this species propagates itself from seed it seems worthy a trial for forestry purposes in the "knob" area of the State. However, all attempts to grow this species from seedlings at the Forest Reserve have failed.

=2. LÀRIX.= The Larches.

=Larix laricìná= (Du Roi) Koch. Tamarack. Plate No. 5. Tall spire-like trees, usually 2-3 dm. in diameter, rarely as large as 5 dm. in diameter; bark gray or reddish-brown, scaly; twigs slender, smooth, light brown, becoming a dark gray brown; leaves scattered along the shoots of the season, in fascicles on the older branches, usually 20-50 in a bundle; filiform, 1-2.5 cm. long, obtuse at apex, triangular in cross-section, all falling off late in autumn; staminate flowers borne on the short leafless branches, the pistillate appear with the leaves on the branches of the previous season; cones borne on short, stout branchlets, normally erect or inclined to be so, 10-20 mm. long, purplish brown while growing, turning to a light brown at maturity, persisting on the tree for about a year; wood hard, heavy, light brown, variable in strength.

=Distribution.=--Labrador, Newfoundland south to southern New York, West Virginia, northern Ohio and Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and northward. In Indiana it is confined to the northern part of the State, and has not been reported south of the northern part of Cass County. The most southern station in the eastern part of the State is about Lake Everett in the northwest part of Allen County. It is found on low borders of lakes, in swamps and in bogs. In all of its stations in Indiana it is found growing near the water level in great depths of organic matter more or less decomposed or in beds of peat, which contain little or practically no soil. Where it is found, it usually forms a pure stand.

=Remarks.=--Formerly the tamarack was a common tree in its area. Recently many of the tamarack swamps have been drained. This with heavy cutting has reduced the supply of tamarack in Indiana to an insignificant amount. The tamarack is popularly classed as white and yellow--the yellow being considered the better of the two. In our area it is used principally for poles and posts. There is a diversity of opinion as to the durability of tamarack in contact with the soil. The most authentic information places the life of fence posts at about ten years.

=3. TSÙGA.= The Hemlocks.

=Tsuga canadénsis= (Linnæus) Carrière. Hemlock. Plate 6. Tall trees, 3-7 dm. in diameter, with reddish-brown or grayish bark, deeply furrowed; shoots very slender and hairy, becoming smooth in a few years; leaves apparently 2-ranked, persisting for about three years, linear, short petioled, 6-13 mm. long, usually about 10 mm. long, usually flat, obtuse or notched at apex, bright green and shiny above, bluish-white beneath; staminate flowers appear early in the spring from buds in the axils of the leaves of the previous season, the pistillate terminal, erect, oblong; cones almost sessile and pendulous, borne on the end of last year's branch, maturing the first season, ovoid, 1.5-2.5 cm. long; wood light, soft, brittle, not durable, difficult to work, splintery but holds a nail well.

=Distribution.=--Nova Scotia south to Delaware, west to Minnesota and southeastward through Indiana and eastern Kentucky, thence southward on the mountains to northern Alabama. In Indiana it is not found[4] north of Brown County. It is found in limited numbers at the following places: on a bluff of Bean Blossom Creek in Brown County; on a steep wooded slope on the south side of a small creek about one and a half miles north of Borden in Clark County, and also reported on the bank of Silver Creek between Clark and Floyd Counties; a few trees on the top and sides of the cliffs about one mile east of Taswell in Crawford County; a few trees on the bluff of Guthrie Creek in Jackson County; a few trees along the north fork of the Muscatatuck River between Vernon and North Vernon in Jennings County; a few trees on the south bank of Back Creek near Leesville in Lawrence County; frequent on the banks of Sugar Creek near the "Shades" in Montgomery County; a few trees on the bank of Raccoon Creek in the southern part of Owen County; frequent on the bank of Sugar Creek in Turkey Run State Park in Parke County; a few trees on the banks of Raccoon and Walnut Creeks in Putnam County. Also reported by Beeler[5] as found on a bluff of White River in Morgan County.

In all of its stations it is found on sandstone bluffs on the south side of streams, giving it a north or northwest exposure. In a few of the stations there are no small trees, but in Montgomery County along Sugar Creek it is reproducing well.

=Remarks.=--Hemlock is of no economic importance in Indiana. The bark is much used in tanning. Hemlock is frequently used for a hedge plant, also as a specimen tree in parks, etc.

=4. TAXÒDIUM.= The Bald Cypress.

=Taxodium dístichum= (Linnæus) L. C. Richard. Cypress. Plate 7. Large tall straight trees, up to 18 dm. in diameter and 45 m. high, usually with a buttressed base which is frequently hollow. In wet situations it develops steeple-shaped projections from the roots to above the water level, known as "knees"; bark gray or reddish-brown, separating from the trunk in long thin narrow strips; shoots light green, smooth, turning reddish-brown the first year, then a darker brown; leaves spirally arranged, appearing as if 2-ranked on vegetative shoots, linear, 5-15 mm. long, sessile, acute, yellowish-green, turning brown in the fall and dropping off; staminate flowers numerous, borne on long terminal panicles, pistillate flowers solitary in the axils of the leaves; fruit a cone, globose, about 2.5 cm. in diameter, the surface with some wrinkles made by the edges of the closely fitting scales; wood light, soft and straight-grained, rather weak, does not warp or shrink much and reputed to be very durable when exposed to soil or weather.

=Distribution.=--Along the Atlantic coast from Delaware to Florida and along the Gulf west to Texas and north along the Mississippi Valley to Indiana. In Indiana it has a peculiar and limited distribution. The mass distribution was just north and west of Decker in Knox County. Collett[6] estimates that 20,000 acres were "covered with a fine forest of cypress". Wright[7] maps the other places in the southern part of Knox County where the cypress was known to have occurred. At present the only cypress in Knox County is in the extreme southwest part of the county, and is known as Little Cypress swamp. Here it is associated with such trees as white elm and Schneck's oak. It is believed that it extended only a few miles north of the Deshee River. Going southward it has not been seen in Gibson County, and is first noted in Posey County along the Wabash River in a cypress pond about 12 miles southwest of Mt. Vernon. Then again in Posey County along the Ohio River on the shores of Hovey Lake, and in a slough about 3 miles east of Mt. Vernon. It occurred in a few spots in Vanderburg County along the Ohio River southwest of Evansville. It again appears in limited numbers along Cypress Creek a few miles east of Newburg in Warrick County, which is its eastern[8] known limit.

The cypress in all of its stations is found only in places that are for the greater part of the year under water.

=Remarks.=--The original stand of cypress in Indiana has practically all been cut, and the swamps drained and now under cultivation. In the slough east of Mt. Vernon for several years, thousands of seedlings of the year have been noted, but for some reason they do not survive a second year. The present indications are that the cypress will be extinct in Indiana before many years because practically no small trees can be found.

This species is highly recommended by some nurserymen for ornamental planting. It proves hardy in the southern part of the state. It is a fast growing tree, adapted to a wet soil, but will succeed in drier situations.

=5. THÙJA.= Arbor-Vitæ.

=Thuja occidentàlis= Linnæus. Arbor-Vitæ. Plate 8. Small evergreen trees with a conical crown, bark on old trees reddish-brown or dark gray, shreddy; branchlets compressed, reddish-brown; leaves all closely appressed, in alternate pairs, scale-like, about 3 mm. long on young branchlets, on old branches somewhat longer together with a spine 2-3 mm. long; flowers appear early in the spring from the ends of the branches; cones mature the first season, about 1 cm. long and .5 cm. in diameter; wood soft, brittle, weak and durable.

=Distribution.=--New Brunswick to Manitoba, south to Minnesota and New Jersey thence southward along the Alleghanies to North Carolina and Tennessee. In Indiana it is found native[9] only in Lake and Porter Counties. In Lake County a few isolated specimens have been found in several places near Lake Michigan. In Porter County it is known only in a large tamarack swamp north of the Mineral Springs stop on the Traction line, and about a mile from Lake Michigan. Here about 100 trees are found scattered over an area of less than two acres. The largest specimen measures 70 cm. in circumference. This species is doomed to early extinction in our area. No doubt it already has vanished from Lake County, and it is probable that the colony north of Mineral Springs is the last of the species in Indiana.