Telling Trees: An Illustrated Guide

Telling Trees: An Illustrated Guide

Telling Trees: An Illustrated Guide

Telling Trees: An Illustrated Guide

Paperback(Illustrate)

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Overview


What's the difference between an oak and a maple, a spruce and a pine, an ash and a sycamore? With this portable guide, you'll be able to distinguish between more than 100 common American trees. Take it along on walks and hikes for quick, accurate reference to brief, nontechnical descriptions and hundreds of illustrations.
Each page features a map showing the tree's geographical range, and each illustration includes a background scale to help determine size. Leaves, needles, cones, flowers, fruit, and other details are clearly noted. Most trees are depicted in their full summer glory, but a key to identifying trees in winter is included, along with a helpful Index.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780486838366
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publication date: 11/13/2019
Edition description: Illustrate
Pages: 128
Sales rank: 1,110,461
Product dimensions: 4.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Julius King (1893–1964) wrote many nature books including Talking Leaves and Annuals You Should Grow. The Chautauqua, New York, resident was an active member of the National Audubon Society.
Artist, muralist, illustrator, and teacher, Richard G. Sigafoos (1908–85) is noted for his landscapes and marine paintings.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

BALD CYPRESS • Taxodium distichum

You find Cypress in wet ground and swamps. The trunk is wide and rough at the base, tapering rapidly to its high slender column. Like the Tamarack it sheds its leaves every fall. Around the roots it produces steeple - shaped projections called "knees." Cones are almost round, the size of large marbles. The needles are short (½ to ¾ inch), thin, light yellow-green, and grow in flat sprays. The branchlets on which needles grow are also shed in winter. Cypresses finally reach a height of 150 feet, with trunk diameter up to 10 feet.

TAMARACK • Larix americana

A Tamarack in summer has crisp, bright green needles (¾ to 1½ inches long) and is of graceful pyramidal shape up to 60 feet high. In the fall the needles turn a dull yellow and are shed, leaving the small inch cones on the tree. racks like boggy swampy ground and thrive in marshes. In the North, however, they grow well in drained soil. Tamaracks and Cypresses are the only cone-bearing trees that shed their needles. Other names: Larch; Hacmatack.

LOBLOLLY PINE • Pinus taeda

Pale green needles, 6 to 10 inches long, in clusters of three, slender, slightly twisted, stiff with sharp tips mark the Loblolly Pine. On cones which are 3 to 5 inches long, are stout recurved prickles. Loblolly Pines prefer low tidewater lands and swamps, but grow well in sandy soil too. The tall straight trunk reaches a height up to 100 feet, and a diameter up to 2 feet. Other names: Old Field Pine; Rosemary Pine.

LODGEPOLE PINE • Pinus contorta

So-called because Indians used it for supports in tepees and lodges. This western tree is identified by its yellowish-green needles (2 inches long) which are twisted and come in twos. The cones are comparatively small (1 to 2 inches long) which cluster, and remain long on trees. Tall evergreen thickly branched from ground up, reaching an 80 foot height when mature.

WHITE PINE • Pinus strobus

You tell the White Pine first by the cluster of five needles, soft, slender, bluish-green and 3 to 5 inches long. The cones are 4 to 6 inches in length, growing at ends of branches. Smoothest bark of all pines, dark gray on old trees, brownish-green on young. Reaches 125 feet in height with trunk diameter sometimes as much as 4 feet. Grows best in sandy places, or disintegrated granite sand. A rapid grower, it is excellent for reforestation. Other name: Weymouth Pine.

SHORTLEAF PINE • Pinus echinata

Dark blue - green needles in clusters of two (sometimes three) and 3 to 5 inches long, soft but with sharp tips. Very abundant small cones, 1½ to 2 inches long, with sharp prickles. Grows well in any soil, preferably sandy. Branches are slender at top of tall tapering trunk which reaches nearly 100 feet in height. Other names: Yellow Pine; Spruce Pine.

JACK PINE • Pinus banksiana

Dark gray-green needles (¾ to 1½ inches long) come in twos. In the mass the color is definitely gray. The cones are small (1½ to 2½ inches) and unfinished - looking. They too are gray. Jack Pines grow to 70 feet or so, but more often are stubby with many low branches. Earns its second name, Scrub Pine, in barren soil in eastern part of its range. Other names: Scrub Pine; Gray Pine; Northern Scrub Pine.

SCRUB PINE • Pinus virginiana

Spot the short (1½ to 3 inch) twisted, bright green needles, in pairs, on purplish branchlets. Then see the small (1 to 3 inch) cones, many of them old. Grows in sandy soil, even exhausted farmland, attaining a height of 35 feet or so. In Indiana, however, reaches twice that. Other name: Jersey Pine.

ROCK PINE • Pinus scopulorum

Very rough scaly plates of cinnamon - red mark the Rock Pine. So do the needles which come both in two's and three's (3 to 6 inches long), and quite rigid and stiff. The cones (2 to 4 inches) are somewhat ovoid in shape, and are covered with sharp prickles which curve upward. Generally about 60 feet high, rarely double that, and it grows on well-drained slopes. Other name: Rocky Mountain Yellow Pine.

RED PINE • Pinus resinosa

Prefers to grow in the open, not in forests, in dry, sandy, gravelly or rocky places-seldom on flat land. Needles (4 to 6 inches long) are dark green, shining, slender and flexible, and grow two to a bundle. The small cones (about 2 inches long) have no prickles. Bark is definitely reddish-brown, loaded with tannic acid. When cultivated grows rapidly. Other names: Canadian Pine; Norway Pine.

PON DEROSA PINE • Pinus ponderosa

A big one; frequently as tall as 200 feet straight up. Look for needles of dark green, anywhere from 5 to 10 inches long, and growing in bundles of three. The clustered cones are 3 to 5 inches long, erect until ripe, then turn downward. Twigs markedly rough to touch. Valuable clear lumber tree. Other name: Western Yellow Pine.

WESTERN LARCH • Larix occidentalis

Biggest of the Larches or Tamaracks, reaching height of 200 feet on mastlike trunk. The needles are bright green (1 inch long), growing in groups or sprays. Needles are shed in autumn. Its cones are about 1½ inches long, with tiny leaf growing from under cone scales.

WESTERN WHITE PINE • Pinus monticola

Tall, straight, slender, this tree reaches for 100 or more feet of sky. Tree as a silvery look. The needles are slightly shorter (2 to 4 inches long) than the Eastern White Pine, but also come in bundles of five. These are bluish-green with silvery appearance at a distance. The cones (6 to 10 inches long) are twice the size of the eastern variety; they also hang downward on short stems. Other names: Silver Pine; Finger-Cone Pine.

YELLOW PINE • Pinus palustris

Slender needles of ten 15 inches long come in drooping clusters of three, vivid green in color. These tall, straight, rapid-growing southern trees bear large cones, 6 to 10 inches long, each scale with a sharp pointed upwardcurving prickle. Important source of lumber, turpentine, rosin and (lately) paper. Other names: Longstraw Pine; Longleaf Pine.

WHITE SPRUCE • Picea canadensis

All Spruces differ from Pines in having needles placed singly, and they grow thickly on all sides of branches. White Spruce is beautiful but foliage has unpleasant smell. Needles, dark green (1/3 to ¾ inch long), placed spirally on stems, somewhat thicker on top side as lower needles twist upward. Cones are 2-inch cylinders. This tree attains 150 foot height and diameter of 3 feet. Other name: Skunk Spruce.

BLUE SPRUCE • Picea pungens

Perfect pyramid in shape, new growth at branch tips, silvery blue-green. Needles are foursided and rigid (½ to 1 inch long) curved and spiny. Cones, large for spruces, are 2 to 4 inches long. Grows to 100 foot height, rarely 150. Outside its range it is planted ornamentally in parks and lawns. Other name: Silver Spruce.

DOUGLAS FIR • Pseudotsuga taxifolia

A truly big one — a straight trunk up to 250 feet tall. Branches close to ground in open, high up in forests. Gray-green needles, underside of which are like those of Hemlock; these grow in spirals on twigs. Cones are 2 to 4 inches long, and hang downward. The cone scales have triple-pronged leaves growing out of them.

RED SPRUCE • Picea rubens

A Spruce that attains a height of 75 feet at the southern end of its range, and is little more than a scrub in far North. Needles are four-sided (1½ to 5/6 inches long) standing out from all sides of branch pointing forward. Reddish - brown bark, red twigs, pale red wood. Cones smaller than White Spruce (1¼ to 2 inches long) and more oblong. Red Spruce cones fall the first winter.

BALSAM FIR • Abies balsamea

Bark on mature trees is reddish-brown with frequent "blisters" holding clear crystal resin. Cones oblong cylindrical, dark purple (2 to 4 inches long), thickly carried on upper side of branches. Needles are flat, shiny green above, silvery below, and very fragrant even when dried, arranged spirally around branches. Grows to 50 or 60 feet and is short-lived. Other name: Balsam.

RED CEDAR • Juni perus virginiana

Here's where cedar chests come from! Red Cedar carries two kinds of leaves — growing opposite-thick scaly ones, and also sharp awl-like needles. The latter are rigid and long pointed (¼ to ¾ inch) ; the scale-shaped are very small and crowded on branchlet. Has a dark blue berry about t¼ inch in diameter with sweet resinous taste. Varies from shrub size to 100 foot tree. Bark is light reddish-brown, somewhat scaly.

NORTHERN WHITE CEDAR • Thuja occidentalis

Leaves grown on fanlike branchlets, and are thick and scaly and very close together. Bright yellow-green most of year; early spring, brownish. Crushed leaves are very fragrant. Cones are small, less than ½ inch long. Each "fan" of branchlets or plane is erect, some are vertical, and there are no "air holes" visible through the tree which attains height of 50 to 60 feet. Other name: Arborvitae.

SEQUOI A • Sequoia sem pervirens

America's biggest tree grows to a height of 350 feet with trunks 20 feet in diameter. Needs sea fog for healthy growth; hence its West Coast habitat. Tree is rigid and not moved by ordinary wind. Needles of two kinds — some ½ to 1 inch long like Hemlock needles in flat sprays; some scalelike, similar to Arborvitaes. Cones are small (1 inch long) and grow on ends of twigs. Other name: Redwood. Note: Big Trees (Sequoia gigantea) are found only in Sequoia National Park.

JUNIPER • Juniperus communis

Leaves (½ to ¾ inch long) are sharp, awl-like and arranged around twig in threes. Juniper is sometimes a 25 foot high tree, or more often a low wide-spreading shrub. Carries dark blue berries (¼ inch in diameter), resinous, aromatic and sweet-tasting. Widely distributed in northern half of entire world. Other name: Ground Cedar.

AMERICAN HOLLY • Ilex opaca

Anyone who knows Christmas greenery knows Holly. Before developing the characteristic red berries, Holly bears small greenish-white flowers in May or June. The red fruit-berry grows singly on short stalks on the twigs. The leaves with spiny points and smooth shiny surfaces of dark green are evergreen. Sometimes 50 feet tall, but a slow grower.

HEM LOCK • Tsuga canadensis

Resident of swamps, gorges and rocky woods, with dark reddish and roughly ridged bark, Hemlock carries flat sprays of short needles (dark green above, and paler beneath). Under side of each needle has two parallel light stripes. The many small (¾ inch) cones all hang downward. Hemlocks reach 100 foot height.

BLACK WALNUT • Juglans nigra

Compound leaves, 1 to 2 feet long, each composed of seventeen (more or less) leaflets (2 to 4 inches long). Leaflets are slightly toothed, and are aromatic when bruised. Trunk, attaining 150 foot height, is dark brown with prominent ridges. Characteristic nut-case is light yellow-green and almost round; the nut is round-oval and deeply carved-and delicious.

BUTTERNUT • Juglans cinerea

Compound leaves somewhat shorter (11 to 17 inches) than Walnut, with eleven to nineteen yellowish-green leaflets (2 to 4 inches long) which are slightly sticky at first. Twigs are yellow - brown, smooth, shiny, and have small round white spots. Long catkins are pollen-bearing. Heavily sculptured nuts come in stick y husks, and grow in clusters. Other names: White Walnut; Oil Nut.

BITTERNUT HICKORY • Hicoria cordiformis

Compound leaves, 6 to 10 inches long, with seven to eleven lance-shaped dark green leaflets (2 to 6 inches long) noticeably saw-toothed. Nuts almost round with very bitter meats, come in smooth round reddish-brown husks. Grows to 100 feet, 2 or 3 feet in diameter, with brownish-gray bark marked by close diamond-shaped ridges. Grows in any soil and is very hardy.

SHAGBARK HICKORY • Hicoria ovata

Easy to identify by the big platelike strips of bark which have attached firm upper ends. Grows tall, 100 feet and 2 to 3 feet in diameter, on low hill-sides and along banks of streams. Com pound leaves, usually with five leaflets, the outer three being broadest. Husk of nut nearly round and splits in four parts. Nuts are delicious.

PIGNUT HICKORY • Hicoria glabra

An upland tree with compound leaves 8 to 12 inches long, and five to seven leaflets, sharp-toothed and rather lance-shaped. Leaves are hairy but stem is smooth. Husks are oblong and do not split to the base to drop out the brownish thick-shelled nuts. Some taste bitter, others pleasantly edible. A tall tree, growing to 100 foot height-in open it forks quite near the ground. Bark is dark gray and smoother than other Hickories.

PALE-LEAF HICKORY • Hicoria villosa

A forest tree usually, no taller than 50 feet at maturity. Bark is gray-brown, quite rough and with scaly ridges. Compound leaves 6 to 10 inches long with slightly hairy leaflets, ordinarily seven, usually lance-shaped and saw-edged. Almost round husks with thin skin that splits nearly to base, releasing sweet, edible nuts with thick shells.

ALMOND-LEAF WILLOW • Salix amygdaloides

Along streams and shores, in close company with the Black Willow, note first the peach-leaf shape of these leaves (2 to 6 inches long), shiny light green above, pale beneath. Leaf edges are fine-toothed. Bark is ridged but lighter in color and smoother than the Black Willow. Main use of wood is for charcoal.

SANDBAR WILLOW • Salix longifolia

More of ten a shrub than a tree, this willow with smooth bark occasionally grows to 50 foot height. The leaves, long and slender, taper at both ends, and are mostly smooth. Usually the first to spring up on sandbars, building up soil until Cotton- woods take hold. Wood is good only for fuel and charcoal. Other name: Long-Leaf Willow.

SHINING WILLOW • Salix lucida

A word about willows-there are so many and they are so similar that no quick identification is possible on some of the varieties. The Shining Willow, however, has dark green, leathery shiny leaves, with the midrib beneath very prominent. Tree is bushy, with smooth bark, about 20 feet high at most. Other names: Glossy-Leaf Willow; Glossy Willow.

BLACK WILLOW • Salix nigra

Our biggest streamside willow, sometimes over 100 feet high, more often many-trunked from huge low base. Foliage is light green and drooping, the leaves (3 to 6 inches long), thin, lance-shaped, occ;asionally curved like sickles. At base, or stem joint on the twig, there is pair of tiny leaflike parts.

WEEPING WILLOW • Salix babylonica

An easily identified species, with thick trunk, quickly dividing, and the branchlets droop and hang down. The long leaves, twigs and blossoms are all delicate and slender, and the whole tree seems to be in motion even in a light breeze. Its feathery green shows encouragingly early in the spring. Other names: Babylon Willow; Napoleon's Willow; Ring Willow.

COTTONWOOD • Populus deltoides

Found in rich moist bottom land and stream banks, the Cottonwood lifts itself to 100 feet with thick 6 to 8 foot trunks. The broad leaves have roundish teeth that point forward. Base of leaf rather square, not heart shaped. Both sides of leaf shiny green and smooth. Name comes from the mass of brown seeds which release a cotton-like down. Other names: Carolina Poplar; Necklace Poplar.

LOMBARDY POPLAR • Populus nigra

All branches of the Lombardy Poplar grow straight up, giving it a characteristic shape recognizable at any distance. The leaf is very broad in relation to its length; base is wedge shape, and tip is pointed. Often reaches 100 foot height with thick buttressed trunks (6 or 8 feet in diameter). In America it has no seeds, but is grown exclusively from slips and cuttings.

(Continues…)


Excerpted from "Telling Trees"
by .
Copyright © 1953 Julius King.
Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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