WEST VIRGINIA TREES
BULLETIN 175
Agricultural Experiment Station
College of Agriculture

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

Morgantown

JOHN LEE COULTER, Director

Bulletin 175 September, 1920

Agricultural Experiment Station

College of Agriculture, West Virginia University

JOHN LEE COULTER, Director,
MORGANTOWN

West Virginia Trees

BY
A. B. BROOKS

Bulletins and Reports of this Station will be mailed free to any citizen of West Virginia upon written application. Address Director of the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Morgantown, W. Va.

THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

Educational Institutions

PREFACE

The native trees of West Virginia number about 125, of which 101 are described and illustrated in this publication. The omissions are principally species of unimportant willows and hawthorns which can be identified only by specialists. Some of the more common introduced trees are mentioned in the family descriptions on pages 13 to 27, and a few are illustrated in groups after the descriptions of native species. It has been the object to simplify everything in this publication as much as possible. The meaning of unfamiliar words in the keys and descriptions can be learned by consulting the glossary beginning on page 237.

The keys are based principally on characters of leaf and fruit since these are usually available for study during several months in the summer and fall. The text, however, contains brief descriptions of the flowers which often denote most surely the natural relationship of species.

Scientific names and the order of arrangement are essentially those of the seventh edition of Gray’s New Manual of Botany.

The drawings were made by the writer from specimens collected during the past few years.

This bulletin has been prepared mainly for those who desire to become more familiar with our native and introduced trees, but who do not have access to the larger publications on the subject. It will serve also as a basis for future forestry studies in the State. Popular interest in forestry, which is sadly lacking in West Virginia at this time, will be stimulated by a more general and more intimate acquaintance with the different kinds of trees. It is hoped that this bulletin will help to create the needed interest. If difficulty is found in determining the name of any tree, specimens mailed to the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Morgantown, West Virginia, will be named, if possible, without charge.

—A.B. BROOKS.

Morgantown, W. Va.
September 1, 1920.

CONTENTS

West Virginia Trees

By A. B. BROOKS

KEY TO THE GENERA

(Based on leaves and fruit)

• a.—Leaves simple.
• b.—Leaves needle-shaped, awl-shaped, or scale-like, usually evergreen; fruit a cone or berry-like.
• c.—Leaves in bundles of 2-many; fruit a cone.
• Leaves in bundles of 2-5, evergreen
• Pinus, p. 13.
• Leaves in clusters of 8-many on short spur-like branchlets, deciduous in autumn
• Larix, p. 13.
• c.—Leaves not in bundles, solitary.
• d.—Leaves alternate or whorled.
• Leaves 4-angled, harsh, needle-shaped
• Picea, p. 13.
• Leaves flat, whitened beneath, ½-1¼ inches long, sessile, aromatic; cones 2-4 inches long with deciduous scales; bark of twigs smooth, and on old trunks with raised resin-filled blisters
• Abies, p. 14.
• Leaves two-fifths to one-half inch long, short-petioled, flat and whitened beneath; cones about ¾ inch long with persistent scales; bark of twigs rough
• Tsuga, p. 14.
• d.—Leaves opposite.
• Leaves scale-like, decurrent on the stem, all of one kind; twigs flattened; fruit a small elongated cone with 8-12 over-lapping scales
• Thuja, p. 14.
• Leaves of two kinds, either scale-like or awl-shaped, not decurrent on the stem; twigs nearly terete; fruit a bluish, berry-like strobile
• Juniperus, p. 14.
• b.—Leaves flat and broad, usually deciduous.
• c.—Leaves alternate or clustered.
• d.—Leaves without lobes.
• e.—Leaves with margins entire or slightly undulate.
• f.—Leaves deciduous.
• Leaves 2-5 inches long, oval; fruit an ovoid, blue berry-like drupe, borne 1-3 in a drooping cluster
• Nyssa, p. 25.
• Leaves 2-5 inches long, ovate; fruit a spherical, blue berry-like drupe, borne many in an upright cyme, (Cornus alternifolia)
• Cornus, p. 25.
• Leaves 4-6 inches long, oval; fruit an edible berry ¾-1¼ inches in diameter
• Diospyros, p. 26.
• Leaves 4-12 inches long, obovate-lanceolate; fruit banana-like, 3-5 inches long, with many flattened seeds in the yellow flesh
• Asimina, p. 20.
• Leaves 6-24 inches long, ovate-obovate; fruit a cone-like or cucumber-like cylindrical mass 2-4 inches long
• Magnolia, p. 20.
• Leaves 3-5 inches long, heart-shaped; fruit a pod 2-3 inches long
• Cercis, p. 23.
• Leaves 4-6 inches long, oblong-lanceolate; fruit an acorn (Quercus imbricaria)
• Quercus, p. 17.
• f.—Leaves evergreen.
• Leaves 3-4 inches long; fruit many dry spherical capsules in a corymb
• Kalmia, p. 26.
• Leaves 4-11 inches long, evergreen; fruit an oblong, dry capsule, several in umbel-like clusters
• Rhododendron, p. 26.
• e.—Leaves with margins toothed.
• f.—Branches armed with stiff, sharp thorns.
• Leaves 1-3 inches long, serrate or doubly serrate; fruit a small pome
• Crataegus, p. 22.
• f.—Branches not armed with thorns.
• g.—Base of leaf decidedly oblique.
• Leaf-blade broad, heart-shaped, serrate; fruit a spherical woody drupe on stalks attached to an oblong bract
• Tilia, p. 25.
• Leaf-blade oval, doubly-serrate, primary veins straight; fruit an oval samara
• Ulmus, p. 19.
• Leaves 2-4 inches long, serrate; fruit a small sweet purple drupe
• Celtis, p. 19.
• g.—Base of leaf nearly symmetrical.
• h.—Teeth coarse, 2-5 to the inch.
• Leaves smooth, oval, 3-5 inches long; fruit a small bur with weak prickles and 3-faced nuts ½-¾ inch long
• Fagus, p. 17.
• Leaves 6-8 inches long; fruit a bur with stiff prickles and 1-3 rounded, brown nuts
• Castanea, p. 17.
• Leaves 2-4 inches long, broadly ovate to sub-orbicular; fruit a small capsule falling in spring
• Populus, p. 15.
• Leaves 4-8 inches long, lanceolate to obovate; fruit an acorn
• Quercus, p. 17.
• Leaves wavy-toothed with sharp spines, evergreen; fruit a small red drupe
• Ilex, p. 24.
• Leaves 4-6 inches long, oval; fruit a short woody pod with black seeds
• Hamamelis, p. 21.
• h.—Teeth fine, 6-many to the inch.
• i.—Leaves not doubly serrate.
• Leaves 1½-2 inches long, nearly as broad, tremulous on long petioles; fruit a small capsule. (P. tremuloides)
• Populus, p. 15.
• Leaves 2-6 inches long, often narrow; twigs easily separated at the joints; fruit a small capsule
• Salix, p. 14.
• Leaves 5-7 inches long, 1½-2½ inches wide, very smooth; bark acid; fruit a 5-valved capsule borne in clusters
• Oxydendrum, p. 26.
• Leaves 2-5 inches long, ovate to lanceolate; bark often bitter; fruit a drupe
• Prunus, p. 22.
• Leaves 3-4 inches long; fruit a red berry-like pome in clusters
• Amelanchier, p. 22.
• Leaves 3-5 inches long, nearly as wide, often heart-shaped, sometimes 2-5-lobed; fruit oblong, about 1 inch long, composed of many small drupes
• Morus, p. 19.
• Leaves 3-4 inches long, often doubly serrate or lobed on sterile shoots; fruit a greenish-yellow pome about 1 inch in diameter
• Pyrus, p. 21.
• Leaves 4-6 inches long, ovate-lanceolate; fruit 1-2 inches long, dry, 4-winged
• Halesia, p. 26.
• Leaves 4-5 inches long, ovate; fruit scarlet berry-like drupes on short stems and scattered along the branches (Ilex monticola)
• Ilex, p. 24.
• Leaves 2-5 inches long; fruit cone-like, containing many dry scales (B. lenta)
• Betula, p. 16.
• i.—Leaves doubly serrate.
• Leaves 2-4 inches long, thin; fruit a small nut enclosed in a halberd-shaped leaf-like involucre; trunk smooth and fluted
• Carpinus, p. 16.
• Leaves 3-5 inches long; fruit hop-like, composed of several inflated bracts overlapping and each containing a flat seed; bark brown with loose scales
• Ostrya, p. 16.
• Leaves 2-4 inches long; bark peeling off in papery scales; fruit oblong or ovate, 1-2 inches long, composed of numerous 3-lobed scales, bearing winged nuts
• Betula, p. 16.
• Leaves 1-3 inches long, sometimes serrate or lobed; twigs armed with stiff thorns; fruit a hard pome
• Crataegus, p. 22.
• Leaves 3-4 inches long, often serrate or lobed; fruit a sour yellowish pome about 1 inch in diameter
• Pyrus, p. 21.
• d.—Leaves lobed.
• e.—Margins of lobes entire.
• Leaves oval often without lobes or with 2-3 lobes, smooth, aromatic; fruit a dark blue drupe borne on a thickened red stem
• Sassafras, p. 21.
• Leaves broadly ovate, with truncate apex, 2 apical and 2-4 basal lobes; fruit a cone-like aggregate of dry, lance-shaped carpels
• Liriodendron, p. 20.
• Leaves variously lobed, some with bristle-tipped teeth; fruit an acorn
• Quercus, p. 17.
• e.—Margins of lobes not entire.
• Leaves thick, glossy, star-shaped, with fine pointed serrate lobes; fruit a pendulous spiny spherical head about 1 inch thick, composed of numerous capsules
• Liquidambar, p. 21.
• Leaves oval, pointed, often without lobes, thin, margins serrate or doubly serrate; fruit a yellowish pome 1-1½ inches thick
• Pyrus, p. 21.
• Leaves oval, pointed, often without lobes, thin, margins serrate or doubly serrate; fruit a pome about two-fifths of an inch thick, often red; twigs armed with thorns
• Crataegus, p. 22.
• Leaves often broadly ovate and not lobed, sometimes with 2-5 lobes, serrate; fruit oblong, about 1 inch long, an aggregate of many small dark purple drupes
• Morus, p. 19.
• Leaves nearly round in outline, 3-5 lobed, coarse sinuate-toothed; fruit a round pendulous head 1 inch thick; composed of many hairy achenes
• Platanus, p. 21.
• c.—Leaves opposite.
• d.—Leaf margins entire or slightly undulate.
• Leaves 3-5 inches long, ovate; fruit a bright red ovoid drupe, two-fifths inch long in small bunches
• Cornus, p. 25.
• Leaves 4-8 inches long, ovate; fruit a dark blue ovoid drupe, ¾ of an inch long, in drooping, loose clusters
• Chionanthus, p. 27.
• d.—Leaf margins not entire.
• Leaves 3-5 lobed, finely or coarsely toothed, fruit a drooping samara
• Acer, p. 24.
• Leaves not lobed, 1-3 inches long, oval, finely toothed; fruit a dark blue drupe borne in clusters
• Viburnum, p. 27.
• a.—Leaves compound.
• b.—Leaves alternate.
• c.—Margins of leaflets entire.
• Leaves pinnate, 8-14 inches long; fruit a pod 2-4 inches long; limbs bearing short spines in pairs at the nodes
• Robinia, p. 23.
• Leaves 3-foliate; fruit a samara, winged all around, in drooping clusters
• Ptelea, p. 23.
• Leaves pinnate with 9-21 leaflets; fruit small, red or white dry drupes in dense upright or loose drooping clusters
• Rhus, p. 23.
• c.—Margins of leaflets not entire.
• Leaves pinnate with 11-23 serrate leaflets; fruit a large sculptured nut
• Juglans, p. 15.
• Leaves odd-pinnate, with 3-11 leaflets; fruit a smooth or angled nut
• Carya, p. 15.
• Leaves odd-pinnate, with 13-17 lance-shaped leaflets; fruit a small red acid pome, borne many in a flat-topped cluster. (Pyrus Americana)
• Pyrus, p. 21.
• Leaves doubly compound with many ovate serrate leaflets; fruit a small ovoid black berry in large branching clusters; twigs and trunk armed with sharp spines
• Aralia, p. 25.
• b.—Leaves opposite.
• c.—Leaves pinnate, fruit a samara.
• Leaflets, 3-5, samaras paired
• Acer, p. 24.
• Leaflets, 5-11, samaras, not paired
• Fraxinus, p. 26.
• c.—Leaves digitate, fruit a globular capsule containing large brown nuts
• Aesculus, p. 25.