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)

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 ⅓ 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 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, 1½ to 2½ 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.

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 ½ to ¾ 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.

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, ¼ 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 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 ¼ 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.