SYCAMORE
Leaf, one-third natural size. Twig, one-half natural size.
The bark of the sycamore is a characteristic feature. On the younger trunk and large limbs it is very smooth, greenish-gray in color. The outer bark yearly flakes off in large patches and exposes the nearly white younger bark. Near the base of the old trees the bark becomes thick, dark brown and divided by deep furrows. The flowers are very small and arranged in dense globular green heads.
The leaves are simple, alternate, 4 to 7 inches long and about as broad, light green and smooth above, and paler below. The base of the leafstalk is hollow and in falling off exposes the winter bud. The fruit is a ball about 1 inch in diameter, conspicuous throughout the winter as it hangs on its flexible stem, which is 3 to 5 inches long. During early spring, the fruit ball breaks up, and the small seeds are widely scattered by the wind.
The wood is hard and moderately strong, but decays rapidly in the ground. It is used for butchers’ blocks, tobacco boxes, furniture and interior finish.
The tree grows rapidly, bears transplanting well and is often planted as a shade tree.
The European sycamore or London plane tree, Platanus acerifolia Willd., is less subject to disease than our native species and has been widely planted in this country for ornament and shade. The leaves are more deeply lobed than our sycamore and there are two or three fruit balls on each stem.
THE wild crab apple, or prairie crab, is found throughout Illinois forming small trees 20 to 30 feet high with trunks from 6 to 12 inches in diameter. In the open it develops a broad open crown with rigid, contorted branches bearing many short, spur-like branchlets, some of which develop into sharp rigid thorns. Under less favorable conditions, these crab apples often form bushy shrubs.
WILD CRAB APPLE
Flower, fruit and leaves one-half natural size.
The bark on the branches is smooth, thin and red-brown in color, while on the trunk the thicker bark often breaks into scales. The twigs are at first hoary-hairy, but soon become smooth and reddish.
The leaves are alternate, simple, 3 to 4 inches long and almost as broad. They are sometimes slightly lobed and sharply and deeply toothed. They are dark green and shiny above, but pale and hairy beneath, borne on stout, hairy petioles.
The flowers, which are from one to two inches broad, are borne in clusters of 3 to 8, on wooly pedicels about an inch long. The white or rosy petals form a cup which surrounds the numerous stamens and the five styles. The calyx is pubescent.
The fruit ripens in October, forming a globose, pale green, very fragrant apple with a waxy surface. It is about an inch in diameter, flattened at each end.
Like the other crabs, its handsome flowers have a delicious fragrance which makes the tree popular for planting for ornamental purposes. The fruit is sometimes gathered for jelly. The wood is heavy, close-grained and reddish-brown.
The wild sweet crab, Malus coronaria Mill., differs from the above in having more nearly smooth leaves and calyx. It is rarely found in Illinois but is common in Ohio. A cultivated variety, Malus ioensis plena Rheder, is sold under the name of Bechtel’s crab, and has large, double, rosy-pink blossoms.
THE downy service berry, or shadblow, as it is more commonly called in the East, has little economic importance except for its frequency throughout the State and the touch of beauty its flowers give to our forests early in the spring before the foliage has come out. It is a small tree 20 to 50 feet high and seldom over 8 inches in diameter, with a rather narrow, rounded top but is often little more than shrub. The name shadblow was given by the early settlers who noticed that it blossomed when the shad were running up the streams.
SERVICE BERRY
One-half natural size.
The bark is smooth and light gray, and shallowly fissured into scaly ridges. The winter buds are long and slender.
The leaves are alternate, slender-stalked, ovate, pointed, finely toothed, 2 to 4 inches long, densely white-hairy when young, then becoming a light green, and covered with scattered silky hairs.
The white flowers appear in erect or drooping clusters in early spring, before the leaves, making the tree quite conspicuous in the leafless or budding forest. The petals are slender and rather more than a half inch long.
The fruit is sweet, edible, rounded, reddish-purple when ripe, ⅓ to ½ an inch in diameter, ripening early in June. Birds and denizens of the forest are very fond of the berries.
The wood is heavy, exceedingly hard, strong, close-grained and dark brown. It is occasionally used for handles. This is a desirable ornamental tree and should be planted for this purpose and to encourage the birds.
The smooth service berry, Amelanchier leavis Wieg., differs from the above species in having smooth leaves, dark green and slightly glaucous when mature, and they are half grown at flowering time. The fruit is sweet, purple or nearly black, glaucous and edible.
THE hawthorns, or thorn-apples, are small trees or shrubs of the apple family which are widely distributed throughout the northeastern United States, with fewer species in the South and West. In North America, no less than 150 species have been distinguished, but their proper identification is a task for the expert. There are about a dozen haws that reach tree size in Illinois, attaining a height of 20 to 30 feet and a stem diameter of 8 to 12 inches. Of these, perhaps the best known is the cock-spur thorn with its many strong straight spines and shining leaves. Its bark is pale gray and scaly. Its winter buds are small, globose and lustrous brown.
COCK-SPUR THORN
Flowers and fruit one-half natural size.
The leaves are conspicuous because of their dark green glossy surface. They are broadest toward the apex tapering to the short petiole. They vary in size in different localities, the smaller-leaved varieties seem to be more frequently met with in the southern part of the State than in the north. These leaves are alternate, wedge-shaped, notched on the edges, and from 2 to 3 inches long.
The flowers are rather small, arranged in flat-topped clusters, white in color, with about a dozen pink stamens.
The fruit is ⅓ inch thick, greenish-red; the flesh is hard and dry.
This haw is one of the best for planting for ornamental purposes; with its spreading branches, it forms a broad, rounded crown. It is hardy and succeeds in a great variety of soils.
The dotted hawthorn, Crataegus punctata Jacq., also has wedge-shaped leaves but they are leathery, dull gray-green in color with conspicuous veins. The tree reaches a height of 25 feet with distinctly horizontal branches forming a broad flat crown. It is often almost without thorns. The fruit is oblong, dull red with pale dots, becoming mellow.
The pear-thorn, Crataegus calpodendron Med., is a smaller tree, with broader leaves, very few thorns and pear-shaped fruit. The haw is scarlet or orange-red, the flesh is thin and sweet.
LIKE almost all the hawthorns, the red haw is a tree of the pasture lands, the roadside, the open woods and the stream banks. It is the largest of our haws, occasionally reaching a height of 30 feet, with ascending branches usually forming a low conical crown. The twigs are hairy during the first season, but are soon smooth, slender, nearly unarmed or occasionally armed with stout, curved thorns.
RED HAW
Flowers one-half natural size.
The leaves are ovate or nearly orbicular, coarsely toothed nearly to the base, usually 3 to 5 pairs of broad, shallow lobes. Both surfaces are hairy.
The flowers are often nearly an inch across, in compact clusters. They have about 20 cream-colored, densely hairy stamens.
The fruit, or the haw, is large, nearly ¾ inch across, bright crimson or scarlet in color. The edible sweet flesh is firm but mellow, surrounding 5 bony seeds. It is often used for making jelly.
The wood is strong, tough, heavy and hard, and is used for mallets, tool handles and such small articles.
The Washington thorn, Crataegus phaenopyrum Med., is a smaller tree, with bright red fruit, but its broad leaves are smooth and bright green. The flowers are small, in very large clusters, followed by small bright scarlet edible haws.
In the southern half of Illinois, growing on moist river bottoms, the green haw, Crataegus viridis L., becomes a tree 20 feet tall. The broad leaves are dark green and quite smooth. The fruit is small but produced in large clusters becoming bright red or orange-red as it ripens.
THE common wild plum, or yellow plum, is a small tree which at a height usually of 3 to 6 feet divides into many spreading branches, often drooping at the ends. Not uncommonly it grows in thickets where it attains only large shrub size. The value of the tree lies in its fruit from which jelly and preserves are made, and its handsome form, and foliage, pure white fragrant flowers, and showy fruit which make it desirable for ornamental planting.
WILD PLUM
Three-quarters natural size.
The leaves are alternate, oval, pointed, sharply toothed, (often doubly toothed) along the margin, thick and firm, 3 to 4 inches long by 1 to 2 inches wide, narrowed or rounded at the base, and prominently veined on both surfaces.
The flowers appear in numerous small clusters before, or simultaneously with, the leaves, and are white with small bright red portions in the center. The fruit, or plum, which ripens in late summer, is red or orange colored, about an inch in diameter, contains a stone or pit that is flattened and about as long as the pulpy part, and varies rather widely in its palatability.
The wood is heavy, hard, close-grained, reddish-brown in color and has no especial commercial uses.
The Canada plum, Prunus nigra Ait., is similar to the common wild plum, but the teeth of the leaves are blunt, the leaves are thin and the fruit is orange in color, almost without bloom.
The wild goose plum, Prunus hortulana Bailey, has thin lance-shaped leaves; its flowers have short petals and it has a rather hard, small globular fruit.
A common tree in Illinois and attaining sizes up to about 70 feet in height and 1 to 3 feet in diameter, black cherry as a tree is found all over the State. The forest-grown trees have long clear trunks with little taper; open-grown trees have spreading crowns. The bark on branches and young trees is smooth and bright reddish-brown, marked by conspicuous, narrow white, horizontal lines, and has a bitter-almond taste. On the older trunks the bark becomes rough and broken into thick, irregular plates.
BLACK CHERRY
Twig, two-thirds natural size. Leaf, one-third natural size.
The leaves are alternate, simple, oval to lance-like in shape, with edges broken by many fine incurved teeth, thick and shiny above, and paler beneath.
The fruit is dull purplish-black, about as large as a pea, and is borne in long hanging clusters. It ripens in late summer, and is edible, although it has a slightly bitter taste.
The wood is reddish-brown with yellowish sapwood, moderately heavy, hard, strong, fine-grained, and does not warp or split in seasoning. It is valuable for its lustre and color and is used for furniture, interior finish, tools, and implement handles. With the exception of black walnut, black cherry lumber has a greater unit value than any other hardwood of the eastern United States.
The wild cherry, Prunus pennsylvanica L., is a small tree, growing on light soils, in the northern part of the State. The bark is a dark reddish-brown; the leaves are lance-shaped bright green and shiny above, while the fruit is round and bright red in color.
The choke cherry, Prunus virginiana L., is common along fences and under larger trees in the forest in the northern half of the State. It seldom becomes a tree but it bears a fruit which is sweet but very astringent and is dark purple when ripe.
THE honey locust occurs scattered throughout the State. It grows under a wide variety of soil and moisture conditions. It sometimes occurs in the forest, but more commonly in corners and waste places beside roads and fields. It reaches a diameter of 30 inches and a height of 75 feet. The bark on old trees is dark gray and is divided into thin tight scales. The strong thorns—straight, brown, branched, sharp and shiny which grow on the 1-year-old wood and remain for many years—are sufficient to identify the honey locust.
HONEY LOCUST
Twig, three-quarters natural size. Leaf, one-quarter natural size.
The leaf is pinnate, or feather-like with 18 to 28 leaflets; or it is twice-pinnate, consisting of 4 to 7 pairs of pinnae or secondary leaflets, each 6 to 8 inches long and somewhat resembling the leaf of the black locust.
The flowers which appear when the leaves are nearly full-grown are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow and rich in honey. The petals vary from 3 to 5, the stamens are 3 to 10 and the ovary is wooly and one-celled.
The fruit is a pod, 10 to 18 inches long, often twisted, 1 to 1½ inches wide, flat, dark brown or black when ripe and containing yellow sweetish pulp and seeds. The seeds are very hard and each is separated from the others by the pulp. The pods are eaten by many animals, and as the seeds are hard to digest, many are thus widely scattered from the parent tree.
The wood is coarse-grained, hard, strong and moderately durable in contact with the ground. It is used for fence posts and crossties. It should not be confused with the very durable wood of the black locust.
The water locust, Gleditsia aquatica Marsh., is found in river bottoms in southern Illinois, becoming a medium sized tree. It may be known by its short pods, 1 to 2 inches long, with only 2 or 3 seeds.
THE redbud is a small tree occurring under taller trees or on the borders of fields or hillsides and in valleys throughout the State. It ordinarily attains a height of 25 to 50 feet and a diameter of 6 to 12 inches. Its stout branches usually form a wide flat head.
REDBUD
Leaf, one-fourth natural size. Twig, and flowers, two-thirds natural size.
The bark is bright red-brown, the long narrow plates separating into thin scales.
The leaves are alternate, heart-shaped, entire 3 to 5 inches long and wide, glossy green turning in autumn to a bright clear yellow.
The conspicuous bright purplish-red, pea-shaped flowers are in clusters along the twigs and small branches and appear before or with the leaves in early spring.
The fruit is an oblong, flattened, many seeded pod, 2 to 4 inches long, reddish during the summer, and often hanging on the tree most of the winter.
The wood is heavy, hard, not strong, rich, dark brown in color, and of little commercial importance. The redbud is cultivated as an ornamental tree and for that purpose might be planted more generally in this State.
The Kentucky coffee-tree, Gymnocladus dioicus K. Koch, though not anywhere a common tree, is found on rich bottom lands throughout the State. The much-divided leaves are 2 to 3 feet long. The pods are 5 to 8 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide and contain hard seeds ¾ inch long. It has few qualities to recommend it for ornamental planting.
THE black locust is a native to the Appalachian Mountains but has been introduced into Illinois, and now occurs throughout the entire State growing on all soils and under all conditions of moisture except in swamps. It is found generally in thickets on clay banks and waste places or along fence rows.
BLACK LOCUST
Leaf, one-third natural size. Twig and flower, two-thirds natural size.
The twigs and branchlets are armed with straight or slightly curved sharp, strong spines, sometimes as much as 1 inch in length which remain attached to the outer bark for many years. The bark is dark brown and divides into strips as the tree grows older.
The leaves are pinnate, or feather-like, from 6 to 10 inches in length, consisting of from 7 to 19 oblong thin leaflets.
The flowers are fragrant, white or cream-colored, and appear in early spring in graceful pendent racemes. The fruit is a pod from 3 to 5 inches long containing 4 to 8 small hard seeds which ripen late in the fall. The pod splits open during the winter, discharging the seeds. Some seeds usually remain attached to each half of the pod; the pod thus acts as a wing upon which the seeds are borne to considerable distances before the strong spring winds.
The wood is yellow in color, coarse-grained, very heavy, very hard, strong, and very durable in contact with the soil. It is used extensively for fence posts, poles, tree nails, insulator pins and occasionally for lumber and fuel.
The tree is very rapid in growth in youth but short-lived. It spreads by underground shoots and is useful for holding and reclaiming badly gullied lands. The usefulness of the black locust is, however, very greatly limited by the fact that it is subject to great damage from an insect known as the locust borer.
THIS tree is a native of China but planted in Illinois because of its tropical foliage. It has escaped and become naturalized. It is a handsome, rapid-growing, short-lived tree, attaining a height of 40 to 60 feet, and a trunk diameter of 2 to 3 feet. Its crown is spreading, rather loose and open. The twigs are smooth and thick with a large reddish-brown pith. The winter buds are small, globular and hairy, placed just above the large leaf-scars.
TREE OF HEAVEN
Twig, one-half natural size. Leaf and fruit, one-fourth natural size.
The leaves are alternate, pinnately compound and one to three feet long. The leaflets number from 11 to 41, are smooth, dark green above, paler beneath, turning a clear yellow in autumn.
The flowers appear soon after the leaves are full grown, on different trees, borne in large upright panicles. They are small yellow-green in color with 5 petals and 10 stamens. The staminate flowers have a disagreeable odor.
The fruit, ripening in October but remaining on the tree during the winter, is a one-seeded samara, spirally twisted, borne in crowded clusters.
The tree of heaven is useful for landscape planting, succeeding in all kinds of soils and all kinds of growing conditions. It makes a rapid showing and is practically free from all diseases and insect injury.
THE smooth sumac is usually a tall shrub but occasionally it develops as a tree 20 to 25 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 6 to 10 inches. A few large spreading branches form a broad, flat, open head. The twigs are smooth and glabrous and have a thick, light brown pith with small round winter buds.
SMOOTH SUMAC
Twig, one-half natural size. Leaf and fruit, one-fourth natural size.
The compound leaves are 6 to 18 inches long, composed of 9 to 27 leaflets with sharply notched margins. They are dark green above, whitish beneath, changing to red, purple and yellow early in the autumn.
The flowers are small and green, produced in dense terminal panicles. The fruit is a small globose berry, covered with crimson hairs and has a pleasant acid taste. The conspicuous deep red panicles of fruit remain unchanged on the tree during the winter.
The wood is light and of a golden yellow color. Either as a tree, or as a shrub, the smooth sumac is excellent for ornamental planting, being particularly desirable on terraces or hillsides, where mass effects are desired. It transplants very readily and spreads freely.
The staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina L., is a slightly taller tree, as it reaches a height of 20 to 35 feet, and a stem diameter of 8 to 12 inches. The twigs and leaves are similar to those of the smooth sumac but are conspicuously hairy. Its occurrence is limited to the northern part of the State.
The shining sumac, Rhus copallina L., usually occurs in shrub form but it occasionally reaches a height of 20 feet with a stem diameter of 6 inches. The leaves are smooth above but somewhat hairy beneath with a winged rachis and about 9 to 21 leaflets that are slightly toothed. Late in the summer its foliage turns a brilliant red. The fruit clusters are much smaller than the preceding species. It is found throughout the State.
THE sugar maple is an important member of the climax forests which stretch from Maine to Minnesota and southward to Texas and Florida. It is an associate of the hemlocks and the birches in the North, with the beeches and chestnuts through the middle states, with the oaks in the West and with the tulip and the magnolias in the South. In Illinois it is a common and favorite tree throughout the State. In the open it grows fairly rapidly and has a very symmetrical, dense crown, affording heavy shade. It is, therefore, quite extensively planted as a shade tree. The bark on young trees is light gray and brown and rather smooth, but as the tree grows older, it breaks up into long, irregular plates or scales, which vary from light gray to almost black. The twigs are smooth and reddish-brown, and the winter buds are smooth and sharp-pointed. The tree attains a height of more than 100 feet and a diameter of 3 feet or more. The sap yields maple sugar and maple syrup.
SUGAR MAPLE
Leaf, one-third natural size. Twig, one-half natural size.
The leaves are 3 to 5 inches across, simple, opposite, with 3 to 5 pointed and sparsely-toothed lobes, the divisions between the lobes being rounded. The leaves are dark green on the upper surface, lighter green beneath, turning in autumn to brilliant shades of dark red, scarlet, orange and clear yellow.
The flowers are yellowish-green, on long threadlike stalks, appearing with the leaves, the two kinds in separate clusters. The fruit, which ripens in the fall, consists of a two-winged “samara”, or “key”, the two wings nearly parallel, each about 1 inch in length and containing a seed. It is easily carried by the wind.
The wood is hard, heavy, strong, close-grained and light brown in color. It is known, commercially as hard maple, and is used in the manufacture of flooring, furniture, shoe-lasts and a great variety of novelties.
The black maple, Acer nigrum Michx., occurs with the sugar maple with darker bark. The leaves are usually wider than long, yellow-green and downy beneath, and the base of the petioles enlarged. The two lower lobes are very small; the lobes are undulate or entire.
THE silver or river maple, also called the soft maple, occurs on moist land and along streams. It attains heights of 100 feet or more and diameters of 3 feet or over. It usually has a short trunk which divides into a number of large ascending limbs. These again subdivide, and the branches droop but turn upward at the tips. The bark on the old stems is dark gray and broken into long flakes or scales; on the young shoots it is smooth and varies in color from reddish to a yellowish-gray. The silver maple grows rapidly and has been much planted as a shade tree. Because of the brittleness of its wood, it is often damaged by summer storms and winter sleet.
SILVER MAPLE
Twig, one-half natural size. Leaf, one-third natural size.
The leaves are opposite on the stem, have from 3 to 5 lobes ending in long points with toothed edges and are separated by deep angular sinuses or openings; they are pale green on the upper surface and silvery-white underneath. The buds are rounded, red or reddish-brown, blunt-pointed; generally like those of red maple.
The flowers appear in the spring before the leaves, in dense clusters, and are of a greenish-yellow color. The fruit ripens in late spring. It consists of a pair of winged seeds or “keys” with wings 1 to 2 inches long on slender, flexible, threadlike stems about an inch long.
The wood is soft, weak, even-textured, rather brittle, easily worked, and decays readily when exposed. It is considerably used for boxboards, furniture, veneers and fuel.
The red maple, or swamp maple, Acer rubrum L., has leaves deeply lobed with the lobes sharply toothed. The autumn color is deep red. The flowers also are red and the fruit is small reddish, maturing late in spring.
THE box elder is a fairly rapidly growing tree, found commonly along streams rather generally over the State. It is a tree of medium size, rarely reaching over 24 inches in diameter and 60 to 70 feet in height. It has been considerably planted for shade because in good soil its growth is rapid. Its limbs and branches, however, are fragile, and the tree as a whole is rather subject to disease. It is not long-lived or generally satisfactory for any purpose. It is prolific in reproduction but is largely destroyed by grazing and cultivation.
BOX ELDER
Twig, two-thirds natural size. Leaf, one-third natural size.
The bark on young branches is smooth and green to purple in color; on old trees it is thin, grayish to light brown and deeply divided.
The leaves are compound, with usually 3 leaflets (rarely 5 or 7), opposite, smooth and lustrous, green, and borne on a leaf stem or petiole 2 to 3 inches long. The leaflets are 2 to 4 inches long by 1 to 2 inches wide, making the whole leaf 5 to 8 inches in length.
The fruit is a samara, or key, winged similarly to that of a sugar maple, but smaller. It ripens in late summer or early fall, and so is like its close relative, the sugar maple, but unlike its close relatives, the red maple and silver maple.
The wood is soft, light, weak, close-grained and decays readily in contact with heat and moisture. It is used occasionally for fuel.
The Norway maple, Acer platanoides L., is a European species which has been extensively planted. It forms a round, spreading crown of stout branches with coarse twigs. The leaves resemble those of the sugar maple but somewhat broader and the petioles exude a milky juice when cut. The flowers are larger than those of our native maples and fruit is large with diverging wings. It holds its leaves longer in the fall and the autumn coloring is pale yellow. It succeeds well as a city shade tree.
THE buckeye is rare in the northern fourth of Illinois, but is known in the rest of the State, forming no considerable part of the forest stand. It reaches a height of 60 to 70 feet and a diameter of 18 to 24 inches. The trunk is usually short, limby, and knotty. The crown or head, is generally open and made up of small spreading branches and twigs orange-brown to reddish-brown in color. The bark is light gray and, on old trees, divided or broken into flat scales, which make the stem of the tree rough; the bark is ill-smelling when bruised.
OHIO BUCKEYE
Twig, two-thirds natural size. Nut, one-third natural size.
Leaf, one-quarter natural size.
The leaves are opposite on the twigs, compound and consisting of 5 long-oval, rarely 7, pointed, toothed, yellow-green leaflets, set like the fingers of a hand at the top of slender petioles 4 to 6 inches long. They usually turn yellow and then fall early in the autumn.
The flowers appear after the leaves unfold; are cream-colored; in terminal panicles 5 to 7 inches long and 2 to 3 inches broad, quite downy.
The fruit is a thick, leathery, prickly capsule about an inch in diameter, and, breaking into 2 or 3 valves, discloses the bright, shiny, mahogany colored seeds, or nuts.
The wood is light, soft and weak, and decays rapidly when exposed. It is used for woodenware, artificial limbs, paper pulp, and for lumber and fuel.
The horse-chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum L., is a handsome European tree with a very symmetrical crown. The flowers are larger than those of our native species and add beauty to the foliage. It forms a desirable shade tree.
THE basswood, or American linden, is a rather tall tree with a broad, round-topped crown. It ranges throughout Illinois and may be found wherever rich, wooded slopes, moist stream banks and cool ravines occur. It grows best in river bottoms, where it is common and forms a valuable timber tree, attaining a height of 80 feet and a diameter of 4 feet. The bark is light brown, deeply furrowed and the inner bark furnishes bast for making mats.
BASSWOOD
Leaf, one-third natural size. Twig, one-half natural size.
The leaves are broadly heart-shaped, 3 to 6 inches long, coarsely saw-toothed, smooth on both sides, except for some hairs on the axils of the veins. They are dark above but light green beneath.
The flowers are yellowish-white, in drooping clusters opening in early summer, and flower stem is united to the middle of a long narrow leaf-like bract. They are very fragrant and from them the bees make a large amount of choice grade honey.
The fruit is a berry-like, dry, 1 or 2 seeded, rounded nutlet ¼ to ½ an inch in diameter, covered with short, thick and brownish wool. It remains attached in clusters to the leafy bract, which later acts as a wing to bear it away on the wind.
The wood is light, soft, tough, not durable, light brown in color. It is used in the manufacture of pulp, woodenware, furniture, trunks, excelsior and many other articles.
It makes a fine shade tree, grows rapidly and is easily transplanted.
The white basswood, Tilia heterophylla Vent., is similar to the preceding species, but with somewhat lighter bark. The leaves are larger, dark yellow-green above, the under surface being generally densely covered with short, silvery or gray hairs with tufts of brown hairs in the axils of the veins. It is more plentiful in the southern part of the State.
THE flowering dogwood is rare in the northern third of the State. It is a small tree, growing under the larger forest trees, usually 15 to 30 feet in height and 6 to 12 inches in diameter, with a rather flat and spreading crown and short, often crooked trunk. The bark is reddish-brown to black and broken up into small 4-sided scaly blocks.
FLOWERING DOGWOOD
Leaf and flowers, one-half natural size. Twig, two-thirds natural size.
The leaves are opposite, ovate, 3 to 5 inches long, 2 to 3 inches wide, pointed, entire or wavy on the margin, bright green above, pale green or grayish beneath.
The flowers, which unfold from the conspicuous round, grayish, winter flower buds before the leaves come out, are small greenish-yellow, arranged in dense heads surrounded by large white or rarely pinkish petal-like bracts, which give the appearance of large spreading flowers 2 to 4 inches across.
The fruit is a bright scarlet “berry”, ½ inch long and containing a hard nutlet in which are 1 or 2 seeds. Usually several fruits, or “berries”, are contained in one head. They are relished by birds, squirrels and other animals.
The wood is hard, heavy, strong, very close-grained, brown to red in color. It is in great demand for cotton-mill machinery, turnery handles and forms. One other tree has quite similar wood—the persimmon.
The dogwood, with its masses of early spring flowers, its dark red autumn foliage and its bright red berries, is probably our most ornamental native tree. It should be used much more extensively in roadside and ornamental planting.
The alternate-leaved dogwood, Cornus alternifolia L., occasionally reaches tree size with long slender branches arranged in irregular whorls giving the tree a storied effect. The flowers are small, followed by blue-black fruit borne in loose red-stemmed clusters.
THE sour gum, often called black gum, is found in many types of soil and in most conditions of soil moisture in southern Illinois, but it becomes rare in the northern half of the State. In lowlands, it is occasionally found in year-round swamps with cypress, and in the hills on dry slopes with oaks and hickories.
SOUR GUM
One-half natural size.
The leaves are simple, 2 to 3 inches long, entire, often broader near the apex, shiny, dark green in color. In the fall the leaves turn a most brilliant red.
The bark on younger trees is furrowed between flat ridges, and gradually develops into quadrangular blocks that are dense, hard and nearly black. Most of the branches are nearly horizontal.
The greenish flowers on long slender stems appear in early spring when the leaves are about one-third grown. They are usually of two kinds, the male in many-flowered heads and the female in two to several-flowered clusters on different trees. The fruit is a dark blue, fleshy berry, ⅔ of an inch long, containing a single hard-shelled seed, and is borne on long stems, 2 to 3 in a cluster.
The wood is very tough, cross-grained, not durable in contact with the soil, hard to work, and warps easily. It is used for crate and basket veneers, box shooks, rollers, mallets, rough floors, mine trams, pulpwood and fuel.