is native to the Orient but has been introduced to this country where it has grown wild and occurs generally throughout Texas. The long, pinnately compound leaves, 24 to 48 inches long, with 11 to 41 leaflets, are glandular toothed at the base. The flowers and bruised leaves have a disagreeable odor. The tree is fast growing and spreads by suckers as well as by seed.
although a native of Asia, is so widely grown in Texas as an ornamental that it can be seen almost anywhere. It is a member of the mahogany family. The bark is furrowed, with the ridges flat-topped. The alternate leaves are twice-compound and 10 to 32 inches long. The leaflets are alternate, ovate to elliptic, sharply toothed or lobed, ¾ to 2 inches long, light green and usually smooth. The flowers are showy, lilac-colored, fragrant, nearly an inch across, and arranged in loose clusters which appear in April. The fruit is nearly round, ½ to ¾ inch in diameter, fleshy, and yellow when mature. The wood is moderately heavy and moderately hard, light reddish-brown in color, with a rather narrow, yellowish sapwood. Formerly it was much used for cabinet-work.
a member of the sumac family, it grows along the Medina and Guadalupe Rivers and in Kendall County, Texas. Occasionally it reaches a height of 30 feet and 12 inches in diameter, but usually grows as a shrub or small tree, its trunk dividing into several stems 10 feet or so above the ground. The wood is bright, clear, rich orange color, and yields the same color dye. Sometimes it is used for fence posts. C. coggygria, the smoketree of gardens, is cultivated in the United States.
a less common member of the sumac family, is found native on limestone cliffs and the rocky bottoms of canyons along the lower Pecos River in Valverde County, Texas. It reaches a height of 15 to 20 feet and produces a fruit resembling the pistachio nut of commerce, except that it is smaller in size.
also called arrow-wood and burning bush in some localities is a small tree rarely over 20 feet high and 4 to 6 inches in diameter. The bark is thin and covered with thin, tiny scales. The wood is heavy, hard, white, tinged with orange. The leaves are opposite, thin, and finely serrate. In the fall and winter the tree is characterized by bright red berries in lighter red, 4-lobed capsules. It is a native of East Texas.
grows in East Texas and resembles the sugar maple (A. saccharum Marsh.) with which it blends in Northeast Texas, except that the tips of the leaves of A. barbatum Michx. are more rounded and the young leaves are hairy on the underside when they first unfold.
a maple native to the mountains and canyons of the Trans-Pecos Region of Texas, grows to 30 and 40 feet high and occasionally 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Its bright red branchlets are nearly encircled by the narrow leaf-scars. Leaf lobes few toothed or nearly entire. When accessible, the wood is valuable for fuel and building material.
resembles the above two maples but is confined to the Balcones Escarpment in western Texas along creek bottoms in parts of Kendall, Bandera, and Uvalde Counties. It is a rare tree, seldom more than 20 feet high. Branchlets pale red-brown and marked by pale lenticels during their first season, ultimately turning dull gray-brown.
grows from East Texas to the Edwards Plateau. The leaves are coarsely serrate with sharp-pointed tips, dark green and glaucous above, and pale or covered with a silvery-white bloom and often axillary hairs below. The tree may reach 40 to 50 feet high and 12 to 15 inches in diameter.
located in East Texas to the Edwards Plateau, Kendall County. Underside of the ovate leaves covered with soft, short, brownish-white hairs; smooth on upper surface and coarse-veined. Leaves usually obliquely truncate at the base.
all of the many species of Tamarix are native to the Mediterranean Region or to East Asia and India. However, three of them (T. araiculata Vahl, T. gallica L., and T. pentandra Pall.), are widely planted in the South. All are shrubby in nature, or they may attain the stature of small trees. When of tree size, the trunk normally is short, with main branches quite close to the ground. This gives rise to a wide-spreading bushy crown. The leaves are sparse, delicate, evergreen, alternate, simple, small, scale-like, pale green to dull or bluish-green, ovate or rhombic, sharp pointed, sometimes with thin, dry margins, and without petioles. The foliage presents a leathery appearance. The wood is hard, heavy, white to light straw colored, shows a prominent mottled wavy pattern when quarter-sawn, and takes a high polish.
also called ironwood, is found along the Southeast Coastal Region of Texas. In contrast to B. lanuginosa, the leaves are smooth instead of hairy on the underside. They are also thin. Sometimes grows 25 to 30 feet in height with a short trunk rarely more than 6 inches in diameter. It has stout, flexible branches, usually unarmed.
occurs in Texas from the upper Brazos River to the Rio Grande and upper Guadalupe River. It has thick, leathery-like leaves smooth on the underside. The lateral branches are spiny and occasionally end in stout pines; branchlets slender, often zigzag, and lustrous. The fresh-cut wood of the bumelias in Texas usually produces considerable quantities of clear viscid gum. Mexicans have given some species of this small tree the name “chickle” for that reason.
also called Mexican persimmon, is native to southern and southwestern Texas, from the Colorado River. It is characterized by 1 to 2 inch leaves and small edible black fruits, about ¾ inch in diameter. They will stain the skin black. Mexicans make a hair dye from the ripe fruit, which has given the plant the local name of “capote”. The wood is heavy with a black heartwood often streaked with yellow, and with a bright yellow sapwood. The wood is used in turnery and for the handles of tools.
a small tree, rarely more than 50 feet high, of the dry limestone bluffs and ridges of the Dallas area to the valley of the Colorado River and the Edwards Plateau. Leaves 5 to 8 inches long with usually five, long-stalked leaflets. Fruit in short, compact clusters.
grows along the banks of streams and canyons in the San Antonio and Neuces River watersheds and over the Edwards Plateau. It is rarely more than 30 feet tall. The three to five leaflets are smooth. The wood is light brown and soft.
occurs along the lower Rio Grande Valley, is said to be almost extinct. It is a small tree, sometimes 20 feet tall and 6 to 8 inches in diameter, noted for its large velvety leaves (4 to 5 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide), clusters of yellow and white flowers and delicate ivory-white coated fruit. The bark is thin, gray, tinged with red.
also called knackaway, anama, and yara, occurs in West Texas from the upper San Marcos River to the Rio Grande River. It is a tree of the tropics and of about 40 species in its family, is the only one found in the United States, and here only in Texas. It is valued as a shade tree in some communities of South Texas and is noted for its growth and beauty. Occasionally it grows to a height of 40 to 50 feet with a trunk 3 feet in diameter, attaining its largest size on the Guadalupe and Nueces Rivers. Anaqua has slender branchlets, without terminal buds, and leathery, very rough leaves which are almost evergreen. It blooms with white flowers in March and April and has large groups of edible red berries in June and July. The wood is heavy, close-grained, light brown and of little value.
also called Texas Madroño is a small poorly shaped tree found on dry limestone hills, and in the valley of the Rio Blanco, and among the Eagle Mountains. The trunk is seldom over one foot in diameter and is usually divided into several branches near the ground. The leaves are oval to oblong and persistent until the new leaves are formed. The bark of young stems and branches is smooth, thin, and yellowish-green in color tinged with red. At the base of old trunks the bark, sometimes ¼ inch thick, is dark reddish-brown in color.
is similar in appearance to red pine (P. resinosa Ait.) but needles are more rigid. Bark is black to dark brown and the cones are 1½ to 2 inches long. The tree is a native of central and southern Europe and Asia Minor. It has been planted extensively in the U. S. as an ornamental but is apparently not yet naturalized. It is planted in Texas in windbreak plantings.
is a small tree, not more than 25 feet tall, usually with thorny branches. Leaves are simple, alternate, narrow and 2 to 3 inches long, bright green on the upper surface and silvery underneath. It is a native of Europe and Asia and is used as an ornamental and in windbreak plantings in the United States.
is a small silver gray-green tree with edible scarlet colored fruit which is useful for making jelly, which may reach 18 to 23 feet in height. It generally has narrow oblong leaves ¾ to 2 inches long and twigs are often thorny. Its native range is from the northern Great Plains to Kansas. Useful for windbreak plantings and erosion control.
is more commonly known in the Plains area as Chinese elm. It is drought-resistant and tolerant of a variety of sites but cannot stand too much water. A small tree with slender drooping branches. Clusters of short pedicelled winged fruit appear in April or May. The leaves are simple, alternate, oval to elliptical, 1 to 2 inches long and leaf edges are doubly serrate. Widely used for shade and windbreak plantings.
was introduced from China and has adapted well to the southern Great Plains area centered around the Texas Panhandle. The small tree is very hardy and drought-resistant. Its very light green leaves are 2 to 4 inches long, pointed and borne on slender petioles. The heavy leaves cause the petioles to bend giving the foliage a limp or drooping appearance. Young stems and branches are green, older ones are gray. The fruit is a four-lobed capsule which, before ripening in the fall, has a pinkish cast. The ripened seeds are bright red.
The following guide has been included in the Eighth edition to assist school children and interested adults in the identification of Texas trees.
The guide is non-technical and should be treated as such. More detailed keys are available in most public libraries.
In the guide, trees are grouped according to their outstanding characteristics which include leaves, leaf arrangement, flowers, fruit and site.
| Needles | Cones | |
|---|---|---|
| Shortleaf[1] (page 21) | 2 to 3 in a bundle (usually 2); 3″-5″ long | 1½″-2½″ long |
| Loblolly (page 20) | 3 in a bundle; 6″-9″ long | 3″-5″ long |
| Longleaf (page 22) | 3 in a bundle; 10″-15″ long | 6″-10″ long |
| Slash (page 23) | 2 to 3 in a bundle (usually 2); 8″-12″ long | 4″-6″ long |
Note: Not included above but commonly found in the longleaf pine range is a cross between loblolly and longleaf pine. This hybrid tree has characteristics of both parents.
Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves opposite on twig)
Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves alternate on twig)
Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves opposite on twig)
Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves alternate on twig)
Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves opposite on twig)
Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves alternate on twig)
Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves opposite on twig)
Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves alternate on twig)
Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves alternate on twig)