West Virginia Trees - 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].

PINACEAE—THE PINE FAMILY

The Pine family comprises nearly 300 species belonging to 34 genera, distributed principally in temperate regions throughout the world. This family is of great economic importance, supplying a larger quantity of lumber than any other family as well as enormous amounts of tannin, turpentine, resin, tar and pitch. Many of its members also are highly useful for ornamental purposes.

The leaves of the trees and shrubs belonging to the Pine family are needle-shaped, awl-shaped, or scale-like, and are usually persistent for more than one year, the American Larch or Tamarack being the only exception to this rule in West Virginia. The seeds are borne either in true cones, or in berry-like fruits such as are produced on the cedars.

The following are the genera of Pinaceae represented in West Virginia:

Pinus.—Of the 34 species of pines native to North America only 5 are found in West Virginia. These are described and illustrated on following pages. Besides the native pines several introduced species are planted on lawns and in parks. The most common of the exotics are Red Pine (Pinus resinosa, Ait.) and Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris, L.), the former having smooth cones about 2 inches long and leaves 4-6 inches long, two in a bundle, and the latter having cones 1½-2½ inches long, and leaves 1½-3½ inches long, two in a bundle.

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF PINUS