| a. | Twigs prominently 4-angled; fruit falling in early autumn. | F. quadrangulata, p. [219]. |
| aa. | Twigs terete; fruit often persistent on the tree until mid-winteror the following spring. |
| | b. | Buds rusty-tomentose; twigs more or less downy. | F. pennsylvanica, p. [215]. |
| bb. | Buds not tomentose; twigs not downy. |
| | | c. | Terminal bud black or nearly so, showing 3 pairs ofscales in cross-section; bud-scales apiculate at the apex;samaras with broad wings, the seed portion flattish;bark flaky, rubbing off on the hand. | F. nigra, p. [221]. |
| cc. | Terminal bud brownish, showing 4 pairs of scales incross-section; bud-scales rounded at the apex; samaraswith narrow wings, the seed portion terete; bark ridged,not flaky and rubbing off on the hand. |
| | | | d. | Upper margin of leaf-scars deeply concave. | F. americana, p. [213]. |
| dd. | Upper margin of leaf-scars not concave, but straightacross or projecting upward. | F. pennsylvanica lanceolata, p. [217]. |