HAROLD E. GRELEN
Principal Range Scientist
Southern Forest Experiment Station
Forest Service—USDA
Pineville, Louisiana
1977
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402
Contents
Page [Overview of Southern Hardwoods] 1 [Key to Hardwoods] 6 [a]Species Described and Illustrated] [Mockernut hickory] 10 [Pignut hickory] 12 [Shagbark hickory] 14 [Bitternut hickory] 16 [Southern red oak] 18 [Cherrybark oak] 20 [Black oak] 22 [Scarlet oak] 24 [Northern red oak] 26 [Shumard oak] 28 [Blackjack oak] 30 [Laurel oak] 32 [Water oak] 34 [White oak] 36 [Post oak] 38 [Chestnut oak] 40 [Winged elm] 42 [American elm] 44 [Sugarberry] 46 [Yellow-poplar] 48 [Sweetbay] 50 [Sweetgum] 52 [Red maple] 54 [Black tupelo] 56 [White ash] 58 [Green ash] 60 [Selected References] 63 [Glossary] 65 [Index] 69
Overview of Southern Hardwoods
Throughout the South some 49 billion cubic feet of small, low-quality hardwoods are growing on southern pine sites[1] (Staff, For. Resour. Res. Work Unit 1976). This material is usually wasted; if the site is prepared for regeneration to pine, the hardwoods there are destroyed. Research is underway to find economical methods of harvesting and utilizing these hardwoods. The descriptions, key, and illustrations in this book should help wood utilization researchers, especially those new to the South, to identify the most prevalent hardwood species on southern pine sites (Table 1).
Table 1.—Important hardwoods on southern pine sites, ranked according to percentage of total hardwood volume
Percentages were derived from Staff, For. Resour. Res. Work Unit (1976).
Nomenclature used herein follows Little (1953).
| Species | Percent | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetgum | Liquidambar styraciflua L. | 13.2 | |
| White oak | Quercus alba L. | 12.3 | |
| Hickory | Carya spp. | 8.5 | |
| Southern red oak | Quercus falcata Michx. | 8.1 | |
| Post oak | Quercus stellata Wangenh. | 7.0 | |
| Yellow-poplar | Liriodendron tulipifera L. | 7.0 | |
| Black tupelo | Nyssa sylvatica Marsh. | 5.5 | |
| Water oak | Quercus nigra L. | 4.7 | |
| Black oak | Quercus velutina Lam. | 4.0 | |
| Scarlet oak | Quercus coccinea Muenchh. | 3.6 | |
| Red maple | Acer rubrum L. | 3.6 | |
| Chestnut oak | Quercus prinus L. | 2.9 | |
| Northern red oak | Quercus rubra L. | 2.4 | |
| Laurel oak | Quercus laurifolia Michx. | 1.4 | |
| Elm | Ulmus spp. | 1.4 | |
| Cherrybark oak | Quercus falcata var. pagodaefolia Ell. | 1.2 | |
| Ash | Fraxinus spp. | .9 | |
| Sweetbay | Magnolia virginiana L. | .6 | |
| Shumard oak | Quercus shumardii Buckl. | .2 | |
| Hackberry | Celtis spp. | .1 | |
| Other hardwoods | including blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica Muenchh.) | 11.4 | |
| Total hardwoods | 100.0 | ||