Range: Virginia across to Missouri, south to Texas, east to Florida.
Distinguishing Features: The most distinguishing characteristics of the Rusty Nannyberry are the rusty-hairy buds and leaf stalks.
Special Places to Study Trees
A number of places in the state of Illinois provide opportunities to study and to observe woody plants. Some of the major ones are briefly described below.
The Morton Arboretum
A good place to learn the trees of Illinois firsthand is the Morton Arboretum at Lisle, some twenty-five miles west of Chicago. This privately endowed educational and scientific institution is devoted to growing all kinds of woody plants that will survive in northern Illinois. On the Arboretum’s 1500 acres one can find large collections of oaks, maples, elms, ashes, lindens, junipers, pines, firs, spruces, and numerous other groupings of woody plants from places throughout the temperate world.
Certain collections in the Arboretum are along designated trails and are especially useful in learning to identify trees. Perhaps the most popular is the Illinois Trees Trail, where native trees are identified by plaques that show common and scientific names and give other interesting information about the trees. Another is the Evergreen Trail, which features conifers.
Some trails emphasize ecology or other aspects of biology but also feature trees. One of these is the Thornhill Trail, a general nature trail on which trees are prominent. Another trail links nearby nature study areas, including a mini-prairie, a wild flower garden, a northern coniferous forest, and a pond-marsh. A short garden trail, the Viburnum Walk, is unusual in that it utilizes a grouping of Viburnums and their relatives to illustrate some of the principles of plant classification.
Landscape plantings are another important feature in the Arboretum, and the extensive forested areas provide a dramatic backdrop for cultivated plantings that have been blended skillfully into the natural landscape. These are especially spectacular in spring when flowering trees are in bloom and in fall when the foliage is in color.