Part 42

Wood: Weak, brittle, coarse-grained, yellow-brown.

Uses: Pulpwood, construction.

Habitat: Planted in plantations in Illinois, rarely escaped.

Range: New Jersey to Tennessee, south across Arkansas to eastern Texas, east to central Florida; not native in Illinois.

Distinguishing Features: The Loblolly Pine is distinguished by its stiff, long needles usually in clusters of 3 and by its long cones. It is similar to Shortleaf Pine but has longer needles and cones.

WATER ELM Planera aquatica Gmel.

Other Name: Planer-tree.

Growth Form: Small tree to 30 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 10 inches; crown broadly rounded, with slender branchlets.

Bark: Gray or pale brown, smooth at first but later splitting into large scales.

Twigs: Slender, reddish-brown to gray, usually smooth; leaf scars alternate, nearly circular, each with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Slender, pointed, brownish, smooth or somewhat hairy, up to ¼ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades lance-ovate, rounded or somewhat pointed at the tip, tapering to the usually asymmetrical base, up to 3 inches long, less than half as broad, regularly coarsely toothed, smooth or a little roughened on the upper surface at maturity, smooth or hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks up to ½ inch long, finely hairy.

Flowers: Of three kinds, all on the same tree, appearing after the leaves have begun to expand, greenish-yellow, without petals, the staminate in several small clusters, the pistillate and perfect in drooping clusters of 1-3 flowers.

Fruit: Oblong, fleshy, up to ½ inch long, with warts irregularly scattered over the surface, pale brown.

Wood: Soft, light in weight, close-grained, pale brown.

Uses: Fence posts, fuel.

Habitat: Swampy areas.

Range: North Carolina across southern Illinois to southeastern Missouri, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The Water Elm resembles other native elms in Illinois, but has only single-toothed leaves. The warty fruits are also distinctive.

SYCAMORE Platanus occidentalis L.

Other Names: Buttonwood; Plane-tree.

Growth Form: Large tree sometimes more than 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 8 feet; crown broad, often irregular.

Bark: Reddish-brown when young, quickly breaking into thin, flat scales, falling away in sections to expose large patches of whitish or greenish inner bark.

Twigs: Smooth, light brown, somewhat zigzag; leaf scars alternate, encircling the buds, somewhat elevated, with 5-7 bundle traces.

Buds: Light brown, pointed, about one-fourth inch long, entirely covered by the base of the leafstalk. When the leaves fall off, exposing the buds, they leave a scar which surrounds the base of each bud.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades circular in outline but divided into 3 or 5 shallow, sharp-pointed lobes, heart-shaped or cut straight across at the base, up to 7 inches long (longer on vigorous shoots) and often as broad, bright green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth on the lower surface except for the sparsely hairy veins; leafstalks to 5 inches long, slightly hairy; stipules, resembling the leaves but only about an inch long, often persist near the base of the leafstalks.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate flowers borne separately but on the same tree, minute, crowded together in dense, round heads.

Fruit: Round light brown heads, about one inch in diameter, on long drooping stalks, containing many small seeds surrounded by hairs.