Part 3

TWIGS AND LEAVES

Alternate Whorled Opposite

Simple Compound Doubly Compound Opposite Leaves Alternate Leaves Awl-Shaped Needles Pine Needles Scale-like Needles

Lamina or blade Base Stem Apex Leaf margin Primary vein Secondary or lateral veins Petiole (Sessile leaves have no petiole but are attached directly to the stem)

LEAF SHAPES

Lanceolate Ovate Obovate Star-shaped Linear or Rectangular Heart-Shaped or Orbicular Oval Elliptical Deltoid

Acuminate Acute Obtuse Truncate Bristle Pointed Rounded

Entire Dentate Toothed or Serrate Sinuate or Wavy Doubly Serrate Lobed Incised

Wedge-Shaped or Cuneate Oblique or One-Sided Rounded Heart-Shaped or Cordate Truncate or Square

Stamen Anther Filament Sepal Receptacle Petal Pistil Stigma Style Ovary Peduncle

Sepals collectively designated as calyx.

Petals collectively designated as corolla.

The ripened ovary comprises the fruit.

Ripened ovules of the ovary comprise the seed of the fruit.

A flower lacking either calyx, corolla, stamens, or pistil is an incomplete flower. If the male and female flower parts occur in separate flowers on the same tree the species is said to be monoecious. If the male and female flowers occur on separate trees, the species is said to be dioecious.

Spike Catkin or ament Cylindrical cyme Flat-topped cyme Raceme Panicle Corymb Umbel Compound umbel Head

Acorn (Oak) Multiple Fruit (Mulberry) Nuts in Prickly Bur (Beech) Drupe (Cherry) Pod (Locust) Samara (Elm) Samara (Ash) Samara (Maple) Cone (Pine) Hairy Seed (Willow) Nuts in Bladder-Like Bracts (Hophornbeam) Berry (Persimmon) Nut in Husk (Hickory) A Nut-Like Drupe (Basswood) Drupe (Hackberry) Winged Seed (Pine) Multiple Fruit—Achene Enlarged (Sycamore) Nuts in Spiny Bur (Chinkapin)

Texas Trees

LIMBER PINE (Rocky Mountain White Pine) Pinus flexilis var. flexilis James

Limber pine is abundant in the Rocky Mountains and in scattered areas over much of the West. In Texas, limber pine may be found in the Guadalupe and Davis Mountains of West Texas.

As the name indicates, the branches and twigs are especially flexible and tough, often light purple in color. The branches form a rounded tree top or head. The trunk is stout and noticeably tapered.

The needle-like LEAVES are in clusters of five. They are stiff and stout, about 2 to 3 inches long, and arranged in clusters or tufts near the ends of the branches. They stay on the twig for five or six years.

The “FRUIT”, a cone, is relatively short or stocky, mostly from 3 to 6 inches long, made up of rounded rather thick scales, some turned forward and some backward. The cone is short-stalked. As with all the pines, the seeds mature at the end of the second season of growth.

The WOOD is relatively soft, close-grained, slightly yellowish or reddish. It is not cut in quantity and the trees are usually rather limby and short-bodied, which largely accounts for the small commercial use.

PINYON (Nut Pine) Pinus edulis Engelm.

Pinyon is found as scattered trees or in small groves over the mountains and canyons in the western part of the state to elevations of 8,000 feet. It is a small tree, grows on warm slopes or in sheltered locations, and forms a bushy top with orange-colored branchlets.

The needle-like LEAVES grow in bundles of two (rarely 3); whereas in Pinus cembroides Zucc., the Mexican Pinyon, there are usually three needles per cluster. The dark green needles are approximately one inch long, stiff, stout, and curved. They remain on the tree from 5 to 8 years.

Like all the pines, it has male and female “FLOWERS” separate on the same tree. The “FRUIT”, a cone, is rounded, about 1 to 2 inches across, and produces large seeds or “nuts”, from ½ to ¾ inch long. The seeds are rich in food value and form an important article of diet for the Indians. The seeds are gathered and sold widely as fancy “nuts” in many larger towns and cities.