West Virginia Trees

Part 1

WEST VIRGINIA TREES

BULLETIN 175

Agricultural Experiment Station

College of Agriculture

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

Morgantown

JOHN LEE COULTER, Director

Bulletin 175 September, 1920

Agricultural Experiment Station College of Agriculture, West Virginia University

JOHN LEE COULTER, Director,

MORGANTOWN

West Virginia Trees

A. B. BROOKS

Bulletins and Reports of this Station will be mailed free to any citizen of West Virginia upon written application. Address Director of the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Morgantown, W. Va.

THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

Educational Institutions

THE STATE BOARD OF CONTROL

E. B. STEPHENSON, President Charleston, W. Va. JAMES S. LAKIN Charleston, W. Va. J. M. WILLIAMSON Charleston, W. Va.

The State Board of Control has the direction of the financial and business affairs of the state educational institutions.

THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

M. P. SHAWKEY, President Charleston, W. Va.

State Superintendent of Schools

GEORGE S. LAIDLEY Charleston, W. Va. NOAH G. KEIM Elkins, W. Va. EARL W. OGLEBAY Wheeling, W. Va. FRANK N. SYCAFOOSE Webster Springs, W. Va. L. W. BURNS Grafton, W. Va. W. C. COOK Welch, W. Va.

The State Board of Education has charge of all matters of a purely scholastic nature concerning the state educational institutions.

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

FRANK BUTLER TROTTER, LL.D. President

Agricultural Experiment Station Staff

JOHN LEE COULTER, A.M., Ph.D. Director BERT H. HITE, M.S. Vice-Director and Chemist FRANK B. KUNST, A.B. Assistant Chemist CHARLES E. WEAKLEY, Jr. Assistant Chemist W. E. RUMSEY, B.S.Agr. State Entomologist N. J. GIDDINGS, Ph.D. Plant Pathologist ANTHONY BERG, B.S. Assistant Plant Pathologist ERNEST L. ANTHONY, M.S. Dairyman H. O. HENDERSON, M.S. Assistant Dairyman HORACE ATWOOD, M.S.Agr. Poultry Research E. L. ANDREWS, B.S.Agr. Assistant in Poultry Husbandry ROBERT M. SALTER, M.Sc. Soil Investigations R. E. STEPHENSON, M.S. Assistant in Soil Investigations I. S. COOK, Jr., B.S.Agr. Research Agronomist T. C. McILVANE, M.S.Agr. Assistant Agronomist R. P. BLEDSOE, M.S. Assistant Agronomist J. K. SHAW, Ph.D. Horticulturist H. A. JONES, Ph.D. Assistant Horticulturist L. F. SUTTON, B.S., B.S.Agr. Assistant Horticulturist H. E. KNOWLTON, B.S.Agr. Assistant Horticulturist H. L. CRANE, M.S.Agr. Assistant Horticulturist ROLAND H. PATCH, M.S. Assistant Horticulturist H. W. RICHEY, B.S.Agr. Assistant Horticulturist ERNEST ANGELO, B.S.Agr. Assistant Horticulturist L. M. PEAIRS, M.S. Research Entomologist E. A. LIVESAY, M.S.Agr.. Animal Husbandry R. H. TUCKWILLER, B.S.Agr. Assistant in Animal Husbandry C. V. WILSON, B.S.Agr. Assistant in Animal Husbandry A. J. DADISMAN, M.S.Agr. Farm Economics C. A LUEDER, D.V.M. Veterinary Science C. E. STOCKDALE, B.S.Agr. Agricultural Editor D. M. WILLIS, LL.M. Financial Secretary J. C. JOHNSTON Chief Clerk MARY A. FOX Assistant Librarian

Part 2

In co-operation with U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

PREFACE

The native trees of West Virginia number about 125, of which 101 are described and illustrated in this publication. The omissions are principally species of unimportant willows and hawthorns which can be identified only by specialists. Some of the more common introduced trees are mentioned in the family descriptions on pages 13 to 27, and a few are illustrated in groups after the descriptions of native species. It has been the object to simplify everything in this publication as much as possible. The meaning of unfamiliar words in the keys and descriptions can be learned by consulting the glossary beginning on page 237.

The keys are based principally on characters of leaf and fruit since these are usually available for study during several months in the summer and fall. The text, however, contains brief descriptions of the flowers which often denote most surely the natural relationship of species.

Scientific names and the order of arrangement are essentially those of the seventh edition of Gray’s New Manual of Botany.

The drawings were made by the writer from specimens collected during the past few years.

This bulletin has been prepared mainly for those who desire to become more familiar with our native and introduced trees, but who do not have access to the larger publications on the subject. It will serve also as a basis for future forestry studies in the State. Popular interest in forestry, which is sadly lacking in West Virginia at this time, will be stimulated by a more general and more intimate acquaintance with the different kinds of trees. It is hoped that this bulletin will help to create the needed interest. If difficulty is found in determining the name of any tree, specimens mailed to the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Morgantown, West Virginia, will be named, if possible, without charge.

—A.B. BROOKS.

Morgantown, W. Va. September 1, 1920.

CONTENTS

Page

Preface 3

Contents 4

Key to Genera 7

Pinaceae—The Pine Family 13

Salicaceae—The Willow Family 14

Juglandaceae—The Walnut Family 15

Betulaceae—The Birch Family 16

Fagaceae—The Beech Family 17

Urticaceae—The Nettle Family 19

Magnoliaceae—The Magnolia Family 20

Anonaceae—The Custard Apple Family 20

Lauraceae—The Laurel Family 21

Hamamelidaceae—The Witch Hazel Family 21

Platanaceae—The Plane Tree Family 21

Rosaceae—The Rose Family 21

Leguminosae—The Pulse Family 22

Rutaceae—The Rue Family 23

Part 3

Simarubaceae—The Quassia Family 23

Anacardiaceae—The Cashew Family 23

Aquifoliaceae-The Holly Family 24

Aceraceae—The Maple Family 24

Sapindaceae—The Soapberry Family 25

Tiliaceae—The Linden Family 25

Araliaceae—The Ginseng Family 25

Cornaceae—The Dogwood Family 25

Ericaceae—The Heath Family 25

Ebenaceae—The Ebony Family 26

Styracaceae—The Storax Family 26

Oleaceae—The Olive Family 26

Caprifoliaceae—The Honeysuckle Family 27

White Pine 29

Pitch Pine 31

Table Mountain Pine 33

Yellow Pine 35

Jersey or Scrub Pine 37

Tamarack 39

Red Spruce 41

Hemlock 43

Balsam Fir 45

Arbor Vitae 47

Red Cedar 49

Black Willow 51

American Aspen 53

Large-toothed Poplar 55

Cottonwood 57

Part 4

Butternut 59

Black Walnut 61

Shell-Bark Hickory 63

Big Shell-Bark Hickory 65

Mockernut Hickory 67

Pignut Hickory 69

Bitternut Hickory 71

Hop Hornbeam 73

American Hornbeam 75

Black Birch 77

Yellow Birch 79

Red Birch 81

Beech 83

Chestnut 85

Chinquapin 87

White Oak 89

Post Oak 91

Bur Oak 93

Swamp White Oak 95

Yellow Oak 97

Chestnut Oak 99

Red Oak 101

Pin Oak 103

Scarlet Oak 105

Black Oak 107

Spanish Oak 109

Scrub Oak 111

Black Jack Oak 113

Part 5

Laurel Oak 115

Slippery Elm 117

American Elm 119

Hackberry 121

Red Mulberry 123

Cucumber Tree 125

Umbrella Tree 127

Mountain Magnolia 129

Tulip Tree 131

Common Pawpaw 133

Sassafras 135

Witch Hazel 137

Sweet Gum 139

Sycamore 141

American Crab Apple 143

Mountain Ash 145

Shad Bush 147

Cockspur Thorn 149

Dotted Thorn 151

Black Cherry 153

Choke Cherry 155

Wild Red Cherry 157

Wild Plum 159

Honey Locust 161

Red Bud 163

Common Locust 165

Hop Tree 167

Stag Horn Sumach 169

Part 6

Dwarf Sumach 171

Poison Sumach 173

American Holly 175

Mountain Holly 177

Striped Maple 179

Mountain Maple 181

Sugar Maple 183

Black Sugar Maple 185

Silver Maple 187

Red Maple 189

Box Elder 191

Fetid Buckeye 193

Sweet Buckeye 195

Basswood 197

White Basswood 199

Hercules Club 201

Flowering Dogwood 203

Alternate-Leaved Dogwood 205

Black Gum 207

Great Laurel 209

Mountain Laurel 211

Sour-wood 213

Common Persimmon 215

Opossum Wood 217

White Ash 219

Red Ash 221

Black Ash 223

Fringe Tree 225

Part 7

Sweet Viburnum 227

Black Haw 229

Red Pine 230

Scotch Pine 230

Bald Cypress 230

European Larch 230

Norway Spruce 230

White Willow 230

Osage Orange 230

Norway Maple 231

Sycamore Maple 231

Gray Birch 231

Horse Chestnut 231

Catalpa 231

Tree of Heaven 231

Kentucky Coffee Tree 231

Native Shrubs and Shrubby Vines 232

Glossary 237

West Virginia Trees

By A. B. BROOKS

KEY TO THE GENERA

(Based on leaves and fruit)

a.—Leaves simple.

b.—Leaves needle-shaped, awl-shaped, or scale-like, usually evergreen; fruit a cone or berry-like.

c.—Leaves in bundles of 2-many; fruit a cone. Leaves in bundles of 2-5, evergreen =Pinus, p. 13.=

Leaves in clusters of 8-many on short spur-like branchlets, deciduous in autumn =Larix, p. 13.=

c.—Leaves not in bundles, solitary.

d.—Leaves alternate or whorled.

Part 8

Leaves 4-angled, harsh, needle-shaped =Picea, p. 13.=

Leaves flat, whitened beneath, ½-1¼ inches long, sessile, aromatic; cones 2-4 inches long with deciduous scales; bark of twigs smooth, and on old trunks with raised resin-filled blisters =Abies, p. 14.=

Leaves two-fifths to one-half inch long, short-petioled, flat and whitened beneath; cones about ¾ inch long with persistent scales; bark of twigs rough =Tsuga, p. 14.=

d.—Leaves opposite.

Leaves scale-like, decurrent on the stem, all of one kind; twigs flattened; fruit a small elongated cone with 8-12 over-lapping scales =Thuja, p. 14.=

Leaves of two kinds, either scale-like or awl-shaped, not decurrent on the stem; twigs nearly terete; fruit a bluish, berry-like strobile =Juniperus, p. 14.=

b.—Leaves flat and broad, usually deciduous.

c.—Leaves alternate or clustered.

d.—Leaves without lobes.

e.—Leaves with margins entire or slightly undulate.

f.—Leaves deciduous.

Leaves 2-5 inches long, oval; fruit an ovoid, blue berry-like drupe, borne 1-3 in a drooping cluster =Nyssa, p. 25.=

Leaves 2-5 inches long, ovate; fruit a spherical, blue berry-like drupe, borne many in an upright cyme, (Cornus alternifolia) =Cornus, p. 25.=

Leaves 4-6 inches long, oval; fruit an edible berry ¾-1¼ inches in diameter =Diospyros, p. 26.=

Leaves 4-12 inches long, obovate-lanceolate; fruit banana-like, 3-5 inches long, with many flattened seeds in the yellow flesh =Asimina, p. 20.=

Leaves 6-24 inches long, ovate-obovate; fruit a cone-like or cucumber-like cylindrical mass 2-4 inches long =Magnolia, p. 20.=

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