TREE SAMPLE OF BERKS COUNTY Shea Eckert
FLOWERING DOGWOOD Cornus florida (Cornaceae) ID: Simple leaf (3-5 long); opposite arrangement; smooth, sometimes wavy margins; veins curved toward tip; distinctive white or yellow flowers in spring; bark broken into small blocks HABITAT: Native to Berks County, PA; low spreading crown for life in the shade USES: hard wood used for antique transportation; ornamental landscaping
TULIP POPLAR Liriodendron tulipifera (Magnoliaceae) ID: Simple leaf with 4 lobes (5 long, 4-6 wide); bright green; distinctive greenish-yellow flowers that resemble tulips; cone-like fruit; tallest of eastern hardwoods HABITAT: Very common in Eastern United States temperate region; extremely common in Berks County, PA USES: Timber, shade, and veneer; important to woodland animals species that feed on seeds and saplings
SASSAFRAS Sassafras albidum (Lauraceae) ID: Simple leaf (4-6 long) often with one, two or three lobes; dark green above and lighter below; aromatic when crushed; bright green twigs; dark blue berry; yellow flowers prior to leaf growth; inner bark salmon color HABITAT: Good root spread; common in Berks County, PA USES: Kindling, fuel, and fence posts
RED MAPLE Acer rubrum (Sapindaceae) ID: Simple, opposite leaf with 3-5 shallow lobes, coarsely toothed; winged seeds in pairs HABITAT: Most abundant tree in PA; wide variety of habitats but best in wet soils USES: Ornamental landscaping; important for woodland animals to eat
NORTHERN RED OAK Quercus rubra (Fagaceae) ID: Simple, alternating leaves (2-4 long) with 7-11 bristly lobes that extend halfway to the mid-rib; distinct acorn (3/4-1 1/4 long); bark has round ridges between smooth gray streaks HABITAT: Dominant in moist to dry soils; very common in Berks County, PA USES: Shade, furniture, flooring, millwork, transportation veneer, and woodland animal food
WHITE OAK Quercus alba (Fagaceae) ID: Simple, alternating leaves (6-9 long) with 6-10 rounded lobes; distinctive acorn (3/4-1 long); pale grey, often scaly bark HABITAT: Dominant forest tree in moist to dry soil USES: Hardwood flooring, whiskey barrels, boat building (the USS Constitution was made of white oak), and woodland animal food
AMERICAN BEECH Fagus grandifolia (Fagaceae) ID: Simple, alternating leaves (3-4 long) with tapered tip and sharply toothed margins; zigzagging twigs; distinctive prickly bur containing a nut HABITAT: Common throughout Berks County, PA in moist rich soils USES: Timber, wildlife food, and shade
PAPER BIRCH Betula papyrifera (Betulaceae) ID: Simple, alternating leaves (2-3 long, 1 ½ -2 wide) with sharp tip and sharply toothed margins; nutlets held in scaly cone structures; trunk distinctively white and often fissure horizontally HABITAT: High in upland woods USES: Native American canoes, shelters and containers; animal food
BLACK LOCUST Robinia pseudoacacia (Fabaceae) ID: Compound, alternating leaves (1-2 long) with 7-19 leaflets; flat pod (2-4 long) with 4-8 seeds; white, fragrant flowers HABITAT: Open woods, floodplains, thickets and fencerows USES: Posts, poles, road ties, mine timbers, animal food, bees make honey from flower nectar
HONEY LOCUST Gleditsia triacanthos (Fabaceae) ID: Once and twice compound alternating leaves (7-8 long) with even numbers of leaflets (1 long) with fine-toothed margins; leathery flat pod (10-18 long) with dark brown, oval seeds; greenish-brown bark often covered with thorns HABITAT: Found in moist, rich bottomlands USES: Ornamental landscaping, fence posts, general construction, animal food
RED PINE Pinus resinosa (Pinaceae) ID: Evergreen; needles in clusters of 2 (4-6 long) gathered in dense tufts at ends of branchlets; cone (2 long) without prickles; smooth reddish-brown bark HABITAT: Common in Berks County, PA USES: Timber and animal food
EASTERN WHITE PINE Pinus strobus (Finaceae) ID: Evergreen; needles in clusters of 5 (2-5 long); slightly curved cone (4-7 long) without prickles HABITAT: Common in Berks County, PA in moist to dry soil USES: Timber, ornamental landscaping, and animal food
BLACK GUM Nyssa sylvatica (Cornaceae) ID: Simple, alternating, shiny, oval leaves (2-5 long) with entire margins; dark blue berry (1/3 2/3 long) in clusters of 2-3; bark has quadrangular blocks forming alligator bark HABITAT: Found mostly on dry slopes and ridgetops but can also be found in moist areas along streams USES: Boxes, fuel, railroad ties, animal food and ornamental landscaping
BLACK WILLOW Salix nigra (Salicaceae) ID: Simple, alternating, long, pointed, tapered at the base leaves with finely toothed margins and pale grey underside and conspicuous stipules surround twig at the base of the leaf; brittle and dropping branches; fruit are small and reddishbrown capsules (1/4 long) hanging in clusters HABITAT: Found in wet soils along streams and in wet meadows USES: Wickerwork and medicine in bark
CHOKE CHERRY Prunus virginiana (Rosaceae) ID: Simple, alternating leaves (2-4 long) that is widest above the middle with sharply toothed margins; unattractive odor when twigs are bruised; fruit is dark and juicy drupes (1/3 ½ in diameter) without pleasant taste; shiny and smooth bark on trunk HABITAT: Found in thickets, roadsides, and upland woods; less common in Berks County, PA USES: Animals food
TREE OF HEAVEN Ailanthus altissima (Simaroubaceae) ID: Compound, alternating leaves (1½ 3 long) with 11-41 leaflets; stout twigs with a fine down and an unpleasant odor when broken; fruit is a spirally twisted wing (1 ½ long) with one seed per wing HABITAT: Not native to Berks County, PA and is considered invasive
BIBLIOGRAPHY Common Trees of Pennsylvania. (2011) (1st ed.). Harrisburg. Retrieved from http://www.iconservepa.org/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_003489. pdf