Trees and Shrubs of Watrous Island SNA

balsam fir (Abies balsamea)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: Male and Female cones on different branches of the same tree
Leaves: evergreen, long and flat needles, 3/8-1 inch long, dark green upper surface, whitish lower surface with green midvein
Bark: thin, gray, smooth, many resin-filled blisters
Fruit/Seed: cone, 2-3¼ ...more ↓

boxelder (Acer negundo)

Shape: Small tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Opposite
Flower: Green/red rounded cluster
Leaves: compound in groups of 3-7, when only 3 leaflets it looks similar to poison ivy, leaflets; oval with pointed tip, coarsely toothed, up to 3 ¾ inches long and 2 ¼ inches wide
Bark: gray-brown with blocky, vertical ridges and furrows
...more ↓

silver maple (Acer saccharinum)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Opposite
Flower: Red rounded cluster
Leaves: palmately lobed, 5 lobes, sinuses between lobes deeply indented, lacey, coarsely toothed, up to 6 ½ inches long
Bark: grey/brown, coarse, scaly, shaggy
Fruit/Seed: pair of winged seeds, 1 ½-2 1/3 inch long, wings at about 90 degree ...more ↓

sugar maple (Acer saccharum)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Opposite
Flower: Green/yellow rounded cluster
Leaves: palmately lobed, 3 large lobes plus 2 small lobes, up to 6 inches long and 7 inches wide,
Bark: grey/brown, ridged
Fruit/Seed: pair of winged seeds, 1 inch long, wings at a 60-90 degree angle
Height: 60-100 ...more ↓

paper birch (Betula papyrifera)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: Brown/yellow and red elongated cluster – catkin, males 2-3 ¾ inches long, females ½-1 inch long with red styles
Leaves: larger towards base, 2-3½ inches long, 1¼-2 1/3 inches wide, abruptly tapers to sharply pointed tip, base rounded to nearly straight across, edges irregularly ...more ↓

black ash (Fraxinus nigra)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Opposite
Flower: Maroon bead-like rounded cluster
Leaves: pinnately compound, 9-16 inches long, 7-13 pointed oval leaflets, leaflets 3-5½ inches long and 1-2¼ inches wide, stalkless
Bark: grey, mature bark has thin flat scale-like texture
Fruit/Seed: single winged seed, 1-1¾ inches ...more ↓

green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Opposite
Flower: Green/brown bead-like rounded cluster
Leaves: pinnately compound, 6-12 inches long, 5-9 pointed oval leaflets, leaflets 2½-5 inches long and 1-1¾ inches wide, very short winged stalk, finely toothed edges
Bark: grey, diamond patterned furrows
Fruit/Seed: single ...more ↓

woodbine (Parthenocissus vitacea)

Shape: Vine
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: Green/yellow rounded cluster
Leaves: palmately compound with 5 leaflets, leaflets; up to 5 inches long and 2½ inches wide, end leaflets smallest, oval-elliptic shaped, widest at or above middle, coarsely toothed at least on tip half, tapering to sharply pointed tip
Bark: ...more ↓

quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: elongated cluster – catkin, 1 ¼-3 ¼ inches long, tiers of red stamens/stigmas, white silky hairs
Leaves: round with pointed tip, 1 ¼-3 inches long, small rounded teeth, flat leaf stalk
Bark: white, dark furrows at bases of mature trees
Fruit/Seed: elongate cluster ...more ↓

white spruce (Picea glauca)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: cone-like structure, male; oblong oval, 1/3-1/2 inch long, purple and erect, maturing to yellow/brown and hanging down, female; oval/barrel shaped, ½-5/8 inch long, purple, erect
Leaves: evergreen, square needles, 1/3-3/4 inch long, pointed tip
Bark: grey, thin flaky ...more ↓

bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: Green nondescript
Leaves: 4-8 inches long, 2-6 inches wide, base deeply lobed, rest of leaf shallowly lobed and fan shaped, lower surface densely fuzzy
Bark: dark grey, furrowed
Fruit/Seed: acorn, ½-1 inch long, hat is fringed with thick and course hairs
...more ↓

prickly rose (Rosa acicularis)

Shape: Multi-stemmed shrub
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: Pink simple shaped, 5 petals
Leaves: compound, 5-7 leaflets, leaflets 1-1¾ inch long and 2/3-1 inch wide, oval, finely serrated, sometimes double toothed
Bark: reddish brown and densely covered in long, stiff bristles
Fruit/Seed: berry-like fruit - ...more ↓

red raspberry (Rubus idaeus)

Shape: Bramble
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: White simple shaped, 5 petals
Leaves: compound, 3-5 leaflets, leaflets 1½-3½ inches long, 1- 2¼ inches wide, center leaflet stalked and sometimes 2-3 lobed, lateral leaflets stalkless and unlobed, edges single or double toothed
Bark: green with red bristles
...more ↓

slender willow (Salix petiolaris)

Shape: Multi-stemmed shrub
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: elongated cluster – catkin, yellow, ½-1 inch long, male and female on different plants
Leaves: 1 ½-4 inches long, ¾ inch wide, 4-9 times longer than wide, pointed tip, finely toothed
Bark: green-gray
Fruit/Seed: cluster of pear shaped capsules, ...more ↓

basswood (Tilia americana)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: White simple shaped, 5 petals
Leaves: uneven heart shaped, finely toothed, 4-6 inches long
Bark: grey, ridged and furrowed
Fruit/Seed: greenish, round, woody nut-like berry, ¼-1/3 inch diameter, covered in minutes hairs
Height: 60-110 feet
...more ↓

American elm (Ulmus americana)

Shape: Tree
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: Red and green rounded cluster
Leaves: oval, uneven base, pointed tip, doubly toothed, rough texture, 3-5¾ inches long, 1½-3½ inches wide
Bark: grey, cork-like texture, red and white alternating layers in cross-section
Fruit/Seed: single winged seed, egg-shaped, ...more ↓

nannyberry (Viburnum lentago)

Shape: Multi-stemmed shrub
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Opposite
Flower: White rounded cluster
Leaves: oval with pointed tip, 2-4 inches long, 1 ¼-2 ¼ inches wide, short sharp teeth
Bark: dark gray, deeply checkered furrows
Fruit/Seed: slightly flattened, oval, berry, 1/3-½ inch long, green-purplish/red-blue/black
...more ↓

frost grape (Vitis riparia)

Shape: Vine
Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
Flower: Yellow/green elongated cluster
Leaves: palmately lobed, heart-shaped, edges hairy and sharply toothed, 4-8 inches long
Bark: brown, peeling in long strips
Fruit/Seed: round grape, ¼-1/2 inch diameter, blue/black
Height: up to 75 feet
...more ↓

Edited by Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)