Buds, Leaves, and Global Warming Project Tree Species

This is a field guide for an education project at the Harvard Forest.

Red Maple

Acer rubrum (Red Maple, also known as Swamp or Soft Maple), is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas. Many of its features, especially its leaves, are quite ...more ↓

apple

Malus (pronounced /ˈmeɪlÉ™s/ or /ˈmælÉ™s/), the apples, is a genus of about 30–35 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae. Other studies go as far as 55 species including the domesticated Orchard Apple, or Table apple as it was formerly called (M. domestica, derived from M. sieversii, syn. M. pumila). ...more ↓

black ash

Fraxinus nigra (Black Ash) is a species of Fraxinus (ash) native to much of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, from western Newfoundland west to southeastern Manitoba, and south to Illinois and northern Virginia.

river birch

Betula nigra (River Birch; also occasionally called Water Birch) is a species of birch native to the eastern United States from New Hampshire west to southern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and east Texas. It is commonly found in flood plains and/or swamps.

Rum Cherry

Prunus serotina, commonly called Black Cherry, Wild Black Cherry, Rum Cherry, or Mountain Black Cherry, is a woody plant species belonging to the genus Prunus. This cherry is native to eastern North America from southern Quebec and Ontario south to Texas and central Florida, with disjunct populations in Arizona and New Mexico, and in the ...more ↓

American Beech

The Fagus grandifolia also known as American Beech is a species of beech native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario in southeastern Canada, west to Wisconsin and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida in the United States. Trees in the southern half of the range are sometimes distinguished as a variety, F. grandifolia var. ...more ↓

Black Locust

Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known as the Black Locust, is a tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, but has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas. A less frequently used common name is False ...more ↓

Black Walnut

The Eastern Black walnut (Juglans nigra) is a species of flowering tree in the hickory family, Juglandaceae, that is native to eastern North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central Texas. Isolated wild trees in the Upper Ottawa Valley may be an isolated ...more ↓

Black Oak

Eastern Black oak (Quercus velutina), or more commonly known as simply Black Oak is an oak in the red oak (Quercus sect. Lobatae) group of oaks. It is native to eastern North America from southern Ontario south to northern Florida and southern Maine west to northeastern Texas. It is a common tree in the Indiana Dunes and other sandy dunal ecosystems along ...more ↓

Rhamnus

The Buckthorns (Rhamnus) are a genus (or two genera, if Frangula is treated as distinct) of about 100 species of shrubs or small trees from 1-10 m tall (rarely to 15 m), in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. They are native throughout the temperate and subtropical Northern Hemisphere, and also more locally in the subtropical Southern Hemisphere in parts of Africa and South ...more ↓

butternut

Juglans cinerea, commonly known as Butternut or White Walnut, is a species of walnut native to the eastern United States and southeast Canada, from southern Quebec west to Minnesota, south to northern Alabama and southwest to northern Arkansas. It is absent from most of the Southern United States.

Box Elder

Acer negundo is a species of maple native to North America. Box Elder, Boxelder Maple, and Maple Ash are its most common names in the United States. Other variant names -- some of which are regional - include Ash Maple, Ash-leaf Maple, Black Ash, California Boxelder, Cutleaf Maple, Cut-leaved Maple, Negundo Maple, Red River Maple, Stinking Ash, Sugar Ash, ...more ↓

Choke Cherry

The Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana) is a species of bird cherry (Prunus subgenus Padus) native to North America, where it is found almost throughout the continent except for the deep south and the far north.

American Chestnut

The American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) is a large, deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. Before the species was devastated by the chestnut blight, a fungal disease, it was one of the most important forest trees throughout its range. There are now very few mature specimens of the tree within its historical range, although many small sprouts of the ...more ↓

Northern Catalpa

Catalpa speciosa, commonly known as the Northern catalpa, Hardy catalpa, Western catalpa, Cigar tree, and Catawba-tree, is a species of Catalpa that is native to the midwestern United States in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

Eastern Cottonwood

The Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) is a cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States, the southernmost part of eastern Canada, and northeastern Mexico.

Japanese Cherry

Prunus serrulata or Japanese Cherry; also called Hill Cherry, Oriental Cherry or East Asian Cherry, is a species of cherry native to Japan, Korea and China. It is known for its spring cherry blossom displays and festivals.

American Elm

Ulmus americana, generally known as the American Elm or, less commonly, as the White Elm or Water Elm, is a species native to eastern North America, occurring from Nova Scotia west as far as British Columbia, from northern Alberta at the top of its range, south to Florida and central Texas. It is an extremely hardy tree that can withstand winter temperatures ...more ↓

Slippery Elm

The Slippery Elm Ulmus rubra is a species of elm native to eastern North America (from southeast North Dakota, east to southern Quebec, south to northernmost Florida, and west to eastern Texas). It is similar to American Elm in general appearance, but more closely related to the European Wych Elm, which has a very similar flower structure. Other common names include Red ...more ↓

Flowering Dogwood

Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood, syn. Benthamidia florida (L.) Spach) is a species of dogwood native to eastern North America, from southern Maine west to southern Ontario and eastern Kansas, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas and also in Illinois, with a disjunct population in eastern Mexico in Nuevo León and Veracruz.

Green Ash

Fraxinus pennsylvanica (Green Ash or Red Ash) is a species of ash native to eastern and central North America, from Nova Scotia west to southeastern Alberta and eastern Colorado, south to northern Florida, and southwest to eastern Texas.

Gray Birch

Betula populifolia (Gray Birch) is a deciduous tree native to North America. It ranges from southeastern Ontario east to Nova Scotia, and south to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It also has disjunct populations in Indiana, Virginia, and North Carolina. It prefers poor, dry upland soils, but is also found in moist mixed woodlands. It is a common pioneer species on abandoned ...more ↓

Cornus racemosa

Cornus racemosa (Northern Swamp Dogwood or Gray Dogwood) is a shrubby plant native to southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States. It is a member of the dogwood genus Cornus and the family Cornaceae.

Common Hawthorn

Crataegus monogyna, known as Common Hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. Other common names include may, mayblossom, maythorn, quickthorn, whitethorn, motherdie, and haw. This species is one of several that have been referred to as Crataegus oxyacantha, a name that ...more ↓

honey locust

The Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America. It is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys ranging from southeastern South Dakota to New Orleans and central Texas, and as far east as eastern Massachusetts.

American hornbeam

Carpinus caroliniana (American Hornbeam) is a small hardwood tree in the genus Carpinus. American Hornbeam is also occasionally known as blue-beech, ironwood, or musclewood. It is native to eastern North America, from Minnesota and southern Ontario east to Maine, and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida.

Bigtooth Aspen

Populus grandidentata — the large-tooth, or big-tooth, aspen — is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America.

Common Lilac

Syringa vulgaris (Lilac or Common Lilac) is a species of Syringa in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe, where it grows on rocky hills.

American Mountain Ash

The tree species Sorbus americana (syn. Pyrus americana) is commonly known as the American Mountain-ash. It is a relatively small (height 12 meters / 40 feet) deciduous perennial tree, native to northern North America and the Appalachian Mountains. Its conspicuous white spring flowers and winter persistent orange fruit make it one of our most recognizable trees.

Red Mulberry

The red mulberry (Morus rubra) is a species of mulberry native to eastern North America, from northernmost Ontario and Vermont south to southern Florida and west to southeast South Dakota and central Texas. Although red mulberry is common in the United States, it is listed as an endangered species in Canada.

Norway Maple

Acer platanoides (Norway Maple) is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and southwest Asia, from France east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran....

Pin Cherry

The Pin cherry or Fire cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) is a species in the genus Prunus. It can be found from Newfoundland and southern Labrador, crossing Canada to the west and reaching British Columbia and the southern Northwest Territories. Additionally it is very common in New England and the Lake States but not very common south of Pennsylvania, where it is found ...more ↓

pears

The pear is a fruit tree of genus Pyrus (pronounced /ˈpaɪrəs/) and also the name of the tree's edible pomaceous fruit. The pear is classified in subtribe Pyrinae within tribe Pyreae. The apple (Malus × domestica), which it resembles in floral structure, is also a member of this subcategory.

Pignut Hickory

Pignut hickory (Carya glabra) is a common but not abundant species in the oak-hickory forest association in the Eastern United States and Canada. Other common names are pignut, sweet pignut, coast pignut hickory, smoothbark hickory, swamp hickory, and broom hickory. The pear-shaped nut ripens in September and October and is an ...more ↓

Pin Oak

The Pin oak or Swamp Spanish oak (Quercus palustris) is an oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae.

Northern Red Oak

The Northern Red Oak or Champion Oak, Quercus rubra (syn. Quercus borealis), is an oak in the red oak group (Quercus section Lobatae). It is a native of North America, in the northeastern United States and southeast Canada. It grows from the north end of the Great Lakes, east to Nova Scotia, south as far as Georgia and states with good soil that is ...more ↓

Sassafras

Sassafras albidum (Sassafras, White Sassafras, Red Sassafras, or Silky Sassafras) is a species of Sassafras native to eastern North America, from southern Maine and southern Ontario west to Iowa, and south to central Florida and eastern Texas. It occurs throughout the eastern deciduous forest habitat type, at altitudes of sea level up to 1,500 ...more ↓

serviceberry

Amelanchier, also known as shadbush, serviceberry, sarvisberry, juneberry, Saskatoon, shadblow, shadwood, sugarplum, and wild-plum, is a genus of about 20 species of shrubs and small deciduous trees in the Rosaceae (Rose family).

shagbark hickory

The Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) is a common hickory in the eastern United States and southeast Canada. It is a large deciduous tree, growing up to 27 m tall, and will live up to 200 years. Mature Shagbarks are easy to recognize because, as their name implies, they have shaggy bark. This character is however only found on mature trees; young specimens have smooth bark.

Sugar Maple

Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple) is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas.

Scarlet Oak

The Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea) is an oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae. The scarlet oak is often called the Pin Oak, the Red Oak, and occasionally the Black Oak. It is mainly native to the eastern United States, from southern Maine west to eastern Oklahoma, and south to southern Alabama. It is also native in the extreme south of Ontario, Canada. ...more ↓

Magnolia stellata

Magnolia stellata, sometimes called the star magnolia, is a slow-growing shrub or small tree native to Japan. It bears large, showy white or pink flowers in early spring, before its leaves open. This species is closely related to the Kobushi magnolia (Magnolia kobus), and is treated by many botanists as a variety or even a cultivar of that. However, Magnolia ...more ↓

Striped Maple

Acer pensylvanicum (Striped Maple, also known as Moosewood and Moose Maple) is a species of maple native to northern forests in eastern North America from southern Ontario east to Nova Scotia and south to eastern Illinois and New Jersey, and also at high elevations in the Appalachian Mountains much farther south than in the rest of its range, to northern ...more ↓

Trembling Aspen

Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America. The species is referred to Quaking Aspen, Trembling Aspen, and Quakies, names deriving from its leaves which flutter in the breeze. The tree-like plant has tall trunks, up to 25 metres, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become ...more ↓

Tulip Tree

Liriodendron tulipifera, commonly known as the American tulip tree, tulip poplar or yellow poplar, is the Western Hemisphere representative of the two-species Liriodendron genus and the tallest eastern hardwood. It is native to eastern North America from Southern Ontario and Illinois eastward across southern New England and south to central Florida ...more ↓

White Ash

Fraxinus americana (White Ash or American Ash) is a species of Fraxinus native to eastern North America found in mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida, and southwest to eastern Texas.

Paper Birch

Betula papyrifera (Paper Birch, also known as American White Birch and Canoe Birch) is a species of birch native to northern North America.

Witchhazel

Hamamelis virginiana is a species of Witch-hazel native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, and south to central Florida to eastern Texas.

Willows

Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are referred to as sallow (derived from ...more ↓

White Mulberry

The white mulberry (Morus alba) is a short-lived, fast-growing, small to medium sized mulberry tree, which grows to 10–20 m tall.

White Oak

Quercus alba, the White Oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak in the family Fagaceae, native to eastern North America, from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens are known to have lived over 600 years. The oldest tree in North Carolina is a White Oak found ...more ↓

Yellow Birch

Betula alleghaniensis (Yellow Birch), is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and southern Québec west to Minnesota, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.

Prickly Ash

Zanthoxylum americanum (sometimes spelled Xanthoxylum americanum), the Common prickly-ash, Common pricklyash, Common prickly ash or Northern Prickly-ash (also called Toothache tree, Yellow Wood, and Suterberry), is an aromatic shrub or tree native to central and eastern portions of the United States and Canada. It ...more ↓

Palos de fierro o carpes lupulinos

Ostrya is a genus of eight to ten small deciduous trees belonging to the birch family Betulaceae. Its common name is Hophornbeam in American English and Hop-hornbeam in British English. It may also be called ironwood, a name shared with a number of other plants.

Edited by Marie Studer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)