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Title: Forest Trees of Texas: How to Know Them

Author: Wilbur R. Mattoon
C. B. Webster

Editor: John A. Haislet

Release date: July 26, 2016 [eBook #52651]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOREST TREES
OF TEXAS: HOW TO KNOW THEM ***

Forest Trees of Texas
How To Know Them

Eighth Edition
Ninth Printing
October, 1990

TEXAS FOREST SERVICE
A PART OF
THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS

BULLETIN 20 APRIL, 1963

CROWN
TRUNK
HEARTWOOD (INACTIVE) GIVES STRENGTH
SAPWOOD CARRIES SAP FROM ROOT TO LEAVES
CAMBIUM (MICROSCOPIC) BUILDS THE CELLS
INNER BARK CARRIES PREPARED FOOD FROM LEAVES TO
CAMBIUM LAYER
OUTER BARK PROTECTS TREE FROM INJURIES
ROOTS
SURFACE ROOTS
TAPROOT

Tree increases each year in height and spread of branches by adding
on new growth of twigs

Air supplies carbon the principal food of the tree taken in on under
surface of leaves.

Leaves prepare the food obtained from air and soil and give off
moisture by transpiration. Light and heat are necessary for the
chemical changes

The breathing pores of the entire tree,—on leaves, twigs, branches,
trunk and roots take in oxygen. Flooding, poisonous gases, or smoke
may kill a tree

Root tips or root hairs take up water containing small quantity of
minerals in solution

The buds, root tips, and cambium layer are the growing parts of the
tree. Water containing a small quantity of minerals in solution is
absorbed by the roots, carried up through the sapwood to the leaves
and there combined with carbon from the air to make food. This food
is carried by the inner bark to all growing parts of the tree, even
down to the root tips

2

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The first edition of Forest Trees of Texas—How to Know Them was
assembled by W. R. Matoon and C. B. Webster in 1928. The sections,
“Trees as Mankind’s Friends”, “Studying a Tree”, “Other Texas Trees”,
drawings of twigs, leaves and fruits, and the glossary were incorporated into
the fourth and fifth editions by S. L. Frost and D. A. Anderson. The sixth
and seventh editions were edited by H. E. Weaver and W. A. Smith,
respectively. Some of the drawings used in this publication were made
available by the United States Forest Service.

The eighth edition was revised and edited by John A. Haislet to conform
with the nomenclature in Check List of Native and Naturalized Trees of the
United States (Including Alaska), Agriculture Handbook No. 41, prepared
under the direction of the United States Forest Service Tree and Range
Plant Committee. D. A. Anderson’s “A Guide to the Identification of the
Principal Trees and Shrubs of Texas” was revised and incorporated in the
eighth edition to give it greater utility to the non-technical student of trees.

3

TREES ... MANKIND’S FRIENDS

Trees have held an important place in man’s way of life since he has been
on the earth. Trees provided early man with weapons to defend himself and
helped provide him with food, shelter and fuel.

Trees have played an important role in the history of the United States.
Timber was our nation’s first export. The forest also provided our
forefathers with their homes, farm implements, rifle stocks and wagons.
The forest, by furnishing ties and utility poles, made possible the expansion
of railroad systems, electric power and telephone networks. Every industry
depends upon forest products in one way or another.

Trees are more important today than ever before. More than 10,000
products are reportedly made from trees. Through chemistry, the humble
woodpile is yielding chemicals, plastics and fabrics that were beyond
comprehension when an axe first felled a Texas tree.

The American standard of living depends to no small extent on the care
with which we use our forest resource. Fortunately, trees are a renewable
resource. They can be grown as a crop and harvested in such a way that the
stand is kept productive, and a steady supply of forest products is assured.

TEXAS TREES
A tree is generally defined as a woody plant having one well-defined stem
and a more or less definitely formed crown, usually attaining a height of at

least eight feet. Using water and minerals from the soil, gases from the air
and energy from the sun, a tree manufactures the food it needs for growth
and reproduction. Trees, like man, grow rapidly when they are young but
gradually their growth decreases; they begin to deteriorate and eventually
die. Nature then reduces them to the elements from which they were
derived.

The terms “hardwood,” “softwood,” “deciduous” and “non-deciduous” are
often encountered in tree literature. These terms are confusing and often
misleading. Needle-bearing or cone-bearing trees are designated as
softwoods even though the wood may be dense. Hardwoods are the broad-
leaved (unlike needles or scales) trees, the wood of which may be dense or
soft.

The conifers, or softwoods, generally retain their leaves more than one
growing season and produce seed in cones; however, there are 4
exceptions. Baldcypress, a conifer, is deciduous since it sheds its
leaves in autumn. Cedar and juniper produce berry-like cones that scarcely
resemble cones.

The hardwoods, or broad-leaved trees, are generally deciduous; i.e., they
shed their leaves in autumn. Texas has many exceptions, for example:
southern magnolia, live oak and American holly which retain green leaves
through the winter.

More than half of the 1,100 species of native trees in the United States are
found in the South. Of these, more than 200 species and varieties are native
to Texas. In addition, many exotic species have been introduced and now
grow in many parts of the state.

The four main forest regions of Texas include: the Southern pine forest in
East Texas; the central hardwoods, the post oak and cross timbers of North-
central Texas; the semi-tropical forest in the Rio Grande Valley region of
Texas; and the mountain forest, the timbered areas of West Texas which are
a continuation of the timber types of the Southern Rocky Mountains. In
Texas, trees are the principal vegetative cover on an estimated area of
28,805,617 acres.

TREE REGIONS

PINE-HARDWOOD
CEDAR BREAKS
POST OAK
WEST CROSS TIMBERS
EAST CROSS TIMBERS
MOUNTAIN FORESTS

Texas also has minor tree areas which are almost restricted to Texas; 5
the cedar breaks and the oak shinneries. Some of the shinnery trees are
among the smallest in America. In places, fully matured trees are not over
knee-high and resemble pigmy forests. In other areas, the same species
grows 20 to 30 feet tall to form almost impenetrable thickets.

The pine-hardwood forests of East Texas, comprise 12,525,417 acres in all
or part of 42 counties. Lumber, paper, baskets, boxes, ties, poles, piling,
posts, handles and shingles constitute the main forest products
manufactured in the Piney Woods of East Texas.

Farther west, in East Central Texas, the post oak forests cover
approximately 5,030,200 acres in all or part of 39 counties.

The east and west “cross timbers”, occur on an area of approximately 3
million acres. The term “cross timbers” originated with the early settlers
who, in their travels from east to west, crossed alternating patches of forests
and prairies and so affixed the name “cross timbers” to these forests.

Farther south in the Edwards Plateau region, are the cedar breaks which
extend over 3¾ million acres. Cedar grows on the steep slopes and rolling
hills common to this region, in association with live oak and mesquite.

Other tree areas of the state include an estimated 500,000 acres of mountain
forests in the Trans-Pecos Region and the live oak area along the Gulf
Coast.

Two of Texas’ trees, guaiacum and ebony, produce the hardest woods in the
United States. Both species are found in the Rio Grande Valley. The tree
with the lightest wood in the United States, corkwood, grows near the
mouth of the Brazos River. Drooping or weeping juniper, so named for the
drooping characteristic of its branches, grows in the Big Bend area but has
not been reported to be native elsewhere in this country.

Catclaw, huisache, mimosa, baretta, pistache, black persimmon, Mexican
ash, anaqua, flatwoods plum (sloe) and guajillo are other trees common
only in Texas.

TEXAS FOREST SERVICE
In 1915, the 34th Texas Legislature created by law the State Department of
Forestry and made it a part of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of
Texas. In 1925, the department became the Texas Forest Service. As it grew,

its service to Texas increased. It now helps protect Texas’ forest resources
against fire, insects and disease; assists woodland owners in the proper
management of their lands; makes available seedlings for reforestation and
windbreak purposes; conducts research in forest tree improvement, 6
management and utilization; and conducts an educational program to
acquaint Texans as to the desirability of practicing forestry.

The Texas Forest Service, with more than 300 employees, has four
departments: Forest Fire Control, Forest Management, Forest Products, and
Information and Education. The offices of the Director, and of the Forest
Management and the Information and Education Departments are in
College Station. Forest Fire Control and Forest Products Department
headquarters are in Lufkin.

Seven administrative districts, each headed by a district forester, are
responsible for the activities of the Texas Forest Service in the areas of
intensive and extensive forest fire protection. District headquarters are
located at Linden, Henderson, Lufkin, Woodville, Kirbyville, Conroe and
College Station.

More than 10 million acres of state and privately owned timberland in the
Piney Woods are now under intensive protection against fire, insects and
diseases. An additional area of 5 million acres, commonly referred to as the
post oak region, west of and adjacent to the pine-hardwood area, has been
under extensive protection beginning with 1962.

TEXAS FORESTRY ASSOCIATION
The Texas Forestry Association is a statewide, nonprofit agency concerned
primarily with the educational phase of forest conservation. Organized in
1914, the Association was largely responsible for the passage of the law
which created the Department of Forestry at the Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Texas, and from which the Texas Forest Service
emerged.

For more than 48 years, this organization has cooperated with the Texas
Forest Service and other interested agencies in promoting the forest

economy of Texas. Membership in the Texas Forestry Association is open
to all conservation-minded citizens.

ARBOR DAY
The growing dependency of man upon forest resources for raw materials,
products, watershed protection, conservation of certain wildlife and
recreation gives added significance to Arbor Day which is set aside
annually to pay tribute to trees.

Arbor Day originated in Nebraska in 1872. It was first celebrated in 7
Texas in 1889 on George Washington’s birthday, February 22. In 1949,
the Texas State Legislature adopted the following resolution:

Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the State of Texas, the
Senate concurring, That the third Friday in January of each year be
designated as “Arbor Day”, to be devoted to the planting and
cultivation of forest, shade and ornamental trees throughout the
State and to be observed for that purpose in such manner as may
seem best to the people of each community; and be it further

Resolved, That the Governor of Texas be requested to issue an
appropriate proclamation annually to encourage the proper
observance of such “Arbor Day”.

Arbor Day can best be celebrated by planting one or more suitable trees
around a school or club area or by establishing a school plantation. In
addition to paying tribute to the beauty of trees, one can call attention to the
importance of trees to man’s welfare. The Texas Forest Service continues to
assist clubs and schools in organizing Arbor Day programs.

STATE TREE
The pecan, Carya illinoensis, (Wangenh.) K. Koch, was officially
designated as the state tree of Texas by an act of the legislature in June
1919.

By an amendment in 1927, certain state agencies were requested to give due
consideration to the pecan tree when beautifying state parks and other
public property belonging to the state.

8

STUDYING TREES

Trees, like people, become friends only when we have become well
acquainted with them and have a knowledge of the characteristics that make
them something special to us. This bulletin about the trees of Texas may be
used as a handy reference for identifying trees you do not know, or it may

be used as the basis for developing tree friends. The following is a guide or
lesson plan that will help make a friend of each tree studied.

I. Object of Study 9
Each kind of tree has certain identifying characteristics which mark
it as being different from other kinds of species of trees. By careful
observation and examination these identifying points may be learned and
you can feel that you know the tree.
II. Source of Study Material
1. The locality in which you live probably has some trees you know. Why
do you know them? Start by studying these trees and make them fast
friends.
2. You also will find some trees you are not sure about or do not know;
next, study these one by one until you are sure you will always know
them.
3. Wherever you may be or whenever you see a tree you do not know,
observe it carefully, collect enough facts and sample material to study
until you learn to know it.
4. Books, articles, pictures and references will help to learn some trees
you cannot actually see but which are of interest to you.
III. Approach to Tree Study
1. One tree should be studied at a time as a general rule although it may
be an advantage to select somewhat similar trees and study them by
comparisons.

2. Field study of the growing tree is the most satisfactory. Observe a
number of the same kind of trees as there are individual variations in
some characteristics.
3. If possible collect for reference and further study samples of leaves,
twigs, bark, wood, flowers and fruit. BE CAREFUL in collecting
samples. It is better not to have samples than to deface or injure the
tree. No one will object to your studying their trees if you do no
damage.
IV. Procedure
1. General
(a) First observe the tree as a whole taking into consideration all the
points that attract your attention. Very often there will be some one
thing that either alone or in relation to other points attracts your
attention. That feature when studied may be the key to your really
learning to know the tree.
(b) The suggestions that follow as to observations of various parts of
the tree do not limit the study of those points for perhaps you will
learn to know the tree from some feature not listed.
2. Form of tree
Note the size, shape and branching habit; observe its location in
relation to other trees that might affect its form.
3. Bark 10
Observe thickness, roughness, type of fissures and color of bark.
Studying the bark as a means of winter identification is particularly
worthwhile.
4. Leaves
Study type, size, shape and variations on the same tree; note
arrangement on twigs; describe by the blade, stalk, margin, venation,
base and tip; know their texture and color.
5. Twigs
Note lateral arrangement on branches; observe whether flexible or
stocky and whether rough or smooth; study differences between new
growth and old; learn any distinctive color, smell, or taste; cut a cross-
section and note size, shape, color and size of pith; note presence or
absence of lenticels.
6. Buds

Like bark, the buds are helpful in winter identification. Note size, scale
coverings, and shape. Observe arrangement and position on twigs;
compare terminal and lateral buds.
7. Leaf-scars
Study scars left by falling leaves as to size, form, position and
occurrence; note bundle-scars (appear as marks in scar) as to number,
shape, size, and arrangement.
8. Flowers
Study promptly at proper season; trees vary widely in flowering habits;
observe as to size, form, shape of parts, color and arrangement; and
learn whether the tree has one or two kinds of flowers—if two,
whether male and female flowers are on same tree.
9. Fruit
Study of fruit also is seasonal. When it is available, observe type, form,
structure and method of distribution.
10. Wood
Identification of trees by wood forms a separate study but often field
identification of trees can be aided by observation of distinctive points
about the wood such as color, taste and general structure.
11. Habitat
An interesting and often useful help in tree identification is to note the
growing habits of trees, whether in dry or moist places, what other
species same type sites, whether it grows better in open places or in
more sheltered locations and the like.
V. Summary 11
If you have followed through on your study of a tree, covering the
eleven points listed, you will really know the tree for all time. However,
even if you cannot or do not make your study as thoroughly as is
suggested, you should at least select enough distinctive characteristics
about the tree to study that you will be able to identify it both in the
summer and the winter seasons.
VI. References
Your school and public library should have one or more books on trees.
You will find books on southern trees most helpful. While it is
impractical to provide a complete list of books on trees, the partial list
below is furnished for your information, with the understanding that no
discrimination is intended:

Fernald, M. L. Gray’s Manual of Botany. Eighth edition. American
Book Company, 1950.
Green, C. H. Trees of the South. The University of North Carolina
Press, 1939.
Harrar, E. S., Harrar, J. G. Guide to Southern Trees. Whittlesey House,
1946.
Kearney, T. H., Peebles, R. H. Arizona Flora. University of California
Press, 1951.
Sargent, C. S. Manual of the Trees of North America. Second Edition.
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1922 (at Project Gutenberg).
Vines, R. A. Native East Texas Trees. Houston Museum of Natural
History, 1953.
Vines, R. A. Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southwest. The
University of Texas Press, 1960.

Cross Section of the Trunk of an Oak Tree.

A. Cambium
B. Inner bark
C. Outer bark
D. Sapwood
E. Heartwood
F. Pith
G. Ray

12
TWIG FEATURES

Terminal Bud
False Terminal Bud
Twig Scar
Bud Scales
Superposed Bud
Lateral Leaf Buds
Bundle Scar
Flower Bud
Leaf Scars
Lenticel
Stipule Scar
Terminal Bud Scale Scars
Pith
Chambered
Solid

13

TWIGS AND LEAVES
TYPES OF TWIG BRANCHING

Alternate
Whorled
Opposite

LEAF TYPES

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

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)

14

LEAF SHAPES
LEAF FORMS

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

Acuminate
Acute
Obtuse

Truncate
Bristle Pointed
Rounded
LEAF MARGINS

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

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

15

THE COMPLETE FLOWER

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.
FLOWER CLUSTERS

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

16
COMMON TYPES OF FRUITS AND SEEDS

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)

17

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.

LIMBER PINE (Fruit and leaves, one-third natural size)

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.

18

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.

PINYON (Natural size)

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.

The WOOD is light, soft, close-grained, and pale brown, used for fuel and
sometimes as fencing. A close relative P. cembroides is found scattered in

the Texas cedar breaks.

19

PONDEROSA PINE (Western Yellow Pine)
Pinus ponderosa Laws.

Ponderosa pine is the most important commercial pine of the Southwest and
many parts of the Rocky Mountain region. It reaches the southeastern limit
of its range in the Guadalupe and Davis Mountains of West Texas where it
is scattered and of little commercial value. It is favored as an ornamental in
the Texas Panhandle.

PONDEROSA PINE (Fruit and leaves, one-half natural size)

The needle-like LEAVES are in bundles of three and are mostly 5 to 8
inches long. The needles, massed toward the ends of naked branches,
remain on the tree about 3 years.

The “FRUIT”, a short-stalked cone, is oval-shaped, reddish-brown, and
armed with stout recurved prickles.

The WOOD of this species, from trees in the commercial part of its range,
is of excellent quality for lumber. The wood is hard, strong, and rather fine
grained. The heartwood is light reddish-white and the sapwood nearly

white. Lumber from this tree is widely used for house construction and
furniture.

20

LOBLOLLY PINE
Pinus taeda L.

This fast-growing yellow pine is the most abundant and valuable species in
Southeast Texas from Orange County west to Walker and Waller Counties.
The species is also abundant northward to the Oklahoma line. Loblolly pine
also constitutes the pine of the “Lost Pine Region” in the vicinity of
Bastrop.

LOBLOLLY PINE (Fruit and leaves, one-half natural size)

Loblolly invades abandoned fields rapidly. For this reason it is often called
old field pine. In the virgin forest of Texas, loblolly pine was most common
along banks of streams. It is still the dominant pine on moist sites, but may
also be found in relatively dry sites.

The dark-colored BARK is deeply furrowed and often attains a thickness of
as much as 2 inches on large-sized trees. The needle-like LEAVES, 6 to 9
inches long, are borne three (occasionally two) in a cluster. In the spring
bright green clumps of needles grow at the end of branches and give the
tree a luxuriant appearance. The “FRUIT”, a cone, ripens in the autumn of
the second year and is 3 to 5 inches long. Many seeds with wings an inch
long are shed during the fall and early winter.

The resinous WOOD is coarse-grained. There is marked contrast, as in
other yellow pines, between the bands of springwood and summerwood.
The wood of second-growth trees has a wide range of uses such as building
material, box shooks, barrel staves, basket veneers, pulpwood, lath, mine
props, piling, and fuel.

21

SHORTLEAF PINE (Yellow Pine)
Pinus echinata Mill.

Shortleaf pine is an important pine over a wide area in Northeast Texas, and
is common in other parts of the “Piney Woods.” Essentially a tree of the
hilly section, growing in pure stands and in mixture with hardwoods, the
mature tree has a tall straight stem and an oval crown, reaching a height of
about 100 feet and a diameter of about 2½ feet. Unlike other southern pines,
young shortleaf pine trees may reproduce by sprouts when cut or burned
back.

SHORTLEAF PINE (Fruit, natural size; leaves, two-thirds natural size)

The BARK is brownish-red, broken into rectangular plates; it is thinner and
lighter-colored than that of loblolly pine.

The needle-like LEAVES are in clusters of two or three (3 to 5 inches long),
slender, flexible, and dark blue-green. The “FRUIT”, a cone, or bur, the
smallest of the Texas pines, are 1½ to 2½ inches long, oblong, with small
sharp prickles; are generally clustered, and often hold to the twigs for 3 or 4
years. The small mottled seeds have a wing which is broadest near the
center.

The WOOD of old trees is rather heavy and hard, yellow-brown or orange,
fine-grained, and less resinous than that of the other important Southern
pines. It is used for finishing, general construction, veneers, paper pulp,
excelsior, cooperage, mine props, and other purposes.

22

LONGLEAF PINE
Pinus palustris Mill.

Young longleaf pine with its single upright stem, candle-like silvery buds,
and long, shiny leaves form a handsome tree. In later youth the stalwart,
sparingly-branched sapling, with heavy twigs and gray bark, attracts
immediate attention. Mature trees have tall, straight trunks, 1-3 feet in
diameter and open irregular crowns.

Longleaf pine grows in sandy soils from Orange County, north to Sabine
County and west to Trinity County. A hybrid cross between longleaf and
loblolly pine is often found in this range and is known as Sonderegger pine.

LONGLEAF PINE (Fruit and leaves, one-third natural size)

The needle-like LEAVES are grey-green, from 10 to 15 inches long, in
clusters of three, and gathered toward the ends of the thick, scaly, twigs.
The “FLOWERS”, appearing in early spring before the new leaves, are a
deep rose-purple, the male in prominent, short, dense clusters and the
female in inconspicuous groups of two to four. Unlike other Southern pines,
common to Texas, this species grows in a “grass” stage for 2 to 5 years
during which time it resembles a clump of grass. Once longleaf pine starts
its height growth, it grows rapidly.

The “FRUIT”, a cone bur, is 6 to 10 inches long, and slightly curved, the
thick scales armed with small curved prickles. The cones usually fall soon
after the seed ripens, leaving their bases attached to the twigs.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, tough and durable. It is used for
construction. Naval stores such as turpentine and rosin are obtained from
the tree.

23

SLASH PINE
Pinus elliottii var. elliottii

Slash pine is not a native of Texas, its natural range in the United States
being along the coast from South Carolina to eastern Louisiana. The initial

planting of slash pine in East Texas was made on the E. O. Siecke State
Forest near Kirbyville in 1926. It has been widely planted in East Texas,
and has been so successful in its growth and adaptability to the region that it
is now accepted as a forest tree of the State. It is much favored for
reforestation by planting because of its exceedingly rapid height growth,
good survival, and comparative freedom from tip-moth damage.

SLASH PINE (One-half natural size)

In its native habitat a mature tree ranges to 100 feet high, with a
roundtopped head and a trunk 1 to 3 feet in diameter.

The BARK ranges in thickness from ¾ to 1 inch, separating freely on the
surface into large thin scales.

The needle-like LEAVES occur in clusters of 2 and 3, are from 8 to 12
inches long, and lustrous. The “FLOWERS” appear in late winter, the male
dark purple, the female pink, the “FRUIT”, a cone usually 4 to 6 inches
long, is brown and glossy, the thin scales armed with fine prickles.

Slash pine WOOD is exceedingly hard, very strong, durable, coarse
grained, rich, dark orange color, with thick, nearly white sapwood. In this

respect it is similar to longleaf, being sold as such, and used for the same
purpose. Naval stores, lumber, pulpwood and other products can be
produced from this tree.

24

DOUGLAS-FIR
Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Belssn.) Franco

This valuable timber tree of the western United States reaches its extreme
southeastern limit in the mountains of West Texas. It is a small tree locally
but in the Pacific Northwest Douglas-fir reaches a height of 250 feet and a
diameter of 10 to 12 feet.

The needle-like LEAVES are linear, more or less flattened, about an inch in
length, bluish green, and arranged closely in spirals around the stem. They
remain on the twigs for many years. The buds are a rich reddish-brown and
pointed.

DOUGLAS-FIR (Fruit and leaves, one-half natural size)

The “FRUIT”, a cone, unlike that of true firs, hangs downward and is easily
identified by the protruding bracts, or “straws.” The mature cones are 2 to 4
inches long, and brownish-red.

The WOOD is moderately light, reddish tinted and surrounded by nearly
white sapwood. It varies widely in respect to density, quality and width of
sapwood. Much high grade plywood is made from this species. Young
Douglas-firs are sold as Christmas trees.

25

BALDCYPRESS
Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.

Baldcypress grows in swamps which are flooded for prolonged periods, and
on wet stream banks and bottomlands. It occurs in East Texas west to the
Nueces River. The straight trunk has numerous ascending branches, and
narrow conical outline. In old age the tree generally has a broad fluted, or
buttressed base, a smooth slowly tapering trunk and a broad, open, flat top
of a few heavy branches and numerous small branchlets. Virgin-growth
timber attains heights up to 130 feet and diameters up to 10 feet.

BALDCYPRESS (Cone and leaves, seven-eighths natural size)

The BARK is silvery to cinnamon-red, finely divided by numerous
longitudinal fissures. The light green LEAVES about ½ to ¾ inch long, are
arranged in feather-like fashion along two sides of small branchlets which
fall in the autumn with the leaves still attached.

The “FRUIT”, a rounded cone, is about one inch in diameter, with thick
irregular scales.

The WOOD is light, soft, easily worked, with a light sap wood and dark-
brown heartwood. It is particularly durable in contact with the soil. Cypress
is in demand for exterior trim of buildings, greenhouse planking, boat and
ship building, shingles, posts, poles, and crossties.

26

ASHE JUNIPER (Mexican Juniper--Mountain Cedar)
Juniperus ashei Buchholz

In Central and West Texas are found no less than nine species of cedars or
junipers, including one eastern, one southern, and seven western species. Of
these, the most abundant and important is the Mexican juniper. This tree
often forms extensive low forests or dense breaks on the limestone hills and
slopes of the Edwards Plateau and Grand Prairie.

ASHE JUNIPER (Berry-like fruit and leaves, two-thirds natural size)

The trunk is covered with shreddy, brown or reddish-brown BARK. The
LEAVES are dark blue-green, small, opposite or arranged in 3’s, scale like,

blunt pointed, and fringed with minute teeth. On vigorous young plants the
leaves are sharp pointed and longer, up to ½ inch long.

The “FRUIT”, a nearly round, dark blue, berry-like cone is covered with
glaucous bloom; has a thin, pleasant-scented, sweet flesh, enclosing 1 or 2
seeds; and ripens in one season.

The WOOD is light, hard, light brown, close-grained but weak. It is
extensively used for fence posts and fuel. The tree is sometimes planted as
an ornamental.

27

EASTERN REDCEDAR
Juniperus virginiana L.

Redcedar is scattered through East Texas, usually on gravelly ridges and
rocky hillsides of the uplands.

There are two kinds of LEAVES, usually both on the same tree. The most
common is dark green, minute, and scale-like, clasping the twig in four
ranks, so that the twig appears square. The other kind, usually appearing on
young growth, or vigorous shoots, is awl-shaped, quite sharp-pointed,
spreading, and whitened.

The BARK is thin, reddish-brown, turning ashy-gray on exposed surfaces,
and peels off in long shred-like strips. The trunk is usually more or less
grooved.

The male and female FLOWERS blooming in February or March, are at the
end of minute twigs on separate trees.

The “FRUIT” which matures in one season is pale blue, ¼ inch in diameter,
and berry-like, the sweet flesh enclosing one or two seeds.

EASTERN REDCEDAR (Fruit and leaves, three-fourths natural size)

The HEARTWOOD is distinctly red, and the sapwood white, this color
combination making very striking effects when finished as cedar chests,
closets, and interior woodwork. The wood is aromatic, soft, strong, and of
even texture, very durable in contact with the soil, and in great demand for
posts, poles, and rustic work.

Since redcedar spreads the cedar-rust of apples, it is inadvisable to plant this
tree in or near orchards, or anywhere in regions devoted to commercial
apple production.

28

BLACK WALNUT
Juglans nigra L.

This valuable forest tree occurs on rich bottomlands and moist fertile
hillsides as far west as the San Antonio River. It may attain a height of
nearly 100 feet with a straight stem, clear of branches for half of its height.

The BARK is thick, dark brown in color, and divided by rather deep
fissures into rounded ridges.

The LEAVES are alternate, compound, 1 to 2 feet long, consisting of from
15 to 23 leaflets of a yellowish-green color. The leaflets are about 3 inches
long, extremely tapering at the end, and toothed along the margin.

BLACK WALNUT (Leaf, one-fifth natural size; fruit, one-fourth natural size; twig, about
natural size)

The FRUIT is a nut, borne singly or in pairs, and enclosed in a solid green
husk which does not split open, even after the nut is ripe. The nut itself is

black with a very hard, thick, finely ridged shell, enclosing a rich, oily,
edible kernel.

The HEARTWOOD is heavy, hard and strong. Its rich chocolate-brown
color, freedom from warping, and checking, susceptibility to a high polish,
and durability make it highly prized for furniture and cabinet work and
gunstocks. Walnut is easily propagated from the nuts, and should be more
widely planted and grown for timber and nuts.

LITTLE WALNUT or TEXAS WALNUT (Juglans microcarpa
Berlandier) is found on limestone banks of streams in western Texas. The
stumps supply a beautiful veneer.

29

PECAN
Carya illinoensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch

Pecan, the “State tree” of Texas, is found native in the state from the Piney
Woods west throughout Central Texas, centering in the watershed of the
Colorado River. It makes an excellent shade tree and is very valuable for
the nut crop it bears. Many varieties are planted in orchards. The pecan is a
tall-growing tree, attaining heights of over 100 feet. When grown in the
open it forms a large, rounded, symmetrical top.

The outer BARK is rough, hard, tight, but broken into scales; on the limbs it
is smooth at first but later tends to scale or divide as the bark grows old.

The LEAVES resemble those of the other hickories and the black walnut.
They are made up of 9 to 17 leaflets, each oblong, toothed and long-
pointed, and 4 to 8 inches long by about 2 inches wide.

PECAN (Leaf, one-sixth natural size; fruit, one-third natural size)

The FLOWERS appear in early spring and hang in tassels from 2 to 3
inches long. The FRUIT is a nut 1 to 2 inches long, and ½ to 1 inch in
diameter, in a thin husk which opens along its grooved seams when the fruit
ripens in the fall. The nuts vary in size and thickness of shell. Cultivated
varieties are sold on the market in large quantities.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, brittle, not strong, and of little value except for
fuel and wagon stock. Some wood is satisfactory for making softball bats.

30

BITTERNUT HICKORY (Pignut)
Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch

Bitternut, the only hickory with bright yellow buds, is a tall slender tree
with a broad pyramidal crown, attaining a height of 100 feet and a diameter
of 2 to 3 feet. It is found in the eastern part of the state on moist rich soils,
and is not abundant.

The BARK on the trunk is granite-gray, faintly tinged with yellow, less
rough than in most hickories, yet broken into thin, plate-like scales.

BITTERNUT HICKORY (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and fruit, one-third natural size)

The bright yellow winter BUDS are compressed and scurfy. The LEAVES
are alternate, compound, from 6 to 10 inches long, and composed of 5 to 11

leaflets. The individual leaflets are smaller and more slender than those of
the other hickories.

The male and female FLOWERS are on the same tree. The FRUIT is about
1 inch long and thin-husked, while the nut has a thin, smoothish, gray,
brittle shell. The kernel is bitter.

The WOOD is hard, strong, and heavy; reddish-brown in color, and often
called red hickory. It has the same uses as the other hickories but is said to
be inferior.

31

WATER HICKORY
Carya aquatica (Michx. f.) Nutt.

This tree, as its name indicates, grows in bottomlands and rich, wet woods.
It is found throughout the eastern portion of the state. It is not a large
hickory, seldom attaining a height of 100 feet or a diameter of 2 feet. It is
slender, with upright branches forming a narrow head. It is easily
distinguished from other hickories by its reddish-brown winter buds which
are covered with yellow glands that fall off easily.

WATER HICKORY (Fruit and twig, two-thirds natural size; leaf, one-fourth natural size)

The light brown BARK separates freely into long, loose, thick, plate-like
scales.

LEAVES are alternate, compound, 9 to 15 inches long, with 7 to 13 slender
leaflets. The FLOWERS are like those of other hickories. The FRUIT, often
borne in clusters of 3 or 4, is a rather oblong nut, conspicuously four-
angled, with a thin, red-brown hull that splits tardily. The nut itself is nearly
as broad as long, four-angled and ridged, with a thin shell and bitter kernel.

The WOOD is heavy, strong, close grained, brown, and rather brittle.
Probably used only for fuel.

32

SHAGBARK HICKORY
Carya ovata (Mill.) K. Koch

Shagbark hickory is found from eastern Texas to Florida and north to the St.
Lawrence River and Minnesota. It is a large tree of commercial importance
reaching 100 feet in height and 2 to 3 feet in diameter. It thrives best on
rich, damp soil.

The BARK of the trunk is rougher than on other hickories, light gray and
separating into thick plates which are only slightly attached to the tree. The
large terminal winter buds are egg-shaped, the persistent outer bud-scales
having narrow tips.

SHAGBARK HICKORY (Leaf, one-third natural size; twig, one-half natural size; fruit, one-
fourth natural size)

The LEAVES are alternate, compound, from 8 to 15 inches long and
composed of 5, rarely 7, obovate to ovate leaflets. The twigs are smooth or

clothed with short hairs.

The male and female FLOWERS open after the leaves have attained nearly
full size.

The FRUIT is borne singly or in pairs and is globular. The husk is thick and
deeply grooved at the seams. The nut is pale, the shell thin, and the kernel
sweet. It is sold in commercial quantities.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, tough, and strong. It is used in the manufacture
of agricultural implements, tool handles, wagons, and sports equipment.

33

MOCKERNUT HICKORY
Carya tomentosa Nutt.

Mockernut, white, or bigbud hickory, is common on well-drained soils in
the eastern part of the state. It is a short-limbed tree up to 60 feet high and 1
to 2 feet in diameter.

The BARK is dark gray, hard, closely and deeply furrowed, often
apparently cross-furrowed or netted. The winter BUDS are large, round or
broadly egg-shaped, and covered with downy, hard scales. The outer, dark
scales fall off readily in the autumn. The recent shoots are short, stout and
more or less covered with a downy growth.

The LEAVES are large, strong-scented, and hairy; composed of 7 to 9
obovate to oblong, pointed leaflets pale to orange-brown on the lower
surface. The leaves turn a beautiful yellow in the fall.

MOCKERNUT HICKORY (Leaf, one-fifth natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size; fruit,
one-third natural size)

The FLOWERS are of two kinds on the same tree; the male in three-
branched catkins, the female in clusters of 2 to 5. The FRUIT is oval, nearly
round or slightly pear-shaped with a very thick, strong-scented husk which
splits nearly to the base when ripe. The nut sometimes has 4 to 6 ridges; is
reddish-brown, thick shelled, and has a small, sweet kernel.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, tough, and strong. It is white except for the
comparatively small, dark-brown heart, hence the name white hickory. It is
used for the same purpose as shagbark hickory and makes an excellent fuel.

34

BLACK HICKORY
Carya texana Buckl.

This is a common hickory in northern and eastern Texas, growing on
hillsides and sandy uplands with post and black jack oaks. It is
distinguished by its rusty brown hairs found on the young leaves and
branches. It forms a tree 60 to 75 feet high, with a trunk 2 feet in diameter.

BLACK HICKORY (Leaf, one-fourth natural size; fruit, one-third natural size; twig, three-
fourths natural size)

The BARK is dark gray or nearly black, deeply divided into rough ridges,
or it may be irregularly fissured and separated into thin scales. The winter
buds are ovoid and covered with rusty hairs mixed with silvery scales.

The LEAVES, 8 to 12 inches long with 5 to 7, usually 7, leaflets and rusty-
hairy slender petioles, are dark green, lustrous above; much paler beneath.
The FLOWERS are similar to other hickories.

The FRUIT is obovoid, narrow, or abruptly contracted into a short stalk at
the base, with a husk ¹/₁₂ to ⅙ inch thick, splitting to the middle or nearly to
the base. The sweet-seeded nut is nearly obovoid to oblong, rounded at the
ends, compressed and slightly four-angled, with a shell ⅙ to ⅕ inch thick.

The hard, brittle WOOD is used chiefly for fuel.

35

CORKWOOD
Leitneria floridana Chapm.

This lightest of all native woods in the United States grows in river swamps
near the Gulf, about the mouth of the Brazos River. It is a small tree
reaching a height of 20 feet, or a shrub, depending upon the location and
natural conditions. The base is usually swollen. The straight, gradually
tapering trunk is crowned with a loose, open-topped head. The young
branchlets are coated with hairs which later drop, leaving a smooth, dark,
red-brown stem.

CORKWOOD (Leaf, one-half natural size; fruit and winter twig, natural size)

The simple, alternate LEAVES are from 4 to 6 inches long and about 2
inches wide, borne on petioles 1 or 2 inches long. The leaves are shiny
above.

The FLOWERS are in catkins of two kinds or sexes, the male about 1½
inches long, the female about ¾ inch long. Both kinds are borne on the
same tree and appear about the first of March. The FRUIT is solitary or in
clusters of 2 to 4, each about ½ to ¾ inch long, and ripens when the leaves
are about one-half grown. The WOOD is soft, exceedingly light, generally
uniform in texture and of a pale yellow color. It is used as a substitute for
cork for floats on fishing nets.

36

EASTERN COTTONWOOD
Populus deltoides (Bartr.)

This cottonwood is found along streams throughout the state. The tree is
easily propagated by cutting and grows rapidly, hence it has been widely
planted to get shade quickly. The tree is often unsatisfactory for shade
because it begins to shed its leaves by midsummer. The cotton-bearing
seeds from the pistillate tree are often a nuisance. The soft wood is easily
broken by winds; and the rank growth of the roots often results in stopping
drain pipes and cracking and lifting sidewalks.

EASTERN COTTONWOOD (Leaf, one-half natural size; twig, one-third natural size)

The LEAVES are simple, alternate, broadly ovate or triangular, pointed,
square at the base, and coarsely toothed on the edges, 3 to 5 inches across
each way, covered with soft white hairs on the under side, supported by
flattened slender petioles, 2 to 3 inches long. The winter buds are covered
with chestnut-brown, resinous scales. The male and female FLOWERS are
in catkins on separate trees and appear before the leaves. The FRUIT, a
capsule, contains a number of seed with white silky hairs which permit the
winds to carry the seed for long distances.

The WOOD is soft, light-weight, warps easily upon drying, but is used for
many purposes, sometimes as a substitute for yellow poplar and linden.

Three other species of Southern cottonwood occur in western Texas. One
species, P. sargentii Dode, which has long pointed leaves, is found in the
Panhandle.

37

BLACK WILLOW
Salix nigra Marsh.

Black willow is found along streams throughout the state. It rarely grows
taller than 50 feet and is frequently found growing singly or in clumps
along the water courses. In winter the easily separable bright reddish-brown
or golden, naked twigs are quite conspicuous.

The BARK is deeply divided into broad, flat ridges which separate into
thick plate-like scales. On old trees it becomes shaggy. In color it varies
from light brown tinged with orange, to nearly black.

The LEAVES are from 3 to 6 inches long, and less than ½ inch wide; the
tips are greatly tapered and the entire margin finely toothed. The leaves are
bright green on both sides, turning pale yellow in the early autumn.

The FLOWERS are in catkins, the male and female on separate trees.

The FRUIT is a capsule containing numerous minute seeds with long silky
hairs which enable them to be blown long distances.

BLACK WILLOW (Leaf, two-thirds natural size; fruit and twig, natural size)

The WOOD is soft, light, and not strong. A high grade of charcoal, used in
the manufacture of gunpowder, is obtained from willow wood, and it is the
chief wood used in manufacture of artificial limbs.

38

AMERICAN HORNBEAM (Blue Beech)
Carpinus caroliniana Walt.

American hornbeam or blue beech, also known as ironwood and water
beech, is a small slow-growing, bushy tree with a spreading top of slender,
crooked or drooping branches. It is found along streams and in low ground,
usually in the shade of other trees. Its height is usually from 20 to 30 feet
and its diameter 4 to 8 inches, although it sometimes grows larger.

AMERICAN HORNBEAM (Leaf and fruit, one-half natural size; twig, natural size)

The TRUNK is fluted with irregular ridges or “muscles” extending up and
down the tree. The BARK is smooth, light brownish-gray to dark bluish-

gray in color, sometimes marked with dark bands extending horizontally on
the trunk.

The LEAVES are simple, alternate, oval, long-pointed, doubly toothed
along the margin, and 1 to 3 inches long. They resemble those of the black
or sweet birch, but are smaller.

The FLOWERS are borne in catkins separately on the same tree; the male
catkin about 1½ inches long, the female, about ¾ of an inch, with small,
leaf-like, three-lobed green scales. The FRUIT is a nutlet about ⅓ inch long.
It falls, attached to the leaf-like scale which acts as a wing aiding its
distribution by the wind.

The WOOD is tough, close-grained, heavy, and strong. It is sometimes
selected for use for levers, tool handles, wooden cogs, mallets, wedges, etc.
The tree is of little commercial importance and often occupies space in the
woods that should be utilized by more valuable species.

39

EASTERN HOPHORNBEAM (Ironwood)
Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch

The tree gets its common names from the qualities of its wood and the hop-
like fruit. It is a small, slender, generally round-topped tree, from 20 to 30
feet high and 7 to 10 inches in diameter. The top consists of long slender
branches, commonly drooping toward the ends. It is found mostly on rather
dry soils throughout the uplands of the eastern part of the state.

The BARK is mostly light, gray-brown, or reddish-brown, and finely
divided into thin scales.

EASTERN HOPHORNBEAM (Twig, three-fifths natural size; leaf and fruit, one-half natural
size)

The LEAVES are simple, alternate, generally oblong with narrow tips,
sharply doubly toothed along the margin, and from 2 to 3 inches long.

The FLOWERS are of two kinds on the same tree; the male, in drooping
catkins which form the previous summer, the female, in erect catkins on the
newly formed twigs. The FRUIT, which resembles that of the common hop
vines, consists of a branch of leafy bracts 1 to 2 inches long containing a
number of flattened ribbed nutlets.

The WOOD, strong, hard, durable, light brown to white, with thick, pale
sapwood, is often used for handles of tools, mallets, and other small
articles.

40

RIVER BIRCH (Red Birch)
Betula nigra L.

This is the only native birch found at low elevations in the South. It occurs
in East Texas and, as the name implies, in the deep, rich soils along the
borders of streams, ponds, lakes, and swamps.

The BARK provides a ready means of identifying this tree. It varies from
reddish-brown to cinnamon-red in color, and peels back in tough papery
layers. These layers persist on the trunk, presenting a very ragged and quite
distinctive appearance. Unlike the bark of other birches the thin paper
layers are usually covered with a gray powder. On older trees, the bark on
the main trunk becomes thick, deeply furrowed, and a reddish-brown color.

RIVER BIRCH (Twig, natural size; leaf and fruit, one-half natural size; male flower, one third
natural size)

The LEAVES are simple, alternate, 2 to 3 inches long, more or less oval in
shape, with double-toothed edge. The upper surface is dark green and the
lower a pale yellowish green.

The FLOWERS are in catkins, the two kinds growing on the same tree. The
FRUIT is cone-shaped about one inch long, and densely crowded with little
winged nutlets that ripen from May to June.

The WOOD is strong and fairly close-grained. It has been used to some
extent in the manufacture of wooden-ware, in turnery, and for wagon hubs.

However, this tree is scattered in its distribution and is not of commercial
importance.

41

AMERICAN BEECH
Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.

Beech is found in East Texas to the Trinity River on the bottomland of
streams and the margins of swamps. It is one of the most beautiful of all
trees, in summer or winter.

The simple, alternate, oblong-ovate LEAVES are 3 to 4 inches long, pointed
at the tip, and coarsely toothed and hairy along the margin. When mature,
they are almost leathery in texture. The beech produces a dense shade. The
light brown winter buds are long, slender, and pointed.

AMERICAN BEECH (Fruit, leaves, and twig, one-half natural size)

The BARK is, perhaps, the most distinctive characteristic, as it maintains an
unbroken, light gray surface throughout its life.

The little, brown, three-sided FRUITS or beechnuts are almost as well
known as chestnuts. The nuts are in pairs in a prickly involucre. The kernel

is sweet and edible. The fallen fruit, known as mast, is a favorite food of
wildlife.

The WOOD of the beech is hard, strong, and tough, though it will not last
long on exposure to weather or in the soil. The tree is of economic
importance as a lumber tree, the wood being used for furniture, flooring,
carpenters’ tools, and novelty wares.

42

ALLEGHENY CHINKAPIN
Castanea pumila Mill.

Chinkapins may grow as trees or form shrubby thickets; consequently their
identification is at times confusing.

Some taxonomists credit East Texas with one species and a variety. Others
list four species. Further study is needed.

C. pumila grows in dry woods, sandy ridges, and on borders of swamps
from Florida to East Texas north to Ark., Tenn., Pa., and N. J. It may grow
into a small tree 10 to 30 feet high and may reach 50 feet. If burned back by
fires, it may send out stolons or sprouts and form dense shrubby growths.
BRANCHLETS pubescent, gradually changing to a lustrous olive-green or
orange-brown, then darker. The LEAVES are 4 to 6 inches long, 1½ to 2
inches wide, oblong to ovate and acute, the margin coarsely toothed with
slender, rigid, spreading or incurved teeth. Base of leaf unequal, either
rounded or wedge-shaped. Leaf at first tomentose above and below, later
yellow-green above and whitish-downy below. Petiole short, stout, and
flattened on the upper side. FRUIT a single brown, ovoid, pointed, plump,
sweet, edible nut, ¾ to 1 inch long, encased in a bur covered with erect,
crowded spines approximately ¾ inch long. WOOD light, hard, strong,
coarse-grained; used for fence posts and railway ties. Of little economic
importance because of its relative scarcity. C. pumila is a nut-producing
tree of potential commercial importance.

ALLEGHENY CHINKAPIN (Fruit, leaves and twig, two-thirds natural size)

ASHE CHINKAPIN (C. pumila var. ashei Sudw.) is a small tree of dry
sandy soils. Leaves are felt-like below. This variety is distinguished by its
bur which has scattered, forked, and horizontally divergent bristles. The
surface of the bur has smooth areas free of bristles.

A variation of chinkapin with leaves 3 to 4 inches long and lustrous below
is frequently described as FLORIDA CHINKAPIN (C. alnifolia var.
floridana Sarg.)

43

SHUMARD OAK (Spotted Oak)
Quercus shumardii Buckl.

This species, one of the largest Southern red oaks, was named for Benjamin
F. Shumard, an early state geologist of Texas. SHUMARD OAK is found in
the eastern part of the state on well-drained alluvial soils and on fertile
slopes. It forms a tall, wide-spreading, rather open head. The BARK is dark,
rough, divided into ridges, and usually from 1 to 1½ inches thick. It seldom
comprises the principal species of any forest stands, but more often occurs
as individual trees. It attains a diameter of more than 3 feet and a height of
more than 100 feet, but is usually smaller.

Winter BUDS covered with gray, smooth scales, while the buds of Texas
oak (page 44) are covered with red, densely pubescent scales.

SHUMARD OAK (Twig and leaf, one-half natural size; fruit, natural size)

The LEAVES are deciduous, simple, alternate 6 to 8 inches long by 4 to 5
inches wide; 7-lobed, rarely 5, and each lobe 2 or 3-lobed or deeply

toothed. The lobes are frequently thicker than is shown in the drawing. The
leaves are smaller and more deeply lobed than those of the black oak.
Leaves smooth except for dense tufts of pale hairs at the axils of the veins
below.

The FRUIT is a small acorn, about ⅔ inch in diameter and ¾ to 1¼ inches
long, set in a shallow saucer-like cup.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, and light reddish-brown
in color, and commercially important for lumber and cross ties.

The variety shumardii has leaves with narrow lobes, a rougher, dark
grayish bark, and deeper cups to the acorns. It is the more common form in
Texas.

44

TEXAS OAK
Quercus shumardii var. texana (Buckl.) Ashe

Texas oak is found on the dry limestone hills and ridges, and in the more
fertile soils at their base, in Central and western Texas to the Edwards
Plateau. It is rarely over 30 feet tall or 10 inches in diameter.

TEXAS OAK (Leaf, two-thirds natural size; fruit, and twig, natural size)

The BARK is light brown, red-tinged, deeply ridged, and broken into plate-
like scales.

The LEAVES are deciduous 2½ to 3 inches wide, 3 to 3½ inches long;
widest above the middle; divided into 5 to 7 lobes, with the terminal lobe 3-
lobed; dark green and shiny above, pale-shiny below; petiole slender, about
1 inch long.

The FRUIT is short-stemmed, usually single, ¼ to ¾ inch long and broad,
varying to nearly 1 inch long and ⅓ inch broad, set in a cup that covers one-
third or less of the fruit, reddish-brown and often streaked with dark lines.

The WOOD is most useful for fuel.

GRAVES OAK (Q. gravesii Sudw.) is found in the Davis and Chisos
Mountains of southwestern Texas.

45

BLACK OAK
Quercus velutina Lam.

Black oak, also called yellow oak, reaches 80 feet in height and 1 to 3 feet
in diameter. It grows in East Texas, and in the hills and canyons near the
mouth of the Pecos River. The crown is irregularly shaped and wide, with a
clear trunk for 20 feet or more on large trees. The BARK on the very young
trunks is smooth and dark brown, but soon becomes thick and black with
deep furrows and rough broken edges. The bright yellow color and bitter
taste of the inner bark are distinguishing characteristics.

BLACK OAK (Twig and fruit, one-half natural size; leaf, one-third natural size)

The LEAVES are deciduous, alternate, simple, 5 to 10 inches long and 3 to
8 inches wide, shallow or deeply lobed, the shape varying greatly. When
mature, the leaves are dark green and shiny on the upper surface, pale on
the lower, more or less covered with a scurfy yellow or orange down, and
with conspicuous rusty brown hairs in the forks of the veins.

The FRUIT matures the second season. The light brown nut is from ½ to 1
inch long, more or less hemispherical in shape, and from one-half to three-
fourths enclosed in the thin, dark brown, scaly cup. The yellow kernel is
bitter.

The WOOD, used and marketed as red oak, is hard, heavy, strong, coarse-
grained, and checks easily. It is a bright red-brown with a thin outer edge of
paler sapwood.

46

SOUTHERN RED OAK
Quercus falcata Michx.

Southern red oak, commonly known as red oak and formerly as Spanish
oak, usually reaches a height of 80 feet and diameter of 3 feet, although
larger trees are found. It grows on dry hills in the eastern part of the state to
the Brazos River, while three varieties are found in richer, more moist
locations. Its large spreading branches form a broad, round, open top. The
BARK is rough, not deeply furrowed, and varies from light gray on
younger trees to dark gray or almost black on older ones.

SOUTHERN RED OAK (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, one-half natural size)

The LEAVES are deciduous, with pear-shaped or irregular, rounded or
narrow bristle-tipped lobes, the central lobe often longest. Variety
pagodaefolia Ell., (Cherrybark Oak) has more numerous lobes. All leaves
have brown or gray down beneath.

The staminate FLOWERS appear as catkins 3-5 inches long in April while
the leaves unfold. The FRUIT ripens the second year. The small, rounded,
½ inch long acorn is set in a thin saucer-shaped cup that tapers to a short
stalk.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, coarse-grained, and valuable for lumber.
The bark is rich in tannin. The tree is also desirable for shade and
ornamental use.

47

BLACKJACK OAK
Quercus marilandica Muenchh.

The occurrence of blackjack oak is said to indicate poor soil since it often
occurs on dry or poorly drained, gravelly, clay, or sandy upland soils where
few other forest trees thrive. This perhaps accounts chiefly for its slow rate
of growth. It is found in those parts of the state that support a natural tree
growth, as far west as Callahan County. The tree sometimes reaches a
height of 50 or 60 feet and a diameter of 16 inches, but it is usually much
smaller. Its hard, stiff, drooping branches form a dense crown which usually
contains many persistent dead twigs.

The BARK is rough, very dark, often nearly black, and “blocky”; inner bark
bright orange or yellow.

BLACKJACK OAK (Twig, two-thirds natural size; leaf and fruit, one-third natural size)

The LEAVES are deciduous, tawny-pubescent, of leathery texture, dark
green on the upper surface, lighter underneath, broadly wedge-shaped, and
variable in shape, 4 to 10 inches long and about the same in width. The
FRUIT is an acorn about ¾ inch long, yellow-brown and often striped,
enclosed for half its length or more in a thick, light-brown cup. The acorns
mature at the end of the second season; flesh of cotyledons yellow.

The WOOD is heavy, hard and strong. It is used for firewood and is made
into charcoal.

48

WATER OAK
Quercus nigra L.

Water oak is native along the borders of swamps and streams and on rich
bottomlands in Texas as far west as the Colorado River. It has been widely
planted along streets and in parks as a shade tree. When fully grown this
tree reaches a height of about 80 feet and a diameter exceeding 1 to 3 feet.
The BARK is smooth, light brown tinged with red, and has many smooth,
thin scales over the surface. Water oak can be best distinguished from the
willow oak—a close associate, but longer-lived—by the differences in the
general shape and size of leaves.

WATER OAK (Leaf, one-third natural size; twig and fruit, one-half natural size)

The LEAVES are simple, quite variable in shape, mostly oblong, broader
near the point, and more narrow at the base, giving a wedge-shaped effect,
often slightly three-lobed at the outer end, thin, and of a dull bluish-green

color, paler below than above; mostly smooth, and usually 2 or 3 inches
long and 1 to 2 inches wide; remain green for some time, then turn yellow
and gradually fall from the tree during the winter.

The FLOWERS appear in April when the leaves begin to unfold. The
FRUIT, an acorn, matures at the end of the second season. The acorn is
from ½ to ⅔ inch long and nearly as broad, light brown or yellowish-brown
and often striped, enclosed at the base only in a thin saucer-shaped cup.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, and strong, light brown in color, with lighter-
colored sapwood. The wood is utilized chiefly for crossties and fuel.

49

WILLOW OAK (Pin Oak)
Quercus phellos L.

Willow oak, also called water oak, and pin oak, occurs in the eastern part of
the state to the Brazos River. It is frequently found in lowlands and along
the borders of rivers and swamps, but often also on rich sandy uplands. It is
a beautiful and long-lived tree, and desirable for roadsides, lawns and parks.

The BARK is generally smooth and of a reddish-brown color; with age, the
bark becomes slightly roughened and divided by narrow ridges.

WILLOW OAK (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and fruit, one-third natural size)

The slender willow-like LEAVES on a tree whose habit of growth is
manifestly that of an oak, make the tree easy to identify in the forest. The
deciduous leaves are 2 to 5 inches long and ½ to 1 inch wide, smooth, light
green and shiny above, but dull and usually smooth below; alternate in
arrangement on the twig and borne on a short stout petiole.

The FRUIT, small acorns, closely set along the stem, matures at the end of
the second year. The nut is a light yellow-brown hemisphere, about ½ inch
in diameter, its base scarcely enclosed in the shallow, pale greenish-red or
reddish-brown cup. The nuts are eaten as food by bluejays, grackles
(blackbirds), several other species of birds, and by rodents.

The WOOD is not separated commercially from other species in the red oak
group. It is heavy, strong, rather coarse-grained, light brown tinged with
red, and not durable when exposed to the weather. It is used locally for
crossties, bridge planks, barn sills, and general construction.

50

BLUEJACK OAK (Sandjack Oak)
Quercus incana Bartr.

This species, which grows on dry sand hills, is usually no more than 25 feet
in height and 5 or 6 inches in diameter; ranging mainly through East Texas
extending as far west as the Brazos River and scattering in Central and
Northwest Texas.

The BARK is similar to that of blackjack, being divided into thick nearly
square blocks 1 to 2 inches in length and covered with small dark brown or
nearly black scales slightly tinged with red.

BLUEJACK OAK (Leaves, twigs, and fruit about two-thirds natural size)

The LEAVES of this tree are oblong-lanceolate, pale blue-green above,
almost white beneath; 2 to 5 inches in length and 1 to l½ inches in width
with a stout yellow midrib. The tree is most attractive in early spring when
it is covered with the light red flowers and young leaves.

ACORNS are produced in great profusion, sessile, or on a short stock. They
are rounded at the ends, striate, and about ½ inch in length, and mature at
the end of the second year.

The WOOD is hard, strong, close-grained, light brown, tinged with red. It
has a dark colored sapwood. The wood is of no value except for fuel.

There are several hybrids of this species reported in Texas.

51

EMORY OAK
Quercus emoryi Torr.

In the canyons and on the southern slopes of the Davis and Chisos
Mountains occurs this interesting oak with glossy, spiny, “holly-like”
leaves, and sweet, edible acorns. A small round-topped tree up to 30 or 40
feet in height, the emory oak has drooping branches and slender, decidedly
reddish branchlets.

The LEAVES are mostly persistent, oblong, pointed, smooth or sharply
toothed along the margin, thick, very glossy green, about 2 inches long and
less than 1 inch wide.

EMORY OAK (Leaf three-fourths natural size; fruit and twig, three-fourths natural size)

The acorn, or FRUIT, is borne close to the branchlet and matures in one
season. It is oblong in shape, ½ inch or more in length, with a dark brown
or nearly black nut enclosed for about one-third its length in a narrow cup.
The latter is lined with dense gray fuzz or “tomentum.”

The WOOD is heavy, strong, somewhat brittle, close-grained, dark brown,
with light brown sapwood tinged with red. The acorns are an important
article of food for Mexicans and Indians.

MEXICAN BLUE OAK (Q. oblongifolia Torr.), closely resembling emory
oak, is a smaller tree and does not occur at the higher elevations (over 6,000
ft.) where emory oak may be found.

GRAY OAK (Quercus grisea Liebm.) occurs in the Trans-Pecos area in
Texas. This species is a scrub or small tree 20 to 30 feet high, but
sometimes reaching a height of 65 feet.

52

LIVE OAK
Quercus virginiana Mill.

Live oak range extends from southeastern Virginia through the lower
Coastal Plain of the Atlantic and Gulf States; in Texas, from the mouth of
the Rio Grande north to the Red River and west to the Guadalupe
Mountains, also in southern Mexico and Cuba. It is a tree of striking
character from its wide-spreading habit; sometimes reaching more than 100
feet in spread; with a short stout trunk, 3 to 4 feet in diameter, dividing in
several large limbs with nearly horizontal branches, forming a low, dense,
round-topped head. Its height is commonly from 40 to 50 feet. The BARK
on the trunk and large branches is dark brown tinged with red, and slightly
furrowed. It grows to largest size on the rich hammocks and low ridges near
the coast and only a few feet above the water level. Slow-growing and long-
lived, it is one of the most desirable trees for roadside and ornamental
planting throughout most of its range. It is one of the very few trees that is
apparently immune to cotton root-rot.

LIVE OAK (Leaf, natural size; fruit and twig, one-half natural size)

The LEAVES are simple, persistent, thick, leathery, oblong, smooth above,
pale and silvery white beneath; from 2 to 4 inches in length and 1 to 2
inches in breadth.

The FRUIT is an acorn about 1 inch long and ⅓ inch wide, borne on a long
stem or peduncle; it is oblong, dark brown and lustrous, and set in a top-
shaped, downy cup of a light reddish-brown color. The acorn matures at the
end of the first season.

The WOOD is very heavy, hard, strong and tough, light brown or yellow,
with nearly white, thin sapwood. It was formerly largely used in ship
building.

53

MOHRS OAK (Shin Oak)
Quercus mohriana Buckl.

Over a wide section of Central Texas, on inferior soils, are found four or
more species of “shin” oaks, so called from their low-growing bushy habit.
Mature trees vary from 3 to 18 feet high. These are considerably alike in
foliage and fruit. The “oak shinneries” form a forest cover in Central Texas
that affords watershed protection on the head waters of some of the state’s
main rivers.

MOHRS OAK (Fruit, natural size; leaf, two-thirds natural size)

The tree has a thin, pale-colored BARK, rough, with deep furrows running
up and down the tree.

The deciduous LEAVES of the above small-tree species of shin oak are
elliptical, pointed or rounded at the end, smooth or wavy or sometimes
lobed or slightly toothed along the margin. They are thick, gray-green,
dense hairy beneath, about 3 inches long by 1 inch wide.

The acorns, or FRUIT, occur solitarily or in pairs, on very short peduncles,
and mature in one season. They are small, deeply enclosed in a relatively
heavy cup, thin toward the outer end.

The WOOD of Mohrs oak is not of economic importance.

54

DURAND OAK (Durand White Oak)
Quercus durandii Buckl.

This oak is found on the well-drained soil of river bottoms from the coast
region of East Texas to the bottoms of the Guadalupe River (Victoria
County) and inland to San Saba County, and the Dallas area.

It forms a tree 60 to 90 feet high with a tall trunk 2 to 3 feet in diameter;
comparatively small branches, the lower horizontal, the upper ascending,
forming a dense, round-topped, handsome head.

DURAND OAK (Leaves and fruit, one-half natural size)

The BARK is thin, light gray or nearly white and broken into loose
appressed scales.

The deciduous LEAVES are 2½ to 7 inches long, yellow-green, thin,
smooth on the edges, three-lobed toward the tip, or irregularly lobed, the

three forms appearing on different branches of the same tree.

The FRUIT, an acorn, solitary or in pairs on a very short peduncle, is nearly
egg-shaped, pale chestnut-brown, shinning, ½ to ¾ inch long, and barely
enclosed at the base in the thin saucer-shaped cup. The acorn matures in one
season.

The WOOD is hard and heavy and is used largely as fuel.

55

WHITE OAK
Quercus alba L.

Within its natural range, which includes practically the entire eastern half of
the United States, the white oak is one of the most important timber trees.
Found in East Texas to the Brazos River, it commonly reaches a height of
80 feet and a diameter of 3 feet. It is found on high quality soils. Grown in a
dense stand it has a long, straight trunk, free of side branches for over half
of its height. In the open, it develops a short trunk and broad crown with
far-reaching limbs.

The BARK is thin, light ashy gray and covered with loose scales or broad
plates.

WHITE OAK (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and fruit, one-third natural size)

The deciduous LEAVES are alternate, simple, 5 to 9 inches long and about
half as broad. They are deeply divided into 5 to 9 rounded, finger-like lobes.
The young leaves are a soft silvery-gray or yellow or red while unfolding,
later becoming bright green and lustrous or dull above and much paler and
glaucous below. The FRUIT, an acorn maturing in one season, is ¾ to 1
inch long, light brown, and about one-fourth enclosed in a warty cup. The
acorn is relished by hogs and other livestock.

The WOOD is heavy, strong, hard, tough, close-grained, durable, and light
brown in color. The uses are many, including construction, watertight
barrels, furniture, wagons, implements, interior finish, flooring, and fuel.

Although white oak is slow growing, it is valuable for forest, highway and
ornamental planting.

56

POST OAK
Quercus stellata Wangenh.

Post oak of Texas is usually a medium-sized tree, with a rounded crown,
commonly reaching a height of 50 feet and a diameter of 1 foot, but
sometimes considerably larger. It is the common oak in Central Texas and
occurs frequently in East Texas. It occurs most abundantly on the poorer
upland soils that have poor drainage.

The deciduous LEAVES are usually 4 to 5 inches long and nearly as broad,
deeply five-lobed with broad rounded divisions, the lobes broadest at the
ends. They are thick and somewhat leathery, dark green and shiny on the
upper surface, lighter green and rough hairy beneath.

POST OAK (Leaf and twig, one-third natural size; fruit, one-fourth natural size)

The FLOWERS, like those of the other oaks, are of two kinds on the same
tree, the male in drooping clustered catkins, the female inconspicuous. The
FRUIT, an oval acorn ½ to 1 inch long, is set in a rather small cup which
has thin scales and may or may not be stalked. The fruit matures in one
season.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, close-grained, light to dark brown, and durable
in contact with the soil. It is used for crossties and fence posts, and
occasionally for furniture and lumber.

Aside from the typical form, two varieties are found in the state. The variety
margaretta (Ashe) Sarg. is the common post oak of eastern Texas.

57

BUR OAK (Mossy-Cup Oak)
Quercus macrocarpa Michx.

Bur oak occurs throughout the eastern part of the state and as far west as
Callahan and Menard Counties, in rich bottomlands along streams, or on
rich hillsides along spring-fed rivers. The name alludes to the fringe around
the cup of the acorn, which is sometimes large. The tree usually has a broad
top of heavy spreading branches and a relatively short body. In maturity it
attains a diameter of 5 feet or more and a height of over 80 feet.

The branches frequently have conspicuous corky ridges after the second
year.

BUR OAK (Illustrations, one-third natural size)

The BARK is light gray and is usually broken up into small narrow flakes.
The deciduous LEAVES resemble somewhat those of the common white
oak, but are much larger and have a pair of deep indentations on their
border near the base, and wavy notches on the broad, middle and upper
portions of the leaf. They range from 6 to 12 inches long and 3 to 6 inches
wide. The FRUIT, or acorn, is set deeply in the fringed cup. The fruit is
usually 1 inch or more in diameter but varies widely in respect to size and
the degree to which the nut is enclosed in the mossy-fringed cup. The fruit
matures in one season.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, tough and durable. It is used for much
the same purposes as the other white oaks—for lumber, crossties, and fuel.

58

OVERCUP OAK
Quercus lyrata Walt.

Overcup oak, sometimes known as the swamp post oak or water white oak,
becomes a large tree with small, often pendulous branches. It is found in
moist, rich bottomlands in East Texas to the Navasota River Valley.

The LEAVES are deciduous, 7 to 9 inches long, 1 to 4 inches broad, oblong,
wider toward the point, narrowed at the base, dark green above, often
whitish beneath, with 7 to 9 distinct pointed lobes. They frequently turn to a
bright scarlet or to scarlet and orange in the fall. The BARK is rough, flaky,
and gray tinged with red.

OVERCUP OAK (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size)

The FLOWERS open with the unfolding of the leaves. The FRUIT, an
acorn, ripens in one season. The large rounded or somewhat flattened acorn,
an inch or more across and ½ to 1 inch high, is nearly covered by the ovate
or nearly spherical cup, which is thickened at the base but gradually grows
thinner, often irregularly split at the margin of the cup.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, and durable and is used for the same
purposes as that of white oak.

59

SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK
Quercus michauxii Nutt.

This species, also called basket oak and cow oak, is distinguished by having
a wavy leaf-margin, a large fruit which is sessile or very short stalked, and
by the fact that it occurs in its greatest abundance in bottomlands. It is
confined chiefly to the eastern part of the state as far west as the Trinity
River.

In the appearance of its bark and branches it closely resembles the ordinary
white oak, but the leaf lacks deep indentations and the acorn is usually
larger. The tree attains heights of about 100 feet and diameters of about 4
feet.

The LEAVES are deciduous, obovate or oblong ovate, notched on the edge
somewhat like the chinkapin oak, but the lobes are rounded instead of
pointed. They vary from 4 to 8 inches in length, are downy beneath and turn
a rich crimson in the fall. The BARK is very light gray, and on old trees is
broken into broad flakes or divided into strips.

SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK (Twig, one-half natural size; fruit and leaf, one-third natural size)

The acorn, or FRUIT, matures in one season and attains a diameter of more
than an inch and a length of 1½ inches. The acorn is a bright, shiny brown
and set in a rather shallow cup. The acorn is frequently eaten by cows and
this fact gives the tree one of its common names.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, tough, strong, and takes an excellent polish. It is
used in manufacturing lumber, veneer, boards (shakes), water-tight barrels,
fuel, fence posts, and baskets.

60

CHINKAPIN OAK
Quercus muhlenbergii Engelm.

This oak, also known as chestnut oak, occurs over the eastern part of the
state and west to the Guadalupe River; also on the Guadalupe Mountains. It
grows on most classes of soils, except in swamps, and is tenacious on
shallow, dry, limestone soil. The BARK is light gray, and breaks up in the
short narrow flakes on the main trunk and old limbs.

It reaches a height of 20 to 50 feet. The straight, shapely trunk bears a
round-topped head composed of small branches, which makes it an
attractive shade tree.

The LEAVES are deciduous, oblong, 3 to 6 inches in length, 1½ to 3 inches
wide, equally toothed or notched on the edges, resembling the leaves of
chestnut oak. The FRUIT, which ripens in the fall of the first season, is light
to dark brown when ripe, and edible if roasted. This acorn is ½ to nearly 1
inch long, usually less than 1 inch in diameter, and set in a shallow cup.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, durable, and takes an excellent polish. It
is used for barrels, fencing, crossties, fuel, and occasionally for furniture.

CHINKAPIN OAK (Leaf, one-half natural size; twig and fruit, one-third natural size)

61

AMERICAN ELM (White Elm)
Ulmus americana L.

The range of this famous American shade tree extends west to the Dakotas
and southward to Coke County, Texas. Within this vast area, it is generally
common except in the high mountains and wet bottomlands. It reaches an
average height of 60 feet and a diameter of 3 feet. The BARK is dark gray,
divided into irregular flat-topped, thick ridges, and is generally firm. An
incision into an outer ridge of bark will show alternate brown and cream
colored layers. A cross section of slippery elm bark is uniformly cream or
tan colored.

AMERICAN ELM (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and fruit, one-third natural size)

The LEAVES are alternate, simple, 4 to 6 inches long, rather thick,
somewhat lopsided, double toothed on the margin, and either smooth or
scabrous above and soft pubescent or glabrate below. The leaf veins are
very pronounced and run in parallel lines from the midrib to the leaf
margin.

The FLOWERS are small, perfect, greenish, on slender pedicels, soon
pendulous, and appear before the leaves. The FRUIT ripens in the spring
and is a light green, oval-shaped samara (winged fruit) with the seed portion
in the center and surrounded entirely by a wing. A deep notch in the end of
the wing is distinctive of the species.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, tough, and difficult to split. It is used for
hubs of wheels, saddle trees, veneer for baskets and crates, and slack
cooperage.

American elm is rapidly being destroyed in the East and Midwest by the
Dutch elm disease and by phloem necrosis.

62

WINGED ELM
Ulmus alata Michx.

Winged elm gets its common name from the thin corky growth or “wings”,
usually found on smaller branches. These “wings” generally end abruptly at
the leaf nodes as contrasted by the cedar elm (p. 63) whose “wings” are
generally continuous. On large rapidly growing trees the wings are often
absent. It occurs in eastern Texas south to the valley of the Guadalupe
River, on dry uplands, and in moist soils along streams and swamps. It
grows rapidly in moist situations, and may also be planted along roadsides
in relatively dry, poor locations. It is comparatively free from disease,
though not long-lived. Winged elm is a medium-sized tree 40 to 50 feet in
height and rarely as large as 2 feet in diameter. It forms a rather open,
round-topped head.

WINGED ELM (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, one-half natural size)

The BARK is light brown tinged with red, and divided by irregular shallow
fissures into flat ridges.

The LEAVES are simple alternate, 2 to 4 inches long and 1 to 2 inches
broad, coarsely double-toothed, thick, dark green and smooth above, and
pale and pale-pubescent or glabrous below with auxiliary hairs and
prominent veins. The leaves are small and pointed at the tip, which
distinguishes them from the small blunt leaves of the cedar elm.

The FLOWERS appear in early spring, long before the leaves unfold. The
FRUIT ripens in the spring about the time the leaves appear; it is winged,
tipped with two, small, incurved arms or beaks; oblong, reddish-brown;
about ⅓ inch long, with a long, slender pedicel at the base, and covered
with white hairs.

The WOOD is very similar to that of the other elms—heavy, hard, and
difficult to split. It is occasionally used for hubs and mauls. Formerly, rope
made of the inner bark was used for binding the covers to cotton bales.

63

CEDAR ELM
Ulmus crassifolia Nutt.

Cedar elm is distributed widely over the state, near streams, in deep rich
soil, and on dry, limestone hills. It is the most common elm tree of Texas,
extending to the Pecos River. It forms a tree up to 75 feet high with a tall
straight trunk 2 to 3 feet in diameter, and with an inversely conic round-
topped head and drooping branches. It reaches its largest size on the
bottomlands of the Guadalupe and Trinity Rivers.

CEDAR ELM (Illustrations, three-fourths natural size)

The BARK is light-brown tinged with red, deeply fissured, with flattened,
scaly ridges. The young twigs are finely velvet and reddish, sometimes
developing thin corky wings which continue around the leaf nodes.

The LEAVES are small, the largest less than 2 inches long, often double
toothed and usually rather blunt at the tip. Their upper surface is dark green
and rough, while the lower surface and petiole are hairy.

The FLOWERS, which appear in the autumn, are in small short-pedicelled
clusters at the axils of the leaves. The FRUIT, an oval-shaped samara
slightly more than ¼ inch long, is hairy all over, especially on the edges and
is deeply notched at the tip.

The WOOD is reddish-brown, brittle, and with a thick layer of lighter
colored sapwood. The wood is sometimes used in the manufacture of hubs,
furniture, and fencing.

64

SLIPPERY ELM (Red Elm)
Ulmus rubra Muhl.

Slippery elm, or red elm, is found in the eastern and southern parts of the
state as far as the upper Guadalupe and Leon Rivers in Kerr and Comal
Counties. It is found principally on the banks of streams and on low
hillsides in rich soil. It is a tree of small to moderate size, but noticeably
wide-spreading. It is usually less than 40 feet in height and 6 inches in
diameter, although trees of larger dimensions are occasionally found.

The BARK on the trunk is frequently 1 inch thick, dark grayish-brown on
the surface, uniformly tan or cream colored in cross section, and broken by
shallow fissures into flat ridges. The inner bark is used to some extent for
medicinal purposes and, when chewed, affords a slippery mucilaginous
substance, whence the tree gets its name.

The LEAVES are simple, alternate on the stem, 4 to 6 inches in length,
sharp-pointed, their bases unsymmetrical, doubly toothed on the edges,
thick, dark green, and very rough above, pubescent below.

SLIPPERY ELM (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, one-half natural size)

The FLOWERS appear in early spring and are nearly sessile. The FRUIT, a
samara, ¾ inch long and ½ inch in diameter, consists of a seed surrounded
by a thin, broad, greenish wing. The fruit ripens when the leaves are about
half grown. The margin of the fruit is not ciliate.

The WOOD is close-grained, tough, strong, heavy, hard, and moderately
durable in contact with the soil. Slippery elm and American elm are sold
commercially as “soft elm,” and have similar uses.

65

PLANER TREE (Water Elm)
Planera aquatica (Walt.) Gmel.

Planer tree or water elm is found on low wet lands along the streams of the
eastern part of the state as far west as Brazos and Matagorda Counties. It
forms a small spreading tree with a low broad head 30 to 40 feet in height
and with a maximum trunk diameter of 20 inches.

PLANER TREE (Illustrations, nearly natural size)

The BARK is light brown or gray, about ¼ inch thick, and separates into
large scales.

The LEAVES resemble those of the small-leaved elms. They are 2 to 2½
inches long, ¾ to 1 inch wide on a short petiole, dark dull green above and
paler on the lower surface, and have yellowish veins.

The FLOWERS appear with the leaves in March or early April. The small
flowers are sometimes perfect; occasionally the male and female flowers
are borne separately on the same tree. The FRUIT is a peculiar, rounded,
shaggy-appearing structure, about ⅜ inch long. It consists of a nut-like
center covered with soft and irregular wing-like outgrowths which extend
out on all sides from the center.

The WOOD is light brown, coarse-grained and soft, very light in weight,
and has a broad zone of nearly white sapwood. The wood has little
economic value.

66

HACKBERRY
Celtis occidentalis L.

Hackberry is found over eastern Texas on various types of soil. It is usually
a medium-sized to large tree, becoming 60 to 100 feet or more high and 10
to 20 inches in diameter. Its limbs are often crooked and angular and bear a
head made of slender, pendant branches or short, bristly, stubby twigs. In
the open, the crown is generally symmetrical. It makes an excellent shade
tree.

The BARK is brownish-gray, one inch or more thick, and generally very
rough with many scale-like or warty projections of dead bark.

HACKBERRY (Leaf and fruit, two-thirds natural size; twig, one-half natural size)

The LEAVES are simple, ovate, alternate, one-sided, 2 to 4 inches long,
thick, very rough above, green on both surfaces, and the edges toothed
toward the long point. The FLOWERS are inconspicuous, and the two
kinds are borne on the same tree. They appear in April or May, and are of a
creamy greenish color. The FRUIT is a round, somewhat oblong, drupe or
berry, dark purple, ⅓ inch in diameter, ripening in September. The peduncle
(fruit stem) is much longer than the petiole of the leaf. It has a thin, purplish
skin, and sweet yellowish flesh. The berries frequently hang on the tree
most of the winter.

The WOOD is heavy, rather soft, weak, and decays readily when exposed.
It is used chiefly for fuel, and occasionally for lumber.

The range of this hackberry extends far into the northern and northeastern
parts of the United States.

67

SUGARBERRY (Sugar Hackberry)
Celtis laevigata Willd.

Sugarberry is distributed widely over the eastern half of the state. It occurs
most abundantly and attains greatest size in rich alluvial soil, but thrives on
various soil types. The species may grow 30 to 50 feet high and 10 to 20
inches in diameter, though sometimes much larger. Its limbs are spreading
or pendulous, forming a broad head. Its branchlets are slender, light green,
glabrous or pubescent when young, and bright reddish-brown during their
first winter.

The BARK is pale gray and covered with prominent excrescences.

The LEAVES are simple, oblong-lanceolate, one-sided, 2½ to 5 inches
long, thin, smooth, with the edges entire.

SUGARBERRY (Leaf, fruit, and twig, three-fourths natural size)

The FLOWERS, not conspicuous, are borne on slender, smooth peduncles
in April or May, and are of a creamy-greenish color. The FRUIT is short-
oblong to pear shaped, orange-red or yellow, ¼ inch in diameter, and ripens
in September. The peduncle of the fruit is shorter or slightly longer than the
petiole of the leaf.

The WOOD is soft, weak, close-grained, and light yellow, and is used
occasionally for flooring and furniture, but chiefly for fuel.

68

RED MULBERRY
Morus rubra L.

Red mulberry occurs in eastern Texas and west to the canyon of Devils
River, Valverde County. It prefers rich moist soils. It is a small tree, rarely
50 feet high and 2 feet in diameter, often growing in the shade of larger
trees.

The BARK is rather thin, dark grayish-brown, and peels off in long narrow
flakes.

RED MULBERRY (Twig, two-thirds natural size; leaves and fruit, one-third natural size)

The LEAVES are alternate, thin, rounded or somewhat heart-shaped,
toothed, pointed, 3 to 5 inches long, rough hairy above and soft hairy
beneath. Some of the leaves are mitten-shaped or lobed.

The FLOWERS are of two kinds, on the same or different trees, in long
drooping catkins, the female catkins shorter, appearing with the leaves.

The multiple FRUIT is edible, dark purple or black when ripe, and ¾ to 1
inch long.

The WOOD is rather light, soft, not strong, light orange-yellow, and the
heartwood is durable in contact with the soil. It is chiefly used for fence

posts.

The TEXAS MULBERRY (Morus microphylla Buckl.) is found in West
Texas and south from the Colorado River. Its leaves are rarely longer than
1½ inches.

The WHITE MULBERRY (Morus alba L.) a native of China, has become
naturalized in the United States.

69

OSAGE-ORANGE (Bois-d’arc)
Maclura pomifera (Raf.) Schneid.

Osage-orange, “bodark”, hedge apple, or mock orange is native to eastern
and Central Texas; attaining its largest size in the valley of the Red River in
the northeast part of the state. It commonly reaches a height of 20 to 40 feet
and a diameter of 4 to 12 inches. The BARK is thin, gray, sometimes tinged
with yellow; on old trees it is divided into strips or flakes. It contains tannin
and has been used for tanning leather. The twigs are armed with stout,
straight thorns ⅜ to 1 inch long.

OSAGE-ORANGE (Leaf and fruit, one-fourth natural size; leaf and twig, nearly one-half
natural size)

The LEAVES are simple, alternate, oval-pointed and lustrous green on the
upper surface, 3 to 5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide, and entire. The
leaves turn bright yellow in the autumn.

The yellowish FLOWERS appear in May; two kinds on the same tree—the
male flowers in a linear cluster and the female flowers a rounded ball. The
FRUIT is globular, from 2 to 5 inches in diameter, resembling a rough,
green orange.

The WOOD is heavy, exceedingly hard, very strong, and very durable in
contact with the soil. The heartwood is bright orange in color, turning
brown upon exposure. It is largely used for posts. The Indians prized the
wood for bows and war clubs. The tree is planted for windbreaks and
hedges. The bark of the roots supply a yellow dye.

70

SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA (Evergreen Magnolia)
Magnolia grandiflora L.

Magnolia is one of the best-known trees in the eastern part of the state. No
other tree excels it in the combined beauty of leaves and flowers. Occurring
naturally in rich moist soil on the borders of river swamps and nearby
uplands in the Coastal Plain to the valley of the Brazos River, it has been
widely cultivated for its ornamental value. In its natural habitat, it attains
heights generally of 60 to 80 feet and trunk diameters up to 4 feet. The
dense pyramidal head, or crown, is made up of numerous small spreading
branches and branchlets.

SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA (Leaf and flower, one-fourth natural size; twig, one-half natural
size)

The LEAVES are evergreen, thick, leathery, elliptical or oval, dark green
and shiny above, rusty or silvery beneath, and mostly from 5 to 8 inches
long, and 2 to 3 inches wide, with prominent midribs. They remain on the
tree for approximately 2 years.

The large FLOWERS are 6 to 8 inches broad, with pure white petals
surrounding a splash of bright purple in the center, and have a pleasing
fragrance.

The FRUIT is a rounded or oval aggregate 3 to 4 inches long containing
many seeds, each enclosed in a follicle. These open in the fall and display
the bright red seeds dangling on slender threads.

The WOOD is moderately heavy, hard, and of a creamy color. It is used
chiefly for furniture, Venetian blinds, and fuel.

71

SWEETBAY (Sweetbay Magnolia)
Magnolia virginiana L.

Sweetbay, better known locally as white or swampbay, is found in the
southern part of the Texas pine belt to western Montgomery County, in
swamps and rich, moist soils. Often appearing as a clump of sprouts in open
woods, in dense forests it grows as a tree 60 to 90 feet high, and up to 3 feet
in diameter.

The bark is light gray; the branchlets silky-white.

The LEAVES are simple, oblong, pale green above and hairy-white
beneath, 4 to 6 inches long, 1 to 2 inches wide, remaining on sprout growth
to spring, usually dropping from older trees in the fall.

SWEETBAY (Leaf, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size; fruit, one-fourth
natural size)

The fragrant FLOWERS, with 9 to 12 creamy-white petals on slender
smooth stems, measure 2 to 3 inches across. They continue to open during
several weeks of spring and early summer. The FRUIT aggregate or “bur”
is oval-shaped, dark red or brown, about 2 inches long, and contains scarlet
seeds which are usually oval, flattened, and less than ½ inch long.

The WOOD is soft, creamy white to reddish, and is used for furniture,
boxes, woodenware, and venetian blinds.

72

PAWPAW
Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal

This odd and attractive tree does not grow abundantly in Texas and seems
to be little known. It is found near streams in the extreme east portion of the
state and in greater abundance in Harrison and Grayson Counties. It is
seldom over 30 feet high with a trunk 8 or 10 inches in diameter.

The BARK on young trees and branches is a smooth, clean brown; on older
trees becoming blotched with gray, and bearing a few small wart-like
excrescences.

The LEAVES are obovate—lanceolate, 8 to 12 inches long, light, bright
green above and paler below.

The FLOWERS are strikingly characteristic. The three light green, hairy
sepals are early deciduous. The outer three petals are a rich brownish-purple
and deeply veined. The inner three petals are pointed, glandular, and erect.

The FRUIT is an oblong berry 3 to 6 inches long, and contains a number of
large, brown seeds. When ripe it falls to the ground, turning dark brown.
The deep yellow flesh is palatable, though some people do not care for its
unique flavor. The tree blooms and bears as a shrub or tree.

The WOOD is light, weak, and spongy, yellow in color, and is of no known
value.

PAWPAW (Leaf, one-fourth natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size)

73

REDBAY
Persea borbonia (L.) Spreng.

Redbay is native to the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states from Virginia to
southeastern and southern Texas and is a member of the Laurel family. In
all, about 100 species of Persea are found in North and South America.

Redbay grows to 70 feet in height and 3 feet in diameter, with a well-shaped
head of erect, stout, dark green branches. It grows in moist, rich soils along
the streams and in swamps and sometimes in drier soils along with longleaf
pine, over the coastal region.

REDBAY (Illustrations, two-thirds natural size)

The aromatic LEAVES are oblong, thick or leathery, up to 4 inches in
length and 1½ inches in width, bright green with the margin entire and with
a narrow, orange-colored midrib. They remain green over the first winter.
The yellowish-white FLOWERS are in small clusters.

The FRUIT is a nearly round, rather fleshy, shiny, dark blue or nearly black
drupe, about ½ inch long. It ripens in the autumn and contains a large
rounded stone.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, bright red, with thin, lighter colored
sapwood. It is used for cabinet-making, and interior house finish, and has
been used for boat construction.

SILKBAY (Persea humilis Nash) is a dwarf or low growing shrub or tree 6
to 10 feet in height occurring in southern Texas.

74

SASSAFRAS
Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees

This small tree with aromatic leaves and twigs is usually not over 40 feet in
height or a foot in diameter. It is common in Texas west to the Brazos River
on the drier soils, and is one of the first broad-leaved trees to grow on
abandoned fields, where the seeds are dropped by birds. The species is
closely related to the camphor tree of Japan. The BARK is red-brown and
deeply furrowed while the bark of the twigs is bright green.

The LEAVES are unusual in that they vary widely in shape on the same
tree, or even on the same twig. Some are oval and entire, 4 to 6 inches long;
others have one lobe, resembling a mitten; while still others are divided at
the outer end into 3 distinct lobes.

SASSAFRAS (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and fruit, one-third natural size)

The FLOWERS are clustered, greenish-yellow, and open with the first
unfolding of the leaves. The male and female flowers are usually on
different trees. The FRUIT is an oblong, dark blue or black lustrous drupe
surrounded at the base by what appears to be a small orange-red or scarlet
cup at the end of the scarlet peduncle.

The WOOD is light, soft, weak, brittle, and durable in the soil; the
heartwood is dull orange-brown. It is used for posts and crossties. The bark
of the roots yields the very aromatic oil of sassafras much used for flavoring
candies and various commercial products. The bark of the root is sold in
small bundles for making sassafras tea.

75

WITCH-HAZEL
Hamamelis virginiana L.

This tall-growing shrub which has the peculiar habit of blooming in the late
fall and ripening its fruit in early spring is native to the extreme eastern
portion of Texas, being found on rich soils of streams or along the borders
of the forest.

The BARK is smooth, white, gray, and mottled with light brown.

The LEAVES are usually obovate, 3 to 5 inches long, prominently veined,
with a wavy margin, very irregular at the base, bright green above and
slightly paler below. They are generally smooth.

The odd, yellow FLOWERS are borne in clusters along the branch, with
long, very narrow twisted petals. They develop during November,
December, and January, the time depending somewhat on the weather, and
possess a refreshing fragrance. The FRUIT is a hard, tough, two-celled
capsule, with two beaks. It divides in half, each half containing a shiny
black seed. In the late summer or early autumn the capsules pop open,
discharging the seeds.

WITCH-HAZEL (Leaf, one-half natural size; flower and fruit, natural size)

The WOOD is hard and close-grained. The trees do not grow large enough
to be of commercial value.

An analgesic extract used in lotions and balms is obtained from the inner
bark by distillation.

76

SWEETGUM (Redgum)
Liquidambar styraciflua L.

Sweetgum is a valuable and sometimes troublesome forest tree in East
Texas. It occurs on rich river bottoms and in swamps subject to frequent
overflow, as well as on the dried uplands, as far west as the San Jacinto

River Basin. The BARK is a light gray, roughened by corky scales, later
becoming deeply furrowed. After the second year the twigs often develop
corky projections of bark, which give them a winged appearance.

The simple, alternate star-shaped LEAF with its 5 to 7 points or lobes, is 5
to 7 inches across and aromatic. In the fall its coloring ranges from pale
yellow through orange and red to a deep bronze.

SWEETGUM (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size)

The FLOWERS of both sexes appear on the same tree and open with the
leaves. The FRUIT, a head an inch or more in diameter, is made up of many
capsules with projecting spines. It hangs on the tree late into the winter.

The WOOD is moderately hard, close-grained, and not durable on
exposure. The reddish-brown heartwood, which suggests the name red gum,
is not present to any appreciable extent in logs under 16 inches in diameter.
The wood is extensively used for flooring, interior finish, paper pulp, and
veneers for baskets of all kinds.

In the uplands, this species competes aggressively with the more valuable
Southern pines. The control of sweetgum is, therefore, a problem. This
attractive species should be more widely planted for ornamental use.

77

AMERICAN SYCAMORE
Plantanus occidentalis L.

American sycamore, also called planetree and buttonwood, is considered
the largest hardwood tree in North America. It occurs throughout eastern
Texas to Zavalla County. It is most abundant and reaches its largest size
along streams and on rich bottomlands. It grows rapidly and occasionally
attains a height of 140 to 170 feet and a diameter of 10 to 11 feet.

The BARK of the sycamore is a characteristic feature; on the younger trunk
and large limbs it is smooth, greenish-gray in color. The outer bark of limbs
and upper trunk flakes off in large patches and exposes the nearly white
younger bark. Near the base of old trees, the bark becomes thick, dark
brown and divided by deep furrows.

AMERICAN SYCAMORE (Fruit and leaf, one-third natural size)

The LEAVES are simple, alternate, 4 to 7 inches long and about as broad;
light green and smooth above, and paler below. The base of the petiole is
hollow and in falling off exposes the winter bud. The multiple FRUIT forms
a ball about 1 inch in diameter, which hangs on its flexible peduncle—3 to
5 inches long. During early spring the fruit ball breaks up, and the small
nutlets are scattered widely by the wind.

The WOOD is hard and moderately strong, but decays rapidly in the
ground. It is used for butchers’ blocks, tobacco boxes, furniture, and interior
finish.

78

HAWTHORN (Haw)
Crataegus L.

Hawthorn, as treated here, represents about 30 different species and
varieties distributed throughout the state. Members of the group occur on
the poorest and richest soils, on the shallowest and deepest, and on the
limestone hills as well as on the rich bottom and swamp lands. Most of the
forms have a common likeness in possessing thorns and bearing white
blossoms and red or yellow fruit. Some species are planted as ornamental
trees, but otherwise the group is of little commercial value.

HAWTHORN (Leaf and twig, two-thirds natural size; fruit, one-half natural size)

The BARK is generally thin, gray in color, and on the old stems broken up
into thin, narrow scales.

The LEAVES are simple, alternate, mostly oval or wedge-shaped, notched
on the edges, and usually from 2 to 3 inches long.

The FLOWERS are white, some fragrant and others with a slightly
unpleasant odor; they appear in early spring. The FRUIT varies from
globular to oblong, from ¼ to ¾ inch in diameter; some when ripe have a
pulpy, sweet, edible flesh, surrounding from 1 to 5 bony seeds.

The WOOD is strong, tough, heavy, hard, but rarely used for any purpose.

Many species of birds are attracted to these trees and bushes by the fruit and
for the protection offered for nesting. Blueberry hawthorn, C.
brachyacanthu, fruit ripens in the late summer and is valuable for deer
food. The fruit of most species ripens in the fall, and one or two varieties
yield a fruit highly prized for making jelly.

79

RIVERFLAT HAWTHORN (Mayhew)
Crataegus opaca Hook. and Arn.

This species is a native of East Texas, being found as far west as the Trinity
River. It grows along rivers at the edges of swamps and ponds, where water
stands a part of the year. These trees often form extensive thickets. The
FRUIT of this haw, unlike other Texas haws, matures in late April or May.
After the fruit is gone, it is more difficult to distinguish it from other haws.
It is of low, spreading habit, sometimes becoming a tree 20 to 30 feet high
and about a foot in diameter. It usually bears a few thorns about 1 inch long
on branches two years old.

RIVERFLAT HAWTHORN (Leaves, flowers, and fruit, one-half natural size)

On old trees the BARK is deeply fissured and divided into dark brown,
persistent scales. The wood has no commercial value.

The LEAVES are about 2 inches long, pointed, narrowing toward the stem,
finely toothed from the middle of the tip, sometimes slightly lobed, dull
green, and rather downy beneath.

The FLOWERS appearing in March are the largest of Crataegus, 1 inch in
diameter, white, and borne in clusters of only 2 or 3. The FRUIT, an
unusually large haw, is sometimes nearly an inch in diameter. When fully
ripe, these haws are scarlet, lustrous, mellow, and pleasantly acid. The fruit
is gathered in large quantities for making mayhaw jelly.

80

MEXICAN PLUM
Prunus mexicana S. Wats.

This common wild plum is a small tree reaching 20 to 25 feet in height and
8 to 10 inches in diameter. Uncommonly it attains only large shrub size.

The BARK is dark, varying from gray to nearly black. There are curling
scales on young branches but on old trunks the bark becomes rough and
deeply furrowed.

MEXICAN PLUM (Leaf, three-fourths natural size; flowers and fruit, one-half natural size)

The LEAVES, when mature, are alternate, oval, abruptly pointed, finely and
doubly toothed along the margin, dark yellow-green, smooth and shiny,
thick and firm, 2 to 3 inches long by 1 to 2 inches wide, narrowed or
rounded at the base and prominently veined on both surfaces.

The white FLOWERS appear in numerous small clusters in March before
the leaves. With a profusion of flowers, this tree is one of the delights of
early spring in the woods. The FRUIT, or plum, which ripens in late
summer, is dark purple-red color with a bluish “bloom”, about 1¼ inches in
diameter, and varies widely in its palatability. The stone is about ¾ inch
long, and smooth. The dorsal edge is ridged; the ventral edge grooved.

This species of plum does not sucker to form thickets, is drought resistant,
and has been used for grafting stock for the production of commercial
plums.

81

FLATWOODS PLUM (Black Sloe)
Prunus umbellata Ell.

This shrub or small tree with a short, often crooked, or inclining trunk and a
flat-topped head and slender branches is rarely over 20 feet high. Branchlets
at first covered with a dense, pale pubescence, soon become smooth and
bright red during the first year and dull dark brown the second year. It
occurs throughout the eastern portion of the state.

FLATWOODS PLUM (Two-thirds natural size)

BARK ¼ inch thick, dark brown, almost black, and broken diagonally into
small, hard, appressed, persistent scales. LEAVES bright bronze-green with
red margins and petiole when they unfold; at maturity, usually less than 2½
inches long, ovate-lanceolate to oblong with a rounded or slightly cordate
base; leaf thin, dark green above, paler below; usually furnished with two
large dark glands at the base; margins finely and sharply serrate with
incurved teeth.

Small white FLOWERS appearing in umbels of 3 or 4 flowers before the
leaves. Flowers ⅔ inch in diameter. FRUIT a drupe on a stem ½ to 1 inch
long, round, ½ inch in diameter, and with a tough, black, yellow, or bright
red skin covered with a glaucous bloom, and with thick, acid flesh. Stone
flattened, brittle-walled, and wrinkled. Dorsal edge grooved; ventral edge
with conspicuous ridge. The fruit is relished by deer.

82

BLACK CHERRY
Prunus serotina Ehrh.

A medium-sized tree, up to about 70 feet high and 1 to 3 feet in diameter,
black cherry is found in eastern Texas and in the mountains of West Texas.
The forest-grown trees have long clear trunks with little taper. Open-grown
trees have short trunks with many branches and irregular spreading crowns.
The BARK on branches and young trunks is smooth and bright reddish-
brown, marked by conspicuous, narrow, white, horizontal lines, and has a
bitter almond taste. On the older trunks the bark becomes rough and broken
into thick, irregular plates.

BLACK CHERRY (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size)

The LEAVES are alternate, simple, oval to lance-like in shape, 2 to 6 inches
long and 1-1½ inches wide, with fine, incurved serrations, shiny above, and
paler beneath. Cattle eating wilted leaves may be fatally poisoned.

The FRUIT is a dull purplish-black drupe, about as large as a pea, and is
borne in long hanging panicles. The fruit ripens in late summer, is edible
though slightly bitter, and is relished by wildlife.

The WOOD is reddish-brown with yellowish sapwood, moderately heavy,
hard, strong, fine-grained, and does not warp or split in seasoning. With the
exception of black walnut, cherry lumber has a greater unit value than any
other hardwood of the eastern United States. Cherry is prized for furniture.

The SOUTHWESTERN BLACK CHERRY, Prunus serotina var. rufula
(Woot. and Standl.) McVaugh is found in the Guadalupe Mountains of West

Texas. At least five other cherry species are native to Texas. All have
shrubby growth.

83

CAROLINA LAURELCHERRY
Prunus caroliniana (Mill.) Ait.

Called by many local names such as cherry laurel, wild peach, and mock
orange, this species is native to the eastern portion of the state to the valley
of the Guadalupe River, where it is found on deep rich moist bottomlands.
It is apparently free from disease and quite adaptable for landscape
planting. It is usually a small tree but sometimes reaches a height of 50 to
60 feet and 18 inches in diameter when cultivated. The partially withered
leaves and young branches can be fatal to animals browsing upon them,
owing to presence of poisonous hydrocyanic acid.

CAROLINA LAURELCHERRY (Two-thirds natural size)

The BARK is rather smooth, gray, and marked by almost black blotches.

The LEAVES are persistent, oblong-lanceolate, with a few tiny sharp teeth
along the margins, dark lustrous green above, paler below. They cling until
the second year.

The small white FLOWERS come in clusters, in early spring. The FRUIT, a
lustrous black drupe, ripens in autumn, and clings until the following
spring. The fruit is eaten by some birds.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, rich brown in color, with
a thick, lighter colored sapwood.

84

EBONY BLACKBEAD (Texas Ebony)
Pithecellobium flexicaule (Benth.) Coult.

This beautiful evergreen occurs as a small tree or shrub in South Texas from
Matagorda Bay and south into Mexico. Its short spreading branches,
forming a wide, round head, carry stout zigzag brachlets, dark reddish-
brown or light gray, armed with persistent stipular spines ¼ to ½ inch long.

The LEAVES, about 2 inches long, are feather-like (twice pinnate) with
sessile, leathery leaflets that are dark green and shiny on the upper surface,
paler on the lower surface, and ¼ to ⅓ inch long.

EBONY BLACKBEAD (Leaf and fruit, two-thirds natural size)

The FLOWERS are light yellow or cream colored, fragrant, and bloom
from June to August in dense cylindric or interrupted spikes 1½ inches
long.

The FRUIT ripens in the fall and remains on the branches until after the
flowering season the following year. It is a flattened, curved, hairy pod, 4 to
6 inches long, and about 1 inch wide.

The WOOD is very heavy, hard, close-grained, dark red-brown tinged with
purple, almost indestructible when used for fence posts, and valued for
cabinet work.

The tree is considered the most valuable species in the lower Rio Grande
Valley. Mexicans use the seed as a substitute for coffee.

85

CATCLAW ACACIA (Una de Gato)
Acacia greggii A. Gray

Found on dry gravelly mesas, the sides of low canyons and the banks of
mountain streams in the Rio Grande Valley and westward, this small tree
rarely reaches a height of 30 feet, and has a trunk up to 12 inches in
diameter. The top or head consists of numerous spreading branches and
smooth pale brown or red branchlets, armed with stout curved spines.

CATCLAW ACACIA (Fruit and leaves, one-half natural size)

The small, bipinnately compound LEAVES with 1 to 3 pinnae, the leaflets
of which are about ¼ inch long.

The fragrant yellow FLOWERS appear during the summer in dense,
oblong, pubescent spikes, usually 2 to 3 in a cluster at the end of a branch.

The FRUIT matures by midsummer into a twisted or distorted pod, 2 to 4
inches long by about ¾ inch wide. The pod is smaller between each of the 6
to 8 seeds, which are nearly round, flattened, dark brown and shiny. The
pods hang unopened on the branches until the winter or the following
spring.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, durable, and clear brown
or red in color.

86

GREGG LEADTREE
Leucaena greggii S. Wats.

This small, beautiful tree grows wild in western Texas from the upper San
Saba River to Devil’s River. It grows along the banks of streams and in
moist ravines, and reaches a size of 15 to 20 feet in height and 4 to 5 inches
in diameter.

GREGG LEADTREE (Leaf and fruit, two-thirds natural size)

The LEAVES are finely and doubly compound; with 10 to 14 feather-like
pinnae, each containing from 30 to 60 small leaflets, arranged along
opposite sides of the rachis. Each leaflet is elliptical, grayish-green or
bluish-green, smooth, and about ⅓ inch long.

The white FLOWERS are clustered in dense round heads, about 1 inch in
diameter, borne on a long peduncle. Each tiny flower has protruding hairs
which give the head a fuzzy appearance.

The pods, or FRUIT, are 6 to 8 inches long and about ½ inch wide, flat, and
with narrow wing-like edges.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, close-grained, clear brown streaked with red,
with thin, clear sapwood.

Two other species of mimosa are found in Texas: L. pulverulenta
(Schlect.) Benth., found above the mouth of the Rio Grande; and L. retusa
Benth., in Jeff Davis, Kimble, Real, Uvalde, and Valverde Counties.

87

HONEY MESQUITE
Prosopis juliflora var. glandulosa (Torr.) Cockerell

This well-known small tree is found in the central and western part of the
state. The short trunk, usually only 6 to 8 inches in diameter, divides into
many branches forming a loose, open top or crown.

The root system is very large, consisting of a thick taproot sometimes
extending downward to a depth of 30 to 40 feet, with many radiating roots.

HONEY MESQUITE (One-fourth natural size)

The LEAVES are pinnately compound, consisting of 12 to 20 leaflets
attached along a central rachis, or “stem”, 8 to 10 inches long. The leaflets
are often 2 inches long, smooth, dark green, and pointed. Near their bases
are small spines.

The fragrant FLOWERS are tiny and in clusters (spikes) from 2 to 4 inches
long. The FRUIT is a pod about 4 to 9 inches, narrowed between each of
the 10 to 20 seeds enclosed in a thick sweet pulp, used by the natives as
food and eagerly sought by wildlife and livestock.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, and dark reddish-brown in color. It is much
used for fuel and, because it is durable in the ground, for fence posts.

Mesquite has long been designated as P. juliflora (Sw.) D.C., with the
varieties glandulosa (Torr.) Cockerell and velutina (Woot.) Sarg. found in
Texas.

WESTERN HONEY MESQUITE (P. juliflora var. torreyana L. Benson)
occurs in southern and Trans-Pecos regions of Texas. This species is usually
a shrub or sometimes a small tree.

88

EASTERN REDBUD
Cercis canadensis L.

Eastern Redbud, sometimes called Judas-tree from its oriental relative of
that name, is a small tree scattered through the woods of East Texas to the
Brazos River. It attains a height of 25 to 50 feet and a diameter of 6 to 12
inches. Its stout branches usually form a wide flat head.

EASTERN REDBUD (Twig, two-thirds natural size; fruit and leaf, one-third natural size)

The BARK of the trunk is divided into long narrow plates, the bright red-
brown surface separating into thin scales.

The LEAVES are alternate, heart-shaped, entire, 3 to 5 inches long and
wide, glossy green, turning a bright clear yellow in autumn.

The conspicuous, bright purplish-red FLOWERS are in clusters along the
twigs and small branches, and appear before or with the leaves in early
spring.

The FRUIT is an oblong, flattened, many-seeded pod, 2 to 4 inches long,
reddish during the summer and often hanging on the tree through the
following summer.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, not strong, rich dark brown in color, and of little
commercial importance. The redbud is cultivated as an ornamental tree and
for that purpose might be more generally planted in this state.

Several varieties of Cercis canadensis have been described in Texas.

89

HONEYLOCUST
Gleditsia triacanthos L.

Honeylocust occurs naturally in the eastern part of the state to the Brazos
River. It grows under a wide variety of soil and moisture conditions and is a
popular tree for planting in the drier portions of Texas. It reaches a diameter
of 30 inches and a height of 75 feet. The BARK on old trees is dark gray
and is divided into thin, tight scales. The strong, straight or branched,
brown, sharp and shiny thorns, which grow on the 1-year-old wood and
remain for many years, are sufficient to identify the honeylocust.

The LEAF is pinnate or feather-like, with 18 to 28 leaflets; or it is bi-
pinnate, consisting of 4 to 7 pairs of pinnae, each 6 to 8 inches long.

HONEYLOCUST (Twig, three-quarters natural size; leaves and fruit, one-quarter natural size)

The FRUIT, a 10 to 18 inch pod, is often twisted, 1 to 1½ inches wide, flat,
dark brown or black when ripe, and contains a yellow sweetish pulp and
dark brown seeds. The seeds are hard and separated by pulp. The pods are
eaten by many animals, and as the seeds are hard to digest, many are widely
scattered from the parent tree.

The WOOD is coarse-grained, hard, strong, and moderately durable in
contact with the ground.

Honeylocust is a good tree to substitute for the black locust which has been
almost exterminated in West Texas by the locust borer.

TEXAS HONEYLOCUST (G. texana Sarg.), found in the Brazos River
bottomlands, is reported to be a hybrid between G. triacanthos and G.

aquatica.

90

WATERLOCUST
Gleditsia aquatica Marsh.

In river bottoms and swamps along the Gulf Coast to the Brazos River and
north to Arkansas is found the waterlocust, a close relative of the well-
known black locust. It can be distinguished by the small pod having one
seed, rarely two or three.

WATERLOCUST (One-half natural size)

The waterlocust reaches a height of 60 feet and diameter up to 3 feet. The
trunk is usually short, dividing into several spreading, and often distorted,
branches. The branchlets have sharp spines from 3 to 5 inches in length,
dark red and shiny.

The pinnately compound LEAVES are 5 to 8 inches long with 12 to 20
leaflets arranged on opposite sides of the leaf rachis. Each leaflet is an inch

or so in length, oblong, sometimes slightly toothed on the edge, dull green
or yellow-green above and dark green on the lower surface.

The FLOWERS appear in small clusters of green flowers on purple pedicels
in a raceme 3 to 4 inches long, and grow from the axil of the leaf rachis and
twig. The flowers bloom well after the leaves are out. The FRUIT pods
hang in graceful racemes. The pods are 1 inch wide and 1 to 2 inches long,
thin walled, tough, papery, chestnut brown, and shiny. The SEEDS are
flattened, nearly round, about ½ inch wide, and orange-brown.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, light reddish-brown, and surrounded by
a wide band of clear yellow sapwood.

91

BLACK LOCUST (Yellow Locust)
Robinia pseudoacacia L.

Black locust is not native to Texas, so far as known, but has been widely
planted here and has escaped from cultivation. Black locust requires deep,
well-drained, moist soil for good growth. It grows indifferently to poorly on
well-drained, dry sites. Of late years it has been severely damaged by the
locust borer and is no longer recommended for planting in pure stands.

BLACK LOCUST (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size)

The twigs and branchlets are armed with paired, straight or slightly curved,
sharp, strong spines, sometimes as much as 1 inch in length, which remain
attached to the outer bark for many years.

The LEAVES are pinnate, or feather-like, from 6 to 10 inches long, with 7
to 19 oblong, thin leaflets.

The FLOWERS are fragrant, white or cream-colored, and appear in
graceful pendant racemes.

The FRUIT is a pod from 3 to 5 inches long containing 4 to 8 small hard
seeds which ripen late in the fall. The pod splits open during the winter,
discharging most of the seeds. Some seeds usually remain attached to each
half of the pod.

The WOOD is yellow, coarse-grained, heavy, very hard, strong, and durable
in contact with the soil. It is used extensively for fence posts, poles, tree
nails, insulator pins, and occasionally for lumber and fuel.

92

HERCULES-CLUB (Prickly-Ash)
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis L.

This tree is a native of East Texas and ranges westerly to the valley of the
Colorado River and northward to Dallas and Tarrant Counties, and to some
extent to the Rio Grande Valley. It is a small tree, seldom over 30 feet in
height, with a short trunk usually under 1 foot in diameter. It seems to
prefer a well-drained, light, sandy soil, and is often found growing on bluffs
near rivers.

HERCULES-CLUB (Leaf and fruit, one-half natural size; spines natural size)

The BARK is the most characteristic feature of this tree. It is gray, and with
numerous corky tubercles. The aromatic inner bark, with its strong pungent
juice, has given this tree a number of local names, such as “tingle-tongue”,
and “toothache tree.” The inner bark was a favorite in old-time home
remedies for the relief of toothache.

The LEAVES are compound, 5 to 8 inches long, with 7 to 17 ovate, toothed,
bright green leaflets.

The small, pale green FLOWERS, borne in loose, wide-branched cymes, 4
to 5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide, bloom in early spring when the
leaves are almost half grown. The small FRUIT, a one-seeded carpel, ripens
in early summer. The seeds hang outside the carpels and are eaten by birds.

The soft, light brown WOOD has no special known value.

A variety, fruiticosum (A. Gray) S. Wats., is a shrubby form found in West
Texas. It has short, often 3-foliate, pubescent leaves and blunt, leathery
leaflets.

93

COMMON HOPTREE (Wafer-Ash)
Ptelea trifoliata L.

This small tree or large shrub is found scattered over the eastern portion of
the state. The bark and leaves are bitter and strong-scented and possess
tonic qualities.

The hoptree has a straight, slender trunk 6 to 8 inches in diameter and
seldom reaches a height of more than 20 feet.

COMMON HOPTREE (Fruit, three-fourths natural size; leaf, one-third natural size)

The LEAVES are composed of 3 leaflets, sometimes 5, each of which is
oval or pear-shaped and pointed, about 4 to 6 inches long and 2 to 3 inches
wide, and dark green on the upper surface. The central leaflet is the largest.

The FRUIT consists of a small, round, 2-seeded, winged “key” or “samara”,
resembling somewhat the familiar paper caps for toy pistols. The seeds
occur in dense drooping clusters and hang on the tree over winter.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, yellowish-brown, and close-grained. The shrub
is often planted as an ornamental.

94

SHINING SUMAC (Dwarf or Flameleaf Sumac)
Rhus copallina L.

Shining sumac is found growing naturally west to the San Antonio River. It
is more commonly a shrub than a tree and grows in clumps and thickets
around the edges of the fields and in other open places. The leaves turn
crimson in the fall and add a vivid note to the autumn coloring. The tree
spreads by means of shallow root-runners.

The BARK is almost smooth, with horizontal splashes of light and dark
gray, and many small excrescences. This papery outer bark cracks at
irregular intervals, exposing spots of reddish-brown beneath.

SHINING SUMAC (Leaf and fruit one-half natural size)

The compound LEAVES are alternate, 6 to 8 inches long, with 9 to 21 small
ovate-lanceolate leaflets, glossy green above, downy beneath. This sumac is
easily distinguished from others by the fact that the leaf rachis is winged.
The leaves are rich in tannin, and are used in large quantities for curing
leather, and for the manufacture of dyes.

The tiny, pale green FLOWERS are borne in compact conical, panicles in
July. Male and female flowers are borne on separate trees. The small
FRUIT is red, covered with short hairs, and has an acid taste. The fruits
cling, and are eaten by birds in late winter.

The reddish-brown WOOD is soft, light, and coarse-grained.

PRAIRIE SUMAC (R. lanceolata [A. Gray] Britton) is found on the
prairies of eastern Texas to the valley of the Rio Grande, often forming
thickets on the banks of small streams. This species is distinguished by its
narrow, acute leaflets and its larger flowers and fruit.

95

POISON-SUMAC
Toxicodendron vernix (L.) Kountze

All parts of this beautiful plant give off toxic oils that may irritate and
blister the skin like the oils of poison ivy. Poison-sumac may grow as a
shrub with several clustered stems, or as a tree occasionally 25 feet high
with a trunk 5 to 6 inches in diameter. The slender, smooth branchlets are at
first reddish-brown with orange-colored lenticels, later becoming light gray
and marked with elevated and conspicuous leaf-scars.

POISON-SUMAC (Leaf, one-half natural size; fruit often larger)

The compound, alternate LEAVES are quite different from those of other
sumacs, shaped more like those of ash, for which reason it is often called
“poison ash.” The leaf-stems are always reddish, and usually quite
conspicuous. The leaves are 7 to 14 inches long, with 7 to 13 ovate-oblong

leaflets, 3 to 4 inches long. The leaflets are bright green above, paler
beneath, usually with a red midrib.

The small FLOWERS are borne in panicles much less compact than those
of other sumacs. The FRUIT is a lustrous white drupe, born in slender,
drooping panicles. The fruit matures in September and is eaten by birds and
rabbits. The sap can be used to make a black, durable varnish.

96

AMERICAN HOLLY
Ilex opaca Ait.

American holly is found on rich, moist soils of bottomlands in East Texas
and westward to Wilson County. A tree often 50 feet high, frequently attains
heights of 80 to 100 feet and diameters up to 4 feet. A large specimen may
be seen at the Texas Forest Service’s Indian Mound Nursery near Alto.

AMERICAN HOLLY (Leaf and fruit, two-thirds natural size)

The BARK is light gray and roughened by wart-like growths. The
numerous, short, slender branches form a dense pyramidal head of striking
dark green color which is more pronounced when the conspicuous red
drupes are present.

The LEAVES are simple, alternate, rather oval, thick and leathery, 2 to 4
inches long and usually armed with spiny teeth. They remain on the
branches three years, dropping off in the spring.

The FLOWERS are small and whitish; male and female flowers are usually
borne on separate trees. The FRUIT, ripening late in the fall on the trees
bearing female flowers, is dull red or sometimes yellow, round or somewhat
oval-shaped berry-like drupe about ¼ inch in diameter and with 4 to 6
grooved, ribbed nutlets.

The WOOD is light, tough, not strong, white when cut, turning brown when
aged. Valued and much used for cabinet making, interior finish, and turnery.
Many of the largest and best holly trees have been cut and marketed.

Holly is a highly desirable Christmas decoration and a desirable ornamental
tree for yards. Wild holly is becoming scarce. Excessive cuttings should be
avoided.

97

YAUPON
Ilex vomitoria Ait.

This close relative of the American holly is found in East Texas to
Matagorda Bay, Rio Blanco and the Guadalupe River, and north to southern
Arkansas. On the rich bottomlands of eastern Texas, yaupon is a small tree,
20 to 25 feet high with a trunk rarely over 6 inches in diameter; elsewhere it
is a shrub.

The LEAVES are 1 to 2 inches long, ¼ to 1 inch wide, thick, glossy green
above, paler below, and persistent for 2 or 3 years.

YAUPON (Two-thirds natural size)

The FLOWERS, male and female, are borne on separate plants. The
FRUIT, a scarlet berry-like drupe, is produced in great abundance by the
female plant.

The WOOD is of little value except for fuel.

Yaupon is used in the South as a hedge plant, and is much prized for
Christmas decorations. A tea made from leaves was once popular with the
Indians. The plant is now grown on the Atlantic Coast for the commercial
production of yaupon tea for medicinal purposes.

I. decidua Walt. known as POSSUM HAW (WINTER BERRY) is similar
to yaupon, but the leaves shed in the fall; the fruits, which remain over

winter, are orange to orange-scarlet in color.

98

SILVER MAPLE
Acer saccharinum L.

Silver, or soft, maple is found on moist land and along streams in the
extreme eastern part of the state. In its best region of growth, the valley of
the lower Ohio River, it attains heights of 100 feet or more and diameters of
3 feet or over.

SILVER MAPLE (Twig and fruit, one-half natural size; leaf, one-third natural size)

The BARK on old trunks is dark gray and broken into long flakes or scales.
The twigs are slender, brittle, reddish-brown, and shiny.

The buds are rounded, red or reddish-brown, blunt-pointed, generally like
those of red maple.

The simple, opposite LEAVES have from 3 to 5 lobes ending in long points
with toothed margins and separated by deep angular sinuses or openings;
the leaves are pale green on the upper surface, silvery-white underneath,
and have a red petiole.

The FLOWERS arising from the large prominent flower buds are a
greenish-yellow color and appear in clusters in the spring before the leaves.
The FRUIT ripens in the spring and consists of a pair of wing samaras or
“keys” with wings 1 to 2 inches long on a slender, flexible, thread-like
peduncle about an inch long.

The WOOD is soft, weak, even-textured, rather brittle, easily worked, and
decays readily when exposed. It is occasionally used for flooring, furniture
and fuel.

The silver maple grows rapidly and has been planted in Texas as a shade
tree. It is somewhat undesirable because of its brittleness and susceptibility
to insects and fungus diseases.

99

RED MAPLE
Acer rubrum L.

Red maple is abundant in low moist areas in the eastern part of the state. It
is usually a medium-sized tree, quick-growing, and relatively short-lived. It
is used as a shade tree, though of inferior quality for this purpose. The
BARK is smooth and light gray on young limbs and trunks, and dark gray
and rough on old limbs and trunks.

The LEAVES are 2 to 5 inches long and have from 3 to 5 pointed, saw-
toothed lobes separated by sharp angular sinuses or openings. The upper
leaf surface when mature is light green, the lower surface whitish and partly
covered with pale down. In autumn the leaves turn to brilliant shades of red,
orange, and yellow.

RED MAPLE (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, one-half natural size)

The red FLOWERS appear in dense clusters in early spring before the
leaves, the buds turning a deep red sometimes before they open. The winter
buds are small, red, and round or blunt-pointed. The FRUIT ripens in the
late spring or early summer. It consists of pairs of winged samaras, or keys,
½ to 1 inch in length, on a long drooping peduncle (fruit stem), red,
reddish-brown, or yellow in color.

The WOOD, known commercially as soft maple, is heavy, close-grained,
rather weak, and of a light brown color. It is used in the manufacture of
furniture, and for turnery, woodenware, and fuel.

100

BOXELDER
Acer negundo L.

Boxelder, the only Texas maple with compound leaves, is a native of
eastern and southern Texas to the lower Rio Blanco River. It is generally
found on the banks of streams and lakes and the borders of swamps. It
grows rapidly, making a quick shade, and is quite shapely. The branches are
brittle and break easily. The tree is short-lived and rather subject to disease.
It sometimes attains a height of 50 to 60 feet, with a trunk 2 feet in
diameter, but is usually smaller.

BOXELDER (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size)

The BARK of the twigs is green; of the trunk grayish-brown, divided into
broad, rounded ridges, and separating on the surface into short, thick scales.

The LEAVES are opposite, compound, usually with 5 leaflets, occasionally
3 or 7. The leaflets are 2 to 4 inches long, coarsely and irregularly toothed,
light green above, paler beneath.

The tiny FLOWERS are borne in drooping clusters. The FRUIT is like that
of the other maples, green, turning light tan when mature. Unlike the seeds
of other maples, they cling until after the leaves are shed.

The WOOD is creamy-white, light, and soft and weak but close-grained. It
is sometimes used in other states for the manufacture of low grade furniture
and interior finish; it is also used for woodenware, cooperage, and paper
pulp.

101

OHIO BUCKEYE
Aesculus glabra Willd.

Ohio buckeye occurs as far west as eastern Texas along streams in rich
soils. Though often only a shrub, it becomes a medium-sized tree in rich
alluvial bottoms. Its leaves and fruit are poisonous to stock.

The BARK is white and, on old trees, divided or broken into light brown
flat scales, which make the stems of the tree rough; the bark is ill-smelling
when bruised.

OHIO BUCKEYE (Twig, two-thirds natural size; nut, one-third natural size; leaf, one-fourth
natural size)

The LEAVES are opposite, palmately compounded, with 5 to 7 smooth,
pale green leaflets, ill-smelling when bruised. The leaves usually turn
yellow during the summer.

The FLOWERS are cream-colored and appear in clusters, 5 to 8 inches
long, in April or May.

The FRUIT is generally rounded, pale brown, generally thin-walled,
roughened with blunt prickles or warts, and breaking into 2 to 3 valves,
disclosing the bright shiny seeds 1 to 1½ inches wide.

The WOOD is light, soft and weak, and decays rapidly when exposed. It is
used for woodenware, artificial limbs, paper pulp, lumber, and fuel.

Aesculus pavia L., the RED BUCKEYE, is found as a shrub in Comal and
Wilson Counties and is common through eastern Texas to Bexar and
Kendall Counties, as a shrub 9 to 12 inches high. This species was formerly
classified as A. discolor Parsh and A.d. var. Mollis (Raf.) Sarg.

102

WESTERN SOAPBERRY (Wild China-Tree)
Sapindus drummondii Hook. Arn.

This species, sometimes called Indian soap plant, grows on moist clay soils
or dry limestone uplands. It ranges through eastern Texas to New Mexico
and the Rio Grande, becoming a tree 40 to 50 feet high and 1 to 2 feet in
diameter, with usually erect branches, and branchlets at first slightly many-
angled.

WESTERN SOAPBERRY (Leaf, two-fifths natural size; fruit, one-third natural size)

The BARK is broken by deep fissures into long narrow plates which in turn
are broken on the surface into small red-brown scales.

The LEAVES appearing in March or April, bear 4 to 9 pairs of alternate,
opposite or both, lance-shaped leaflets which are pale, yellow-green, about

2½ inches long and ½ to ⅔ inch wide. The leaves fall in autumn or early
winter.

The FLOWERS are whitish, in large, dense panicles.

The FRUIT, round yellow berries, ½ inch in diameter, and containing dark
brown seeds, ripen in September and October and fall in the spring.

The WOOD is heavy, strong, close-grained, light brown tinged with yellow.
It splits easily into thin strips and is used for cotton basket and the frames of
pack saddles.

103

AMERICAN BASSWOOD (American Linden)
Tilia americana L.

Three species of basswood are reported to grow in Texas from the Arkansas
line to the Brazos River and westward to Uvalde, Kerr and Bandera
Counties, usually on rich, moist soils. They are rarely over 50 feet tall and
12 inches in diameter.

The BARK is light brown and deeply furrowed.

AMERICAN BASSWOOD (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, one-half natural size)

The LEAVES are more or less heart-shaped, 3 to 6 inches long, thin, saw-
toothed, smooth on both sides in some species, but woolly on the under
surface of others.

The fragrant FLOWERS, a favorite of bees, are yellowish-white, in
drooping clusters opening in early summer, and the flower-stem is united to
the middle of a long, narrow, leaf-like bract.

The FRUIT, a dry, 1 to 2-seeded nut-like drupe, ¼ to ½ inch in diameter, is
covered with short, thick, gray-brown wool. It remains attached in clusters
to the leafy bract, which later acts as a wing to bear the fruit away in the
wind.

The WOOD is light, soft, tough, not durable, and light brown in color. It is
used in states where the growth is better for the manufacture of pulp,
woodenware, furniture, trunks, excelsior, and many other articles. The
principal use of basswoods in Texas is for shade and ornament.

104

DEVILS-WALKINGSTICK (Hercules-Club)
Aralia spinosa L.

This tree, a native of Northeast Texas, is armed from the ground up with
many sharp spines, a characteristic that has given the tree many names such
as Hercules-club, prickly-elder, and prickly-ash. The last name properly
belongs to another tree. Devils-walkingstick possesses sufficient beauty to
compensate for its spitefulness. The tree is usually small, but occasionally
attains a height of 30 feet, the leaves forming a flat-topped, spreading
crown.

DEVILS-WALKINGSTICK (Branch, one-half natural size; leaf and fruit greatly reduced)

The brown BARK is divided by broad shallow fissures into circular,
horizontal ridges. The sharp spines along its trunk best identify this tree.

The LEAVES are doubly compounded, or bi-pinnate, the main rachis (leaf-
stem) 3 or 4 feet long, clasping the stem with an enlarged base, and leaving

conspicuous scars when they fall. The oval leaflets are toothed, pointed,
dark green above and paler beneath. They turn yellow in autumn.

In mid-summer each plant bears one immense panicle of small, white
FLOWERS, which rises well above the leaves. The tree presents its most
striking appearance in autumn when the small black FRUIT ripens, for the
fruit-stems turn a rich wine-red. Birds eat the juicy drupes. The WOOD is
of no commercial importance.

105

BLACK TUPELO (Blackgum)
Nyssa sylvatica Marsh.

Black gum, often called sour gum, is found in eastern Texas to the valley of
the Brazos River; usually in swampy wet soil, but sometimes on dry slopes
with the oaks.

The BARK on younger trees is furrowed between flat ridges, and gradually
develops into quadrangular blocks that are dense, hard, and nearly black.

BLACK TUPELO (Twig, leaf, and fruit one-half natural size)

The LEAVES are simple, 2 to 3 inches long, entire, obovate to elliptic,
shiny, and dark green in color. In the fall the leaves turn brilliant red.

The greenish FLOWERS on long, slender peduncles appear in early spring
when the leaves are about one-third grown. They are usually of two kinds,
the male in many-flowered heads, and the female in two or several-
flowered clusters on different trees. The FRUIT is drupe-like, dark blue ⅔
inch long, containing a single hard-shelled stone, and is borne 2 to 3 in a
cluster on 1 to 2½-inch peduncles.

The WOOD is very tough, cross-grained, not durable in contact with the
soil, hard to work, and warps easily. Once considered a weed tree, the
species is now valuable for basket veneer, box boards, and paper pulp. In
the old days, the hollow trunks were used for “bee-gums.”

Swamp tupelo (N. s. var. biflora [Walt.] Sarg.), found mainly on the
Coastal Plain, has narrowly obovate to narrowly oblanceolate leaves and
fruiting peduncles ⅜ to 1⅜ inches long. The base of the trunk is swollen
when submerged.

106

WATER TUPELO (Cotton-Gum or Tupelo-Gum)
Nyssa aquatica L.

Water tupelo is found only in deep river swamps or coastal swamps which
are often flooded. The commonly enlarged base, large-sized fruit, hanging
on a long peduncle (stem), and the brittleness of the twigs, serve to
distinguish this species from the black gum. It forms a tall, often slowly
tapering somewhat crooked trunk 50 to 75 feet in height and 2 to 3 feet in
diameter. The spreading small branches form a narrow, oblong or pyramidal
head. The branches are generally smooth and light brown in color. The
BARK of the trunk is thin, dark brown and furrowed up and down the
trunk.

WATER TUPELO (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size)

The LEAVES are simple, ovate or oblong in shape, acute and often long-
pointed. When mature they are thick, dark green and lustrous on the upper
side, pale and somewhat downy on the lower side, 5 to 7 inches long and 2
to 4 inches wide, wedge-shaped at the base, and entire or irregularly toothed
on the margin. The petiole is stout, 1 to 2 inches long, grooved, and
enlarged at the base.

The FLOWERS, which appear in March or April are of two kinds, usually
borne on separate trees, the male flowers in dense round clusters, and the
female flowers solitary.

The FRUIT, ripening in early fall, is a dark purple drupe, oblong or obovate
in shape, about 1 inch long, with a thick, tough skin enclosing a flattened
stone, and borne on a slender peduncle 3 to 4 inches long.

The WOOD is light, soft, and not strong. It is used for woodenware, broom
handles, fruit and vegetable baskets, marketed as tupelo or bay poplar
lumber, and paper pulp.

107

FLOWERING DOGWOOD
Cornus florida L.

Dogwood grows in the forests of eastern Texas, usually under the larger
forest trees. It is a small tree, up to 30 feet high and 12 inches in diameter,
occasionally larger, with a rather flat and spreading crown and short, often
crooked trunk.

FLOWERING DOGWOOD (Leaf and fruit, one-half natural size; twig, two-thirds natural
size)

The BARK is reddish-brown to black and broken up into small 4-sided,
scaly blocks.

The LEAVES are opposite, ovate, 3 to 5 inches long, 2 to 3 inches wide,
pointed, entire or wavy on the margin, prominently veined, bright green
above, pale green or grayish beneath.

The FLOWERS, which unfold from the conspicuous, round, grayish, winter
flower buds before the leaves come out, are small, greenish-yellow,

arranged in dense heads surrounded by large white or pinkish petal-like
bracts, which appear like large spreading flowers 2 to 4 inches across.

The FRUIT is a bright scarlet drupe one-half an inch long and containing a
hard, two-celled nutlet containing 1 or 2 seeds. Usually several fruits are
contained in one head, and are relished by birds, squirrels, and other
animals.

The WOOD is hard, heavy, strong, close-grained, and brown to red in color.
It is in demand for cotton-mill machinery, turnery, handles, and forms.

With its masses of early spring flowers, its dark red autumn foliage, and
bright red berries, dogwood is probably our most ornamental native tree. It
should be used more extensively in eastern Texas for ornamental planting.

108

TREE SPARKLEBERRY (Farkleberry)
Vaccinium arboreum Marsh.

In the coastal belt of eastern Texas as far as Matagorda Bay, farkleberry, or
tree huckleberry, grows in moist sandy soil along the banks of ponds and
streams. Although it is found from Virginia to Missouri and southward, it
reaches its largest size, 20 to 30 feet, near the Gulf Coast of Texas. The
crooked trunk may attain a diameter of 8 to 10 inches. Further inland it is a
large shrub.

TREE SPARKLEBERRY (Nearly natural size)

The LEAVES are oval and glossy green, varying up to 2 inches in length
and 1 inch in width. They are mostly evergreen, or at least persist on the
twigs during the winter.

The FLOWERS are small, white, and bell-shaped, and appear in long open
clusters on racemes.

The FRUIT consist of small, round, shiny, nearly black berries which ripen
in the fall and, unless eaten by birds or animals, remain until spring. They
have a slightly puckering but pleasing flavor.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, close-grained, and light reddish-brown. It is
sometimes used for tool handles.

109

GUM BUMELIA (Woolly Buckthorn—Gum-Elastic)
Bumelia lanuginosa (Michx.) Pers.

Gum bumelia, often called false buckthorn or chittamwood, occurs along
streams in sandy woods in eastern Texas to the San Antonio River and over
the Edwards Plateau to Palo Pinto County. It reaches its largest
development probably in Central Texas where it occasionally grows as a
tree 80 feet high and 3 feet in diameter.

GUM BUMELIA (Three-fourths natural size)

The branches are short, stout, and stiff, and often armed with straight or
curved spines.

The LEAVES are oblong, more or less grouped near the ends of short spurs;
rounded at the apex, narrowed at the base; thick, firm, dark green and shiny
above, and rusty-woolly beneath. They are from 1 to more than 2 inches
long and up to ¾ inch wide.

The FLOWERS are small and open in summer, each borne on a hairy
flower-stem (pedicel) about ⅛ inch long. They are borne in fascicles of 15
to 18, near the axils of the new leaves or near the leaf-scars of old leaves.
The petals are white and lobed. The fruit is fleshy, black, oblong, about ½
inch in length, borne singly or in a cluster of 2 or 3, and usually dry and
firm on the outside and contain a light brown, firm rounded seed. The ripe
fruit falls from the tree in autumn.

The WOOD is light brown streaked with white and surrounded by a band of
lighter colored sapwood. It is heavy, hard, and close-grained.

B. lanuginosa var. Rigida A. Gray, is found in western and southern Texas,
while B. lycioides L. Pers., is found in eastern Texas to Milam County.

110

COMMON PERSIMMON
Diospyros virginiana L.

Persimmon is a well known tree throughout its range. It is small, rarely
exceeding 50 feet in height and 18 inches in diameter, occurring in the state
as far west as the Colorado River. It prefers dry, open situations, and is most
abundant in old fields, though it occurs on rich bottomlands.

COMMON PERSIMMON (Leaf and fruit, one-half natural size; twig, three-fourths natural
size)

The BARK of old trees is almost black and separated into thick, nearly
square blocks.

The LEAVES are alternate, oval, entire, 4 to 6 inches long, dark green and
shining above, paler beneath.

The small FLOWERS, which appear in May, are yellowish or cream-white,
somewhat bell-shaped, the male and female flowers occurring on separate
trees; the male in clusters of 2 or 3, the female solitary. They are visited by
many insects.

The FRUIT is a pulpy, round, orange-colored or brown berry, an inch or
more in diameter and containing several flattened, hard, smooth seeds. The
fruit is strongly astringent while green, but often quite sweet and delicious

when thoroughly ripe. It is relished by both man and animals, especially
after a few frosty nights.

The WOOD is hard, dense, strong, the heartwood brown or black, the wide
sapwood white or yellowish. It is particularly valued for shuttles, golf club
heads, and similar special uses, but is not of sufficient commercial use to
warrant its growth as a timber tree.

The TEXAS or BLACK PERSIMMON (D. texana Scheele) is described on
page 127.

111

COMMON SWEETLEAF (Horse-Sugar)
Symplocos tinctoria (L.) L’Hér.

Sweetleaf is usually found along the borders of streams and swamps,
chiefly in East Texas. It seldom grows to a height of more than 30 feet or a
diameter of more than 8 inches. The slender upright branches, forming an
open head, are bluish or grayish, and decidedly roughened by elevated leaf-
scars, or places of attachment of the last crop of leaves.

COMMON SWEETLEAF (Fruit and flowers about natural size; leaf, one-half natural size)

The thick, shiny, dark green LEAVES, arranged alternately along the stem,
vary from 5 to 6 inches in length and 1 to 2 inches in width. They remain on
the twigs until spring. The leaves are sweet and eagerly sought for food by
livestock.

The tiny, pale yellow fragrant FLOWERS are produced in close clusters at
intervals along the branchlets. The FRUIT, a small, one-seeded drupe, has a
thin dark orange or brown skin. The fruit is eaten to some extent by deer.

The WOOD is light, soft and pale red or brown, and has no commercial
value. Both leaves and bark yield a yellow dye. The bitter aromatic roots
have been used as a tonic.

112

TWO-WING SILVERBELL (Snowdrop Tree)
Halesia diptera Ellis

This attractive tree or shrub, may grow as a small tree, sometimes as much
as 30 feet high, with a trunk 6 to 10 inches in diameter. It occurs in rich, wet
woods and on the borders of swamps and streams, but is adaptable to many
sites. It is found in the southeastern portion of Texas, being a native of the
Gulf Region.

TWO-WING SILVERBELL (Twig, leaf, and flower one-half natural size; fruit about one-sixth
natural size)

The BARK of the trunk is brown, divided by irregular longitudinal fissures,
and separating on the surface into thin scales. The bark on the twigs forms
long, loose, brown fibers, which makes it easy to identify during the winter.

The alternate, ovate to obovate LEAVES are bright green above, paler and
downy underneath, 3 to 4 inches long, and 2 to 2½ inches wide. They are
much larger on young shoots. The leaves have minute callous teeth.

The white FLOWERS, usually about 1 inch long, come before the leaves
and are borne in clusters of 3 to 5. The tree is charming when thickly hung
with its “silver bells.” The FRUIT is about 2 inches long with two wide,
thin wings, and two (rarely three) narrow wings in between.

The WOOD is light, soft, strong, close-grained, and light brown, with thick,
lighter-colored sapwood. It is not of commercial importance.

113

CAROLINA ASH (Water Ash)
Fraxinus caroliniana Mill.

Water ash is common in shaded swamps, westward to the valley of the
Neches River. It forms a tree, rarely more than 40 feet high, with a trunk
sometimes 12 inches in diameter, and has small branches, making a narrow,
often round-topped head.

CAROLINA ASH (Leaflet and fruit, three-fourths natural size; leaf, one-fourth natural size)

The BARK is thin, light gray, and marked by large irregularly shaped round
patches which separate into small, thin, close scales.

The LEAVES are compounded, 7 to 12 inches long, thick and firm when
mature, with 5 to 7, ovate to oblong, finely to coarsely toothed leaflets, 3 to
6 inches long, 2 to 3 inches wide, dark green above, and paler below.

The small male and female FLOWERS appear on separate trees, in
February or March. The FRUIT is elliptic to oblong-ovate, frequently three-
winged, 2 inches long, ⅓ to ¾ inch wide. The wing extends below the body
of the fruit and narrows into a stipitate (stalk-like) base.

The WOOD is light, soft, weak, close-grained, nearly white, sometimes
yellowish, with thick, lighter-colored sapwood. It is used chiefly for fuel.

114

WHITE ASH
Fraxinus americana L.

White ash is found in East Texas to the valley of the Trinity River. It grows
best in the rich moist soils of upper bottomlands. The bark is gray and
furrowed, the branchlets smooth and gray with rust-colored winter buds.

WHITE ASH (Twig and fruit, one-half natural size; leaf, one-third natural size)

The compound opposite LEAVES are generally straight, 8 to 12 inches
long, with 5 to 9 (usually 7) sharp pointed leaflets, dark green above and
paler and whitish beneath.

The male and female FLOWERS appear on separate trees, the male in
dense reddish-purple clusters and the female in more open branches. The
FRUIT is a samara, 1 to 1½ inches long, resembling the blade of a canoe
paddle in outline, with the smooth, terete body at the handle end. The fruit
matures in late summer and is distributed effectively by the winds.

The WOOD of white ash is extremely valuable because of its toughness and
elasticity. It is preferred for small tool handles, athletic equipment, and
agricultural implements, and is used extensively for furniture and interior
finish.

The ashes comprise the only group of trees in eastern America that have
opposite, pinnately compound leaves with 5 or more leaflets. This fact
provides a ready means of identifying the group. There are at least seven
other species of ash in Texas.

115

GREEN ASH
Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.

Green ash is a common tree along streams as far west as the Guadalupe
River. It attains a height of 50 feet or more, has spreading branches and a
trunk ranging up to 2 feet in diameter. The TWIGS are smooth, round, and
ashy gray, marked by pale lenticels and rusty bud-scales.

GREEN ASH (Fruit, two-thirds natural size; leaf, one-third natural size; twig, three-fourths
natural size)

The BARK is ½ inch or more thick; brown, tinged with red, and slightly
furrowed or ridged. The LEAVES are opposite compound, 10 to 12 inches
long, with 5 to 9 pointed leaflets slightly toothed on the margin. They differ
from those of white ash in being lustrous green on both sides or slightly

paler beneath. The terminal leaflet is frequently askew from the main axis
of the rachis.

The small, male and female FLOWERS occur on separate trees.

The FRUIT is flat, winged, 1 to 1½ inches long, ¼ to ⅓ inch wide, the wing
portion extending well down past the middle of the terete, many-rayed
body. The wing is sometimes square or slightly notched at the outer end.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, rather strong, brittle, and coarse-grained. It is
used for the same purposes as white ash but is not as desirable.

116

SWAMP PRIVET (Common Adelia)
Forestiera acuminata (Michx.) Poir.

Swamp privet or forestiera is found along river banks, lakes, and standing
water over eastern Texas to the Colorado River. It is usually a large shrub
but often becomes a small tree, less than 30 feet high, with a short trunk
usually less than 8 inches in diameter. Its youngest branches are slender,
somewhat hairy, slightly angular, and vary in color from yellowish-green to
brown. They become darker and more rounded the second season.

SWAMP PRIVET (Leaves, one-fifth natural size; fruit, one-half natural size)

The BARK is thin, dark brown to brownish-gray, close, and slightly ridged.

The LEAVES are thin, simple, opposite, 2½ to 4 inches long, 1 to 1½ inches
wide, pointed at both ends, yellowish-green on the upper surface, paler on
the lower surface, and slightly toothed above the middle.

The FLOWERS appear in April before the leaves. They are of two kinds,
borne separately on the same tree, rather small and in clusters.

The FRUIT, a drupe, falls when ripe in May or June. It is about 1 inch long
and ¼ inch wide, oblong, and tipped with a point. The ripe fruit is deep
purple, and contains a tough, dry pulp and a one-seeded stone.

The WOOD is close-grained, yellowish-brown, weak, and rather soft. It has
no economic use.

117

FRINGETREE (White Fringetree)
Chionanthus virginicus L.

Children give this tree, with its drooping, fringy, white flowers, such names
as “grancy-gray beard” and “old-man’s beard.” Beautiful both in flower and
fruit, it is a desirable tree for ornamental planting. It occurs naturally in
loamy soil over the eastern part of the state to the valley of the Brazos River
and generally grows in the shade of other trees.

FRINGETREE (Flower, three-fourths natural size; leaf and fruit, one-half natural size)

The BARK is similar to that of a young ash, but is rougher and whiter. It
has tonic properties, and is used in domestic remedies.

The rather large, ovate LEAVES are 4 to 8 inches long, and ½ to 4 inches
wide, dark green on the upper surface, paler underneath, and turning a clear
bright yellow in autumn. The leaves are opposite, and leave conspicuous
scars when they fall.

The odd white FLOWERS, which appear with the very young leaves, are
borne in long, loose drooping panicles. The petals are very narrow and long,
giving the effect of fringe.

The FRUIT is a dark blue-purple drupe, sometimes as much as an inch
long, with a glaucous bloom, and borne in loose, drooping panicles. It is an
excellent deer and bird food.

118

NORTHERN CATALPA (Western Catalpa)
Catalpa speciosa Warder

Catalpa, often miscalled “catawba”, is found naturalized in eastern Texas
and occurs on various qualities of soil, most frequently on rich, moist
bottoms. It is a medium-sized tree, rarely exceeding 50 feet in height and 15
inches in diameter. The trunk is usually short and the head broad with
spreading branches.

NORTHERN CATALPA (Leaf, one-third natural size; twig and seed, two-thirds natural size;
pod, one-fourth natural size)

The BARK varies from dark gray to brown, and is slightly rough, being
divided into narrow, shallow strips or flakes.

The LEAVES are simple, opposite, cordate-based, long-pointed, 6 to 10
inches long, and softly pubescent beneath.

The FLOWERS appear in clusters or panicles in April or May, and are 1 to
2 inches long, trumpet-shaped, the wavy and spreading corolla irregular,

two-lobed, and with a narrow notch on the margin; corolla white with
purple and yellow markings.

The FRUIT consists of a bean-like capsule 8 to 16 inches long and from ⅜
to ½ inch in diameter. It hangs on the tree over winter and gradually splits
into two parts, or valves. The seeds are about 1 inch long and terminate in
wings that are rounded and short-fringed at the ends.

The WOOD is rather soft, light, coarse-grained, and durable, in contact with
the soil. It is used for fence posts, poles and fuel, and occasionally for
railroad ties. It is a mistake to attempt to grow catalpa for fence posts or
other uses except on good agricultural soil.

SOUTHERN CATALPA (C. bignonioides Walt.) has a thin, scaly bark,
abruptly short-acuminate leaf, fetid when crushed. Margin of lower lobe of
flower entire. The valves of the capsule flatten after dehiscence. The
terminal tuft on the seed forms a point.

119

DESERTWILLOW
Chilopsis linearis (Cav.) Sweet

This interesting tree, so named because of its willow-like leaves, is closely
related to the catalpa. Often reaching a height of 25 feet and a diameter of
10 to 12 inches, it is found usually in dry, gravelly, porous soils in the valley
of the lower Rio Grande and through West Texas.

The LEAVES are less than ½ inch wide and from 6 to 12 inches long, light
green, and pointed. Their arrangement on the twig is either opposite or
alternate.

DESERTWILLOW (Leaf, one-third natural size; fruit and flowers, one-half natural size)

The white FLOWERS shade into pale purple and are blotched in their
“throats” with pale purple. They occur in an elongated cluster, or raceme,
opening successively toward the end of the flower stalk.

The FRUIT “pods” are capsules 7 to 12 inches long, hard or woody, very
slender, and contain numerous small seeds.

The soft, weak, close-grained WOOD is brown streaked with yellow. The
sapwood turns to heartwood in 2 or 3 years.

120

COMMON BUTTONBUSH
Cephalanthus occidentalis L.

Buttonbush of Texas is a small tree or large shrub up to 18 feet high, with a
straight, tapering trunk up to 12 inches in diameter. Attaining its largest size
in moist rich soil of eastern Texas, it is also found to the valley of the Rio
Grande. The branches are generally upright, the spreading branchlets with
pithy in the centers, often occurring in whorls of three from one place on
the stem.

COMMON BUTTONBUSH (Leaf, one-third natural size; fruit and flowers, two-thirds natural
size)

The LEAVES occur in pairs or whorls of 3 (occasionally more) each oval or
elliptical, pointed, rounded at the base, from 2 to 7 inches long by 1 to 3
inches wide. They are thin, dark green above, with a large central midrib,
and somewhat hairy beneath. They fall in autumn or remain on branchlets
over winter.

The FLOWERS form a creamy white or yellow round head about 1 inch in
diameter and are borne in clusters. The many small flowers in the head are
fragrant and nectar-bearing. The long thread-like projecting styles are
conspicuous on the flowering heads.

The FRUIT consists of a mass of nuts in a globular head forming an
aggregate fruit ¾ inch in diameter. The red-brown nutlets have 2 to 4
closed, 1-seeded portions. The WOOD is of little value.

121

RUSTY BLACKHAW (Viburnum)
Viburnum rufidulum Raf.

Rusty blackhaw is found in woods and thickets over East Texas. It forms a
tree, sometimes 35 feet high, with a trunk over a foot in diameter, but is
usually much smaller, often flowering as a shrub. The twigs are ashy-gray,
becoming dark dull reddish-brown after one to several years. The winter
buds are densely covered with rusty brown hairs which persist for some
weeks at the base of the leaf-stalks.

The BARK is ¼ to ½ inch thick, becoming roughened into small plate-like,
dark brown scales tinged with red.

RUSTY BLACKHAW (Fruit and twig, three-quarters natural size; leaf, two-thirds natural
size)

The simple LEAVES are opposite or whorled, elliptic to obovate or oval,
pointed or blunt at the apex, wedge-shaped or rounded at the base, and with
fine teeth on the margin. They are leathery in texture, lustrous dark green
above, pale and dull below, about 3 inches long, and 1 to 1½ inches wide.

The FLOWERS are small and white; each has five petals and five stamens,
and appear in the spring in dense clusters at the tips of branches.

The FRUIT ripens in the fall. It is a bright blue, oval drupe, over ½ inch
long, covered with a glaucous bloom, and containing a stony seed ¼ inch
long and ⅓ inch wide.

The bad smelling WOOD has no economic use.

122

Other Texas Trees

ARIZONA CYPRESS
(Cupressus arizonica Greene)

is an evergreen native to the mountains of the south Trans-Pecos
Region. It grows from a height of 30 to 70 feet and 18 to 24 inches
in diameter. The needles are blue-green. Fruit a cone as large as 1¼
inches in diameter. The wood is heavy and used to some extent for
fence posts.

ALLIGATOR JUNIPER
(Juniperus deppeana Steud.)

grows in the mountains of southwestern Texas, normally as a small
tree, or even as a sprawling shrub under adverse conditions. Its
name derives from the fact that the bark on older trees somewhat
resembles alligator hide, being broken up into square plates 1 to 2
inches across. The leaves are about ⅛ inch long, and blue-green in
color. The fruit is berry-like, nearly round, reddish-brown, and
matures in two seasons. Seeds 3-4.

DROOPING JUNIPER (Weeping Juniper)
(Juniperus flaccida Schlect.)

occurs in this country only on the slopes of the Chisos Mountains in
Brewster County, Texas. It has graceful spreading branches with
long slender, drooping branchlets. After the leaves fall, the thin
bright cinnamon-brown bark separating into thin loose papery scales
is characteristic.

ONE-SEED JUNIPER
(Juniperus monosperma [Engelm.] Sarg.)

occurs throughout western Texas, usually as a spreading shrub or
small, much branched tree. The bark is ashy gray, ridged and
shreddy. The leaves resemble those of the alligator juniper, but are
gray-green in color, and fringed with minute teeth. The fruit is
smaller, usually copper colored or occasionally blue, usually one-
seeded, and matures in one season.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN JUNIPER
(Juniperus scopulorum Sarg.)

occurs in western Texas where it is often the largest of the junipers
found there. The bark is reddish-brown or grayish-brown, thin,
fibrous, and divided into flat, interlacing ridges. The leaves are
similar to those of the alligator juniper, but pale to dark green in
color. The fruit is nearly round, blue, and matures in two seasons.
Seeds 1 to 3, usually 2.

123

TEXAS PALMETTO
(Sabal texana [O. F. Cook] Becc.)

sometimes called palm, but not to be confused with the dwarf
palmetto (Sabal minor [Jacq.] Pers.) found in East Texas, reaches to
heights of 30 to 50 feet and often 2 feet in diameter. It is a native of
the rich bottomlands on the Bernando River in Cameron County,
Texas, but has been widely cultivated and is found along the Gulf

Coast, where the trunks are sometimes used for wharf piles. On the
lower Rio Grande the leaves are used for the thatch of houses.

SOUTHERN BAYBERRY (Sweet Myrtle or Wax Myrtle)
(Myrica cerifera L.)

sweet myrtle is found in East Texas, usually in swamp lands. Its
small yellow-green leaves are fragrant with a balsam-like resinous
odor. Light green berries, about ⅛ inch in diameter remain on the
trees during the winter months and are coated with a thick, pale blue
wax. Bay berry candles are made from the wax.

RIO GRANDE COTTONWOOD
(Populus fremontii var. wislizenii S. Watts)

is one of several cottonwoods growing in West Texas. Five other
cottonwoods are native to the western part of the state. Wood is used
for fuel and rafters of Mexican houses. It is not durable in the
ground, but is fast growing on most areas. Populus tremuloides
Michx., called quaking aspen or aspen popple, is a small-leafed,
white-barked tree of the Trans-Pecos Region.

SPECKLED ALDER (Hazel Alder)
(Alnus rugosa [Du Roi] Spreng.)

occurs in East Texas west to approximately the 97th meridian. It is a
thicket-forming shrub with thick foliage and is one of the first plants
to leaf out in the spring. Birds feed upon the numerous nutlets
produced by the woody, cone-like structure.

SWEET ACACIA (Huisache)
(Acacia farnesiana [L.] Willd.)

found mainly in South Texas, is a small, spiny shrub, with bright
yellow flowers. Fruit a turgid, woody pod. The wood is heavy, hard,
and a rich, reddish-brown.

GUAJILLO
(Acacia berlandieri Benth.)

pronounced “wa-he-o”, is the famous honey plant of the Lone Star
State. From its white flowers bees produce a water-white honey,
highly valued for its flavor and purity. Guajillo occurs in South
Texas, and resembles the other trees in the acacia group. The wood
is used locally for fuel.

124

GREAT LEADTREE (Mexican Leadtree)
(Leucaena pulverulenta [Schlecht] Benth.)

sometimes called “tepehuaje” or mimosa, is found on the rich moist
soil of river banks and small streams only a few miles from the
mouth of the Rio Grande River. It grows 50 to 60 feet high and 18
inches in diameter. The finely divided leaves give the tree the
appearance of a huge fern. Seed pods are 10 to 12 inches long. The
wood is heavy, hard, very close-grained, rich dark brown with a
clear yellow sapwood. It is considered valuable and is sometimes
manufactured into lumber. Two other species, (L. greggii S. Wats.)
and (L. retusa Benth.), are found in West Texas but are smaller.

TEXAS SOPHORA (Coral Bean)
(Sophora affinis Torr. and Gray)

also called “bear berry”, and pink or beaded locust, is a native to
most all of Texas. It occurs as a small sized tree, 18 to 20 feet tall
and 8 to 10 inches in diameter. The branches are slightly zigzag,
bright green when young turning to orange-brown. The leaves are 6
to 9 inches long, made up of from 13 to 19 leaflets. In the fall, it is

loaded with clusters of black bean pods. The pods are peculiar in
shape in that they are pinched in at each seed giving it the
appearance of a string of beads. In fact, it is often called the
“necklace tree” for that reason. The wood is very hard, light red in
color, with a thick bright clear yellow sapwood.

TEXAS PORLIERIA (Guayacan)
(Porlieria angustifolia [Engelm.] A. Gray)

or soap bush, an evergreen of southern and western Texas, is usually
a shrub, but occasionally reaches 8 inches in diameter and 30 feet in
height. It is a source of early spring honey in the Rio Grande Valley.
Its wood is heavy, hard, and exceptionally durable. Guayacan,
sometimes called guaiacum, is the hardest wood in Texas and the
United States. The lignum-vitae of commerce is produced from
another species.

BARETTA
(Helietta parvifolia [A. Gray] Benth.)

a native of the Rio Grande Valley and abundant in Starr County
where it may form considerable thickets, this small, slender
evergreen is seldom more than 5 or 6 feet tall. On limestone ridges
of the Sierra Madre of Nuevo Leon it reaches 20 to 25 feet high. Its
leaves are trifoliate, 1½ to 2 inches long, and conspicuously marked
with black glandular dots. The branches are brownish-red, but with
bright yellow, new growth. The species is not native to any other
section of the United States.

125

TREE OF HEAVEN
(Ailanthus altissima [Mill.] Swingle)

is native to the Orient but has been introduced to this country where
it has grown wild and occurs generally throughout Texas. The long,

pinnately compound leaves, 24 to 48 inches long, with 11 to 41
leaflets, are glandular toothed at the base. The flowers and bruised
leaves have a disagreeable odor. The tree is fast growing and spreads
by suckers as well as by seed.

CHINABERRY
(Melia azedarach L.)

although a native of Asia, is so widely grown in Texas as an
ornamental that it can be seen almost anywhere. It is a member of
the mahogany family. The bark is furrowed, with the ridges flat-
topped. The alternate leaves are twice-compound and 10 to 32
inches long. The leaflets are alternate, ovate to elliptic, sharply
toothed or lobed, ¾ to 2 inches long, light green and usually smooth.
The flowers are showy, lilac-colored, fragrant, nearly an inch across,
and arranged in loose clusters which appear in April. The fruit is
nearly round, ½ to ¾ inch in diameter, fleshy, and yellow when
mature. The wood is moderately heavy and moderately hard, light
reddish-brown in color, with a rather narrow, yellowish sapwood.
Formerly it was much used for cabinet-work.

AMERICAN SMOKETREE (Chittamwood)
(Cotinus obovatus Raf.)

a member of the sumac family, it grows along the Medina and
Guadalupe Rivers and in Kendall County, Texas. Occasionally it
reaches a height of 30 feet and 12 inches in diameter, but usually
grows as a shrub or small tree, its trunk dividing into several stems
10 feet or so above the ground. The wood is bright, clear, rich
orange color, and yields the same color dye. Sometimes it is used for
fence posts. C. coggygria, the smoketree of gardens, is cultivated in
the United States.

TEXAS PISTACHE
(Pistacia texana Swingle)

a less common member of the sumac family, is found native on
limestone cliffs and the rocky bottoms of canyons along the lower
Pecos River in Valverde County, Texas. It reaches a height of 15 to
20 feet and produces a fruit resembling the pistachio nut of
commerce, except that it is smaller in size.

EASTERN WAHOO
(Euonymus atropurpureus Jacq.)

also called arrow-wood and burning bush in some localities is a
small tree rarely over 20 feet high and 4 to 6 inches in diameter. The
bark is thin and covered with thin, tiny scales. The wood is heavy,
hard, white, tinged with orange. The leaves are opposite, thin, and
finely serrate. In the fall and winter the tree is characterized by
bright red berries in lighter red, 4-lobed capsules. It is a native of
East Texas.

126

FLORIDA MAPLE (Southern Sugar Maple)
(Acer barbatum Michx.)

grows in East Texas and resembles the sugar maple (A. saccharum
Marsh.) with which it blends in Northeast Texas, except that the tips
of the leaves of A. barbatum Michx. are more rounded and the
young leaves are hairy on the underside when they first unfold.

BIGTOOTH MAPLE
(Acer grandidentatum Nutt.)

a maple native to the mountains and canyons of the Trans-Pecos
Region of Texas, grows to 30 and 40 feet high and occasionally 8 to
10 inches in diameter. Its bright red branchlets are nearly encircled
by the narrow leaf-scars. Leaf lobes few toothed or nearly entire.
When accessible, the wood is valuable for fuel and building
material.

UVALDE BIGTOOTH MAPLE (Sugar or Mountain Maple)
(Acer grandidentatum var. sinuosum [Rend.] Little)

resembles the above two maples but is confined to the Balcones
Escarpment in western Texas along creek bottoms in parts of
Kendall, Bandera, and Uvalde Counties. It is a rare tree, seldom
more than 20 feet high. Branchlets pale red-brown and marked by
pale lenticels during their first season, ultimately turning dull gray-
brown.

FLORIDA BASSWOOD
(Tilia floridana Small)

grows from East Texas to the Edwards Plateau. The leaves are
coarsely serrate with sharp-pointed tips, dark green and glaucous
above, and pale or covered with a silvery-white bloom and often
axillary hairs below. The tree may reach 40 to 50 feet high and 12 to
15 inches in diameter.

CAROLINA BASSWOOD
(Tilia caroliniana Mill.)

located in East Texas to the Edwards Plateau, Kendall County.
Underside of the ovate leaves covered with soft, short, brownish-
white hairs; smooth on upper surface and coarse-veined. Leaves
usually obliquely truncate at the base.

127

TAMARISK
(Tamarix species)

all of the many species of Tamarix are native to the Mediterranean
Region or to East Asia and India. However, three of them (T.
araiculata Vahl, T. gallica L., and T. pentandra Pall.), are widely
planted in the South. All are shrubby in nature, or they may attain

the stature of small trees. When of tree size, the trunk normally is
short, with main branches quite close to the ground. This gives rise
to a wide-spreading bushy crown. The leaves are sparse, delicate,
evergreen, alternate, simple, small, scale-like, pale green to dull or
bluish-green, ovate or rhombic, sharp pointed, sometimes with thin,
dry margins, and without petioles. The foliage presents a leathery
appearance. The wood is hard, heavy, white to light straw colored,
shows a prominent mottled wavy pattern when quarter-sawn, and
takes a high polish.

BUCKTHORN BUMELIA (Buckthorn)
(Bumelia lycioides [L.] Pers.)

also called ironwood, is found along the Southeast Coastal Region
of Texas. In contrast to B. lanuginosa, the leaves are smooth instead
of hairy on the underside. They are also thin. Sometimes grows 25
to 30 feet in height with a short trunk rarely more than 6 inches in
diameter. It has stout, flexible branches, usually unarmed.

TEXAS BUMELIA
(Bumelia lanuginosa var. rigida A. Gray)

occurs in Texas from the upper Brazos River to the Rio Grande and
upper Guadalupe River. It has thick, leathery-like leaves smooth on
the underside. The lateral branches are spiny and occasionally end in
stout pines; branchlets slender, often zigzag, and lustrous. The fresh-
cut wood of the bumelias in Texas usually produces considerable
quantities of clear viscid gum. Mexicans have given some species of
this small tree the name “chickle” for that reason.

TEXAS PERSIMMON (Black Persimmon)
(Diospyros texana Scheele)

also called Mexican persimmon, is native to southern and
southwestern Texas, from the Colorado River. It is characterized by
1 to 2 inch leaves and small edible black fruits, about ¾ inch in
diameter. They will stain the skin black. Mexicans make a hair dye
from the ripe fruit, which has given the plant the local name of
“capote”. The wood is heavy with a black heartwood often streaked
with yellow, and with a bright yellow sapwood. The wood is used in
turnery and for the handles of tools.

128

TEXAS ASH
(Fraxinus texensis [A. Gray] Sarg.)

a small tree, rarely more than 50 feet high, of the dry limestone
bluffs and ridges of the Dallas area to the valley of the Colorado
River and the Edwards Plateau. Leaves 5 to 8 inches long with
usually five, long-stalked leaflets. Fruit in short, compact clusters.

BERLANDIER ASH (Mexican Ash)
(Fraxinus berlandieriana A. DC.)

grows along the banks of streams and canyons in the San Antonio
and Neuces River watersheds and over the Edwards Plateau. It is
rarely more than 30 feet tall. The three to five leaflets are smooth.
The wood is light brown and soft.

ANACAHUITA (Texas Wild-Olive)
(Cordia boisseri A. DC.)

occurs along the lower Rio Grande Valley, is said to be almost
extinct. It is a small tree, sometimes 20 feet tall and 6 to 8 inches in
diameter, noted for its large velvety leaves (4 to 5 inches long and 3
to 4 inches wide), clusters of yellow and white flowers and delicate
ivory-white coated fruit. The bark is thin, gray, tinged with red.

ANAQUA
(Ehretia anacua [Mier and Berland.] Johnst.)

also called knackaway, anama, and yara, occurs in West Texas from
the upper San Marcos River to the Rio Grande River. It is a tree of
the tropics and of about 40 species in its family, is the only one
found in the United States, and here only in Texas. It is valued as a
shade tree in some communities of South Texas and is noted for its
growth and beauty. Occasionally it grows to a height of 40 to 50 feet
with a trunk 3 feet in diameter, attaining its largest size on the
Guadalupe and Nueces Rivers. Anaqua has slender branchlets,
without terminal buds, and leathery, very rough leaves which are
almost evergreen. It blooms with white flowers in March and April
and has large groups of edible red berries in June and July. The
wood is heavy, close-grained, light brown and of little value.

TEXAS MADRONE
(Arbutus texana Buckl.)

also called Texas Madroño is a small poorly shaped tree found on
dry limestone hills, and in the valley of the Rio Blanco, and among
the Eagle Mountains. The trunk is seldom over one foot in diameter
and is usually divided into several branches near the ground. The
leaves are oval to oblong and persistent until the new leaves are
formed. The bark of young stems and branches is smooth, thin, and
yellowish-green in color tinged with red. At the base of old trunks
the bark, sometimes ¼ inch thick, is dark reddish-brown in color.

129

AUSTRIAN PINE
(Pinus nigra Arnold)

is similar in appearance to red pine (P. resinosa Ait.) but needles are
more rigid. Bark is black to dark brown and the cones are 1½ to 2
inches long. The tree is a native of central and southern Europe and

Asia Minor. It has been planted extensively in the U. S. as an
ornamental but is apparently not yet naturalized. It is planted in
Texas in windbreak plantings.

RUSSIAN-OLIVE
(Elaeagnus angustifolia L.)

is a small tree, not more than 25 feet tall, usually with thorny
branches. Leaves are simple, alternate, narrow and 2 to 3 inches
long, bright green on the upper surface and silvery underneath. It is
a native of Europe and Asia and is used as an ornamental and in
windbreak plantings in the United States.

BUFFALOBERRY (Silver Buffaloberry)
(Shepherdia argentea [Pursh] Nutt.)

is a small silver gray-green tree with edible scarlet colored fruit
which is useful for making jelly, which may reach 18 to 23 feet in
height. It generally has narrow oblong leaves ¾ to 2 inches long and
twigs are often thorny. Its native range is from the northern Great
Plains to Kansas. Useful for windbreak plantings and erosion
control.

SIBERIAN ELM (Chinese Elm)
(Ulmus pumila L.)

is more commonly known in the Plains area as Chinese elm. It is
drought-resistant and tolerant of a variety of sites but cannot stand
too much water. A small tree with slender drooping branches.
Clusters of short pedicelled winged fruit appear in April or May. The
leaves are simple, alternate, oval to elliptical, 1 to 2 inches long and
leaf edges are doubly serrate. Widely used for shade and windbreak
plantings.

WINTERBERRY EUONYMUS
(Euonymus bungeanus Maxim.)

was introduced from China and has adapted well to the southern
Great Plains area centered around the Texas Panhandle. The small
tree is very hardy and drought-resistant. Its very light green leaves
are 2 to 4 inches long, pointed and borne on slender petioles. The
heavy leaves cause the petioles to bend giving the foliage a limp or
drooping appearance. Young stems and branches are green, older
ones are gray. The fruit is a four-lobed capsule which, before
ripening in the fall, has a pinkish cast. The ripened seeds are bright
red.

130

Tree Identification Guide

The following guide has been included in the Eighth edition to assist school
children and interested adults in the identification of Texas trees.

The guide is non-technical and should be treated as such. More detailed
keys are available in most public libraries.

In the guide, trees are grouped according to their outstanding characteristics
which include leaves, leaf arrangement, flowers, fruit and site.

THE SOFTWOODS
Needles Cones
[1] 2 to 3 in a bundle (usually 2); 3″-5″ 1½″-2½″
Shortleaf (page long long
21)
Loblolly (page 20) 3 in a bundle; 6″-9″ long 3″-5″ long
Longleaf (page 22) 3 in a bundle; 10″-15″ long 6″-10″ long
Slash (page 23) 2 to 3 in a bundle (usually 2); 8″-12″ 4″-6″ long
long

Note: Not included above but commonly found in the longleaf pine range is
a cross between loblolly and longleaf pine. This hybrid tree has
characteristics of both parents.

[1]
Only native pine in Texas that sprouts. Pitch pockets are usually present
in bark of older trees.
131

THE HARDWOODS

TREES WITH SIMPLE LEAVES
Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves opposite on twig)

Fruits: Page
Drupe (or berry)
Dogwood 107
Fringetree 117
Pod
Catalpa 118
Desertwillow 119
Multiple Fruit
Buttonbush 120

132
Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves alternate on twig)

Fruits: Page
Pod
Corkwood 35
Pawpaw 72
Redbud 88
Acorn
White oaks 48-50, 52-59
Drupe (or berry)

Hackberry 66
Redbay 73
Sassafras 74
Blackgum 105
Farkleberry 108
Gum Elastic 109
Southern Buckthorn 109, 127
Persimmon 110, 127
Privet Swamp 116
Multiple Fruit
Bios-d’arc 69
Magnolia 70
Sweetbay 71
Witch-hazel 77
Sycamore 77
Winged
Silverbell 112

133
Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves opposite on twig)

Fruits: Page
Winged
Silver Maple 98
Red Maple 99
Southern Sugar Maple 126
Sugar Maple 126
Big Tooth Maple 126
Mountain Maple 126
Pod
Desertwillow 119
Wahoo 125
Drupe (or berry)
Blackhaw 121

134
Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves alternate on twig)

Fruits: Page
Drupe (or berry)
Hawthorn 78
Mayhaw 79
Mexican Plum 80
Black Sloe 81
Black Cherry 82
Laurelcherry 83
Holly 96
Yaupon 97
Basswood 103, 126
Tupelo Gum 106
Sweetleaf 111
Sweet Myrtle 123
Anaqua 128
Winged
The Elms 61-64

Multiple Fruit
Cottonwood 36, 123
Black Willow 37
Red Mulberry 68
Sweetgum 76
Alder (cone-like) 123
Nut
Blue Beech (nut-like) 38
Ironwood (cone-like) 39
River Birch (cone-like) 40
American Beech 41
Chinkapin 42
Planer Tree 65
Acorns
Red Oaks 43-47
White Oaks 51, 60

135

TREES WITH COMPOUND LEAVES
Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves opposite on twig)

Fruits: Page
Winged
Baretta 124

136
Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves alternate on twig)

Fruits: Page
Pod
Mesquite 87
Black Locust 91
Coral Bean 124
Guajillo 123
Multiple Fruit
Flameleaf Sumac (large headed) 94
Guayacan (capsule) 124
Drupe (or berry)

Poison-Sumac 95
Wild China-tree 102
Tree of Heaven 125
Chinaberry 125
Smoke Tree 125
Pistache 125

137
Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves opposite on twig)

Fruits: Page
Winged
Boxelder 100

Water Ash 113
White Ash 114
Green Ash 115
Mexican Ash 128

138
Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves alternate on twig)

Fruits: Page
Nut
The Walnuts 28
The Hickories 29-34
Ohio Buckeye 101
Drupe (or berry)

Devils-Walkingstick (capsule-like) 92
Pod
Waterlocust 90
Winged
Hoptree 93

139

TREES WITH DOUBLY-COMPOUND LEAVES
Leaf Margins—Smooth
(Leaves alternate on twig)

Fruits: Page
Pod
Texas Ebony 84
Catclaw Acacia 85
Leadtree (Mimosa) 86, 124
Honeylocust 89
Huisache (Sweet Acacia) 123

140
Leaf Margins—Toothed
(Leaves alternate on twig)

Fruits: Page
Drupe (or berry)
Devils-Walkingstick 92
Hercules-Club 104

141

TREES THAT PREFER WET SITES
Page
Baldcypress 25
Water Hickory 31
Corkwood 35
Cottonwood 36
Black Willow 37
Blue Beech (Hornbeam) 38
Ironwood (Hophornbeam) 39
Red Birch (River Birch) 40
Water Oak 48
Willow Oak 49
Bur Oak 57
Overcup Oak 58
Swamp Chestnut Oak 59
Sweetbay 71
Sweetgum 76
The Hawthorns 78, 79
Waterlocust 90
Poison-Sumac 95
Yaupon 97
Blackgum (Black Tupelo) 105
Tupelo-Gum (Water Tupelo) 106
Water Ash 113
Swamp Privet 116
Alder 123

HARDWOOD TREES WITH EVERGREEN LEAVES
Page
Live Oak 52
Southern Magnolia 70
Redbay 73

American Holly 96
Yaupon 97
Tree Sparkleberry (Tree Huckleberry) 108
Baretta 124

TREES WHOSE LEAVES TURN RED IN AUTUMN
Page
Red Oak 46
Sweetgum 76
The Hawthorns 78
The Sumacs 94
Red Maple 99
Blackgum 105
Flowering Dogwood 107
Sugar Maple (yellow as well) 126

142

TREES WHOSE LEAVES TURN YELLOW IN AUTUMN
Page
The Hickories 29-34
The Cottonwoods 36, 123
Black Willow 37
Hophornbeam (Blue Beech) 38
River Birch 40
Most of the Oaks (except Red Oak) 43-60
Bios-d’arc (Osage Orange) 69
Southern Magnolia 70
Pawpaw 72
Mesquite 87
Redbud 88
Hercules-Club 92
Red Maple 99
Ohio Buckeye 101
Devils-Walkingstick 104

The Ashes 113-115, 128
Fringetree 117
Catalpa 118
Sugar Maple (red as well) 126

TREES WITH SEEDS WINGED OR WITH PARACHUTE-
LIKE ATTACHMENTS
Page
The Cottonwoods 36, 123
Black Willow 37
American Hornbeam (Blue Beech) 38
Ironwood 39
River Birch 40
The Elms 61-64
Planer Tree 65
Sweetgum 76
American Sycamore 77
Hoptree 93
The Maples 98-99, 126
The Basswoods 103, 126
Silverbell 112
The Ashes 113-115, 128
Catalpa 118
Desertwillow 119
Buttonbush 120
Alder 123
Tree of Heaven 125

143

TREES WITH SOFT BERRY-LIKE FRUIT
Page
The Hackberries 66, 67
The Mulberries 68

Osage Orange (Bois-d’arc) 69
Redbay 73
Sassafras 74
The Hawthorns 78-79
The Cherries and Plums 80-83
American Holly 96
Yaupon 97
Black and Tupelo Gum 105, 106
Dogwood 107
Tree Sparkleberry (Tree Huckleberry) 108
Gum Bumelia (Gum Elastic) 109
Persimmon 110, 127
Fringetree 117
Rusty Blackhaw 121

TREES WHICH PRODUCE NUTS
Page
The Walnuts 28
The Hickories 29-34
American Beech 41
Chinkapin 42
The Oaks 43-60
Ohio Buckeye 101

TREES WITH PODS AS FRUIT
Page
Corkwood 35
Texas Ebony 84
Catclaw Acacia 85
Leadtree (Mimosa) 86, 124
Mesquite 87
Redbud 88
Honeylocust 89

Waterlocust 90
Black Locust 91
Catalpa 118
Desertwillow 119
Huisache (Sweet Acacia) 123
Guajillo 123
Coral Bean 124
Mexican Leadtree 124

144

TREES WITH BRIGHT RED FRUIT
Page
Red Mulberry 68
The Magnolias 70, 71
The Hawthorns 78, 79
Shining Sumac 94
American Holly 96

TREES WITH SPINES OR THORNS
Page
Osage-Orange (Bois-d’arc) 69
The Hawthorns 78, 79
Texas Ebony 84
Catclaw Acacia 85
Leadtree (Mimosa) 86, 124
Mesquite 87
Honeylocust 89
Waterlocust 90
Black Locust 91
Prickly Ash 92
Devils-Walkingstick 104
Huisache (Sweet Acacia) 123

TREES WITH CORKY PROJECTIONS ON TWIGS
Page
Bur Oak (Mossy-Cup Oak) 57
Winged Elm 62
Cedar Elm 63
Sweetgum 76

TREES WHOSE TWIGS HAVE A CHAMBERED PITH
Page
Walnut 28
Hackberry 66
Sugarberry 67

TREES KNOWN BY THE COLOR AND SHAPE OF THE
TWIG PITH
Page
Star-shaped in Cross-section
The Cottonwoods 36, 123
The Oaks 43-60
Triangular in Cross-section
Alder 123
Brown in Color
The Walnuts 28
The Sumacs 94

145

TREES WITH SINGLE LARGE FLOWERS
Page
Magnolia 70
Pawpaw 72

TREES WITH FLOWERS IN CLUSTERS
Page
Redbay 73
The Hawthorns 78-79
The Plums and Cherries 80-83
Redbud 88
Black Locust 91
Devils-Walkingstick 92
Hercules-Club 92
Hoptree 93
The Sumacs 94
Poison-Sumac 95
Yaupon 97
Ohio Buckeye 101
Western Soapberry 102
The Basswoods 103, 126
Flowering Dogwood 107
Silverbell 112
Fringetree 117
Catalpa 118
Rusty Blackhaw 121

TREES WHOSE BLOSSOMS APPEAR BEFORE OR WITH
THE LEAVES
Page
The Walnuts 28
The Hickories 29-34
The Cottonwoods 36, 123
Black Willow 37
Ironwood 38
Eastern Hophornbeam 39
River Birch 40
The Oaks 43-60
The Elms 61-64

Sassafras 74
Redbud 88
The Maples 98, 99, 126
The Ashes 113-115, 128
Alder 123

146

TREES WHOSE BLOSSOMS APPEAR AFTER THE
LEAVES
Page
Chinkapin 42
Magnolia 70
Honeylocust 89
Black Locust 91
The Sumacs 94
Ohio Buckeye 101
Basswood 103, 126
Flowering Dogwood 107
Persimmon 110, 127
Silverbell 112
Fringetree 117
Catalpa 118
Mountain Maple 126

147

Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
W X Y Z

A
Achene—A small, hard, dry, 1-celled, indehiscent fruit.
Acrid—Sharp or biting to the taste.
Acuminate—Tapering at end to a gradual point.
Acute—Terminating in a sharp angle.
Aggregate fruit—Cluster of ripened ovaries produced from a single flower
containing numerous pistils inserted on a common receptacle.
Example: fruit of magnolia or blackberry.
Alternate—Not opposite on the axis, but borne at regular intervals at
different levels.
Anther—Pollen-bearing structure of a stamen.
Apex—The tip or end of a bud or leaf, i.e., the part opposite the base.
Apical—Pertaining to the tip, end, or apex.
Appressed—Lying tight or close against.
Aromatic—Fragrant; with a pleasing odor.
Astringent—Contracting; drawing together.
Axil—The upper angle formed by a leaf or branch with a stem.
Axis—The central line of an organ; a stem.

B
Bark—The outer covering of a trunk or branch.
Basal—Pertaining to or situated at the base.

Berry—A fruit which is fleshy or pulpy throughout, and with several seeds
imbedded in the pulpy mass.
Bisexual—Having both stamens and pistils, i.e., male and female.
Bloom—A powdery or somewhat waxy substance easily rubbed off. Also,
to produce or yield blossoms.
Bole—The main axis or trunk of a tree.
Bract—Modified leaf subtending a flower or belonging to an inflorescence.
Bud-scales—Modified leaves covering a bud.
Bundle-scars—Scars on the surface of a leaf-scar. Severed ends of the
fibro-vascular bundles which connected the twigs with the leaves.

C
Calyx—The outer perianth or floral envelope, usually green in color;
sepals, collectively.
Cambium—A thin-walled formative tissue between the bark and wood.
The active growing portion of the tree.
Carpel—A simple pistil or one member of a compound pistil.
Capsule—A dry fruit composed of more than one carpel and splitting open
at maturity.
Catkin—An ament or spike of unisexual flowers.
Chambered—Said of the pith when interrupted by hollow spaces at rather
regular intervals.
Ciliate—Fringed with hairs on the margin.
Collateral—Accessory buds at the sides of auxiliary buds. 148
Compound—Composed of two or more similar parts united in a
whole.
Conical—Cone-shaped.
Conifers—A group of trees which usually produce their fruit in the form of
a cone or modified cone.
Coniferous—Cone-bearing.
Corolla—The petals of a flower collectively.
Cordate—Heart-shaped.
Crenate—Rounded teeth.
Crown—The upper mass of branches; also known as head.
Cuneate—Wedge-shaped.

D

Deciduous—Falling off, usually at the close of the season.
Defoliation—Removal of foliage.
Dehiscent—Splitting open at maturity.
Deliquescent—Said of the form of a tree with a broad spreading habit. The
branches sub-divide until they apparently disappear.
Deltoid—Triangular like Greek symbol for delta.
Dentate—Toothed, usually with the teeth directed outwards.
Diffuse-porous—Equal-pored. Said of wood when pores in a growth ring
are equal in size.
Dioecious—Unisexual, with the staminate and pistillate flowers on separate
plants.
Disseminated—Scattered, thrown, broadcast.
Divergent—Pointing away; extending out. Said of buds which point away
from the twigs.
Downy—Covered with fine hairs.
Drupe—A fleshy fruit with a pit or stone like a cherry.

E
Elliptical—Shaped like an ellipse with sloping ends.
Elongated—Long, drawn out.
Entire-margined—Margin smooth, not cut or toothed.
Excurrent—Said of a tree with a continuous trunk and erect habit of
growth.
Exfoliation—Splitting or cleaving off of outer layers of bark.
Exotic—Of foreign origin.
Exudation—Oozing out of sap, resin, or other juice.

F
Fascicle—A close bundle or cluster.
Fetid—Ill smelling.
Fissures—Grooves, furrows, or channels as in the bark.
Fluted—Grooved, corrugated, channeled.
Follicle—A dry fruit produced from a simple pistil and dehiscing along one
line of suture.
Fruit—The ripened ovary of a flower.

G

Glabrate—Somewhat glabrous or becoming glabrate.
Glabrous—Smooth, without hairs. 149
Glandular—Bearing glands or gland-like.
Glaucous—Covered with a bluish or whitish waxy coating; a bloom.
Globose—Ball-like or nearly so.
Globular—Ball-like.

H
Habitat—Site or place of growth.
Hardwood—A collective term for broad-leaved trees, the wood of which
may or may not be dense.
Heartwood—The physiologically dead, central, usually darker colored
portion of the tree trunk.
Hybrid—A crossbreed of two species.

I
Increment—Growth; increase.
Incised—Divided into lobes separated by narrow or acute sinuses which
extend halfway or more to midrib.
Indehiscent—Applied to fruits that do not split open to discharge the seeds,
remaining closed at maturity.
Indigenous—Applied to plants that are native to a certain locality. Not
introduced.
Intolerant—Not shade enduring. Requiring sunlight.
Involucre—A cluster of bracts subtending a flower.

L
Lamina—The blade or flattened portion of a leaf.
Lanceolate—Shaped like a lance; several times longer than wide, and
growing to a point.
Lateral—Situated on the side, as the buds along the side of the twig.
Leaflets—One of the small blades or divisions of a compound leaf.
Leaf-scar—The scar left after a leaf falls.
Lenticel—A corky growth on young or sometimes older bark, which admits
air to the interior of the twig or branch.
Linear—Line-like, long and narrow, with parallel edges.
Lobed—Said of leaves that have the margins more or less cut or divided.

M
Medullary—Pertaining to the pith or medulla.
Medullary Ray—Radial lines of tissues crossing the growth of rings at
right angles and extending into the bark.
Midrib—The central or main rib or vein of a leaf.
Monoecious—Bearing male and female flower parts in separate flowers on
the same plant.
Mucilaginous—Slimy or gummy when touched or chewed.
Multiple fruit—A cluster of fruits of separate flowers crowded together
and forming what appears to be a single fruit. Examples: mulberry,
strawberry, osage-orange fruits.

N
Naked—Said of buds without scales, and seeds without a covering.
Naval Stores—Refers to tar, turpentine, resin, etc.
Node—A place on a twig where one or more leaves originate.
Nut—A dry, 1-seeded, fruit with a hard indehiscent covering and 150
encased partly or wholly in an involucre or husk.
Nutlet—A small nut.

O
Oblique—Slanting, uneven. Uneven sided.
Oblong—About twice as long as wide, the sides nearly parallel.
Obovate—Reversed egg-shaped.
Obtuse—Blunt
Opposite—Said of leaves and buds, directly across from each other.
Orbicular—Circular.
Oval—Rounded.
Ovate—Egg-shaped.
Ovoid—Egg-shaped or nearly so.

P
Palmate—Radiately lobed or divided from the petiole; hand-like as leaflets
of buckeye.
Panicle—A loose, irregularly compound flower cluster with flowers on
pedicels.
Pedicel—The support or stem of a single flower or fruit in a cluster.

Peduncle—A primary flower stalk supporting a cluster of flowers or a
solitary flower, later the fruit. A fruit-stem.
Perennial—Lasting for more than one year.
Persistent—Remaining after blooming, fruiting, or maturing.
Petiole—The stalk of a leaf.
Pinnate—Feather-like with leaflets on both sides of rachis or leaf stalk.
Pistil—Seed bearing organ of flower. May consist of stigma, style, and
ovary.
Pith—The soft central part of a twig or stem.
Pod—Any dry, one chambered, dehiscent fruit.
Pollen—The dust-like substance from the anthers of a flower.
Pollination—The process of bringing the pollen of the male flower in
contact with the stigma of the female flower.
Pome—A fleshy fruit with a core, such as the apple or pear.
Porous—With open tubes (through wood).
Prickle—A sharp-pointed, needle-like outgrowth.
Pubescent—With short, soft, down-like hairs.
Pungent—Acrid or sharp to smell.
Pyramidal—Shaped like a pyramid with the broadest part near the base.

R
Rachis—The stalk supporting the leaflets of a compound leaf.
Resin-ducts—A passage for the conduction of resin found in the leaves and
wood.
Ring-porous—Said of wood which has pores of unequal size, the larger
ones being found in the spring wood and the smaller ones in the
summer wood.

151

S
Samara—An indehiscent winged fruit such as that of maple.
Sapwood—The recently formed, usually light colored wood, lying outside
of the heartwood.
Scabrous—Rough, with stiff, bristly hairs.
Scales—The small, modified leaves which protect the growing-point of a
bud or the part of a cone which bears the seeds. The small flakes into
which the other bark of a tree divides.

Scurfy—Covered with small bran-like scales.
Serrate—Having sharp teeth on margin.
Sessile—Seated; without a stalk.
Sheath—A tubular envelope or covering such as surround the base of pine-
needles.
Silky—Covered with long, soft, straight, fine hairs.
Simple—Consisting of one part, not compound.
Sinus—The cleft or opening between two lobes.
Sinuate—Wavy.
Softwood—A general term given conifers, the wood of which may or may
not be of low density.
Stamen—Male organ of flower. Consists of a pollen-bearing anther on a
filament.
Stipule—A leaf-appendage at the base of the leaf-stalk.
Stipule-scar—The scar left by the fall of the stipule.
Stolon—A runner or basal branch that may root.
Striate—Marked with fine elongated ridges or lines.
Striations—Long narrow lines or ridges.
Strobile—A fruit marked by overlapping scales as in the pine, birches, etc.
Sucker—A shoot arising from an underground bud.
Superposed—Said of buds when they are arranged one above the other.
Symmetrical—Regular as to the number of parts. Having the same number
of parts in each circle.

T
Terminal—Located at the outer end.
Thorn—A stiff, woody, sharp-pointed projection as found on locust; a
spine.
Tolerant—Applied to trees which endure certain factors, particularly shade.
Tomentose—Densely pubescent; hairy. Covered with matted-hairs.
Tomentum—A dense layer of woolly hairs.
Truncate—Ending abruptly, as if cut off at the end.
Tufted—Growing in clusters.

U
Unisexual—Consisting of one sex only, either staminate or pistillate.

V
Valvate—Said of buds in which the scales merely meet without
overlapping. Fruit opening by valves.
Veins—Threads of fibro-vascular tissue in leaves or other organs.

W
Whorl—A group of three or more similar organs, as leaves or buds,
arranged about the same place of attachment.
Whorled—Borne in a whorl.

152

Index

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
W X Y Z

A
Acacia berlandieri 123
Acacia, catclaw 85
Acacia farnesiana, sweet 123
Acacia greggii 85
Acer barbatum 126
Acer grandidentatum 126
Acer grandidentatum var. sinuosum 126
Acer negundo 100
Acer rubrum 99
Acer saccharinum 98
Adelia, common 116
Aesculus glabra 101
Aesculus pavia 101
Ailanthus altissima 125
Alder, hazel, speckled 123
Alnus rugosa 123
Anacahuita 128
Anama 128
Anaqua 128
Apple, hedge 69
Aralia spinosa 104
Arbutus texana 129

Arizona cypress 122
Arrow-wood 125
Ash, Berlandier 128
Ash, Carolina 113
Ash, green 115
Ash, Mexican 128
Ash, poison 95
Ash, prickly 92, 104
Ash, Texas 128
Ash, wafer 93
Ash, water 113
Ash, white 114
Ash juniper 26
Asimina triloba 72

B
Baldcypress 25
Baretta 124
Basswood, American 103
Basswood, Carolina 126
Basswood, Florida 126
Bayberry, Southern 123
Beaded locust (Sophora) 124
Bear berry 124
Beech, American 41
Beech, blue 38
Beech, water 38
Betula, nigra 40
Birch, river (red) 40
Bitternut hickory 30
Blackhead, ebony 84
Blackgum 105
Blackhaw, rusty 121
Bois-d’arc 69
Boxelder 100
Buckeye, Ohio 101
Buckeye, red 101

Buckthorn 127
Buckthorn, wooly 109
Buffaloberry 129
Bumelia, buckthorn, gum, elastic 109
Bumelia lanuginosa 109
Bumelia lanuginosa var. rigida 109
Bumelia, lycioides 109
Bumelia, Texas 127
Burning bush (Euonymous) 125
Buttonbush, common 120
Buttonwood (sycamore) 77

C
Capote 127
Carpinus caroliniana 38
Carya aquatica 31
Carya cordiformis 30
Carya illinoensis 29
Carya ovata 32
Carya texana 34
Carya tomentosa 33
Castanea pumila 42
Catalpa, northern 118
Catalpa, speciosa 118
Catalpa, western 118
Cedar, eastern red 27
Cedar, mountain 26
Celtis laevigata 67
Celtis, occidentalis 66
Cephalanthus occidentalis 120
Cercis canadensis 88
Cherry, black 82
Cherry, southwestern black 82
Chicle 127
Chilopsis linearis 119
Chinaberry 125
China-tree, wild 102

Chinkapin, Allegheny 42
Chionanthus virginicus 117
Chittamwood 125
Coral bean 124
Cordia boisseri 128
Corkwood 35
Cornus florida 107
Cotinus obovatus 126
Cottonwood, eastern 36
Crataegus 78
Crataegus opaca 79
Cupressus arizonica 122
Cypress (baldcypress) 25

D
Desertwillow 119
Devils-walkingstick 104
Diospyros texana 128
Diospyros virginiana 110
Dogwood, flowering 107

E
Ebony, Texas (blackbead) 84
Ehretia anacua 128
Elastic, gum 109
Elaeagnus angustifolia 129
Elm, American 61
Elm, cedar 63
Elm, Chinese 129
Elm, red 64
Elm, Siberian 129
Elm, slippery 64
Elm, water 65
Elm, white 61
Elm, winged 62
Euonymus atropurpureus 125
Euonymus bungeanus 129

F
Fagus grandifolia 41
Farkleberry 108
Fir, Douglas 24
Forestiera acuminata 116
Fraxinus americana 114
Fraxinus berlandieriana 128
Fraxinus caroliniana 113
Fraxinus pennsylvanica 115
Fraxinus texensis 128
Fringetree, white 117

153

G
Gleditsia aquatica 89, 90
Gleditsia texana 89
Gleditsia triacanthos 89
Grancy-gray beard 117
Great leadtree 124
Gregg leadtree 86, 124
Guaiacum 124
Guajillo 123
Guayacan 124
Gum, black 105
Gum, cotton 106
Gum, elastic 109
Gum, red 76
Gum, sour 105
Gum, sweet 76
Gum, tupelo 106

H
Hackberry 66
Hackberry, sugar 67
Halesia diptera 112
Hamamelis virginiana 75
Haw 78

Haw, rusty black 121
Hawthorn 78
Hawthorn, riverflat 79
Hazel, alder 123
Helietta parvifolia 124
Hercules-club 92, 104
Hickory, bigbud 33
Hickory, bitternut 30
Hickory, black 34
Hickory, mockernut 33
Hickory, pignut 30
Hickory, shagbark 32
Hickory, water 31
Hickory, white 33
Holly, American 96
Honeylocust 89
Hophornbeam, eastern 39
Hoptree, common 93
Hornbeam, American 38
Horse-sugar 111
Huckleberry, tree 108

I
Ilex decidua 97
Ilex opaca 96
Ilex vomitoria 97
Indian soap plant 102
Ironwood 38, 39

J
Judas tree 88
Juglans, microcarpa 28
Juglans, nigra 28
Juniper, alligator 122
Juniper, ashe 26
Juniper, drooping 122
Juniper, Mexican mountain cedar 26

Juniper, one seed 122
Juniper, Rocky Mountain 122
Juniper, weeping 122
Juniperus ashei 26
Juniperus deppeana 122
Juniperus flaccida 122
Juniperus monosperma 122
Juniperus scopulorum 122
Juniperus virginiana 27

K
Knackaway 128

L
Laurel, cherry 83
Laurelcherry, Carolina 83
Leadtree, Gregg 86
Leadtree, Mexicana, great 124
Leitneria floridana 35
Leucaena greggii 86, 124
Leucaena pulverulenta 86, 124
Leucaena retusa 86, 124
Linden, American 103
Liquidambar styraciflua 76
Locust, beaded 124
Locust, black 91
Locust, honey 89
Locust, pink 124
Locust, water 90
Locust, yellow 91

M
Maclura pomifera 69
Madrone, Texas 129
Magnolia, evergreen 70
Magnolia, grandiflora 70
Magnolia, Southern 70

Magnolia, sweetbay 71
Magnolia, virginiana 71
Maple, Florida 126
Maple, mountain, or sugar 126
Maple, red 99
Maple, silver 98
Maple, soft 98, 99
Maple, Southern sugar 126
Maple, Uvalde bigtooth 126
Mayhaw 79
Melia azedarach 125
Mesquite, honey 87
Mimosa 86, 124
Morus alba 68
Morus microphylla 68
Morus rubra 68
Mulberry, red 68
Mulberry, Texas 68
Mulberry, white 68
Myrica cerifera 123
Myrtle, sweet 123
Myrtle, wax 123

N
Necklace tree 124
Northern catalpa 118
Nyssa aquatica 106
Nyssa sylvatica 105

O
Oak, basket 59
Oak, black 45
Oak, blackjack 47
Oak, bluejack 50
Oak, bur 57
Oak, chestnut 59
Oak, chinkapin, chestnut 60

Oak, cow 59
Oak, Durand (white) 54
Oak, Emory 51
Oak, Graves 44
Oak, gray 51
Oak, live 52
Oak, Mexican blue 51
Oak, Mohrs 53
Oak, mossy-cup 57
Oak, overcup 58
Oak, pin 48, 49
Oak, post 56
Oak, red 46
Oak, sandjack 50
Oak, shin 53
Oak, Shumard 43
Oak, Spanish 46
Oak, Southern red 46
Oak, spotted 43
Oak, swamp chestnut 59
Oak, swamp post oak 58
Oak, Texas 44
Oak, water 48, 49
Oak, water white 58
Oak, white 55
Oak, willow 49
Old man’s beard, 117
Olive, Russian 129
Olive, Texas wild 128
Orange, mock 83
Osage-orange 69
Ostrya virginiana 39

154

P
Palmetto, Texas (palm) 123
Pawpaw 72

Peach, wild 83
Pecan 29
Persea borbonia 73
Persimmon, black 127
Persimmon, common 110
Persimmon, Texas 127
Pine, Austrian 129
Pine, limber, Rocky Mtn. white 17
Pine, loblolly 20
Pine, longleaf 22
Pine, nut 18
Pine, ponderosa, western yellow 19
Pine, shortleaf, yellow 21
Pine, slash 23
Pine, Sonderegger 22
Pinus echinata 21
Pinus edulis 18
Pinus elliottii 23
Pinus flexilis 17
Pinus nigra 129
Pinus palustris 22
Pinus ponderosa 19
Pinus taeda 20
Pinyon 18
Pistache, Texas 125
Pistacia texana 125
Pithecellobium flexicaule 84
Planer tree 65
Planera aquatica 65
Platanus occidentalis 77
Plum, flatwoods 81
Plum, Mexican 80
Popple, aspen 123
Populus deltoidea 36
Populus fremontii var. wislizenii 123
Populus sargentii 36
Populus tremuloides 123

Porlieria, Texas 124
Possumhaw 97
Prickly ash 92
Privet, swamp 116
Prosopsis juliflora 87
Prunus caroliniana 83
Prunus mexicana 80
Prunus serotina 82
Prunus serotina var. rufula 82
Prunus umbellata 81
Pseudotsuga menziesii 24
Ptelea trifoliata 93

Q
Quercus alba 55
Quercus durandii 54
Quercus emoryi 51
Quercus falcata 46
Quercus gravesii 44
Quercus grisea 51
Quercus incana 50
Quercus lyrata 58
Quercus macrocarpa 57
Quercus marilandica 47
Quercus michauxii 59
Quercus mohriana 53
Quercus muhlenbergii 60
Quercus nigra 48
Quercus oblongifolia 51
Quercus phellos 49
Quercus shumardii 4
Quercus shumardii var. shumardii 43
Quercus shumardii var. texana 44
Quercus stellata 56
Quercus velutina 45
Quercus virginiana 52

R
Redbay 73
Redbud, eastern 88
Redcedar, eastern 27
Redgum 76
Rhus copallina 94
Robinia pseudoacacia 91
Rusty blackhaw 121

S
Sabal minor 123
Sabal texana 123
Salix nigra 37
Sapindus drummondii 102
Sassafras 74
Sassafras albidum 74
Shepherdia argentea 129
Siberian elm 129
Silverbell, two-wing 112
Sloe, black 81
Smoketree, American 125
Snowdrop tree 112
Soapberry, western 102
Soapbush 124
Soap plant, Indian 102
Sophora affinis 124
Sparkleberry tree 108
Sugarberry 67
Sumac, shining, dwarf, flameleaf 94
Sumac, poison 95
Swampbay 71
Sweetbay magnolia 71
Sweetgum 76
Sweetleaf, common 111
Sycamore, American 77
Symplocos tinctoria 111

T
Tamarisk 127
Tamarix araiculata 127
Tamarix gallica 127
Tamarix pentandra 127
Taxodium distichum 25
Tepehuaje 124
Texas sophora 124
Texas wild olive 128
Tilia americana 103
Tilia caroliniana 126
Tilia floridana 126
Tingle-tongue 92
Toothache tree 92
Toxicodendron vernix 95
Tree-huckleberry 108
Tree of heaven 125
Tree Sparkleberry (Farkleberry) 108
Tupelo, black 105
Tupelo, swamp 105
Tupelo, water 106

U
Ulmus alata 62
Ulmus americana 61
Ulmus crassifolia 63
Ulmus pumila 129
Ulmus rubra 64
Una de Gato 85

V
Vaccinium arboreum 108
Viburnum rufidulum 121

W
Wafer-ash 93
Wahoo, eastern 125

Walnut, black 28
Walnut, little 28
Walnut, Texas 28
Waterlocust 90
Wild china-tree 102
Wild olive, Texas 128
Wild peach 83
Willow, black 37
Willow, desert 119
Winterberry 97
Winterberry euonymus 129
Witch-hazel 75

Y
Yara 128
Yaupon 97

Z
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis 92

155

TREE PLANTING REGIONS OF TEXAS

PARTIAL LIST OF TREES RECOMMENDED
FOR SHADE AND WINDBREAKS

East Texas
American elm
arborvitae
Arizona cypress
basswood
black locust
black walnut
bur oak
catalpa
Chinese tallow
green ash
hackberry
holly
live oak
loblolly pine
longleaf pine
magnolia
pecan
red oak
shortleaf pine
silver maple
slash pine
sweetgum
sycamore

water oak
white ash
willow oak

Coastal Prairie
American elm
arborvitae
Arizona ash
Arizona cypress
athel
Carolina poplar
Chinese tallow
Gulf Coast cedar
hackberry
holly
Italian cypress
live oak
loblolly pine
pecan
swamp ash
sweetgum
sycamore

156

Central Texas
Arizona cypress
American elm
Texas walnut
cedar elm
Chinese arborvitae
Chinese elm
eastern redcedar
green ash
hackberry

live oak
pecan
sycamore
thornless honeylocust

South Texas
anaqua
Arizona cypress
athel
Australian pine
Carolina poplar
Chinese arborvitae
Chinese tallow
eucalyptus
fan palm
Gulf Coast cedar
gum elastic
hackberry
Italian cypress
Japanese varnish tree
live oak
ornamental date palm
pecan
pistacia
Rio Grande ash
sycamore

West Texas
Arizona ash
Arizona cypress
aspen popple
Austrian pine
Chinese arborvitae

Chinese elm
green ash
hackberry
live oak
mountain cottonwood
pistacia
redcedar
Rocky mountain
juniper
Russian mulberry
Russian olive
silver poplar
Spanish oak
thornless honeylocust
western yellow pine

Panhandle
American elm
apricot
Arizona cypress
Austrian pine
black locust
Carolina poplar
Chinese arborvitae
Chinese maple
Chinese elm
Colorado blue spruce
green ash
hackberry
loblolly pine
pistacia
redcedar
red mulberry
Russian mulberry
Russian olive

sand plum
shortleaf pine
Siberian elm
silver poplar
sycamore
thornless honeylocust
western yellow pine

158

CODE OF BEHAVIOR
WITH
OUTDOOR FIREBRANDS

1. Burn household trash only in a metal or cinder block container on
an area cleared to bare soil.

2. Burn fields and brush piles only in the late afternoon when the
wind is low and after a 5-foot fire-break has been plowed around the

field.

3. Break matches and crush smokes before discarding.

4. Use car ash tray for smokes and used matches when traveling in a
vehicle. Don’t pitch them out the window.

5. Clear the area around a warming or camp fire before lighting it.

6. Extinguish all warming and camp fires when you leave. Be sure
all fires are Dead Out.

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