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Read Ebook: Forest Trees of Illinois (Third Edition) by Mohlenbrock Robert H Burton Fredda J Illustrator Meyer Miriam Wysong Illustrator Mohlenbrock Robert H Photographer Richardson John A Photographer
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Ebook has 1801 lines and 108692 words, and 37 pages
Acknowledgments 4 Introduction 5 Illustrated Glossary 6 Key to the Trees of Illinois in Spring, Summer, and Fall 9 Key to the Trees of Illinois in Winter 27 Trees of Illinois 38 Special Places to Study Trees 318 White Oak, the State Tree of Illinois 322 Illinois Big Tree Champions 323 Index to Common and Scientific Names 324 District Foresters 330
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the late Mr. Fred Siemert, State Forester of the Illinois Division of Forestry, for suggesting the need for a new "Forest Trees of Illinois." The first and second editions of this work have been immensely popular, and the need for a third edition is gratifying.
I wish to give thanks to Mr. Al Mickelson of the Illinois Division of Forestry for encouraging this third edition, and to his assistants, Mr. John Sester and Mr. Ernest Kunze, for editing it for publication. Mark Mohlenbrock has redrawn the leaves and fruit illustrated on pages 101 and 169.
Introduction
The initial edition of Forest Trees of Illinois was written in 1927 by W. R. Mattoon and R. B. Miller, two prominent foresters in the state at that time. This was revised in 1955 by Dr. George Damon Fuller, then of the Illinois State Museum, and E. E. Nuuttila, State Forester of Illinois.
Woody plants are usually divided into trees and shrubs, but the difference between these growth forms is not always distinct. In this work, we consider a plant to be of tree stature if it has a single erect trunk which branches above the ground to form a crown. It must have a diameter of at least 3 inches 4 1/2 feet above the ground and an overall height of 12 feet. Some of the plants included in this work are borderline between trees and shrubs. The height of a plant may be influenced by its geography. Thus, the Gray Dogwood in extreme southern Illinois may reach the dimensions of a small tree, but this same species in northern Illinois is also of a shrubby stature.
Almost every kind of plant in the world is known by a Common Name and a Latin Name. The Common Name is the one used locally by residents of the area. It is of limited value because people in different areas sometimes have different names for the same plant. For example, one of the trees in Illinois is known by some as the Ironwood, by others as the Blue Beech, by others as the American Hornbeam, and by still others as the Musclewood Tree. Then again, the name Ironwood applies to at least two different kinds of trees in Illinois. The Latin Name for each kind of tree is known the World over by the same name. Actually, the Latin Name is composed of two words, the genus name, which is always capitalized, and the specific epithet, which is not capitalized.
Of all the kinds of plants in the World, none is so well-loved, so stately and majestic, as a forest tree. More and more people each year are vacationing and seeking outdoor recreation. Many of them "take to the woods" for their leisure, because the forests of our state hold an unending fascination to many who enter them.
Moreover, trees provide us with building material for our homes, shade for our lawns and parks, and hundreds of other products used in our everyday living.
To know the trees we encounter is to enhance our appreciation for them. The purpose of FOREST TREES OF ILLINOIS is to bring to Illinoisans a means of identifying the trees that grow in this state.
Illustrated Glossary
In order to distinguish one kind of tree from another, it is necessary to learn the major characteristics which the forest trees of Illinois may possess. Illustrated below are several of the most commonly encountered characteristics of leaves and twigs. A thorough understanding of these structures will insure a quicker and more accurate identification.
On the pages following the illustrated glossary are keys to the trees of Illinois. A key is a botanical device which enables the user, through proper selection of a series of choices, to identify a specimen at hand. Separate keys are provided for trees during the spring, summer, and autumn seasons and during the winter season. Begin at the first pair of number 1's, choose the statement that best fits the unknown specimen, and then go to the next pair of statements beneath. Continue this same procedure until the name of the plant is reached.
LEAF FORMS AND ARRANGEMENT SIMPLE PINNATELY COMPOUND PALMATELY COMPOUND DOUBLY PINNATELY COMPOUND OPPOSITE ALTERNATE WHORLED LEAF SHAPES LANCEOLATE OBLANCEOLATE OBLONG ELLIPTICAL OVATE OBOVATE
WINTER TWIG CHARACTERS BUD SCALE TERMINAL BUD LATERAL BUD LEAF SCAR LENTICELS BUNDLE TRACES UPPER EPIDERMIS PALISADE LAYER RIBS AND VEINS SPONGY LAYER STOMA LOWER EPIDERMIS LEAF TIPS ACUTE OBTUSE LONG-TAPERING LEAF EDGES PINNATELY LOBED WAVY TOOTHED DOUBLY TOOTHED SMOOTH LEAF BASES HEART-SHAPED TRUNCATE ASYMMETRICAL ROUNDED TAPERING
Key to the Trees of Illinois in Spring, Summer, and Fall
GROUP A
Leaves needle-like or scale-like, often evergreen.
GROUP B
Leaves broad and flat, never needle-like or scale-like, compound.
GROUP C
Leaves broad and flat, never needle-like or scale-like, simple, opposite or whorled.
GROUP D
Leaves broad and flat, never needle-like or scale-like, simple, alternate, neither toothed nor lobed.
GROUP E
Leaves broad and flat, never needle-like or scale-like; leaves simple, alternate, toothed but not lobed.
GROUP F
Leaves broad and flat, never needle-like or scale-like; leaves simple, alternate, lobed.
Key to Illinois Trees in Winter
GROUP G
GROUP H
Trees of Illinois
Growth Form: Medium tree up to 60 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2 feet; crown rounded.
Bark: Smooth and pale brown at first, becoming darker and furrowed when old.
Twigs: Slender, brown, smooth or hairy, usually with pale lenticels; leaf scars opposite, U-shaped, with 3-7 bundle traces.
Buds: Rounded, reddish-brown, hairy, up to 1/4 inch long.
Leaves: Opposite, simple; blades up to 4 inches long, nearly as broad, palmately 3- to 5-lobed, drooping on the sides, the edges sparsely and coarsely toothed, green and smooth or a little hairy on the upper surface, paler and much hairier on the lower surface; leaf-stalks up to 3 inches long, very hairy. The leaves turn yellow or orange in the autumn.
Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately, but sometimes on the same tree, in dense clusters, yellowish-green, appearing as the leaves unfold.
Fruit: Borne in pairs, composed of a wing with a seed at the base, greenish, up to 1 inch long.
Wood: Heavy, strong, coarse-grained, light brown.
Uses: Furniture, interior finishing, cabinets.
Habitat: Woodlands.
Range: Virginia across southern Illinois to southeastern Oklahoma, south to Texas, east to Florida.
Distinguishing Features: The Southern Sugar Maple resembles the Black Maple because of its drooping leaves, but differs by its smaller, thicker leaves.
Other Name: Ash-leaved Maple.
Growth Form: Medium tree up to 60 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 4 feet; crown wide-spreading.
Bark: Light brown, ridged when young, becoming deeply furrowed with age.
Twigs: Smooth, green, glaucous, or rarely purplish, shiny, usually with white lenticels; leaf scars opposite, U-shaped, with 5-9 bundle traces.
Buds: Rounded, white-hairy, up to 1/8 inch long.
Leaves: Opposite, pinnately compound, with 3-7 leaflets; leaflets elliptic to ovate, up to 4 inches long, about half as broad, pointed at the tip, tapering or rounded at the sometimes asymmetrical base, smooth or usually coarsely toothed along the edges or even shallowly lobed, light green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth or hairy on the lower surface.
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