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The woodland trails meander throughout a predominately oak-hickory forest. The unique attributes of these two species bring great enjoyment as one walks along the trails. Twenty-seven (27) different species of Missouri Native trees are labeled along the trails for your information. (Click here to view the complete list!) The bark of the shagbark hickory is most unique and expressive of its name. The post oak has an amazing variety of leaf formations that make a walk through its fallen leaves in Autumn an adventure of discovery. Click here!
Identifying trees and plants is like solving a mystery. You have to look for clues and know what they mean. The better you are at being a detective, the easier it is to identify the trees and plants. The purpose of this Sampler is to show you some of the clues to look for and how to interpret them. All trees and plants have very specific clues. For example, some clues are leaf number, size, and shape, the flowers and fruit, the bark texture and color, the bud and leaf arrangement, as well as the general size and shape. A really good detective can identify trees even in winter when there are no leaves on the trees. A woodland list of labeled trees are provided for your discoveries. Have fun learning!
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Sweet Gum
Liquidambar stryciflua
Missouri Native
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The sweet gum tree produces that little ball with tiny horns that hurts so much to step on barefooted. Inside each tiny horn is a capsule which holds two small, winged seeds which drop in the fall. In the winter, one can see these little prickly balls still hanging high in the tree. The leaf of the sweet gum is star-shaped, with five to seven pointed lobes. The leaf somewhat resembles a maple leaf. If in doubt whether the tree is a maple or sweet gum, check the leaf nodes. If opposite, the tree is maple; if alternate, sweet gum. Also, the crushed leaf of a sweet gum has a distinct odor, like that of balsam. Another sweet gum clue is its corky bark. It forms deep ridges, but not all branches have this corky texture. On the hardwood lumber market, sweet gum is second only to oak for the volume produced.
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Black Walnut
Juglans nigra
Missouri Native
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Black walnut is one of the most valuable trees in Missouri. Its warm, brown wood is in great demand for furniture, cabinets, and gunstocks. Our state is the greatest production center for walnut wood and has been for over fifty years. The main clue to look for is the nut. It has a grooved shell and grows inside a thick, green husk. These nuts make the walnut tree even more valuable. The husk contains a dark-brown dye which the pioneers used to dye their cloth. They also used the bark for a yellow dye. The compound leaves have fifteen or more leaflets, each finely toothed and ending in a long point. The upper surface is smooth and shiny; the lower surface, soft and downy. Other clues include the distinct odor of the twigs and leaves and the honeycomb pith in the twigs. Also, notice the horse-face shape of the leaf scars.
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Shagbark Hickory
Carya ovata
Missouri Native
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This is the most common hickory. Its main clue for identification is its loose, scaly bark which separates into plates up to a foot long. The plates are attached in the middle and both ends curve away from the tree. The leaf is compound and has five leaflets. The nut is round with a pointed end, is pale tan in color, and is edible. Squirrels especially like this nut and it is also eaten by foxes, deer and raccoons. It comes in a thick husk which divides into four pieces. Hickory wood is heavy, strong and flexible. For these reasons it was used for spokes, hubs and rims of wagon wheels. Some say that hickory wood paved the way West. Today it is used to make hickory chips for barbecuing and also for tool handles and skis. This tree is prevalent in the Longview woodlands.
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American Elm
Ulmus americana
Missouri Native
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This tree was once the most common shade tree in America. Insects and diseases have killed millions of these trees. It is a native tree in every county of Missouri. This tree has a tendency to fork and develop a wide-spreading crown (like the letter "V" or a vase full of flowers.) This shape is characteristic.
The leaves are four to six inches long, elliptical with the tip pointed and the base uneven. The edges of the leaf are coarsely toothed. Other species of elm include slippery, rock, winged, Chinese, and Siberian elm. All have elliptical, toothed leaves. The seed is shaped like a little wafer with a bump in the middle. The papery margin is the wing to sail on the wind and the bump in the middle is the seed. Botanists call these samaras. Squirrels and birds call them delicious! Gardeners call them a nuisance.
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Oaks
Black Oak Quercus velutina
Post Oak Quercus stellata
White Oak Quercus alba
All Missouri Native
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Oaks are the most important trees in Missouri. Sixty-three percent of our timber is oak. All oaks have the distinctive fruit - the acorn. It is a staple food for many wild animals. Almost all oaks can be put in the white oak or the black oak (sometimes called red) group.
The acorns in the black oak group take two years to mature, are bitter with tannin, and germinate in the spring. The leaves have points or bristles on the tips and lobes.
The acorns in the white oak group mature in one year, are less bitter, and germinate in the fall. The lumber from this group is more durable and waterproof. The leaves may be lobed or wavy, but the edges are rounded and smooth. One of the white oaks in this park has 318 rings, (Click here!) and a black oak has approximately 125 rings (Click here!)
The acorns of the post oak (white oak group) have caps that cover 1/3 of the nut. The leaves have a unique variety of shapes, usually rounded with deeply indented top and side lobes, and lower lobes and knobs that differ from each other. Click here for info on Post Oak leaves! Since the woodlands have many post oaks and white oaks (as well as hickories) at Longview Farm Park, it is known for its distinctive oak-hickory forest.
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Sassafras
Sassafras albidum
Missouri Native
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The twigs are light green to yellow-green with some brown tinges. This is the only tree with three distinct shapes of leaves. They may have one, two or three lobes. The leaves with two lobes look very much like mittens. The leaves are alternate and the scars left by fallen leaves are half rounds. The crushed leaves and twigs are aromatic. (This odor is a definite clue.) The roots and other parts of the tree contain a uniquely flavored oil which is the principal flavoring in root beer! Some people dig the tender roots and make a tea. Early settlers and Native Americans used this tea for some medicinal purposes. Ozark guides use sassafras lumber for boat paddles. It is also used for boats, fence posts and paneling.
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Redbud
Cercis Canadensis
Missouri Native
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Redbud is a small tree which blooms slightly before the dogwood. Its pea-like blossoms are clustered along the twigs before the leaf buds unfold. This flower is its main clue in early spring. The main clued after that is the heart-shaped leaf. During the hot hours of the day, these leaves change their position from horizontal to vertical to minimize evaporation. In mid-summer an oblong, flattened, many-seeded pod, two to three inches long, is formed. It stays on the tree most of the winter. The little seeds are part of the wintertime diet for birds. The redbud is basically an ornamental tree with little or no commercial value. The pioneers used to create a natural red dye from the roots.
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Juniper (Red cedar)
Juniperus virginiana
Missouri Native
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This evergreen, juniper tree has two types of needles, one scale-like and the other prickly and sharp. Both types are often on the same tree. The female trees produce a light blue, berrylike fruit which birds like to eat. If you planted one of these fruits, it would not grow. It has to be ingested by a bird so that its tough cover is partially digested. When the seeds then pass through the digestive tract, the seed can sprout and grow. That is why we often see red cedars growing along fences and under telephone wires, places where birds roost. The bark is thin, reddish gray, and shreds easily. The reddish, aromatic wood is used for cedar chests and closet paneling, since the odor repels moths. Cedar novelties are almost trademarks of the Ozarks. Missouri is the leading producer of cedar novelties which are shipped all over this country and exported to others. An older tree often has a broader shape than the columnar shape of a younger tree.
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Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Missouri Native
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Missouri's official state tree is the flowering dogwood. Its main clue for identification in early spring is its showy blossom. The true flower is the yellowish-green cluster. This is surrounded by four white (sometimes pink) petal-like bracts tipped with rust-colored notches. These are actually modified leaves. The fruit of the tree, which turns bright red by the fall, is an important food source for wild animals, especially the wild turkey. If not in bloom look for the flattened globe-shaped flower bud at the end of the twig. Note that the leaf buds are opposite. Its hard, close-grained wood is used for gold heads and for handles chisels and mallets. There are many other species of American dogwood, but this one is the best known. The rough-leaved dogwood (Cornus drummondii) is the other dogwood species in this park.
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Silver Maple
Acer saccharinum
Missouri Native
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There are many species of maples, but all have palmate, simple, opposite leaves (except the box elder.) The seed is pared and has "wings" -- children call these helicopters. Birds and squirrels eat them for food. The silver maple is the fastest growing of all the maples, so produces a shade tree fairly quickly. However, its wood is brittle and fairly soft. The leaves are five-lobed with various cuts and indentations. They are silvery white underneath. The bark is gray and smooth on young trees.
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Black Willow
Salix nigra
Missouri Native
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There are many varieties of willow, but this is the most common and one of the largest. [Clue: This tree likes low, wet woods, so look by the pond or stream for it.] The young twigs are smooth and greenish and are quite brittle at the base. The buds are long and pointed with a single scale covering it. It has a shiny, reddish brown color. Since the wood is brittle, branches often break off. Then clusters of new shoots sprout and the whole tree has a shaggy look. Sometimes the tree leans outward over the water. Probably the most important job of this tree is to stabilize the riverbanks or water's edge. Its wide, interlacing root system helps to hold the soil and to keep it from washing away. Indians and pioneers used the bark to make a tea to cure headaches and fever. In medieval Europe, a twig was chewed for this purpose. The twigs and bark contain salicylic acid -- which is what aspirin is made of. Willow leaves are thing and narrow, thee to six inches long and finely toothed.
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- The Town & Country Conservation Comission would
like to thank Patty Wiggins for contributing from her publication
"The Clue Book" Mason Ridge Elementary Greenhouse Project
-Original Leaf Illustrations by Jim Sorenson taken from the Book- Common Trees of Missouri
-We would also like to thank Adrienne Biesterfeldt for her tree research, identification and information sources, the Webster Groves Nature Study Society (WGNSS) and Rob Emmett of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) for their
gracious services identifying the woodland trees and aging the White and Black Oak stumps.
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