Tilia americana, American Linden

Size: tree, 60-80' average height at maturity

Buds: blunt-tipped, 2-3 overlapping scales, usually reddish on vigorous wood, sometimes greenish, glabrous, shaped like a teardrop, absent terminal, laterals .25-.33"

Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 4-8" long and almost as wide, simple, broad ovate, abruptly acuminate, coarsely serrate with long pointed teeth, dark green above, paler below, sometimes yellow in fall

Twigs: reddish or greenish with conspicuous lenticels, sparsely branched, leaf scars large and raised

Flowers: monoecious, pale yellow, .5 wide, in 2-3" clusters of 5-15, bloom in the second half of June

Fruit: small hard nutlets on pedicel subtended by persistent large thin bract

Bark: gray to brown, in long narrow scaly ridges

Populus tremuloides, Quaking Aspen

Size: tree, 40-50' average height at maturity, 20-30' spread

Buds: first scale directly above leaf scar like all poplars, lateral buds glabrous, dark brown, often curved at apex

Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 1.5-3" long and wide, simple, thin, ovate to orbicular, short acuminate tip, margins serrate, shiny dark green on top, shiny glabrous below

Twigs: glabrous, grayish

Flowers: dioecious, catkins

Fruit: capsule

Bark: smooth, greenish white to cream, furrowed in old age

Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Katsuratree

Size: tree, 50-80' average height at maturity

Buds: terminal absent

Leaves: deciduous, opposite or subopposite, 2-4" long and wide, simple, broadly ovate, tip obtuse, crenate-serrate margines, resembles Cercis, dark blue-green, glaucescent beneath, maroon in spring, yellow with touch of red in fall

Twigs: slender in youth, swollen at nodes, spur growth conspicuous on older wood, often in whitish bands

Flowers: dioescious, inconspicuous, blooming before leafing out

Fruit: dehiscent pods to .75", groups of 2-4, containing many small winged seeds

Bark: brown, slightly shaggy on old trunks

Aesculus hippocastanum, Common Horsechestnut

Size: tree, 50-75' average height at maturity, 40-70'+ spread

Buds: terminal sometimes absent, large (up to .75"), brown, resinous

Leaves: deciduous, opposite, leaflets 4-10" long, 2-5" wide, palmately compound, leaflets obovate, acuminate, margins doubly serrate, dark green, yellow or brown in fall

Twigs: usually 7 bundle scars

Flowers: monoecious, essentially white with yellow and red highlights, in familiar terminal panicles

Fruit: 2-3 shiny mahogany "conkers" in spiny green capsule

Bark: dark gray with orange-brown underbark

Aesculus x carnea, Red Horsechestnut

Size: tree, 40-50' average height at maturity

Buds: terminal sometimes absent, brown or grayish, may be slightly resinous

Leaves: deciduous, opposite, palmately compound, 5-7 leaflets each 3-6" long, sessile or very short stalked, obovate, doubly serrate, shiny dark green above, nearly glabrous below

Twigs: somewhat stout, gray-brown

Flowers: monoecious, salmon colored, terminal panicles, 6-8" long, 3-4" wide

Fruit: 2-3 shiny brown nuts in a smaller and less spiny capsule than that of A. hippocastanum

Aralia spinosa, Devil's Walkingstick

Size: tree, 20-35' average height and spread at maturity

Buds: solitary, conical, few scales, 20 or more bundle scars

Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 3-6" long, bipinate or tripinate compound, central rachis (stem) of leaf has some small thorns, leaflets on branches of leaf are ovate, up to 4", sessile, margins serrate, dark green or blue-green, sometimes yellow to purple fall color

Twigs: large and stout, usually thorny, large and distinct leaf scar contrasts sharply with twig and nearly surrounds it

Flowers: monoecious, tiny, whitish, in large panicles, 12-18', at ends of branches

Fruit: brown with broad shallow fissures

Callicarpa dichotoma, Japanese Beautyberry

Size: shrub, 3-4' average height and spread at maturity

Buds: small, superposed, light gray-brown, roound or fusiform-oblong, naked, or smaller appearing to have 2 nearly valvate scales

Leaves: deciduous, opposite, 1-3" long, .5-1.5" wide, simple, elliptic to obovate, acuminate, cuneate, soarsely serrate except at apex and base, bright to medium green, glabrous above, glandular and sparingly pubescent below

Twigs: round, slender, gray-buff, pubescent with purplish tinge when young, glabrous at maturity, leaves borne in one plane along stem

Flowers: perfect, small, pink or white, bloom in July

Fruit: small, bright lavendar, cymes .75" diameter borne on stalks above foliage from June to August

Carpinus betulus, European Hornbeam

Size: tree, 40-60' average height at maturity, 30-40' spread

Buds: large, about .25", many imbricate scales, 2-ranked, often dark brown on lower part

Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 2.5-5" long, 1-2" wide, simple, ovate to ovate-oblong, short point at apex, sharply double serrate, dark green in summer, yellow or yellow-green in fall

Twigs: olive-brown, glabrous, prominent lenticels

Flowers: monoecious, male catkins 1.5" long, female flowers up to 3" long with large conspicuous 3-lobed bracts

Fruit: ribbed nutlet at base of bract, .25"

Bark: dark gray, often fluted

Celtis occidentalis, Sugarberry

Size: tree, 40-60' average height at maturity

Buds: imbricate, terminal absent, laterals grayish, flattened, roughly triangular, .25", 2-ranked

Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 2-5" long, simple, ovate to oblong-ovate, tips acute to acuminate, serrate except at base, light to medium green, yellow or yellow-green in fall

Twigs: pubescent

Flowers: monoecious or dioescious, inconspicuous yellow-green, solitary, in leaf axils, some perfect

Fruit: fleshy drupe, .33", dark purple when ripe, on 1-2" pedicel

Bark: grayish, wartlike projections and ridges, scaly when older

Cladrastis kentukea, Yellowwood

Size: tree, 30-50' average height at maturity

Buds: absent terminal, golden, silky hairs, several superposed very close together resembling a single bud, project above leaf scar

Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 8-12" long, pinately compound, each leaflet 2-3" elliptic to ovate, acute tip, terminal leaflet is largest, margins entire, bright green in summer, yellow in fall

Twigs: somewhat zigzagging, bright red-brown, leaf scars almost white and nearly surrounding bud

Flowers: monoescious, fragrant white, in panicles up to 14", each flower up to 1.25", bloom May to early June

Fruit: semipersistent legume

Bark: light gray, smooth

Clematis spp., Clematis

Size: vine, 5-18' average height at maturity

Buds: small, ovoid or flattened, solitary, 1-3 pairs, exposed hairy scales

Leaves: deciduous, climbs by wrapping leaf petioles around branches, opposite, pinnately compound, each leaflet ovate, acute, entire margins, bright green to blue-green

Flowers: monoescious,violet-purple, 4-7" wide, 4-6 sepals, bloom from June to frost

Fruit: cluster of achenes with long silk-haired persistent styles

Bark: red-brown, nearly glabrous, usually with 6 ridges

Corylus colurna, Turkish Hazel

Size: tree, 50-70' average height at maturity

Buds: rounded, .33", scales in 2-5 pairs, softly pubescent, shades of brown

Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 2.5-6" long, simple, broadly ovate to obovate, acuminate tip, doubly serrate or crenate, sometimes with small lobes, dark greenin summer, sometimes yellow or purplish in fall

Twigs: light brown or tan, more or less glabrous

Flowers: monoescious, large catkins on males, evident in winter, about 1" long, buff color, very numerous

Fruit: nut .5", often in groups of 3

Bark: on twigs, spongy, pale gray or gray brown, flaking with age to reveal orange-brown underbark

Fraxinus americana, White Ash

Size: tree, 50-70' average height at maturity

Buds: usually 2 pairs of exposed scales, brownish

Leaves: deciduous, opposite, 8-15", pinnately compound, around 7 leaflets, each leaflet 2-6" long, 1-3" wide, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acute to acuminate tips, usually entire but may have serrations toward tip, petiolules .33-1" long, dark green on top, lighter beneath, yellow to deep purple and maroon in fall

Twigs: bundle scars crowded in u-shaped line, twigs usually stout, gray, leaf scars not raised, usually with a definite notch at the top

Flowers: essentially dioecious, apetalous, green to purple, appear before leaves

Fruit: 1-2" samara with 1 wing

Bark: gray or gray-brown, furrows and ridges forming narrow diamond shapes

Fraxinus excelsior, European Ash

Size: tree, 70-80' average height at maturity, 60-90' spread

Buds: black, contrasting with twig, about 2 indistinct scales, persistent leaf base often associated with terminal

Leaves: deciduous, opposite, 10-12", pinnately compound, 7-11 leaflets, each leaflet 2-3.5" long, 1-1.33" wide, ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate tips, serrate margins, dark green above, lighter below, can show dull yellow in fall

Twigs: leaf scar slightly raised, straight across top, u-shaped, somewhat stout and most often slightly flattened at nodes

Flowers: essentially dioecious, but with some perfect flowers, not an ornamental asset

Fruit: 1-1.5" samara with 1 wing

Bark: gray or gray-brown

Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Green Ash

Size: tree, 50-60' average height at maturity

Buds: dark rusty brown, woolly, often extended across top of leaf scar

Leaves: deciduous, opposite, up to 12", pinnately compound, 5-9 leaflets, each leaflet 2-5" long, 1-2" wide, ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acuminate tips, margins crenate-serrate  or entire, shiny dark green, yellow in fall

Twigs: pubescent or glabrous, top of leaf scar usually straight or slightly convex, bundle scars in form of a C

Flowers: essentially dioecious, but with some perfect flowers, apetalous, green to purple

Fruit: 1-2" samara, wing extends at least halfway down the seed body

Bark: gray or gray-brown, furrows and ridges forming narrow diamond shapes

Hibiscus syriacus, Rose-of-Sharon

Size: shrub, 8-12' average height at maturity, 6-10' spread

Buds: indistinct

Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 2-4" long and wide, simple, palmately veined, 3 lobes, ovate or rhombic-ovate, often coarsely toothed, dark green, can be yellow in fall

Twigs: gray pubescent, persistent threadlike stipules, shelflike projections mark position of earlier flowers and fruits, spurlike growth on older wood

Flowers: monoecious, large, about 5" across, bloom in late July to early August, very abundant, blue-gray, white, with or without red center, also shades of pink

Fruit: upright fruit capsule with 5 parts, distinctive and long-lasting

Bark: gray

Parrotia persica, Persian Parrotia

Size: tree, 20-40' average height at maturity, 15-30' spread

Buds: finely pubescent, vegetative buds dark brown, stalked, pointed, with about 2 scales, flower buds .33", rounded, dark chocolate brown, with several loosely appressed scales

Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 2.5-5" long, 1-2.5" wide, simple, oval to obovate-oblong, large stipules that drop, obtuse tip, margins coarsely crenate-dentate on outer half of leaf, shiny medium or dark green in summer, brilliant yellow, orange, scarlet in fall

Twigs: finely pubescent, when young, later grayish brown, glabrous

Flowers: monoecious, lack petals, crimson stamens turn yellow

Fruit: bright brown capsule, slightly less than .5"

Bark: exfoliating on old branches, creating a mosaic of gray, green, white, and brown

Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virginia Creeper

Size: vine, 30-50'+ average height at maturity

Buds: terminal absent, collateral present

Leaves: deciduous, alternate, palmately compound, usually with 5 leaflets, each leaflet 1.5-4" long, .5-2.5" wide, elliptic to ovate-oblong, acuminate tips, coarsely serrate or crenate margins, shiny dark green in summer, purple-red to crimson-red in fall, colors early

Twigs: climbs with tendrils, oblong discs at tips, usually 2" or longer, raised semicircular leaf scars are distinctly concave, prominent lenticels, roundish stems

Flowers: monoecious, greenish white, terminal clusters, produced under leaves so not highly visible

Fruit: blue-black berry, .25"

Bark: gray-brown