Field Key to VCR Plant Species
Subkey V. Alternate Simple-leaved Trees and Shrubs
- 1a. Thorny plants; buds ball-shaped or nearly so.
- 2a. Thorns less than 2.5 cm. long; leaves somewhat egg-shaped and pointed, not toothed; sap milky; wood yellow.....Osage-Orange, Maclura pomifera, (MCLPMF).
- 2b. Thorns mostly over 2.5 cm. long.....Hawthorn, Crataegus viridis, (CRTVRD).
- 1b. Thornless plants.
- 3a. Leaves deeply lobed.
- 4a. Leaves fan-lobed, with 3-5 main veins meeting near leaf base; twigs without 2 long lines descending from each leaf scar; yellow resin dots lacking (use lens).
- 5a. All leaves lobed.
- 6a. Lobes pointed; leaves hairless; branchlets often with corky "wings".....Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua, (LQDSTY).
- 6b. Lobes rounded; leaves with stiff rough-to-the-touch hairs on upper surface.....Common Fig, Ficus carica, (FCSCRC).
- 5b. Not all leaves lobed; lobes 1-3 in number.....Sassafras, Sassafras albidum, (SSSALB).
- 4b. Leaves feather-lobed, with a single midvein, other veins more or less at right angles to the midvein; leaves wide and not fern-like; twigs with clustered end buds, acorns or their cups on twigs or on ground below tree.
- 7a. Leaf lobes with bristle-tips.....Spanish Oak/Southern Red Oak, Quercus falcata, (QRCFLC).
- 7b. Leaf lobes without bristle tips; leaves cross-shaped.....Post Oak, Quercus stellata, (QRCSTL).
- 3b. Leaves not lobed.
- 8a. Leaf scars with 3 or more bundle scars.
- 9a. Twigs with clustered end buds; acorns or their cups on twigs or on ground below tree.
- 10a. End buds hairy; leaves wedge-shaped, broadest near tip.....Water Oak, Quercus nigra, (QRCNGR).
- 10b. End buds not hairy.
- 11a. Leaves leathery, usually with rolled edges; evergreen.....Live Oak, Quercus virginiana, (QRCVRG).
- 11b. Leaves not leathery; bark gray-scaley; non-evergreen.....Laurel Oak, Quercus laurifolia, (QRCLRF).
- 9b. Twigs with single end buds; twigs without completely enclosing lines (stipule scars).
- 12a. Leaves neither toothed nor definitely wavy-edged; buds with more than 1 scale; leaf bases even; leaf scars with 3 bundle scars; pith distinctly chambered.....Sour-Gum, Nyssa sylvatica, (NYSSYL).
- 12b. Leaves with definite teeth or distinctly wavy-edged.
- 13a. Leaves with distinct double teeth.
- 14a. Leaf bases mostly uneven, 1 side being much lower than the other; buds many-scaled, the scales in 2 even rows; leaves not long and pointed, mostly egg-shaped....American ELm, Ulmus americana, (ULMAMR).
- 14b. Leaf bases mostly even, with both sides similar or only slightly uneven; buds with 2 or more scales, hairy or narrowed at base; leafstalks with small paired glands near the leaf base; older bark usually streaked horizontally.
- 15a. True end buds; bark red-brown, cracking irregularly.....Black Cherry, Prunus serotina, (PRNSRT).
- 15b. False end buds; velvety twigs and buds.....Beach Plum, Prunus maritima, (PRNMRT).
- 13b. Leaves with single teeth or definite wavy edges.
- 16a. Bark of upper branches and young trunks often smooth and whitish- or greenish-yellow; lowermost bud scales located in the outside position squarely above the leaf scar; leafstalks often much flattened; white-wooly leaves, twigs, and buds.....White Popular, Populus alba, (PPLALB).
- 16b. Bark not as above; bud scales, if present, not as above; leafstalks not much flattened.
- 17a. Leaf stalks mostly with a pair of glands near the leaf base; older bark often striped horizontally....see 15-Prunus above.
- 17b. Leaf stalks without glands.
- 18a. Buds long, slender, reddish, the several scales with tiny dark tips and often twisted; trunk bark smooth and often twisted; leaves oblong-shaped, dull-surfaced, and toothed nearly to base; leaf stalks wooly.....Coastal Juneberry, Amelanchier obovalis, (AMLOBV).
- 18b. Buds with a single scale; leaves usually long and slender; leaf bases rounded; leaves fine-toothed, hairless, and green beneath.....Black Willow, SLXNGR, (SLXNGR).
- 18c. Buds otherwise.
- 19a. Leaves spicy-scented when crushed and have yellow resin dots (use lens).
- 20a. Evergreen; leaves often leathery, less than 1.2 cm. wide.....Common Waxmyrtle, Myrica cerifers, (MYRCRF).
- 20b. Nonevergreen; leaves not leathery, more than 1.3 cm. wide.....Northern Bayberry, Myrica pennsylvanica, (MYRPNS).
- 19b. Leaves otherwise; pith not chambered.
- 21a. Leaves finely-toothed, with glands along the top of the midrib (use lens); twigs hairy.....Red Chokeberry, Sorbus/Pyrus arbutifolia, (SRBARB).
- 21b. Leaves coarsely-toothed, egg-shaped; upper leaves small and untoothed; twigs hairless; whitish flowersw in small heads; conspicuous silky-white hairs appear when pistillate heads mature.....Groundsel-Tree, Baccharis halimifolia, (BCCHLM).
- 8b. Leaf scars with 1 bundle scar.
- 22a. Twigs greenish or reddish, have numerous tiny raised dots (use lens); shrubby; leaves and buds small; fruits many-seeded blue berries.
- 23a. Tall shrub with wooly leaves; twigs hairy; leaves not toothed.....Black Highbush Blueberry, Vaccinium atrococcum, (VCCATR).
- 23b. Lower shrub with smaller hairless leaves, always whitened beneath.....Common Highbush Blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum, (VCCCRY).
- 22b. Twigs not dotted; resin-dots absent; end buds not clustered at end (though sometimes crowded forwards); leaf edges not hairy-fringed.
- 24a. Leaves evergreen, mostly leathery.
- 25a. Spur branches usually present; tiny black thorn-like stipules flanking each leaf scar (use lens); true end buds.
- 26a. Leaves thorny, rarely without teeth.....American holly, Ilex opaca, (ILXOPC).
- 26b. Leaves not thorny, often without teeth.....Yaupon, Ilex vomitoria, (ILXVMT).
- 25b. Spur branches absent; leaves narrow and shiny, pale beneath and hairy; twigs angled; bark dark reddish, deeply grooved.....Redbay, Persea palustris, (PRSPLS).
- 24b. Leaves nonevergreen, thin; leaf scars not conspicuously raised; spur branches and tiny black thorn-like stipules absent; pith not chambered; leaves not toothed; fruits fleshy but not dark colored; buds black with 2 scales; bark typically broken into small squarish blocks.....Persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, (DSPVRG).
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