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Tree Identification

Balsam Fir

Balsam Fir
Abies balsamea

  • Grows to 60 feet   

  • Tolerates Shade  

  •  Cool Moist Soil

black walnut

Black Walnut
Juglans nigra

  • 15-23 Leaflets per Leaf    

  • ½ inch Fleshy Exterior Nut   

  • Brown-Colored Wood

bur oak

Bur Oak
Quercus macrocarpa

  • Lobed leaf  

  • Acorn Cap with Hairy Edge

  • Dark Gray Deeply Furrowed Bark

colorado blue spruce

Colorado Blue Spruce
Picea Pungens

  • Many Ornamental Varieties 

  • Sharp, Silverly Needles 

  • Pyramid Shaped

green ash

Green Ash
Fraxinus pennsylvanica

  • Compound Leaf with 5-9 Leaflets

  • Wet soils

  • Wood used to make baseball bats

japanese lilac tree

Japanese Lilac
Syringa reticulata    

  • Full Sun  

  • Moist, Well-drained Soil  

  • Fragrant, White Blooms in Early Summer

pin oak

Pin Oak
Quercus palustris

  • 1/2 inch long acorns 

  • Small deeply lobed leaf 

  • Lower branches persist on stem.

river birch

River Birch
Betula nigra

  • Reddish Brown Shaggy Curly Bark 

  • Wet Soils

  • Shade Tolerant        

siberian elm

Siberian Elm
Ulmus pumila

  • Smallest Leaves of the Elm Trees

  • Introduced from Asia

  • Fast growing

sugar maple

Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum

  • Seeds Mature in Fall 

  • Shade Tolerant

  • Orange Fall Color 

white spruce

White Spruce
Picea glauca

  • Grows to 65 feet  

  • Full Sunlight to Partial Shade

  • Moist Loam Soil

beaked hazel.jpg

Beaked Hazel
Corylus cornuta

  • Understory shrub  

  • Tubelike beak at end of nut  

  • Hazelnuts = Wildlife Food Source

boxelder

Boxelder
Acer negundo

  • Compound Leaf

  • Short Lived

  • Poorly Formed Tree 

catalpa

Catalpa
Catalpa speciosa

  • Introduced to MN 

  • Large heart-shaped leaves

  • Orchid-like flowers bloom in late spring.

eastern cottonwood

Eastern Cottonwood
Populus deltoides

  • Large Tree with Massive Trunk

  • Cottony Seeds 

  • Shade intolerant

hawthorne

Hawthorne
Crataegus spp.

  • 1-to-2-inch Thorns on Branches

  • Toothed Leaf Margins 

  • Fruits Look Like Tiny Apples

norway spruce

Norway Spruce
Picea abies

  • Grows to 60 Feet  

  • Drooping Branches, 6 in. Cones

  • European Species

quaking aspen

Quaking Aspen
Populus tremuloides

  • Straight Trunk Lacking Side Branches  

  • Golden Yellow Fall Color

  • Sandy or Rocky Soils       

scotch pike

Scotch Pine
Pinus sylvestris

  • Single Trunk Often Crooked

  • Two Twisted Needles per Cluster

  • Introduced From Europe 

silver maple

Silver Maple
Acer saccharinum

  • Very Fast Growing

  • Short Bole with Wide Crown

  • Brittle Branches Often Break

wheeping willow

Weeping Willow
Salix bablonica

  • Native to Eastern Asia  

  • Gracefully Drooping Branches

winterberry

Winterberry
Ilex verticillata

  • Found Near Wetland Edges

  • Red Fruit Persists in Winter

  • Birds Eat Fruit

black spruce

Black Spruce
Picea mariana 

  • Slender Tree with a Narrow Pyramid Shape

  • Wet or Poorly Drained Soil

buckthorn

Buckthorn
Rhamnus cathartica

  • Invasive Understory Shrub

  • Introduced into United States 

  • Oval Smooth Glossy Leaves

choke cherry

Choke Cherry
Prunus virginiana

  • Flowers/fruit Along Long Stalk 

  • Fruit Eaten by Birds 

  • Sprouts Prolifically    

eastern red cedar

Eastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana

  • Conifer with Scaly Needles 

  • Pyramid Shape  

  • Dry Soils

honeysuckle

Honeysuckle
Lonicera spp.

  • Pink Flowers in Spring 

  • Colorful Fruit in Summer 

  • Screening or Windbreak Shrub

paper birch

Paper Birch
Betula papyrifera

  • Fast Growing, Short-Lived 

  • Papery, White Bark 

  • Moist, Sandy-Loam Soils

red (norway) pine

Red (Norway) Pine
Pinus resinosa

  • State Tree; Grows to 70+ feet

  • Requires Full Sunlight

  • Sandy Soils

shagbark hickory

Shagbark Hickory
Carya ovata

  • Usually 5 Leaflets per Leaf

  • 1 ½ Inch, 4-Ribbed Nut

  • Slow Growing Tree

speckled alder

Speckled Alder
Alnus rugosa

  • Lowland Shrub 

  • Grows in or Near Wetland Areas

  • Redish Twigs with Large Buds

white oak

White Oak
Quercus alba

  • Deep to Shallow Lobed Leaves

  • Stout Twigs with no Ridges

  • Oblong Acorn with no Fringe

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