common forest trees invabrown

Common Forest Trees in Virginia : Common Forest Trees in Virginia


Eastern White Pine : Eastern White Pine Five needles per cluster. Needles are 3 – 5 inches long. Needles are very soft. Cones are 4 – 6 inches long.


Loblolly Pine : Loblolly Pine Three needles per cluster. Needles are 6 – 9 inches long.


Virginia Pine : Virginia Pine Two, short, stiff, twisted needles per cluster. Needles are 1 – 3 inches long.


Shortleaf Pine : Shortleaf Pine Two or three needles per cluster. Needles are 3 - 5 inches long.


Hemlock : Hemlock Needles are 1/3 - 2/3 inches long, 1/8 inch wide and flat. Cones are small, about 3/4 inches long.


Eastern Redcedar : Eastern Redcedar Needles are of 2 types. One is short and scale-like, the other is sharp-pointed. The bark is reddish brown to ashy gray peeling off in long strips.


Black Walnut : Black Walnut Compound leaf 12 - 24 inches long. 15 -23 leaflets per leaf. The bark is dark brown.


Hickory : Hickory Compound leaf, 6 -10 inches long. 5 - 9 leaflets per leaf. The bark is light gray and very hard.


Black Willow : Black Willow Simple leaf, 3 - 6 inches long less than ½ inch wide. The bark is deeply divided into flat ridges, and becomes very shaggy on older trees.


American Hornbeam : American Hornbeam Simple leaf, 2 - 3 inches long. Oval shaped leaf. Double toothed margin. The bark is deeply fluted or “muscle-like”.


Beech : Beech Simple leaf, 3 - 4 inches long. Toothed margin. The buds are long, slender and pointed.


Oak Trees : Oak Trees Oak trees are divided into two categories, white oaks which have rounded lobes, and mature their acorns in one year and red oaks which have pointed lobes and take two years to mature their acorns. Red Oak White Oak


Northern Red Oak : Northern Red Oak Simple leaf, 5 - 9 inches long and 4 - 6 inches wide. Pointed lobed margin. The bark is brown with red streaks.


Pin Oak : Pin Oak Simple leaf 3 - 5 inches long. Pointed lobed margin. The lower branches are very droopy.


Scarlet Oak : Scarlet Oak Simple leaf, 3 - 6 inches long. Leaf has deep cuts into the leaf (owl-eyed leaf). This tree has many dead lower limbs.


Black Oak : Black Oak Simple leaf 5 - 10 inches long and 3 - 8 inches wide. Pointed lobed margin. The inner bark is yellow and bitter tasting.


Black Jack Oak : Black Jack Oak Simple leaf 4 - 10 inches long. Leaf is somewhat cross shaped.


Southern Red Oak : Southern Red Oak Simple leaf, 3 - 5 inches long. Bell shaped leaf.


White Oak : White Oak Simple leaf, 5 - 9 inches long. Lobed margin. The bark is light gray.


Post Oak : Post Oak Simple leaf, 4 - 5 inches long. Cross shaped leaf. Leaf is thick and leathery. The bark is light gray.


Chestnut Oak : Chestnut Oak Simple leaf, 5 - 9 inches long. Wavy margin. The bark is thick and deeply divided.


American Elm : American Elm Simple leaf, 4 - 6 inches long. Double toothed margin. One-sided leaf (One side of the leaf is larger than the other).


Slippery Elm : Slippery Elm Simple leaf, 4 - 6 inches long. Double-toothed margin. One-sided leaf. The leaf is rough on both sides.


Hackberry : Hackberry Simple leaf, 2 - 4 inches long. Double toothed margin. The bark is light gray with “warty” bumps.


Red Mulberry : Red Mulberry Simple leaf, 3 - 5 inches long. Double toothed margin. This tree has oval, mitten and double mitten shaped leaves on the same tree.


Yellow Poplar : Yellow Poplar Simple leaf, 4 - 6 inches long. Tulip shaped leaves. The bark is light gray and very hard.


Sassafras : Sassafras Simple leaf, 4 - 6 inches long. Smooth margin. This tree has oval, mitten and double mitten shaped leaves on the same tree.


Sweet Gum : Sweet Gum Simple leaf, 5 - 7 inches long. Star shaped leaf.


Sycamore : Sycamore Simple leaf. Circular shaped leaf. The bark is green, brown, white, and very scaly.


Black Cherry : Black Cherry Simple leaf, 3 - 4 inches long. Double-toothed margin. The bark is dark brown and smooth on young trees, but rough and scaly on older trees.


Redbud : Redbud Simple leaf, 3 - 5 inches long. Heart shaped leaf. Smooth margin. This tree has 3 - 5 inch long pods.


Honey Locust : Honey Locust Double compound leaf. This tree has 1 ½ - 2 inch long thorns. Pods are 10 - 18 inches long.


Black Locust : Black Locust Compound leaf, 6 - 10 inches long. Seven to 19 leaflets per leaf. This tree has 3/4 - 1 inch long thorns. Pods are 3 - 5 inches long.


Holly : Holly Simple leaf 2 – 4 inches long with “spiny teeth”. The leaf is thick and leather-like.


Sugar Maple : Sugar Maple Simple leaf, 3 – 5 inches long. Pointed lobed margin. Winged fruit.


Red Maple : Red Maple Simple leaf, 3 - 5 inches long. Double toothed margin. Red stems. Winged fruit. The bark is smooth and gray on young trees but rough on older trees.


Basswood : Basswood Simple leaf 3 - 6 inches long. Heart shaped. Double toothed margin.


Dogwood : Dogwood Simple leaf 3 - 5 inches long. Oval shaped. Smooth margin. The bark is reddish brown to black and divided into small blocks.


Black Gum : Black Gum Simple leaf 2 - 3 inches long. Oval shaped. Smooth margin. The branches extend from the trunk at a 90 degree angle.


Persimmon : Persimmon Simple leaf 4 – 6 inches long. Oval shaped. Smooth margin. Bark is dark brown and broken into thick blocks.


White Ash : White Ash Compound leaf 8 - 12 inches long. 5 – 9 leaflets per leaf. Bark is light gray and very soft.


Work Cited : Work Cited Dendrology at Virginia Tech web page. http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/ syllabus/biglist_frame.htm Virginia Department of Forestry. Forest Trees of Virginia. Charlottesville: Department of Forestry, 2001.