![]() Bark is greyish-brown with a thin flaky appearance. They may grow with a straight trunk or multi branched like the tree in this picture. White ash is very similar, but the leaf scar has a v-shaped notch on the top and the twigs tend to be gray-green. There is one bud at the apex, or tip of the stem. The stem is grey in color and the buds are a dark greyish-brown. The leaf scar is shaped like a half moon or an upside-down “D”. Now we will look at the characteristics of the twig: Notice how the leaf buds are rounded and in an opposite arrangement at the leaf node. ![]() Green ash is found growing in lowland areas. The bark is greyish in color with thin furrowed ridges forming an intersecting diamond pattern. The branches usually grow from the top of the tree, not from the sides. Green ash is typically very straight with a single trunk. First let’s look at the bark and growth pattern: Now we area ready to learn some tree species! Their leaf scar resembles a fuzzy smiley face! Some trees, like the Black Walnut, have very distinctive leaf scars. This is where the leaf fell off the stem during autumn. The leaf scar is another important characteristic to look at. Opposite leaf arrangement is when there are leaves per node (across from one another). Alternate leaf arrangement is when there is one leaf per node. The buds are where next year’s leaves will emerge from and the nodes are where the leaf or bud attaches to the stem. We will start with leaf or bud arrangement on the stem which will be either “alternate” or “opposite”. As an example, let’s learn how you can identify Red Maple, Green Ash, and Black Walnut. When trees drop their leaves in the winter months you can use different characteristics such as bud shape, leaf arrangement, bark, and overall growth pattern to identify tree species. In the summer you can recognize the different kinds of trees from the shape and size of their leaves. Get out and enjoy the trees on Arbor Day – and every day – in your neighborhood and favorite parks. Look for many mature and outstanding trees around the mansions and other historic sites, at campgrounds and picnic areas, and in the forests that cover nearly 80% of State Park lands. NY State Parks are home to countless beautiful trees. This volunteer was making a list of birds at Minnewaska State Park Preserve on I Love My Park Day. Binoculars are good for watching wildlife and also for getting a better look at the trees. With all that activity, trees are a good place for wildlife watching, whether in your neighborhood or in a state park or historic site. Bears climb trees for safety and sometimes curl up in the base of big hollow trees. Woodpeckers search for insects under the bark and many animals hide out or make their home in tree cavities – bats, owls and other birds, raccoons, squirrels, and porcupines. Bees and other insects feed on the nectar and pollen of the flowers above. Trees become a busy place in the spring too. There are also several shrub species of Amelanchier in NY State, all with similar flowers.īy Dcrjsr (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 ( )%5D, via Wikimedia Commons Its delicate white flowers show up long before the other trees leaf out, so you can spot these trees more easily in spring than in the summer. Photo by Donald Cameron 2017, GoBotany, used with permission.Ī nice tree to look for in the spring is serviceberry, also known as shadbush ( Amelanchier canadensis and A. Take a closer look at these little bouquets you can usually find clusters that have fallen to the ground. Norway maple ( Acer platanoides) has larger yellow-green flowers. Look for red tassels on red maple ( Acer rubrum) or silver maple ( Acer saccharinum) or green on sugar maple ( Acer saccharum). Among the first to flower in the spring are the maples, a hint of color in the treetops. But all our broadleaf trees also have flowers, so look a little closer for those that are not so conspicuous. Of course, trees with showy flowers – like magnolia, cherry, or crabapple – always grab our attention. Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) in Grafton Lakes State Park
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