Leaf Portfolio: Identification of Trees through leaves
Select and Identify 40 leaves
A. Categories of Identification:
• Scientific name/Common name
i.e. Acer rubum, Acer saccharum
•Simple or compound
a. palmately or pinnately
• Venation pattern
a. parallel or netted
• Margins, Tips, Bases
• Wood Type
• Location
Additional information
•Practical/Economical uses of any 5 of your selected plants
• Advantages of a compound leaf vs simple leaf(if any)
• What is a dichotomous key and how is it used?
•List the names of the state flowers and state trees for:
2 southeastern states, 2 northeastern states, 2 southwestern states, 2 northwestern states, and 2 midwestern states
Reference page
Try to include some of these among your 40 leaves:
However, it is up to you
what leaves you want to include
1. Sweet Gum
2. Tulip poplar
3. Southern Magnolia
4. Eastern redbud
5. Pine
6. Flowering dogwood
7. Ash
8. Pecan
9. Oak
10. Maple
11. Hickory
12. Cottonwood
www.forestry.auburn.edu/samuelson/dendrology
(site no longer works– google tree identification.com
For unknown plants in general: altavista.com
Due date: October 26th- There will be
a 5 point deduction for each day the
project is late.
Identification Of Plants Through Leaves
Marc Kimbrough
2/7/2022
Botany
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Scientific Name Simple/Compound Venation Pattern Margin, Tip, Bases Wood type Location
Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweetgum ) Simple Palmate Serrated leaf margin
Hardwood North America
Liriodenderum tulipifera (Tulip Poplar ) Simple Palmate Serrated
Hardwood North America
Magnolia angustifolia (Southern Magnolia) Simple Pinnate Entire leaf margin
Hardwood North Carolina
2
Siliquastrum canadense
(Eastern Redbud) Simple Pinnate Entire
Hardwood The Eastern United States and North Mexico
Pinus taeda ( Pine) Simple Parralel Entire
Softwood South Eastern United States
Cornus florida ( Flowering dog wood) Simple Pinnate Entire Hardwood Eastern United States
3
Fraxinus excelsior
(Ash) Compound Pinnate Serrated leaf margin Hardwood North America
Carya illinoensis
(pecan) Compound Pinnate Serrate Hardwood South Central United States
Quercus virginiana
(Oak) Simple Pinnate Entire Margin Hardwood South Eastern United States
4
Acer saccharinum
(Maple) Simple Palmate Parted Leaf Margin
Softwood Eastern North America
Taxodium distichum
(Baldcypress) Simple (Inpossible to identify) Entire leaf Margin Softwood South Eastern United States
Swietenia mahagoni
(Mahogany) Compound Pinnate Entire Margin
Hardwood Southern Florida
5
Eucalyptus ficifolia
(Red Flowering gum) Simple Pinnate Entire margin Hardwood Western Coast of the United States
Picea orientalis
(oriental Spruce) Simple Parallel Entire Leaf margin Softwood North America
Cunninghamia lanceolata
(China fir) Simple Parallel Ciliate
Softwood North Carolina
6
Pinus strobus
(Eastern White Pine) Simple Parallel Entire leaf margin Softwood North America
Acer rubrum
(Red Marple) Simple
Palmate Incised, serrated, and lobed Hardwood Eastern United States
7
Acer palmatum
(Japanese Maple) Simple Palmate Serrated and Lobed Hardwood North America
Alnus glutinosa
(Common alder) Simple Pinnate Double serrated Hardwood North America
8
Tecoma stans
(yellow elder) Compound Pinnate Serrate margin hardwood Tropical Americas and West Indies
Albizia julibrissin
(silk tree) Compound Pinnate Entire-ciliate margin Hardwood North America
9
Fagus grandifolia
(American beech) Simple Pinnate Serrate Hardwood North America
Carpinus caroliniana
(Ironwood) Simple Pinnate Double serrate Hardwood Es\astern United States
10
Tilia americana
(Basswood) Simple Pinnate Serrate Hardwood North America
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
(Green ash) Simple Pinnate Crenate,serrate,entire margins Hardwood Eastern United States
11
Acer triflorum(Three flowered Maple) compound Pinate Entire Hardwood North America
Acer japonicum
(Fernleaf maple) Simple palmate Incised, lobed, parted margin Hardwood North America
12
Betula nigra
(River birch) Simple Pinnate Double serrate margin Hardwood South Eastern United States
Betula papyrifera
(paper birch ) Simple Pinnate Double serrate margin
Hardwood North America
13
Betula populifolia
(Gray birch) Simple Pinnate Double serrate Hardwood North America
Betula pendula
(European birch) Simple Pinnate Double serrate margin Hardwood North America
14
Pseudotsuga menziesii
(Douglas fir) Simple Parallel Entire margin Softwood North America
Tsuga canadensis
(canadian hemlock) Simple Parallel Entire margin Softwood Nova Scotia to Eastern Minnesota
15
Thuja occidentalis
(cedar) Simple Impossible to note Entire margin Softwood North America
Juniperus virginiana
(Red cedar) Simple Impossible to identify Margin is entire with terminal spine Softwood Eastern United States
16
Suriana maritima
(Bay cedar) Simple Impossible to identify Margin is entire and the leaf shape is spatulate Shrub Florida
Ulmus crassifolia
(Cedar elm) Simple Pinnate Obovate shaped leaf with serrated margins Softwood North America
17
Calocedrus decurrens
( California incensed cedar) Simple Pinnate Margin is entire with the leaf shape scale-like Softwood North America
Pseudolarix kaempferi
(Golden larch) Simple parallel Leaf has an entire margin and is needle-like Softwood Pacific NorthWest
18
Eugenia uniflora
(Surinam cherry) Simple Pinnate Leaf is ovate shaped with an entire margin Shrub Central and southern United States
Prunus caroliniana
(Carolina Laurelcherry) Simple Pinnate Leaf is oblong shaped with entire margins Shrub Southeastern United States
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Identification Of Trees Through Leaves
Advantages of compound and simple leaves
Compound leaves have the advantage of being able to minimize the surface area of the leaf that is exposed to wind and sunshine thus reducing the rate of evaporation on the other hand simple leaves tend to have a larger surface area for absorbing sunlight compared to compound leaves . This is beneficial in photosynthesis
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Practical/Economic uses of some of the plants identified
Different trees have varied uses. Cherry Laurels are utilized as garden plans mainly for aesthetic purposes. Douglas fir is mainly utilized in the wood industry to produce furniture Red maple is used not only as an ornamental plant but also in the production of saw timber and pulpwood furniture. Paper birch is used in furniture production and also in fuel. Eastern and red cedar are believed to have medicinal properties and are often used for coughs and joint pains.
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Dichotomous Key and its use.
This is a scientific key scheme that is used to identify plants and animals based on the categorization by their observable characteristics
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State State Flower State tree
Alabama Camellia japonica(Camellia) Hydrangea quercifolia (oakleaf hydrangea)
Georgia Rosa laevigata
(Cherokee rose) Rhododendron
(Azalea)
23
Illinois Viola (Violet)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Michigan Pyrus conoraria (Apple blossom) Pinus Strobus
(Eastern White pine)
24
New Jersey Viola sororia
(Violet) Quercus rubra
(Northern red oak)
New Mexico Yucca
Yucca flower Pinus edulis
(pinon pine)
25
New York Rosa
Rose Acer saccharum
(sugar maple)
Oregon Mahonia aquifolium
(Oregon grape) Pseudotsuga menziesii
(Douglas fir)
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Texas Lupinus sp
(Bluebonnet sp.) Carya illinoinensis
(pecan)
Washington Rhododendron maximum
Rhododendron Tsuga heterophylla
(western hemlock)
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References
Chaki, J., Parekh, R., & Bhattacharya, S. (2020). Plant leaf classification using multiple descriptors: A hierarchical approach. Journal of King Saud University-Computer and Information Sciences, 32(10), 1158-1172.
Grover, M. (2021). An Overview on the Ornamental Coniferous Tree Cedrus deodara (Roxburgh) G. Don (Himalayan Cedar). Journal of Ayurveda and Integrated Medical Sciences, 6(4), 291-302.
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