Hello,

I have lots of trees in my yard. For years I never identified them,
or even appreciated what each tree provided in characteristics or
individuality to the forest.

But over the past few weeks I've been pursuing leaf identification at
a frantic pace, enjoying using the web and learning about the various
trees and their abilities. I learned about such trees as the tulip
poplar, sassafras, basswood, honeylocust, hornbeam, the difference
between red & white oaks and many others.

However, there is one tree that slightly eludes me. Around here It is
an extremely tall tree, sometimes even taller than the oaks. One was
hit by lightning or by wind and now over 30 feet of it hangs over the
forest, waiting to either survive a few more years or to finally rot
and collapse. From what I've found online it looks like it might be a
boxelder, since the 3-leaf poison-ivy-type leaf structure looks
similar, but my tree's 3-leaves were much smoother than the pictures
I've seen. There are no hickory nuts on it, so I can guess it's not
a hickory The bark is very light gray, but not as white as a white
oak's.

Also one more question - do shagbark hickory's ultimately lose their
shagginess and gain a tougher, thicker-looking bark? I am asking
because I've seed trees I thought were large hickories (3 foot dia
trunk), but did not have the shaggy bark of younger-looking hickories.


Thanks very much,
Dan
northwest NJ

Dirr describes the leaves of Boxelder (Acer negundo) thus:

"Opposite, pinnately compound, 3 to 5 (7 to 9) leaflets, ovate or
lance-oblong, 2 to 4" long, coarsely serrate or terminal one lobed, bright
green above, glabrous, lighter green beneath and slightly pubescent or
eventually glabrous; petiole---2 to 3" long."

So I doubt it's Boxelder.

One of the best books I've found for keying out trees and shrubs is
'Peterson's Field Guide to Trees of North America'...

In answer to your question, no, Shagbark Hickory's bark only becomes more
shaggy with time..

Dave


"dstvns" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I have lots of trees in my yard. For years I never identified them,
or even appreciated what each tree provided in characteristics or
individuality to the forest.

But over the past few weeks I've been pursuing leaf identification at
a frantic pace, enjoying using the web and learning about the various
trees and their abilities. I learned about such trees as the tulip
poplar, sassafras, basswood, honeylocust, hornbeam, the difference
between red & white oaks and many others.

However, there is one tree that slightly eludes me. Around here It is
an extremely tall tree, sometimes even taller than the oaks. One was
hit by lightning or by wind and now over 30 feet of it hangs over the
forest, waiting to either survive a few more years or to finally rot
and collapse. From what I've found online it looks like it might be a
boxelder, since the 3-leaf poison-ivy-type leaf structure looks
similar, but my tree's 3-leaves were much smoother than the pictures
I've seen. There are no hickory nuts on it, so I can guess it's not
a hickory The bark is very light gray, but not as white as a white
oak's.

Also one more question - do shagbark hickory's ultimately lose their
shagginess and gain a tougher, thicker-looking bark? I am asking
because I've seed trees I thought were large hickories (3 foot dia
trunk), but did not have the shaggy bark of younger-looking hickories.


Thanks very much,
Dan
northwest NJ

In article , "David J Bockman" wrote:

In answer to your question, no, Shagbark Hickory's bark only becomes more
shaggy with time..

Also one more question - do shagbark hickory's ultimately lose their
shagginess and gain a tougher, thicker-looking bark? I am asking
because I've seed trees I thought were large hickories (3 foot dia
trunk), but did not have the shaggy bark of younger-looking hickories.

There's a tree in Ohio (probably in NJ also) whose nuts look _kind_ of
like hickory, but the tree has smooth bark and the nuts aren't good to
eat. Our family used to call them pignuts.

cheers,

Marj

* * *
Marj Tiefert: http://www.mindspring.com/~mtiefert/
Mediterranean Garden Shop: http://stores.tiefert.com/garden/
In Sunset zone 14-mild

There are a few ways to Identify a boxelder. The one and 2 year old stems will
be green still and smell HORRIBLE when you crush or bruise them. Also, they
have opposite leaves like all maples, which is a charachteristic shared by only
a handful of trees. Another way to tell is if the above are true and the leaf
scars almost encircle the stem. Not exactly an arisocratic tree, but it serves
its purpose.

Toad

On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 14:40:04 GMT, "David J Bockman"
wrote:

Dirr describes the leaves of Boxelder (Acer negundo) thus:

"Opposite, pinnately compound, 3 to 5 (7 to 9) leaflets, ovate or
lance-oblong, 2 to 4" long, coarsely serrate or terminal one lobed, bright
green above, glabrous, lighter green beneath and slightly pubescent or
eventually glabrous; petiole---2 to 3" long."

So I doubt it's Boxelder.

I think it might be a white ash. I looked up some pictures online and
the 3-leaf arrangement looks very familiar, albeit the leaves on these
trees look "whispier", much thinner than the picture of ash leaves
online. The bark is also a gray color, and makes occasional
"diamonds" while going up the tree. These trees are tall, some are
taller than the resident oaks, but most are about average to all the
other trees.

Dan

If you can post good quality images of the bark and leaf arrangement to
ABPG, I'm sure we can nail the ID. I agree that the characteristics you've
shared so far are along the lines of white ash, especially the diamond
pattern to the bark. Look around on the ground for examples of the fruit--
if it's ash there will be samaras that look like canoe paddles, 1-2" long
and about one-quarter inch wide.

Dave

"dstvns" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 14:40:04 GMT, "David J Bockman"
wrote:

Dirr describes the leaves of Boxelder (Acer negundo) thus:

"Opposite, pinnately compound, 3 to 5 (7 to 9) leaflets, ovate or
lance-oblong, 2 to 4" long, coarsely serrate or terminal one lobed,
bright
green above, glabrous, lighter green beneath and slightly pubescent or
eventually glabrous; petiole---2 to 3" long."

So I doubt it's Boxelder.

I think it might be a white ash. I looked up some pictures online and
the 3-leaf arrangement looks very familiar, albeit the leaves on these
trees look "whispier", much thinner than the picture of ash leaves
online. The bark is also a gray color, and makes occasional
"diamonds" while going up the tree. These trees are tall, some are
taller than the resident oaks, but most are about average to all the
other trees.

Dan