Freeman's Maple - Acer X freemanii



The tree in it's attempt to take over that poor little old lady. RUN LITTLE OLD LADY!

This is a natural hybrid of A. rubrum and A. saccharum -> red maple and silver maple.
It has the best traits of both species: it grows faster than red maple; it has stronger wood and better fall color (remember, red maples have GREAT fall color, but silvers suck).







I like this bark better than some
It's not so.. boring.
Look, texture! Brown tones! Highlights!



There is a long petiole (quite long; and the petiole is the connector between the base of the leaf and the stem) and it's red. Red maples aren't consistently much of anything - they can be red, or not, or striped; they can have open canopies, or not; you get the idea. Remember? Well, Freeman's Maple tends to be a bit more consistent.

 It also doesn't have the silver under the leaf  and has deeply dissected lobes (think fingers as opposed to paws: paws tend to be rounded with very little in-between-the-toes space, while fingers have a ton of space between the toes). There are 3 lobes. This sets it way apart from the two species it was born from.

These are the samaras - seeds. They're very distinctive. If you remember the norway, they were glossy and a fresh froggy-green color. These are, well, red. Look how pretty they actually are!

Norway Maple - A. platanoides

This is a native of northern Europe, and once was one of the most commonly planted shade-and-street trees in the US. It has rapid growth and tolerates urban conditions such as air pollutants, cold temperatures and poor soils. It does lift up sidewalks with the roots, however, and the samaras get everywhere (much like any other maple, or the acorns from oaks). It is considered invasive and is prohibted to plant in MA; Connecticut considers it to be invasive but hasn't banned it, yet.




Samaras



The leaf, which can be confused with Sugar Maple



Zone 7 is the furthest south it is willing to travel.
Siting the species into a cool microclimate will aid in successfull establishment (planting it in cool places makes it happy).
There are plenty of cultivars (plants hybridized and grown for specific reasons, and don't occur naturally) that are supposed to be prettier, or have more heat tolerance, so this tree is doing its best to be diverse.

A cute tree, I think.



 The tree is obviously a bit rounded and doesn't grow out quite as much as other maples. It is a cute little thing, but apparently it's a pest in some places (meaning it puts other trees out, trying to take over and whatnot - otherwise known as 'invasive'). Even so, I happen to like it.

White Oak - Q. alba



This is in Baltimore at the UMD Botanical Gardens, or some such.



The spread on this tree can be extremely wide. This is why it is recommended to give it a LOT of reach-room!

White oaks set the standard for a lot of other oaks. A very large tree when fully grown, it grows into an awe-inspiring oval or rounded outline. The leaves are dark green or blue-green and have rounded lobes that turn to brown, red or burgundy in the fall. This is a tree best transplanted only when young, and lives for quite some time. Considering it's grandeur (and the fact that it doesn't branch like a Bur Oak), this is a tree that's fairly simple to identify.

This can easily be found here: University of Connecticut

The tree enjoys full sun and demands it: it'll grow over just about anything else, becoming a fantastic shade tree. It takes up a pretty large area, but is one of the most desirable, attractive oaks available.

It does enjoy more acidic soil and dislikes being disturbed (not a fan of compaction, construction). It is a slow growing tree, which isn't a surprise due to its size and wood strength. One must be cautious of gypsy moths (kill on sight!) Generally, though, damage is rarely significant.





These are young spring-growth leaves



White, chunky bark is attractive year round - if you're into white, chunky bark.

 This is a GREAT tree to preserve if it is located on a property that may have some contruction done. But, this is also one of those trees that can take a beating from construction. Be extra careful when it comes to protecting large trees such as this, because it can take years before it actually shows wear and tear - and by then, we generally have moved on and quit worrying, right?
 



Acorns are fairly large and the caps appear to cover perhaps a half of the nut.



Pre-flood!

Hello everyone!
I have about 65 plants that we've gone over in the course. I've gone over 8 here. You can see why I was a bit disappointed in falling behind.
You can also see why I named this 'pre-flood'. I intend to shove out as many plants as possible in the next week. I will put up as many pictures for ID purposes as possible but I will NOT be editing any, or adding any of my own embellishments. We get enough of that with the Plant ID weekly sheets (and due to how we were rained out yesterday, we get to put about 30 into one assignment in two weeks. Lovely.)

So, I will do my best to make sense. I also have a lot of other homework and studies to get to, but I'm doing my best to keep this at the top of my priority list. I intend to shove out about 13-15 trees a day to get caught up.


In the future, however, there will be 'shrubs and small trees', which include things such as crepe myrtles and hydrangea. So, things should become a lot more colorful and interesting. =)

Happy planting!

Updates coming!

I have a lot of plants to go over and not a lot of time (today), BUT after my quiz today I should have time to compile all 48+ trees (that includes what I've already posted) and begin putting them here.
I do apologize. I've fallen a little behind and then caught a virus, so I'm scrambling to catch up. I've got a plan, though, so things should get back to the way I intended them to be -- soon!

                               Bald Cypress Trees                                                                                                                                    upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Taxodium_distichum_NRCSMS01010.jpg

American Elm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_elm

Ulmus americana is the tree you're thinking of, if you know anything about popular US trees that happened to nearly get wiped out because of Dutch Elm Disease. It's a larger tree, as one can see, and was practically perfect: it's fast growing but still has good wood (a lot of fast growing trees stink when it comes to wood quality); it rarely splits  - limbs can have some angles and it deals with that just fine; the internal veins of the tree are actually criss-crossed and this adds some strength to the wood. 

Due to its awesomeness it became the most widely planted tree in the US. 

People planted it everywhere. It went in yards, down streetsides.. The fungus would then go from one tree to the next and the next: limbs often touched each other, which was, in hindsight, a bad idea.

Now we have genus' (cultivars: not naturally occurring 'hybrids') that were bred to fight off Dutch Elm Disease. The disease was easily spread by beetles carrying the fungal infection, which essentially would freak out the tree and it would begin to start losing limbs (imagine cutting off body parts to escape never-ending gangrene, or flesh eating disease.)  Eventually, the whole tree dies from its own attempt to block off the offending presence of the fungus. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_elm

I happen to like the bark. It has some shape to it, and some highlights. It has no real uniform presence, but rather seems to have furrows that flow down the trunk as if water used to exist on it. 

http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/AmericanElm/AmericanElmLeafWeb.jpg

 These leaves are what we call pinnate: there are 7, where the odd-leaf-out is at the tip. They're serrated and rough (like the willow, remember?) and are bilaterally asymmetrical: folding them in half doesn't give any superimposition; one side of the half will be bigger than the other.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_elm

The tree has decent fall color, but if fall color is what you're looking for then I'd personally go elsewhere. However, I can't really say that's a good idea: the American Elm is a very pretty, robust type of tree. Dutch Elm, of course, is always a fear, but there are cultivars being developed that resist this problem better and better as time goes on. Eventually, our pretty tree will be back. I wonder if it'll be as popular once more??

Willow Oak

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_oak

Otherwise known as Quercus phellos, is a big tree that transplants easily, grows easily and takes 'bad' soils. If one remembers about trees from my earlier posts, I seemed to lean toward the idea that fast-growing large trees like to toss limbs after a while. This one will toss a few, but not as badly as some similarly-growing trees. 

They have a full crown and generally grow to be pretty symmetrical. They grow down south pretty readily; up north, the similar option to cultivate is the pin oak. I've heard good things about both; people seem pretty bias toward one or the other for various reasons, but it's too hot down here for a pin oak.

The willow oak is pretty common here on Clemson campus, and have a nice fall color - usually. From what I've seen, the tree can be green, red or yellowy, which isn't half bad. It's commonly planted because of the good qualities I've mentioned, but it also gets bigger than some planners expect. It ends up putting roots through sidewalks and things because of that.

http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/quph50728.jpg

See the leaves? They cluster at the end (terminal bud). That's an oak trait. Maples, if you remember, like to go in pairs and don't really cluster like this at the end of the limb. Oaks tend to alternate and have two general differences: red oaks tend to have pointy little leaves like this picture up here. White oaks have rounded-tipped leaves. The two cannot interbreed, and so knowing how their leaves are (pointed or dull and rounded) is really helpful in identifying it.

forestfarm.com/images/products/3833/quph100v3.jpg

Notably, it's called a willow oak for a reason: it has leaves that are similar to a weeping willow (such as the Babylon Weeping Willow, Salix babylonica) but, apart from that, they aren't incredibly similar. Weeping willow, well, weeps, for one. If that doesn't tip you off, then I've got bad news for you.

gardens.missouri.edu/about/descriptions/treetrails/TTmaps/LowryMallPhotos/lowryweb/Quercus-phellos-fall-lg.jpg

forestry.sfasu.edu/faculty/jstovall/dendro//
images/tree_photos/querphel/querphel_fruit1.jpg

cas.vanderbilt.edu/
bioimages/biohires/q/hquph--fr15633.jpg

 This is a large tree.
 It has tiny acorns.
 Tiny, cute little acorns.

The bark is slightly furrowed and a medium-dark brown-grey sort of tone; I think I'd be careful not to mistake this with pine, myself, but I may be weird (no one opposes this).

http://www.discoverlife.org/IM/I_SB/0111/320/Quercus_phellos,_bark_-_of_a_large_tree,I_SB11159.jpg

Bald Cypress

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_cypress

I put this as the header photo for a particular reason. I think whenever I come up with bald cypress (otherwise known as Taxodium distichum), I think I'll likely think of bogs and marshes. A fan of wet places (or, at least, it seems perfectly fine being in those types of places; the ones on campus aren't exactly flooded, so it seems to be fine either way) it puts up little 'knees'. They were once thought to help the plant 'breath' - to collect or let off different gases depending on its needs - but that school of thought is out the window. Currently, it's thought that these growths are to keep the soil from washing away too far from the roots, like a truss.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_cypress

Pyramidal in shape, the tree has needles year round but is not evergreen: they yellow and dry out, then fall off. They come back the next year, though; this process will scare some people, making them think they're little Christmas tree had died off. 

The tree is about a zone 6, and can reach up to around D.C. and Philadelphia before it just gets too cold - but it always keeps to the coast.

The tree is pretty great, though, and lends a nice, soft pine kind of feel to the landscape. It seems to grow more up than out (hence the pyramidal shape), so it isn't great for shade. I do like seeing them on campus: they seem to stick out from all the other trees. It's also the state tree of Louisiana as of 1963. I don't know about you, but when I think of Louisiana I think of swamps.

The needles give it a very soft appearance, and they feel similar to how they appear. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_cypress

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_cypress

The cones are little (not near the size you think of squirrels chewing on from those huge pines). 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_cypress

The bark is shallow, though, and very easily damaged. It does appear very delicate, especially in comparison to things such as the maples I've posted about. It looks flaky. 

Ginkgo!

Ginkgo biloba is a neat tree.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginko_biloba

Ginkgo is a large tree that will grow to nicely avoid buildings. A lot of trees (like the ash outside my window that I need to remove) love to just grow into whatever. So, from a landscaping standpoint, this unique tree is a good choice to place in a busier location. We have a few on campus, which are well looked after and most people don't pay them much mind. There's also another, though, in a parking lot in downtown Clemson that I didn't know was there until this afternoon.


This tree is essentially bullet proof. It's okay with rain, heat, bugs, you name it. Not much really happens to it, but it doesn't really like road salt  or compaction very much. Who does, though? Walk all over your buddies and see how they like it. Same general idea with the root systems of a lot of plants. They need space in that soil to breathe. Generally, though, considering this tree should be extinct, I think it's faring pretty well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginko_biloba

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginko_biloba

The yellow leaves are how they look in the fall, which I think is really pretty. Reminds me of bananas as fans. 

The veination is neat: it's fanned out as an oddly-palmate type of thing. Each vein is the same width. It's an extremely primitive way of doing things - like liverwort or seaweed. In the scheme of plant development, these came before other, more popular plants, such as angiosperms (flowering ones) and conifers. 

Essentially, the plant is outdated, but seems to be doing just fine on campus.

The plant was going to go extinct, but some monks saved it. Asian cuisine loves the nuts, and the leaves are good for helping memory retention - from what I understand. I've also watched a guy eat one, and it didn't seem to be all that tasty, so I think I'll stick with an extract if I feel forgetful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginko_biloba

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginko_biloba

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginko_biloba

There are male and female trees, strictly speaking. A lot of plants will have parts from both sexes, but not these guys. The guys (on the left) have the flowers. The females receive pollen much - at least, how I see it - like pine trees. The 'fruits' are technically cones, considering the seed doesn't form in an ovary. Picky picky little details like that mean that the stinky, fleshy pulp around the seed isn't really fruit.
Call it what you will, there's no way I want to open one. It apparently smells like rancid butter. Ew.





Nerd-fact: This is the only land-plant that has sperm that swim with a flagellum. The female has her ovary on the surface, and in wet climates (think ferns) this was an especially convenient way to propagate seed. Generally, though, angiosperms took over (conifers like to just puff out as much of their mess as possible and hope it lands on a girl part somewhere else, which is why I hate them) because, partially, of their great reproductive method. Again, this plant is pretty well out-dated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginko_biloba

There's the fruit! People love that stuff (the seed, not the..'fruit'.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginko_biloba

I think this photo is GORGEOUS. Look at that fall color! It is a big tree, so I wouldn't put it on a 1/4 acre lot (I'm still unsure why it's in a parking lot downtown; who decided on that? Really?) but if there IS one around it looks brilliant! The course I'm taking is 'Growing Fall Plants', hence the fall-color emphasis I've been using lately.



The plant has good, strong wood, and a decent - not fast - growth rate. It takes horrible soils (just doesn't like a lot of road-salt and people walking on it). It's pretty easy to get along with. It would be hard to say if it's native, considering it's.. well, it's an oddity as far as survival goes. It lives because people wanted it to, pretty much; I doubt it'd be around if the Chinese weren't so appreciative of ginkgo seeds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginko_biloba

This is the bark. I think it's much prettier than the Acer saccharum was (it was gray-brown and whatnot). The plant, generally, just looks happier and less gloomy than some of the others we've looked at.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginko_biloba

Sugar Maple

http://www.quick-growing-trees.com/product_images/h/635/sn_maple_tree__56135_zoom.jpg

This is another tree from campus that I enjoyed over the fall. Between this and the red maple, I really felt like I wasn't down South anymore; the famed changing of the leaves up north (which is banked on pretty heavily, and people do plant just because of tourism) happens down here a little bit, as seen with trees like this one.

Quick fact: this is the Canadian flag tree leaf. Neat, huh?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_saccharum

As one can see, it's a little more rounded and dense than the other maples I've put up so far. It's a pretty symmetrical type of tree, generally with five similarly-sized major lobes, and they're all palmate: each lobe and vein originate from a central point at the base of the leaf. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_saccharum

Again, remember how the leaves will alternate. 

I think these are a little pointier than the Silver Maple's leaves were. I think the tips of leaves help me out really well in remembering what they are. Everyone's going to have their own identification reason - be it the flag, or the color, or the thickness of the leaf, or the obvious palmation - but this one is pretty distinctive. 

If I remember correctly, the leaf is a bit bigger than the red maple (Acer rubrum) and a lot shallower with the lobe dissection than the Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum; oh yeah, I rock.)

I stuck in some color variation for fun. I thought it was pretty. I love leaves when they change. I must have played with them too much as a kid, or something.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_saccharum

It's got great fall color and would definitely light up a landscape for the season. It's not exactly ugly with spring leaves, either. I rather like the shape, myself. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_saccharum

That's right! It's the syrup tree. However, they kind of need snowy-temperatures to really get the sap going.

How it works is the plant needs a cold season to do its thing. The heat really wears it out, meaning that it uses up more of its stored energy to deal with things than it would further up north. The tree's limit really is around South Carolina (and it doesn't exactly look thrilled to be here in the first place). 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_saccharum

These are smaller winged samaras than some of the others, and less rounded in appearance than the silver maple (Acer saccharinum). There also doesn't seem to be as much call for coloration in the seed, although I could be wrong about that. The red maple (Acer rubrum) seemed to have quite a lot more than this picture here has, but, as I've said before, maples seem to like to do whatever they want.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_saccharum

Again, I've pulled up a bark photo. It's a little darker than some of the others, and also grooved. It generally has smooth, gray bark which has giant pieces peel off - but that's more common further north than it is down here.

The tree is pretty gorgeous, and useful in colder states, but doesn't like it down south or in the heat very much. It also isn't great in parking lots - doesn't like road salt or compaction at all. Generally speaking, it's what I'd call a farm-tree: keep it somewhere where people and cars won't really be interfering with it and it should be fine. I always picture goats walking around it, using it for cover in the rain, or something.