Trees and Plants
95 flashcards by MentisLibrary
Identify trees and plants by leaf, bark, and growth habit, with the field marks that separate lookalikes. Includes scientific names, habitat notes, and the plant structure behind how they all work.
- Which tree has smooth gray bark that stays unwrinkled for its whole life and holds coppery dead leaves through winter?
- American beech
- Which tree peels in thin white papery sheets from its trunk?
- Paper birch
- Which large tree has patchy bark that flakes off to leave a white and greenish camouflage pattern on the upper trunk?
- American sycamore
- Which hickory has bark that curls away from the trunk in long loose vertical plates?
- Shagbark hickory
- Which oak group has leaves with rounded lobes and acorns that mature in one season?
- The white oak group
- Which oak has leaves with sharply pointed, bristle-tipped lobes and dark furrowed bark with smooth stripes?
- Northern red oak
- Which maple has bright red twigs, red flowers in very early spring, and leaves with shallow V-shaped notches between lobes?
- Red maple
- Which maple has leaves with U-shaped notches between smooth-edged lobes and is tapped for syrup?
- Sugar maple
- Which tree has leaves shaped like a tulip or a cat's face with a flat cut-off tip?
- Tulip tree
- Which tree has star-shaped leaves and spiky round seed balls that litter the ground?
- Sweetgum
- Which tree has leaves that may be unlobed, mitten-shaped, or three-lobed on the same plant, with a root beer scent?
- Sassafras
- Which native tree has heart-shaped leaves and magenta-pink flowers that bloom directly on bare branches?
- Eastern redbud
- Which small understory tree has four large white bracts around a tiny central flower cluster?
- Flowering dogwood
- Which conifer has soft flexible needles bundled in groups of five?
- Eastern white pine
- Which conifer has short flat needles with two white stripes underneath and tiny cones under 2 centimeters?
- Eastern hemlock
- Which conifer has flat needles attached directly to the twig by a suction-cup base and cones that stand upright?
- Balsam fir
- Which conifer has sharp square needles that roll easily between your fingers and hanging cones?
- Spruce
- Which western conifer has cones with distinctive three-pointed bracts sticking out between the scales?
- Douglas fir
- Which tree is the tallest species on Earth?
- Coast redwood
- Which tree is the largest on Earth by trunk volume?
- Giant sequoia
- Which tree includes the oldest known non-clonal living individuals?
- Great Basin bristlecone pine
- Which conifer drops all its needles every autumn and grows in swamps?
- Bald cypress
- Which northern conifer turns golden and drops its needles each fall?
- Tamarack, also called eastern larch
- Which tree has fan-shaped leaves with forked veins and is the only survivor of an ancient plant lineage?
- Ginkgo
- Which oak of the southeastern coast keeps its leaves year round and spreads into enormous horizontal limbs?
- Southern live oak
- Which tree has flat-stalked leaves that flutter in the slightest breeze and smooth white-green bark?
- Quaking aspen
- Which large fast-growing tree of river bottoms has triangular leaves and releases cottony seeds in early summer?
- Eastern cottonwood
- Which tree has long drooping branch tips that sweep the ground beside ponds?
- Weeping willow
- Which tree has fern-like compound leaves, long twisted brown seed pods, and often fierce branching thorns on the trunk?
- Honey locust
- Which tree has paired thorns at the leaf base, hanging white pea-like flowers, and rot-resistant wood?
- Black locust