Trees

This week I took a quick trip to explore what trees Scioto Park in Dublin, Ohio had to offer. I walked along the Scioto riverbank to find all 8 species.

Luckily, my tree blindness began to be last summer when I took a research internship at The Dawes Arboretum, where I learned a few trees I saw today – I still keyed them out to practice using a dichotomous key, but they were recognizable from my work at the arboretum.

Platanus occidentalis – American sycamore

  • The American sycamore tree is a well distinguished gentleman/gentlewoman. It has a mottled bark on older trees that almost looks like camouflage, and often grows by riverbanks. It has alternate leaves that are simple and palmately shaped (lobed) with bristle tips, looking similar to a maple.
  • When I see a sycamore by a riverbank, I think that the tree is at home.
  • The American sycamore is thought of as the ‘most massive tree of the eastern United States.’ (Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Miflin, 204 pp.)
  • Sycamore sap makes a pleasant drink (Platanus occidentalis. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – The University of Texas at Austin. (n.d.). https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=Ploc).

Gymnocladus dioica – Coffee-tree

  • The first thought someone might think when looking at a coffee-tree is ‘what the heck is this?’ It’s leaves are quite massive, bi-pinnately compound (the leaflets have leaflets!), and the rachis is LONG! There are so many leaflets on each leaf that I would have a hard time counting them all (numbers are hard).
  • When looking at a coffee-tree, I wonder how it’s comfortable. The tree just simply looks uncomfortable to me.
  • The coffee-tree has been reported to make cattle sick when it’s fruits drop into bodies of water used for livestock, as the pulp between its seeds seems to be poisonous (Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Miflin, 147 pp.)
  • The coffee-tree is hardy to pollution and tolerant of many soil types, making it a popular tree for urban areas (Kentucky Coffeetree: Gymnocladus Dioicus. The Morton Arboretum. (2024, March 28). https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/kentucky-coffeetree/).

Betula nigra – river birch

  • The river birch is an interesting tree with doubly-serrate simple leaves that alternate on the branches. While this river birch I found is a little bit rough around the edges, it is typically a pleasing tree because it’s symmetrical in growth. As the name suggests, it enjoys being in wetter areas, like the Scotio river bank.
  • When I saw this tree, I first thought it was an aspen because birch trees also like to shiver in the slightest breeze, like aspens, but then I realized its leaves were triangular and doubly serrate! I was a little sad because it is looking sad, but I was happy to see a river birch.
  • River birch seeds feed ruffled grouse and wild turkey (sometimes) (Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Miflin, 234 pp.)
  • The bark of river birch has many different colors, ranging from cream to red to brown to pink to grey, and peels often on more mature trees. (River birch, Betula nigra. Wisconsin Horticulture. (n.d.). https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/river-birch-betula-nigra/)

I was also fortunate enough to have taken the woody forest plants of Ohio (ENR 3321) last autumn, which further cured my tree blindness. While I could not entirely remember the common and/or scientific names of the trees I found in Scioto park, they were very familiar to me (like old friends!).

Catalpa bignoniodes – common catalpa

  • The common catalpa is a distinct tree due to its large, heart-shaped leaves with entire edges that happen to be in whorls!
  • When I see a catalpa, I am at awe in how large its leaves can get. This tree did not have fruit on it, but when there is fruit, I’m also in awe of how long the fruits can be!
  • Catalpa trees are fast growing, and used to be planted for fence posting, due to their upright nature (Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Miflin, 85 pp.)
  • The catalpa tree has long, green fruits that look like green beans – giving it the common name ‘the green bean tree.’ (Tree species highlight: Northern Catalpa. Tree Species Highlight: Northern Catalpa | Edmond, OK – Official Website. (n.d.). https://www.edmondok.gov/1543/Tree-Species-Highlight-Northern-Catalpa).

Quercus muehlenbergii – Chinquapin oak

  • The chinquapin oak is always a fun oak to spot, due to its wavy-edged bristle-tipped alternating leaves. It is often mistaken in my head for a chestnut oak, but I always remember that in general, chinquapin oaks are much sharper than chestnut oaks.
  • Seeing a chinquapin oak fills me with a little bit of confusion, as if I’m meeting a twin and I don’t know which twin it is until I notice a distinguishing birthmark. Good thing trees won’t notice!
  • A similar species, the dwarf chinquapin oak (or dwarf oak), has similar foliage to the chinquapin oak, but with less teeth and smaller leaves. (Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Miflin, 220-221 pp.)
  • Unlike most white oaks, the chinquapin oak likes alkaline soil (it’s a calciphile). (Quercus muehlenbergii. Quercus muehlenbergii (Chinkapin Oak, Chinquapin Oak, Oaks) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/quercus-muehlenbergii/)

Juglans nigra – black walnut

  • Black walnuts! What a tree. Many leaflets on this pinnately compound tree with alternating leaves, with very visible leaf buds. The buds (terminal and leaf) are furry! The foliage is distinguishable from butternut due to a slightly rounder terminal bud, and a terminal leaf that is often absent.
  • When I see a black walnut, I immediately recognize it, and for that I am happy to see this species of tree.
  • Black walnut trees are often used to make furniture due to its heavy and durable heartwood. (Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Miflin, 135 pp.)
  • The black walnut tree begins to fruit after 12-15 years, and is mostly self-pollinated. (Black walnut. Arbor Day Foundation. (n.d.). https://shop.arborday.org/treeguide/416?srsltid=AfmBOor13qO8UK4e69d1pcu6aupFXDdzhS7VyrB4xTBk0uDBgw0iAwyd)

Celtis occidentalis – American hackberry

  • Wow! This species looks rough, even if the tree you see is healthier than the one I photographed. Hackberry has rough leaves with an uneven base – alternate, simple, and serrate.
  • Hackberries often make me feel uncomfortable when I see them because they’re so … unfinished looking.
  • Fruits are called sugarberries and are eaten by many gamebirds (Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Miflin, 209 pp.).
  • Hackberries are related to elms, and have replaced many American elms after the arrival of the Dutch elm disease. (Weisenhorn, J. (n.d.). Common hackberry. UMN Extension. https://extension.umn.edu/trees-and-shrubs/common-hackberry).

Morus alba – white mulberry

  • White mulberries typically have multiple leaf lobing patterns, but in this picture they do not appear to be different at all! How strange. Mulberries have alternate, serrate, simple leaves. Sometimes they are lobed in mitten form, or have 3-5 lobes, or none! Leaves have fanned veins and are semi-heart shaped when unlobed. White mulberry buds are more reddish-brown than their red mulberry bud counterparts (which are green). The names do not match up.
  • When I see a white mulberry I get hungry because their fruits are delicious…
  • White mulberries were introduced by the British to start the silkworm industry … unsuccessfully. (Petrides, George A. 1972, Trees and Shrubs of Northeast and North Central US and Southeast and South Central Canada (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Miflin, 207 pp.).
  • White mulberry fruit is prone to staining everything, from sidewalks to clothing to skin, making it a high maintenance tree in a suburban wonderland. (Morus alba. Morus alba (White Mulberry).  North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/morus-alba/)

I hope you enjoyed reading this! I had a lot of fun writing it. Here are some beautiful plants I noticed when walking through Scioto Park:

I used the wildflower guide to key this out – it appears to be either Rosa rugosa or Rosa nitida due to the bristles continuing to the upper branches, being deeply veined in the leaves, and dark green. I would lean towards Rosa nitida due to the size of the flower (small) and the leaves being finely toothed.

One of my favorite plants – Impatiens capensis – or jewelweed. The leaves are great if you rub them in your hands and put them on an area itching from poison ivy!