Name: Theresa Quelch

Mystery Tree No: 1

Date Given: 9/24/2011

My Identification: Family: Pinaceae Genus/Species: Cedrus atlantica Common Name: Atlas Cedar Sources Used For Identification: I used some internet sites to help me Id this tree, as the books had little info: http://www.etsu.edu/arboretum/totwblueatlas.html http://oregonstate.edu/trees/conifer_genera/true_cedar.html The Sibley Guide to Trees by David Allen Sibley 2009 pages: 37 Harlow and Harrars Textbook of Dendrology by Hardin et al ninth edition 2001 pages: 103

Site Description: The tree was tall and growing outside the main campus buildings in a small grove of evergreens. It was along the path to the K and L wings of campus. The ground was moist form recent rain and there were needles on the ground. The other trees nearby were Pinus rigida and Pinus echinata. Tree Description: Leaves: Are needles that grow off little shoots from the twig. They are blue green in color and have white lines that make them look silvery from afar. Needles measure about 2 cm long. Close inspection shows they grow off little wood pegs around the little short shoots off the twig. Appears to be about 10 around the shoot. And the spaces between the circles of needles are about 0.3 cm. Twiggs: medium brown color. Very thin. Has short twiggy shoots growing off of it on which the needles grow. Bark on twigs is rough and close examination it has very shallow ridges and furrows. Twig is very flexible. Needles will fall easily from the short twiggy shoots. Cones: There was a small cone on the twig about 2 cm long. It sat upright on the twig, and also came from the top of one of the shirt twiggy shoots. It was yellow brown in color. And after a couple days small scales opened up and when handled, white pollen came out. This was obviously a male cone. Bark: The bark was grey and scaly. It appeared to be thinner then Pinus rigida bark, but looked very pine like anyway. Conclusion: Looking at this tree I knew it was a gymnosperm and that the strange way the needles grew off the short twiggy shoots was going to make it easier to ID. However not finding much in the books to go from, I

turned to internet sites. I was able to find the information using the twigs and needles mostly, as well as the way the cone grew upright instead of hanging. For a final conformation once I was 90% sure, I took a trip to my local nursery and found a weeping atlas cedar that had twigs with the same look to them. Therefore I am pretty certain that this tree is the Cedrus atlantica. Mystery Tree No: 2

My Identification: Family: Caesalpiniaceae Genus/Species: Cercis canadensis

Common Name: Eastern Redbud Books Used For Identification: I used two books from my personal collection: The Sibley Guide to Trees by David Allen Sibley 2009 pages: 131 Harlow and Harrars Textbook of Dendrology by Hardin et al ninth edition 2001 pages: 421

Site Description: The tree was growing in a garden created by the construction workers working on the new campus center at Stockton College. It was a newly made garden with no grasses and covered in mulch with small stones where there was probably supposed to be a drainage area. Most likely this area was placed there to catch the run off form the campus center, as well as for aesthetic and ornamental purposes. Tree Description: Leaves: were reniform in shape and had palmate veination. They were a yellow green color. Sample leaves were about 6 cm long and about 5 cm wide. They had 7 veins branching off of the leaf stem. The leaf stem was about 2 cm long. Margins are entire. Leaves have alternate branching. Twiggs: Are brown in color with small visible black lenticels. Smooth hairless bark on twigs. Pith looks solid homogeneous and white in color. No buds noticeable but prominent leaf scars. Bark: Smooth grey bark that branches off form the main trunk 3 inches above the ground. Branches off into several locations. Overall tree was very shrub like and probably only a maximum of 6 ft high. Crown was sort of round. Branches lacked leaves on the lower half and appeared to have a higher concentration of leaves at the top of the tree. Fruit- near the top of the tree one single legume was noticed growing off the branch itself. Pod was dark reddish brown and flat. It was about 7 cm long. Inside there were four small seeds measuring about cm. The seeds were brown, some marbled with black. They were oval and flat. Conclusion: Finding the single legume still attached to the branch was a good find. That single legume narrowed down my search significantly. The reniform leaves were the next thing to help me narrow down my

search. Flipping through Sibleys guide (2009) it was easy to see that the only legume with reniform leaves was the Redbud. The leaves having a more pointed tip made it more likely that this tree was an Eastern redbud. Harlow et al (2001) gave a better picture into the lack of terminal bud and leaf scars, as well as backing up the Sibley guides pictures with better word descriptions. This tree was also intentionally planted as an ornamental garden tree. Keeping all that in mind I will stick to the identity of the Cercis canadensis for this tree. Mystery Tree No: 3

My Identification: Family: Betulaceae Genus/Species: Betula nigra

Common Name: River Birch Books Used For Identification: I used two books from my personal collection:

The Sibley Guide to Trees by David Allen Sibley 2009 pages: 158 Harlow and Harrars Textbook of Dendrology by Hardin et al ninth edition 2001 pages: 359-361, 369-370 Site Description: The tree was growing in what appeared to be a rain garden just outside of the lower E wing on the side facing the parking lots of the Stockton Campus, Pomona, New Jersey. There were various other plants there including grasses on the ground and another tree of the same type in this small garden like area. This leads me to believe that this tree was planted there and did not occur naturally. Tree Description: Leaves: are ovate with acute tip. Margins were doubly serrate. Sample leaves range form 3-4 inches. Leaves are green and lighter green underneath. They also appear to be branching alternately. The leaf veins branch off one main vein that goes along the center of the leaf. The side veins vary from alternate branching off the main to opposite branching off the main vein. They appear to be equaldistant from each other. Leaves also come off of a stem about 2 cm long between twig end and leaf beginning. Twiggs: exhibit alternate branching. Twiggs and branches seem to arc overhead and droop down toward the ground. Under close examination the twigs have light fuzz on them, appearing. The twigs are a dark reddish brown color and also have visible white lenticels. There were Small lateral buds growing along the twigs, between them and the leaves. These buds are also fuzzy. Under close examination with a microscope the fuzziness looked pubescent. When cut the twigs gave off a strong aromatic wintergreen smell.

Bark: The bole of the tree had thin peeling bark from the ground up. The inner bark was a light orange color. There was only one trunk with branches coming off the tree at least 6 foot form the ground. Conclusion: I knew the peeling bark to be a tell-tale sign of a birch; however the orange color made me think it was not the White or paper birch that I am used to seeing. After reading Harlow et al (2001) and looking at the pictures the leaves fit Betula nigra more than the Betula papyrifera. The text also mentioned the arcing habit of the branches and twigs, its unique bark coloring, and its use as an ornamental plant in both wet and dry areas. Therefore, with all these things in mind, I have identified this tree to be the Betula nigra or River Birch.