Forest Trees of Illinois Part 11

THE flowering dogwood is rare in the northern third of the State. It is a small tree, growing under the larger forest trees, usually 15 to 30 feet in height and 6 to 12 inches in diameter, with a rather flat and spreading crown and short, often crooked trunk. The _bark_ is reddish-brown to black and broken up into small 4-sided scaly blocks.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FLOWERING DOGWOOD

Leaf and flowers, one-half natural size. Twig, two-thirds natural size.]

The _leaves_ are opposite, ovate, 3 to 5 inches long, 2 to 3 inches wide, pointed, entire or wavy on the margin, bright green above, pale green or grayish beneath.

The _flowers_, which unfold from the conspicuous round, grayish, winter flower buds before the leaves come out, are small greenish-yellow, arranged in dense heads surrounded by large white or rarely pinkish petal-like bracts, which give the appearance of large spreading flowers 2 to 4 inches across.

The _fruit_ is a bright scarlet "berry", 1/2 inch long and containing a hard nutlet in which are 1 or 2 seeds. Usually several fruits, or "berries", are contained in one head. They are relished by birds, squirrels and other animals.

The _wood_ is hard, heavy, strong, very close-grained, brown to red in color. It is in great demand for cotton-mill machinery, turnery handles and forms. One other tree has quite similar wood--the persimmon.

The dogwood, with its ma.s.ses of early spring flowers, its dark red autumn foliage and its bright red berries, is probably our most ornamental native tree. It should be used much more extensively in roadside and ornamental planting.

The alternate-leaved dogwood, _Cornus alternifolia_ L., occasionally reaches tree size with long slender branches arranged in irregular whorls giving the tree a storied effect. The flowers are small, followed by blue-black fruit borne in loose red-stemmed cl.u.s.ters.

+SOUR GUM+ _Nyssa sylvatica_ Marsh.

THE sour gum, often called black gum, is found in many types of soil and in most conditions of soil moisture in southern Illinois, but it becomes rare in the northern half of the State. In lowlands, it is occasionally found in year-round swamps with cypress, and in the hills on dry slopes with oaks and hickories.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SOUR GUM

One-half natural size.]

The _leaves_ are simple, 2 to 3 inches long, entire, often broader near the apex, shiny, dark green in color. In the fall the leaves turn a most brilliant red.

The _bark_ on younger trees is furrowed between flat ridges, and gradually develops into quadrangular blocks that are dense, hard and nearly black. Most of the branches are nearly horizontal.

The greenish _flowers_ on long slender stems appear in early spring when the leaves are about one-third grown. They are usually of two kinds, the male in many-flowered heads and the female in two to several-flowered cl.u.s.ters on different trees. The _fruit_ is a dark blue, fleshy berry, 2/3 of an inch long, containing a single hard-sh.e.l.led seed, and is borne on long stems, 2 to 3 in a cl.u.s.ter.

The _wood_ is very tough, cross-grained, not durable in contact with the soil, hard to work, and warps easily. It is used for crate and basket veneers, box shooks, rollers, mallets, rough floors, mine trams, pulpwood and fuel.

The tupelo gum, or cotton gum, _Nyssa aquatica_ L., is found in deep river swamps which are flooded during a part of the year. It occurs in 4 or 5 of the southern counties of Illinois in cypress swamps. The enlarged base and the larger fruit serve to distinguish it from the sour gum. This fruit or "plum" is about an inch long, dark purple and has a tough skin enclosing a flattened stone. The wood is light, soft, and not strong and is used for woodenware, handles, fruit and vegetable packages.

+PERSIMMON+ _Diospyros virginiana_ L.

THE persimmon, often called "simmon", is well known throughout its range. It is a small tree, rarely exceeding 50 feet in height and 1 inch in diameter, occurring throughout the State from the southern part north to Peoria County. It seems to prefer dry, open situations, and is most abundant in the old fields, though it also occurs on rich bottom lands.

The _bark_ of old trees is almost black and separated into thick nearly square blocks, much like the black gum.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PERSIMMON

Leaf, one-half natural size. Twig, three-quarters natural size.]

The _leaves_ are alternate, oval, entire, 4 to 6 inches long, dark green and shining above, paler beneath.

The small _flowers_, which appear in May, are yellowish or creamy white, somewhat bell-shaped, the two kinds occurring on separate trees; the male in cl.u.s.ters of 2 or 3, the female solitary. They are visited by many insects.

The _fruit_ is a pulpy, round, orange-colored or brown berry, an inch or more in diameter and containing several flattened, hard, smooth seeds.

It is strongly astringent while green, but quite sweet and delicious when thoroughly ripe.

The _wood_ is hard, dense, heavy, strong, the heartwood brown or black, the wide sapwood white or yellowish. It is particularly valued for shuttles, golf-stick heads, and similar special uses, but is not of sufficient commercial use to warrant its general encouragement as a timber tree.

The Hercules' club, _Aralia spinosa_ L., grows to tree size in southern Illinois, with a spiny stem 25 to 30 feet tall and a flat-topped head. The doubly compound leaves are often more than 3 feet long. Its small greenish-white flowers are followed by large cl.u.s.ters of purple juicy berries. It is desirable for ornamental planting.

+WHITE ASH+ _Fraxinus americana_ L.

THE white ash is found throughout the State, but grows to best advantage in the rich moist soils of bottom lands. It reaches an average height of 50 to 80 feet and a diameter of 2 to 3 feet, though much larger trees are found in virgin forests. The _bark_ varies in color from a light gray to a gray-brown. The rather narrow ridges are separated with marked regularity by deep, diamond-shaped fissures.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WHITE ASH

Twig, one-half natural size. Leaf, one-third natural size.]

The opposite _leaves_ of the white ash are from 8 to 12 inches long and have from 5 to 9 plainly stalked, sharp-pointed leaflets, dark green and smooth above, pale green beneath.

The _flowers_ are of two kinds on different trees, the staminate in dense reddish-purple cl.u.s.ters and the pistillate in more open bunches.

The _fruit_ of the ash is winged, 1 to 1-1/2 inches long, resembling the blade of a canoe paddle in outline, with the seed at the handle end. The fruits mature in late summer and are distributed effectively by the winds.

The _wood_ of the white ash is extremely valuable on account of its toughness and elasticity. It is preferred to all other native woods for small tool handles, such athletic implements as rackets, bats, and oars, and agricultural implements. It is also used extensively for furniture and interior finish.

The green ash, _Fraxinus pennsylvanica lanceolata_ Sarg., is common in stream valleys throughout the State. The hairy form of this tree is known as the red ash. This species differs from the white ash in having the leaves bright green or yellow-green on both sides. The fruit has the wing portion extending well down past the middle of the seed-bearing part, and with the wing sometimes square or slightly notched at the outer end. The wood is similar to that of the white ash, but is not quite so tough.

+BLUE ASH+ _Fraxinus quadrangulata_ Michx.

THE blue ash is not very common but widely distributed in the upland portions of the State, where it is limited to limestone bluffs, occasionally descending to the adjacent bottom lands. It becomes a large tree 60 feet or more in height with a trunk 2 feet in diameter. The young twigs are usually square, sometimes winged or 4-ridged between the leaf bases.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BLUE ASH

Leaf, one-third natural size. Fruit and twig, two-thirds natural size.]

The _bark_ is light gray tinged with red, 1/2 to 2/3 inch thick, irregularly divided into large plate-like scales. Macerating the inner bark in water yields a blue dye.

The _leaves_ are 8 to 12 inches long, having 7 to 11 stalked leaflets, long pointed and coa.r.s.ely toothed, thick and firm, smooth and yellowish-green above, paler beneath.

The _flowers_ are without petals and appear in cl.u.s.ters when the buds begin to expand.

The _fruit_ is flattened and oblong, 1 to 2 inches long and less than 1/2 inch wide and usually notched at the outer end. The wing is about twice the length of the seed-bearing portion and extends down the sides past the middle.

The _wood_ is heavy, hard, and close-grained, light yellow, streaked with brown, with a very broad zone of lighter sapwood. It is not usually distinguished commercially from the wood of other ashes.

The pumpkin ash, _Fraxinus tomentosa_ Michx., grows in deep river swamps in southern Illinois. It is a tall slender tree, usually with a much enlarged base. The twigs are light gray. The leaves, with 7 to 9 leaflets, smooth above and soft downy below, are from 10 to 18 inches long.

The black ash, _Fraxinus nigra_ Marsh., appears occasionally on the flood plains in the northern part of the State. It may be known by its ashy light gray bark, its very thick twigs and sessile, long-pointed sharply serrate leaflets.