Trees

by Alexander C. Martin, Herbert S. Zim, Dorothea Barlowe (Illustrator), Sy Barlowe (Illustrator)

Overview

This eBook is best viewed on a color device.

This Golden Guide describes and illustrates in full color more than 140 of our most common trees. Learn:

-How to recognize tree shapes, flowers, buds, leaves, and fruits
-Where each species grows
-The parts of a tree and the various kinds of trees

Perfect for nature lovers of all ages, this is an indispensable guide for everyone who wants to be able to recognize the different trees in North America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466862487
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/01/2014
Series:	A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Golden Guides first appeared in 1949 and quickly established themselves as authorities on subjects from Natural History to Science. Relaunched in 2000, Golden Guides from St. Martin's Press feature modern, new covers as part of a multi-year, million-dollar program to revise, update, and expand the complete line of guides for a new generation of students.

Alexander C. Martin contributed to nature guides from Golden Guides and St. Martin's Press.
Herbert S. Zim was a naturalist, author, editor, and educator best known as the founder and editor in chief of the classic, pocket-sized Golden Guides series of nature books.
Dorothea Barlowe contributed to nature guides from Golden Guides and St. Martin's Press.
Sy Barlowe contributed to nature guides from Golden Guides and St. Martin's Press, including Reptiles of North America.

Read an Excerpt

Trees

A Guide to Familiar American Trees

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By Herbert S. Zim, Alexander C. Martin, Dorothea Barlowe, Sy Barlowe

St. Martin's Press

Copyright © 2001 St. Martin's Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4668-6248-7

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CHAPTER 1

A KEY TO THE TREES

Trees with needle-like or scaly leaves (conifers)

Trees with flat leaves of varying breadth (broadleaf trees)

Trees with simple leaves, not divided into leaflets

Edges of leaves neither toothed nor lobed

Edges of leaves toothed

Edges usually lobed and toothed (some entire); fruit an acorn

Edges lobed, or toothed and lobed; fruit not an acorn

Trees with compound leaves, divided into leaflets

Leaflets arranged feather-like

Leaflets arranged finger-like

SEEING TREES

WHEN TO LOOK Trees are with us all year long and are as interesting in winter as in any other season. If you want to know the trees, study them month by month to see the changes that mark the seasons. Spring is a time of opening buds and flowers, some attractive, others small and easy to overlook. In spring, the pattern of opening leaves can be seen, with changing colors and textures as the leaves mature. In summer, leaf characteristics are obvious and should be used to the full. But the summertime leafy twig is not enough, for details of buds, twigs, and bark are easier to observe later. As fall comes in, many fruits mature and the development of rich autumn coloration, before the leaves drop, makes some trees brilliant. Winter is the time to study buds, twigs, and bark, and also to learn trees by their shape and form.

WHERE TO LOOK Nearly every part of our country has its native trees and introduced species as well. Even the concrete canyons of great cities with their soot and fumes can boast of trees. Trees grow nearly everywhere. Florida leads the list with some 314 different species. Texas, Georgia, and California follow in order, but even the plains states boast of sufficient variety to make tree study worth while. To see the most kinds of trees in a region, visit as many different localities as you can.

HOW TO LOOK Look at trees in two different ways: First, see them as a pilot looks at a plane flying toward him or as you recognize your neighbor coming home from work. A glance is sufficient; details are unimportant. You recognize your neighbor so automatically that you might find it hard to describe him. Learn to know common trees the same way, so you can recognize a White Oak or a Pitch Pine as you drive down the road. Learn the tree's form and habit of growth so that you can quickly recognize it even at a distance, or at night.

Next, learn to look at trees as a student or scientist. Notice details that identify an unusual species or tell you about the growth and life histories of trees you know by name. There is much to learn about familiar trees that can be discovered only by close observation and detailed study. First, you get acquainted with trees. Then, as you begin to look closer, you begin to know the trees.

UNITED STATES FOREST BELTS

WHAT TO SEE Trees are complex living things. Not only the leaves but the flowers, fruit, seeds, bark, buds, and wood are worth studying. The structure of the tubes and ducts that make up the stems varies from tree to tree. The annual rings in the wood show the tree's age and rate of growth.

Trees have flowers, though some hardly resemble familiar flowers of the garden. Detailed study of the tiny flowers can be as interesting as the study of large flowers such as those of the Magnolia and Tuliptree. The inconspicuous flowers of Oaks, Willows, and Pines are usually pollinated by wind. The larger flowers are often insect-pollinated. From the flowers develop fruits containing seeds; seeds too are worthy of study. Some are nutritious and have become foods for man and for wildlife. Some are dispersed by ingenious natural devices.

Study where trees grow. See them in relation to their environment. An unfavorable environment, as a mountain peak, may so dwarf and alter the size and form of a tree that one scarcely recognizes it as the same kind of tree that is growing tall and proud a few miles away. Some trees grow only in swamps; others only in sandy soils. Some prefer sun; some shade.

When you look at a tree, see it as a whole; see all its many parts; and finally, see the living tree as being in a community of plants and animals, living in close relationship to them and to the soil and climate.

KINDS OF TREES Trees belong to the same plant families as many herbs, flowers, and shrubs. Most of the 76 American families are represented by broad-leaved trees. The needle-leaved species belong in the pine family with the exception of two yews. The palm and lily families include over a dozen unusual trees, and many minor families with only a few species are known.

MAJOR KINDS OF TREES

Over 750 species of native and naturalized trees grow wild in North America. About 100 are naturalized; the rest are native. These trees make up hundreds of millions of acres of forest and produce a multi-billion dollars' worth of forest products yearly.

PALMS: About 11 kinds, with parallel-veined leaves, in warmer regions.

BROADLEAF TREES: Over 560 kinds, including oaks, ash, maples, cherry, birch.

CONIFERS: Over 90 kinds, including pine, fir, hemlock, spruce, cedar.

PARTS OF A TREE

LEAVES

Leaves make food from water and carbon dioxide, using the energy of sunlight. Chlorophyll makes this energy transformation possible.

Inside a leaf, at the top, is a sheet of "palisade" cells which absorb sunlight. Guard cells around stomata (openings on the bottom of the leaf) help retain water.

FLOWERS

All trees produce flowers of some kind. Most flowers have both male organ (stamen) and female organ (pistil). Separate male and female flowers may occur. Some flowers lack conspicuous petals. Wind or insects carry pollen from stamen to pistil. Here ovules, fertilized, develop into seeds.

TREE STEMS

The cambium is a layer of growing and dividing cells. Cells pushed outward form bark; those pushed in form wood, which enables a tree to grow large. Wood cells are long; their walls thicken and harden as they mature and die. Wood is mainly cellulose and lignin.

FRUITS

Fruits develop from the ripened ovary. They bear the seeds by which trees reproduce. Tree seeds vary greatly in size; some of the largest trees have the smallest seeds.

Tree fruits in various forms aid in the dispersal of seeds. Fleshy fruits are eaten by animals, from whose bodies the seeds may later be dropped. Winged fruits are spread by wind. "Seed trees" left after lumbering are a quick way to reforest land.

ROOTS

Roots anchor trees to the soil and absorb water and soil minerals needed for growth. Some trees have deep tap roots; others have a spreading system of roots.

Roots as they push through the soil are aided by a cap that forms over the tender growing point of each root. Behind this point, myriads of root hairs extend into the soil, increasing the root's absorbing surface tremendously. The spread of a tree's root system is at least equivalent to the spread of its crown.

HOW WOOD FORMS

Twig cross-sections illustrated here show how wood cells grow:

1 In a young shoot, bundles of cells form. These are a primary kind of wood, known as provascular tissue.

2 As the shoot grows, a layer of cambium forms across and between the primary bundles. As the cambium divides, wood and bark cells form.

3 The cambium layer continues to divide as long as the tree grows, forming wood and bark. Wood cells formed in fall are often smaller; growth stops in winter, and the spring cells are larger. This difference makes the annual rings in many stems.

TREES AS LIVING THINGS are a wonder to behold. The oldest live for as long as three or four thousand years. Some grow almost as high as a 40-story skyscraper. The largest contain enough wood to build dozens of average-size houses. These giants grow from seeds so small that several hundred weigh not even an ounce.

Within each seed are the tiny beginnings of a tree. After the seed sprouts, years of growth follow, during which time the leaves use solar energy to make sugar from carbon dioxide and water. From sugar, by intricate chemistry, the wood of the tree is eventually built. The tree's center or heartwood is dead. But around this core is a living sheath from which all parts of the tree develop. As the cells of the tree live, grow, and reproduce, they use some of the sugar made by the leaves, minerals taken from the soil, and tremendous amounts of water.

TREES AND WOOD always go together. In very young trees and branches the growing cells develop a ring of vascular bundles. The very important cambium layer of cells forms across these bundles and soon grows to form a complete ring. As the cells of the cambium divide, those that are pushed outward form bark. Those that are pushed inward form wood.

Wood is made of several types of cells; most of them are long and tubular. Wood cells are alive when young; later they die, leaving a network of vertical tubes. Each kind of wood has distinct cells. Wood of conifers (softwoods) contains many thick cells called tracheids. Hardwoods contain wood fibers and vessels. New wood cells produced in spring are often larger and thinner than those formed later, and so each season is often marked by an annual ring.

WOOD STRUCTURE

Note the even-sized cells, the annual rings, and the few, scattered resin canals (which are more numerous in other pines).

Oak is tough, hard, and often coarse. Note the large vessels which form in spring, making annual rings distinct.

In this even-grained wood, note the scattered vessels or pores. The annual rings are thin and harder to distinguish.

TREES AND MAN Trees always will be one of the important natural resources of our country. Their timber, other wood products, turpentine, and resins are of great value. Trees also have values beyond reckoning in holding the soil, preventing floods, and probably influencing climate. In addition, the beauty of trees, the majesty of forests, and the quiet of woodlands are everyone's to enjoy. The wooded parts of our country are the areas to which many people turn for recreation.

Woods and forests are the homes of many kinds of wildlife, ranging from deer, elk, moose, and bear to small squirrels and even smaller songbirds. Preservation of our timberlands and the conservation of forest resources are essential to a sound, farsighted national policy. Through the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many state agencies, forest and wildlife resources are being preserved or wisely harvested so that we may use them now, yet save them for our children's children to enjoy.

It is your privilege to have a share in the work of forest conservation. Do your share by being careful with fire, by helping in tree planting, and by being vigilant in protecting, through legislation, your forest and wildlife resources.

AMATEUR ACTIVITIES

FIELD STUDY Trees can be studied at every season, and they should be. Study the life history of a tree through the year. Each season will show features that cannot be seen at other times. Select some nearby trees to visit at least once a month. Watch the buds open in spring and the leaves unfold. See the flowers, fruit, autumn color, twigs, bark, and even the insect pests. Here are suggestions of excellent places to see and study trees. Specimens are often labeled to aid identification.

COLLECTIONS are not so important in studying trees as you might believe. Field studies are best, but a collection of leaves, twigs, or fruits may be of real value if you use the collection after you make it. Leaves are easiest to collect. Make your collection early in the season before insects and storms have injured the leaves. Get a short twig with several leaves, to show leaf placement as well as twig and bud characteristics. Press leaves between sheets of newsprint or other soft paper. Set a board atop your press with a heavy weight on it. Turn and change the papers daily or every few days until dry.

After leaves are pressed, mount them on cardboard with white glue. Turn some over to show the reverse side. Cover with Cellophane. Label your specimen with common and scientific name, date collected, locality, and notes. Collections of winter twigs can be mounted on cardboard with heavy string. Seeds and fruits can be stored in small boxes or glass vials.

TREE CENSUS A census of trees can be interesting and valuable to both the census taker and to the community. Often the best argument for conserving or improving the tree plantings in your town or in nearby forests is a report on the existing conditions. Get a map of your town, neighborhood, or camp. Follow it systematically, marking down the location and name of each tree you find. Keep a count by species as you go.

GROWING TREES Seeds of many common trees are easy to grow and cultivate as seedlings. A visit to a state or Forest Service nursery will show you how this is done. Collect seeds of common species. Most will not grow till the following spring and should be stored at winter temperatures. In spring, seeds may be set in flats or pots covered lightly with a mixture of sand and loam. Learn to recognize the seedlings, for they often have leaves that differ from those of mature trees. When seedlings are several inches high, they can be set in individual pots or transplanted.

FORESTS AND FOREST TYPES Trees do not grow in an entirely haphazard pattern. Differences in soil, temperature, and rainfall tend to cause certain species to grow together, forming distinct types of forests, such as the northern coniferous forests of Maine or the Oak-Hickory hardwood forests of Ohio. If you travel at all, knowing and recognizing the forest types will add to your enjoyment of the scenery.

FAMOUS TREES Most cities or regions have trees famous for their age, size, or historic events that took place nearby. Locate historic trees in your community; see that they get any needed attention. Search for the largest trees in your area; you may find record specimens.

REFORESTATION Careless lumbering, fires, hastily planned agricultural programs, and plain neglect have left our forest remnants in poor shape in many places. Often where this has occurred, local groups are taking active steps to restock the land with crops of trees. Schools can sometimes obtain farms abandoned for taxes, to be used for practical conservation demonstration plots. Other school systems have their own farms and camps to teach and practice conservation.

COMMUNITY FORESTS AND FOREST RESERVES There are, in this country, several communities free of taxes because the income from community forests, planted decades ago, is enough to meet the bills. A community forest is a project which does more than provide future income from lumber. It also becomes a wildlife refuge and, if the surroundings permit, a picnic and recreation center. Areas around reservoirs, for example, where use of the land is limited, are excellent for this purpose. Interest other people, then consult the county agent, state forester, or a representative of the U.S. Forest Service to make suitable plans.

WOOD AND LUMBER The recognition of different woods by their pores, rays, and grain is an interesting hobby, especially if you like wood and use it. If you collect and study woods, remember that the names that lumbermen give trees are often different from those used in this book. White Oak lumber may come from six or eight different Oaks; Yellow Pine from several Pines.

THE PINES

PINES are widely distributed conifers, most common in cool temperate regions. Conifers lack true flowers; the seeds develop in cones. The conifers include nearly 100 species in five families in North America. Of these, the Pine family is largest and best known. It includes Spruce, Fir, Hemlock, and others besides those we commonly call Pines. True Pines have long needles, usually growing two to five in a cluster. The cones are large and well formed.

EASTERN WHITE PINE is a hardy and valuable northeastern conifer. Prized for its timber, it was cut ruthlessly for years. Few prime stands remain. New plantings are slowed by diseases and insects such as the white pine weevil. White pine blister rust, a fungus disease, spreads to White Pine from currants and gooseberries. Recognize White Pine by its soft, blue-green needles, five in a cluster. Cones are long and narrow, with thin, rounded scales; bark, dark with deep cracks; wood, light and soft. Western White Pine is similar; needles heavier, cones larger and longer.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Trees by Herbert S. Zim, Alexander C. Martin, Dorothea Barlowe, Sy Barlowe. Copyright © 2001 St. Martin's Press. Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Cover,
Title page,
Copyright Notice,
FOREWORD,
USING THIS BOOK,
A KEY TO THE TREES,
SEEING TREES,
SCIENTIFIC NAMES,
INDEX,
Copyright,