Morus rubra

NAMING

Scientific Name: Morus rubra
Family: Moraceae
Common: red mullberry

HABITAT

Native
Habitat: Mesic sites
Range:  South Florida, west to Texas, north to Minnesota and the extreme southern portion of Ontario, Canada, and east to the Mid-Atlantic states.

TREE TRUNK

Size: Up to 70ft
Bark: brown, scaly plates
Twigs: –

LEAVES

Deciduous
Composition: simple
Arrangement: alternate
Shape: chordate, lobed
Margins: saw-toothed
Color: dull green on top with pubescence underneath

REPRODUCTION

Flowers: inconspicuous
Fruit: red to dark purple berries

USES

Wildlife: mammals eat the berries
Commercial: Horticulture

Persea palustris

NAMING

Scientific Name: Persea palustris
Family: Lauraceae
Common: swampbay

HABITAT

Native
Habitat: Wetlands
Range: Virginia south throughout peninsula Florida and west to Texas

TREE TRUNK

Size: 40ft tall
Bark: Evergreen
Twigs: thick and green

LEAVES

Composition: simple
Arrangement: alternate
Shape: ovate, elliptic
Venation: pinnate

***The topside of the leaf is dark green and shiny, while the bottom side is a silvery white color with an orange tinge from pubescence that occurs primarily along the mid vein. Persea borbonia does not have this.

REPRODUCTION

Flowers: inconspicuous
Fruit: oval, round, blue

USES

Wildlife: mammals eat the berries
Commercial: Horticulture

 

Persea borbonia

NAMING

Scientific Name: Persea borbonia
Family: Lauraceae
Common: redbay

HABITAT

Native
Habitat: Wet, Disturbed
Range: Throughout the southeast

TREE TRUNK

Size: 30 to 50 ft tall
Bark: Evergreen
Twigs: thick and green

LEAVES

Composition: simple
Arrangement: alternate
Shape: ovate, elliptic
Venation: pinnate
Thick and leathery

REPRODUCTION

Flowers: inconspicuous
Fruit: oval, round, blue

USES

Wildlife: mammals eat the berries
Commercial: Horticulture

TOLERANCES

Shade/Sun: Mod
Salt – Intolerant
Drought – Moderate
Flood – Moderate

Colocasia esculenta

NAMING

Scientific Name: Colocasia esculenta
Family: Areaceae
Common: paro, elephant ears

HABITAT

Native to India, Southeast Asia
Category 1 Invasive
Brought over as food resource for slaves, promoted twice more, researched for biofuels
Habitat: Mucky soils, edges of swamps, rivers, lakes
Range: South Carolina -> Texas

TREE TRUNK

Size:
Bark: –

LEAVES

Herbacious, grows in dense groups
soft, velvety
dark green above
arrow shape
paltate peticle
stem is succulent

REPRODUCTION

Flowers: doesn’t often
Fruit: little berry (edible)

USES

TOLERANCES

Shade: tolerant
Frost: no

Ardisia crenata

image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Ardisia_crenata_HabitusFlowersFruits_BotGardBln0906.JPG

NAMING

Scientific Name: Ardisia crenata
Family: Myrisinaceae
Common: coral ardeseca, spiceberry

HABITAT

Native to Japan, Northern India
Category 1 Invasive
Introduced in 1800’s as ornamental
Habitat:
Range: Florida -> Louisiana

TREE TRUNK

Size: 6 ft tall, multistemmed thickets
Bark: –

LEAVES

Evergreen
simple
alternate
thick and leathery
illegible margins

REPRODUCTION

USES

TOLERANCES

Shade: tolerante

Schinus terebinthifolius

image source: file:///C:/Users/Anonymous/Downloads/Starr_041018-0009_Schinus_terebinthifolius.jpg

NAMING

Scientific Name: Schinus terebinthifolius
Family: Anacardiaceae
Common: brazilian pepper, florida holly

HABITAT

Non-Native from South America
Category 1 Invasive
Habitat: Wetter sites (mainly) but will move to dry
Range: Throughout Florida

TREE TRUNK

Size: 40 ft tall, multiple stems creates thickets
Bark: –

LEAVES

oddly pinnately compound (3-11 leaflets)
margins are finely serrate
dark green above
light green below
glaborous
peppery smell when crushed
wings appearing on illegible
Deciduous

REPRODUCTION

Flowers: September through November (intense) axillary clusters, white
Fruit: red drupe (hundreds of drupes), looks like peppercorns

USES

Wildlife – birds love berries

TOLERANCES

Shade: no
Fire: moderate
Flood: low
Drought: low

Pleopeltis polypodioides

image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/PolypodFronds2.jpg

NAMING

Scientific Name: Pleopeltis polypodioides
Family: Polypodiaceae
Common: resurrection fern

HABITAT

Native
Habitat: grows on cepiphyte trees, rocks, but no ground
Range: New York -> Texas -> Mexico

TREE TRUNK

Size:
Bark: –

LEAVES

Fern, reproduces by spores
Look like they’re dead, but they’re actually alive (just pour water!)

REPRODUCTION

USES

Wildlife – habitat for amphibians

TOLERANCES

 

Juglans nigra

image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Black_Walnut_nut_and_leave_detail.JPG

NAMING

Scientific Name: Juglans nigra
Family: Juglandareae
Common: black walnut

HABITAT

Native
Habitat: Mesic sites, above the river
Range: Eastern North America

TREE TRUNK

Size: 100 ft tall
Bark: – deeply furrowed, dark (lighter brown when shaved)

LEAVES

deciduous
evenly pinnately compound
8-22 leaflets
serrated margins
cuminate tips

REPRODUCTION

Flowers:
Fruit: large, thick husks with nut inside (fleshy)

USES

Wildlife – good for birds when it rots and opens up.

Commercial – Native Americans would grind up husk to sun fish.  Most valuable timber species (furniture, coffins, hardwood floors).  Stain and dyeing

TOLERANCES

salt: no
fire: high
flood: no
drought: low
shade: no

Populus deltoides

image source: http://bobklips.com/bobs_website/POPUDELT-catkins-5Jun06-Cal.jpg

image source: http://www.treetopics.com/populus_deltoides/pode3_017_lhp.jpg

image source: http://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Salicaceae/populus-deltoides-ba-atal.jpg

image source: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/trees/populus_deltoides_02big.jpg

NAMING

Scientific Name: Populus deltoides
Family: Salicaceae
Common: eastern cottonwood

HABITAT

Native
Habitat: Wet sites, recently disturbed
Range: Eastern US, Canade

TREE TRUNK

Size: 18 ft
Bark: smooth when young, deep ridges

LEAVES

Simple
Alternate
rhomboid
illegible base
margins are illegible to dentate
glands on peticle (flat)

REPRODUCTION

Flowers: catkins (reddish)
Fruit: thousands of seeds (airborne) cotton buds

USES

Wildlife – deer browse, rabbits, beaver

Commercial – veneer for plywood, pulpwood

TOLERANCES

shade: no
flood: high
salt: moderate
drought: moderate