* indicates the plant may be considered
weedy or invasive in some parts of the US and may not be appropriate
for conservation uses in certain areas. Check with your local Conservation
District or state department of natural resources for more information
on weediness and recommendations for use. This guide in primarily
intended as an identification tool. Persons intending to use these
plants for conservation or landscape should consult additional sources
of information for use, establishment, and management of the species.
 |
Casuarina
Casuarina sp. *
About this tree:
Provides perching and nesting for birds
Tolerates dry or wet soil, salinity, heat and wind
Grows 50 to 100 feet tall; grows up to 8 to 10 feet per year
Hardiness zone 8
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Scale-like; 1/8 inch long
Fruit: Light brown, warty ball
Bark: Light gray brown; smoothish on small trees, later becoming furrowed
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Northern White
Cedar (Arborvitae) Thuja occidentalis (native)
About this tree:
Foliage, twigs eaten by White-tailed deer, fruit eaten by various birds
Prefers neutral to alkaline soils, limestone origin
Grows 40 to 70 feet tall
Hardiness zone 2
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Evergreen; opposite; 1/16 to 1/8 inch long; scalelike; dull
yellow-green; foliage sprays fanlike
Fruit: Cone; 3/8 inch long; elliptical; upright from short curved stalk
Bark: Light red-brown; thin; fibrous
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Arizona Cypress
Cupressus arizonica (native)
About this tree:
Used for erosion control, windbreaks, urban landscaping, posts, stakes and
corral poles
Prefers moist gravelly soils on slopes and benches
Grows 40 to 60 feet
Hardiness zone 6
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Minute blue-green to gray-green; scale-like; sharp pointed; finely
toothed on the margins; shunlike odor when bruised
Fruit: Dark reddish brown cones about one inch long that remain on the tree
for many years, become gray with age
Bark: Reddish brown with irregular, narrow, thin, curling scales that peel;
on older tree's, bark becomes furrowed
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Baldcypress
Taxodium distichum (native)
About this tree:
Well adapted to wet sites, but can be planted on dry sites; wood very
resistant to decay; develops 'knees' under saturated conditions
Grows 60 to 100 feet tall
Hardiness zone 4
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needle-like; delicate; arranged in 2 ranks in a feather-like fashion
along small branchlets; branchlets with fine needles fall in the autumn
Fruit: Globe-shaped, woody cone, 1 inch in diameter; cones disintegrate at
maturity
Twig: Reddish-brown; rough, with several short peg-like branches
Bark: Dark reddish-brown with long loose shreddy ridges
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Leland Cypress
Cupressocyparis leylandii
About this tree:
Used as Christmas trees, hedgerows, windbreaks and landscaping
Adapted to a wide range of soil textures; prefers moist, well drained soils
Grows 60 to 70 feet tall
Hardiness zone 5
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Blue-green to gray-green needles, 1/8 inch long; acute; appressed
with the apices of the lateral pairs often free
Fruit: Cone, 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter with 8 scales; each scale contains
approximately 5 seeds per scale
Bark: Reddish-brown and scaly
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Concolor Fir Abies
concolor (native)
About this tree:
Provides winter cover for wildlife
Prefers dry to moist soils
Grows 75 to 100 feet tall
Hardiness zone 3
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles; slat; linear; 2-ranked; blue-green; 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches
long
Fruit: Cone; erect; olive brown; cylindrical; 3 to 5 inches long
Twig: Stout; yellow-green with clustered blunt, red-brown resinous buds
Bark: Ash, gray-brown color; flattened ridges
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Douglas-Fir
Pseudotsuga menziesii (native)
About this tree:
Winter cover for wildlife
Prefers well drained, loamy soils
Grows 80 to 200 feet tall
Hardiness zone 3
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles; flexible; flattened; light green-bluegreen; blunt tip; 3/4
to 1 1/4 inch long
Fruit: Cone, tan-brown; 2 to 3 inches long; clustered pairs; 3 points;
protruding bracts
Twig: Slender; gray-brown; long; sharp-pointed buds
Bark: Reddish brown; deep furrows
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Rocky Mountain
Juniper Juniperus scopulorum (native)
About this tree:
Foliage and fruit eaten by mammals and birds
Can grow on dry to moist soils
Grows 25 to 50 feet tall
Hardiness zone 3
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Small; scale-like; opposite; smooth edges; 1 to 2 inches long
Fruit: Small; fleshy; berry-like; .2 to .3 inches in diameter; bright blue
Twig: Slender, 4-sided; becoming rounded with age
Bark: Thin; reddish-brown; weathering to grayish
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Austrian Pine Pinus
nigra
About this tree:
Prefers dry, drought resistant soils
Grows 75 to 100 feet tall
Hardiness zone 3
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Evergreen, 3 1/2 to 6 inches long; 2 in bundle; stiff; shiny dark
green; silvery white buds
Fruit: Cone, 2 to 3 inches long, 1 to 1 1/4 inches wide; egg-shaped; shiny,
yellow-brown; almost stalkless
Bark: Dark brown; thick; rough; furrowed into irregular scaly plates
Buds: Large, silvery buds
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Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus (native)
About this tree:
Prefers sandy-loam soils; avoid clay-wet soils
Grows 60 to 100 feet tall, 50 to 80 feet wide; growth rate is 3 to 5 feet
per year
Hardiness zone 3
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles in bundles of 5; 3 to 5 inches long; slender; flexible
Fruit: Cones; 4 to 8 inches long; cylindrical; often curved
Twig: Orange brown
Bark: Dark grayish brown; deeply furrowed on older trees; 1 to 2 inches
thick with ridges
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Eldarica Pine Pinus
eldarica
About this tree:
Prefers fine sands, silt loams to silty clay loams, and very well drained to
moderately well drained soils
Fast growth if irrigated
Hardiness zone 7
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles 4 to 6 inches long borne in bundles of 2 or rarely 3; new
growth blue-green, older growth darker green
Fruit: Cones; reddish brown to brown; borne singly or in whorls of 3 to 6;
cones are ovate-conic, approximately 4 inches in length; unarmed
Bark: Silvery gray and shiny when young; becoming reddish brown; fissured
and scaly on older trunks
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Loblolly pine Pinus
taeda (native)
About this tree:
Seeds eaten by Bobwhite quail and mourning dove
Tolerates poorly drained to well drained soils
Grows 80 to 100 feet tall
Hardiness zone 7
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles; 5 to 9 inches long; 3 in bundle; stout, stiff, often
twisted
Fruit: 3 to 5 inches long; conical
Bark: Blackish-gray; thick, deeply furrowed into scaly ridges exposing brown
inner layers
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Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa (native)
About this tree:
Seeds eaten by birds, mammals
Can grow on dry soils
Grows 75 to 100 feet tall
Hardiness zone 3
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles; stout; flexible; yellow-green; 5 to 10 inches long;
clusters of 2 or 3
Fruit: Cone, tan-brown; 3 to 6 inches long; scales with prickles
Twig: Stout; orange-brown; turpentine odor when broken
Bark: Black, yellow-orange (old); wide, shallow-furrowed; flaky plates
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Red Pine Pinus
resinosa (native)
About this tree:
Seeds used by songbirds and small mammals
Prefers well-drained, sandy soils
Grows 70 to 80 feet tall
Hardiness zone 2
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles; to 6 1/2 inches long; 2 in a bundle; dark green, snap
cleanly
Fruit: Egg-shaped cones, 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 inches long
Bark: Reddish-brown or gray; with broad, flat, scaly plates; becoming thick
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Scotch Pine Pinus
sylvestris
About this tree:
Prefers sandy to loam soils
Grows 50 to 75 feet tall
Hardiness zone 2
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles; 1 1/2 to 2 3/4 inches long; 2 in bundle; stiff; slightly
flattened; twisted; blue-green
Fruit: Cone; 1 1/4 to 2 1/2 inches long; egg-shaped; pale yellow-brown
Bark: Reddish-brown; thin; becoming gray and shredding in papery plates
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Shortleaf Pine
Pinus echinata (native)
About this tree:
Seeds are eaten by mourning dove and Bobwhite quail
Prefers dry ridges, sandy loams and silt loams
Grows 30 to 70 feet tall
Hardiness zone 6
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles; 4 1/2 inches long; 2 or sometimes 3 in bundle; slender,
flexible; dark blue-green
Fruit: 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches long; conical
Bark: Reddish-brown; large scaly plates
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Slash Pine Pinus
elliottii (native)
About this tree:
Seeds eaten by Bobwhite quail and mourning dove
Prefers poorly drained sandy soils
Grows 60 to 100 feet tall
Hardiness zone 7
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles; 7 to 10 inches long; 2 and 3 in bundle; stout; stiff; shiny
green
Fruit: 2 1/2 to 6 inches long; narrowly shaped; shiny dark brown
Bark: Purplish-brown; flattened, scaly plates; rough and furrowed
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Virginia Pine Pinus
virginiana (native)
About this tree:
Good wildlife value
Prefers well drained soils
Poor shade tolerance
Good drought tolerance
Grows 30 to 40 feet tall
Hardiness zone 4
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles, 1 1/2 to 3 inches long; stout; gray-green; in bundles of
two; twisted
Fruit: Dark reddish-brown; ovoid; lustrous; 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches long, with
a sharp spine at the end of each scale
Bark: Shallow fissures; dark brown loose scales
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Eastern Redcedar
Juniperus virginiana (native)
About this tree:
One of the best conifers for wildlife habitat
Well adapted to most soils
Grows 25 to 60 feet tall
Hardiness zone 3
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Two types, usually on the same tree -- scale-like and awl shaped
Fruit: Blue berrylike cone, 1/4 to 1/3 inch in diameter
Twig: 4-sided
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Colorado Blue
Spruce Picea pungens (native)
About this tree:
Winter cover for wildlife
Prefers upland dry soils
Grows 75 to 100 feet tall
Hardiness zone 2
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles; stiff; spirally arranged; 4-sided; 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches
long; very prickly; sharp pointed
Fruit: Cone, oblong; tan-brown; cylindrical; 3 to 4 inches long; papery
scales
Twig: Stout; orange to gray-brown
Bark: Silvery gray-brown
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Norway Spruce Picea
abies
About this tree:
Foliage, twigs eaten by White-tailed deer; needles eaten by grouse; winter
cover for many species
Prefers moist soil
Grows 75 to 100 feet tall
Hardiness zone 2
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles; 1/2 to 1 inch long; stiff; 4-angled; sharp-pointed; shiny,
dark green with whitish lines; drooping foliage
Fruit: Cones; 4 to 6 inches long; cylindrical; light brown; hanging down
Bark: Reddish-brown; scaly
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White Spruce Picea
glauca (native)
About this tree:
Foliage, twigs eaten by White-tailed deer; needles eaten by grouse; winter
cover for many species
Prefers moist, sandy loam soils
Grows 50 to 60 feet tall; 1 to 3 feet per year
Grows 3 to 6 feet tall
Identification Tips:
Leaves: Needles 1/2 to 3/4 inches long; stiff; 4-angled, sharp pointed;
blue-green, with whitish lines
Fruit: Cones, 1 to 2 inches long
Twig: Orange-brown; slender; peglike bases
Bark: Gray or brown; inner bark whitish
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* indicates the plant may be considered weedy or invasive in some parts of
the US and may not be appropriate for conservation uses in certain areas. Check
with your local Conservation District or state department of natural resources
for more information on weediness and recommendations for use. This guide in
primarily intended as an identification tool. Persons intending to use these
plants for conservation or landscape should consult additional sources of
information for use, establishment, and management of the species.
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