Dendro Exam 4

Common name of the spp. that is generally regarded as the tallest tree in NA

(coastal) redwood

Mesic site spp. in MN

-Acer rubrum (red maple) -Picea glauca (white spruce)

Name 3 tolerant spp. native to MN that can be established under Populous tremuloides

-Acer saccharum (sugar maple) -Picea glauca (white spruce) -Abies balsamifera (balsam fir)

What are 2 of the most intolerant species in NA?

-Larix laricina (tamarack) -Larix occidentalis (western larch)

Wet site spp. in MN

-Picea mariana (black spruce) -Larix Laricinia (tamarack)

Dry site spp. in MN

-Pinus banksiana (jack pine) -Juniperus virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Which 4 species in Cupressaceae have decussate leaf arrangements?

-Thuja occidentalis (northern white-cedar) -Juniperus virginiana (eastern redcedar) -Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (Alaska-cedar) -Thuja plicata (western redcedar)

High elevation firs provide which of the following ecological benefits?

-protection for watersheds through erosion control -shelter for wildlife from snow, cold and intense sun

2-sided needles attached by suction cup device, globose buds, range found farther south into Central America, wood good for pulp and paper, cones are erect

Abies

Spp. in this genus have erect cones w/ or w/o exserted bracts that mature in 1 year

Abies

What genus' spp. as a general rule are tolerant?

Abies

Good candidate for ornamental/horticultural use b/c it is the most drought resistant of the western firs, has smooth, light grey bark when young, has longer than average needles for a fir, and needles smell of tangerines when crushed

Abies concolor (concolor fir)

Which species has cones that resemble the bill of a duck?

Calocedrus decurrens (incense-cedar)

Which genus has globose semi-fleshy cones with peltate scales that become woody when mature?

Chamaecyparis

House and temple construction in Japan as a replacement for the Japanese species

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (Port-Orford-cedar)

Girdled trees are a source of spring nourishment for brown bears

Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (Alaska-cedar)

Durable wood used for decks, shingles, shipbuilding

Chamaecyparis thyoides (Atlantic white-cedar)

member of the Cupressaceae forms dense, pure stands in freshwater bogs and swamps. Its needles turn brown after a year but are retained on the tree. Like many lowland species, its shallow, broad, interlocking root system makes it susceptible to windthrow. Its decay-resistant wood is valued for posts and construction. Charcoal from its wood was also once used to make gunpowder. After a period of overharvesting, lumbermen began mining well-preserved timbers of dead trees from great depths in the bogs where the species grows.

Chamaecyparis thyoides (Atlantic white-cedar)

Which description best describes crown shape in the genus Abies?

Conical crown coming to a tapered point

What do western larch, western hemlock, and noble fir have in common?

Each is the most important North American timber species in its genus

Native to MN, prefers moist, cool sites, is very tolerant, and prefers well-rotted logs as a substrate for seed germination

Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

T or F: Abies grandis is the largest of the cascade firs and produces the most timber of the Abies spp.

False

T or F: Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, is the largest tree by volume in the world.

False

T or F: Western larch suffers from Swiss needlecast disease

False

T or F: Port-Orford-cedar is threatened by a rust disease whose alternate host is gooseberry or Ribes spp.

False: not a rust disease

T or F: Sitka spruce is an economically important spruce of the PNW w/ flat needles and pubescent twigs

False: pubescent twigs

Why is larch now found in lowland habitats like bogs in MN?

Introduced larch sawfly defoliates and kills trees on upland sites, it does not survive well in wet duff so larch on lowland wet sites survive

Which genus is a collection of shrubs to small trees typically on dry, semi-sterile sites?

Juniperus

What is a shrub or small tree that is circumpolar in the northern hemisphere and the most widely distributed native conifer in NA and the world?

Juniperus communis

Often represents the majority of the tree cover in a given area providing much needed shelter, nesting sites and food in the form of winter browse and semi-fleshy green to blue-black cones?

Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky mtn. juniper)

Aromatic wood used for closets, chests, shoe trees, hangers, and potpourri

Juniperus virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Which species can have both awl and scale shaped needles on the same twig?

Juniperus virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Which species is an aggressive seeder into prairie restorations and old fields?

Juniperus virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Which species is most likely to be found on pasture land in western Tennessee?

Juniperus virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Most likely associate: Picea mariana (black spruce)

Larix laricina (tamarack)

This tree has flat, linear deciduous or persistent branchlets, reddish-brown vertically shredding bark, and long stalked cylindrical cones with peltate scales.

Metasequoia glyptostroboides (dawn redwood)

Baldcypress, coast redwood, and giant sequoia all have cones with what type of scales?

Peltate

All spp. in this genus are considered tolerant

Picea

Genus often used for the tops of cellos, violins, violas, and double basses b/c of its superior acoustic wood qualities

Picea

Genus that is described as having sterigmata

Picea

Genus that is preferred for making sounding boards in musical instruments because of its superior acoustic resonance.

Picea

Mostly 4-sided needles attached to twig by sterigma, ovoid buds, range covers more of Scandinavia, northern Asia, and northwest NA, superior wood for sounding boards in instruments, pendant cones

Picea

Spruce of northern Europe w/ large, tan cones & 4 angled needles

Picea abies (Norway spruce)

Which spruce is know for its large cones, drooping branchlets and is used extensively in horticulture?

Picea abies (Norway spruce)

Common name: white spruce

Picea glauca

Eastern spruce w/ glabrous twigs and cylindrical cones

Picea glauca (white spruce)

Glabrous twig, upland site, oval cones

Picea glauca (white spruce)

Eastern spruce w/ globose cones & pubescent twigs

Picea mariana (black spruce)

Pubescent twig, wet site, round cones

Picea mariana (black spruce)

Common name: blue spruce

Picea pungens

Western mountainous spruce w/ sharp needle points that have a pungent smell when crushed

Picea pungens (blue spruce)

Common name: red spruce

Picea rubens

Eastern spruce w/ blunt needle ends, twigs more or less pubescent and buds reddish-brown

Picea rubens (red spruce)

Common name: Sitka spruce

Picea sitchensis

Despite being on different continents, which 2 spp. have flattened needles?

Picea sitchensis (Sitka spruce) and Picea omorika (Serbian spruce)

Most likely associate: Picea glauca (white spruce)

Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)

An important commercial spp. in western US and Canada over 50% of the standing number

Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir)

Known for having 2 distinct varieties: coastal and mountain

Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir)

Known for having chestnut brown pointed buds w/ imbricate scales and cones w/ exserted bracts

Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir)

Tallest tree in the world

Sequoia giganteum (giant sequoia)

Endangered animal: Marled murrelet, northern spotted owl

Sequoia sempervirens (redwood)

What is the biggest by volume tree in the world?

Sequoiadendron giganteum (gigantic sequoia)

What is the best way convey that spruce wood has a high strength to weight ratio?

Spruce wood used to make airplanes

Which genus in the Cupressaceae is known for having deciduous needles?

Taxodium

This tree hails from southeast United States, is found on extremely wet sites of stagnant water, has a well buttressed base with 'knees' as a portion of the root system that project above the water, fruit a globose ball of 8-10 peltate scales that shatters at maturity.

Taxodium distichum (baldcypress)

Tree of the south that inhabits permanently wet soils. It is a large tree (averaging 120 feet tall and 4 feet in dbh) has a buttressed base, and is considered deciduous w/ grey, shallowly furrowed, fibrous bark, nearly globose fruits roughly the size of a golf ball with 8-10 peltate scales that mature and shatter in a single season.

Taxodium distichum (baldcypress)

Genus that is described as having arils

Taxus

Name the tolerant, understory tree or large shrub from the PNW with flexible, softpointed needles, male cones on the underside of the twig, a fleshy red aril, and bark that was once the only source of taxol, a chemical used to successfully treat ovarian cancer.

Taxus brevifolia (Pacific Yew)

Provides winter yarding areas for deer, is tolerant, and can live to over 400 years of age. The wood is rot resistant and considered the premier wood for sauna interiors. It is also a preferred browse species for deer during winter.

Thuja occidentalis (northern white-cedar)

Which species looks like a smaller version of western redcedar?

Thuja occidentalis (northern white-cedar)

Which species provides the preferred wood for saunas b/c it is rot resistant and non-resinous, so stays cool to the touch?

Thuja occidentalis (northern white-cedar)

Totem poles have originally been made from the wood of which western cedar?

Thuja plicata (western redcedar)

Used to make totem poles by native Americans in the Pacific Northwest and is currently prized for its decay resistant wood?

Thuja plicata (western redcedar)

T or F: Around the world conifers are valuable for watershed protection at higher elevations

True

T or F: Spruce do not make particularly good browse for wildlife

True

T or F: At average height and diameter, western larch is larger than tamarack

True, also commercially most important larch

Genus likely to be identified by a drooping leader

Tsuga

Which spp. suffers from the non-native sucking insect hemlock woolly adelgid?

Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)

This conifer of the Northeastern United States is said to have a toothed needle that occurs singly. It is an extremely shade tolerant, long-lived species and its leader has a characteristic droop - if you can see it.

Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock), most shade tolerant of all tree spp.

Exceptionally tolerant BUT grows fast like a pioneer spp.

Tsuga heterophylla (western hemlock)

Which of the following is a trait of baldcypress but not dawn redwood?

alternate arrangement of branchlets

Portion of a cone's scale that is visible when the cone is closed

apophysis

Fleshy appendage growing from the point of attachment of a seed and often covering the seed

aril

Cones of Abies species are typically found at the top of the tree and in the fall of the first year...

break apart leaving a central axis or spire

What soil type was above the sand layer on mesic hardwood sites?

clay and silt

Which species is circumpolar in distribution?

common juniper

Elevation increases w/

decreasing latitude

opposite, 4-ranked, leaf arrangement with each pair at right angles to the pairs above and below it.

decussate

Forking into pairs, 2 paths to choose from

dichotomous

When young, species in Abies genus typically have bark that is considered smooth, thin, grey, and...

full of resin blisters

Metasequoia glyptostroboides (dawn redwood)

habitat destruction by agriculture

What soil type was above the sand layer on fire dependent sites?

no additional soil above the sand

Port-Orford-Cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)'s chief threat

root rot fungus

Abies fraseri (Fraser fir)'s chief threat

sapsucking insect

Oftentimes what is the easiest way to identify black spruce from a distance?

small ball, or tuft of branches at the tip of the crown

What soil type was above the sand layer on acid peatland sites?

sphagnum moss

Short projection (peg) on a conifer twig bearing a single sessile or petiolate leaf

sterigmata

sharp modified branch often terminating a twig

thorn

Which of the following species pairs is most likely to be found growing underneath an aspen overstory?

white spruce and balsam fir

Cyclic arrangement - 3 or more per node

whorled