Leaf Identification based on type and arrangement

1. Leaf Identification based on type and arrangement

2. At the base of a mature leaf you will find a bud, while at the base of a leaflet of a compound leaf, there are no buds. • Leaf margins often are helpful in identifying trees. These margins take various shapes

3. PNW deciduous trees

4. Vine Maple (Acer circinatum) • Habitat: Moist areas, generally an understory tree. • Generally 20’ tall • Leaves: simple, opposite • Fruit: samara • Bark: smooth, greenish tint

5. Rocky Mountain Maple (Acer glabrum) • Habitat: Drier, more open sites than vine maple Leaves: simple, opposite • Generally 12’ tall • Fruit: samara • Bark: smooth, greenish tint

6. Red Alder (Alnus rubra) • Habitat: Moist woods, stream banks, disturbed clearings at low elevations. • Leaves: simple, alternate • Fruit: small, brown woody ‘cones’

7. Sitka Alder (Alnus Sinuata) • Habitat: Moist places from lowland to subalpine elevations. • 3’-20’ • Leaves: simple, alternate • Fruits: long cone-like • Uses: by native people and for stabilizing disturbed nutrient poor areas

8. Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) • Habitat: near streams, rivers, in meadows and in canyon rocks, where it may seem dry but is wet underground. Loves sunlight. • Bark: pale green* to white. Smooth • Leaves: simple, ‘shiver’ in the wind. White/silver undersides. Flattened petiole. • Vegetative propagation* • Flower:

10. Black Cottonwood (populus trichocarpa) • Habitat: dry to moist, variety of soils. • Bark: dark, furrowed. • Leaves: smooth, dark green, pointed.

12. Oregon White Oak

13. Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) • Habitat: Open to dense mixed forest especially along streams at low elevations • Leaves: simple, opposite • Fruit: pink red berry (flowers) • Uses: some natives used it as a laxative or to induce vomiting

14. Larch/Tamarak (Larix lyallii) • Habitat: Subalpine or alpine areas often on north facing slopes • Leaves: soft needles • Small woody cones • Uses: waterproof quality, herbal remedies

15. Bitter Cherry (Prunus emarginata) • Habitat: Moist forests and along streams • Up to 50’ • Leaves: Slender simple, alternate • Fruit: bright red, small berries

16. PNW deciduous bushes

17. Western Serviceberry, Shadbush, Saskatoon, Juneberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) • Habitat: Open hillsides to dense forests in well-drained soil from low to middle elevations • Leaves: simple, alternate • Flower: white ‘leafy’ clusters at tips of branches. • Fruit: blue-black and edible!

19. Twinberry • Habitat: Moist forest clearings, streamside habitats, swamps and thickets from low to subalpine elevations ~6ft tall • Flowers: yellow ‘bell-like’ • Fruit: shiny black berries in pairs

21. Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis) • Habitat: Stream banks and moist to rather dry woods; low elevations (5’-12’) • Leaves: simple, alternate • Flowers: small, white, drooping • Fruit: blue-black when ripe (orange when not) fleshy, drooping. Edible!

22. Devils Club (Oplopanax horridus) • Habitat: Moist woods, especially near streams, seepage sites, and in avalanche tracks; low to middle elevations • Sensitive to human impact. • *article*

23. Blue elderberry • Habitat: Dry to moist, fairly open, low-elevation sites (6’-20’) • Leaves: compound, opposite • Flower: many tiny, creamy white • Fruit: clusters of blue-black small berries, edible! (low-grade toxin when raw that causes nausea in some)

25. Red Eldererry (sambucus racemosa) • Habitat: Stream banks, swampy thickets, moist clearings and open forests; sea level to middle elevations (6’-20’) • Leaves: compound, opposite • Flower: many tiny, white, pyramid • Fruit: clusters of bright red Marginally edible.

27. Wild Rose (Rosa) • Habitat: Moist to dry woods and shrublands from near sea level to middle elevations (2’-7’) • About half a dozen species in the PNW • Leaves: compound, alternate • Flower: pink • Fruit: red-orange ‘hip’ Edible! High in vitamin C, iron, calcium, and phosphorus.

29. Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis • Habitat: Moist to wet places from streambanks to wooded areas from low to subalpine elevations (4’-8’) • Leaves: compound • Flower: deep showy pink, solitary • Fruit: red-salmon, raspberry-like, edible!

31. ThimbleberryRubus parviflorus • Habitat: Moist to dry, wooded to open areas from near sea level to subalpine elevations (4’-8’) • Leaves: simple, maple-like • Flower: white in loose clusters • Fruit: red, hemispherical, edible!

33. Smooth sumac Rhus glabra • Habitat: Dry slopes and draws in eastern Washington’s shrub-steppe; can be found along forest edges, grasslands, and roadsides • Leaves: compound, beautiful in fall • Fruit: dense clusters of ‘bobs’ • Teas, spice, dye,