O' Tannenbaum!

Princess Pine (a club moss) adorned by Canada Mayflower berries, as viewed at Ushers Road State Forest.

Happy Holidays to all.

P.S. - When in bloom (usually beginning the second week of May), Canada Mayflower looks like this -

Winter Tree Identification Quiz

FINAL UPDATE (1/20/2014):

And the answers are…

Thanks to everyone who participated.  Most importantly, I hope each of you had an enjoyable outing in your search for bark samples matching those in the photos.

The trees included in this quiz were the following:

1. Black Cherry
2. White Ash
3. Butternut
4. Cottonwood
5. Norway Spruce
6. Common Buckthorn
7. Black Birch
8. Willow
9. Box Elder
10. Gray Birch

Trick Question = Grape vine, not a tree!

If you have not yet visited the North Woods Nature Preserve, please include that destination in your future outings.  The trails are well marked and a number of tree species are identified along them with very informative interpretive signs.  This is a particularly scenic area to visit each autumn to enjoy fall colors, as evidenced by John Broadhead’s beautiful photos in the October 18, 2013, posting on this blog.

Happy trails!

 
UPDATE:  Given the COLD and snow that we have experienced since I posted this quiz, I will wait until after the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday before posting the answers to give everyone ample opportunity to enjoy a winter woodland walk in more inviting conditions.  Please note:  you can click on any photo below for a closer look at the bark of each.

With the onset of winter, why not take a stroll through a nearby woodland?  If you do, please observe the bark of the trees that you pass.  Consider that stroll your "field research."  Then, please return to this posting and reply with your responses to the following quiz.

Shortly after New Year’s Day, I'll reply with the answers.  Good luck.  Have fun!

#1 – CLUES:  Wood valued for its lumber used in furniture and interior woodwork in homes.  Fruit used in jelly, but especially important as food for wildlife.

#2 - CLUES:  Wood valued as strong, durable timber used in furniture, tool handles, oars, baseball bats, and snowshoes.

#3 – CLUES:  Though not an important timber species, its wood used in furniture and cabinetwork.  Edible nuts are an important food for wildlife.

#4 - CLUES:  Typically grow to be very tall trees.  Fluffy seeds.

#5 - CLUES:  Only one of this particular type of tree with drooping branchlets. 

#6 - CLUES:  Highly invasive.  Each twig ends in sharp spine.  Despite bearing many dark berrylike fruit, wildlife often ignore them for food.

#7 - CLUES:  Wood is heavy and hard, frequently made into furniture.  Oil of wintergreen is obtainable from sap and leaves.  Fermented sap used in a type of beer.

#8 – CLUES:  Typically found along streambanks and in wooded wetlands.  A preferred food of beaver.  Bark contains a medicinal substance called salicin.

Trick question for extra credit – CLUE:  Produces dark berrylike fruit.

# 9 - CLUES:  Soft white wood is used for boxes.  While in the same genus, this is not a maple.

#10 - CLUES:  Often multi-trunked.  Bark does not readily separate into layers.