KS // FIELD GUIDE

a key for plants of the New England landscape

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Quercus palustris // Pin Oak

Origin:  Native to Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Species epithet (palustris) comes from Latin word for swamp (palus).  Common name Pin Oak refers to short, tough branchlets along limbs and branches.  Alternate common names are Swamp Oak, Water Oak, and Spanish Swamp Oak due to tolerance of wet conditions.

Zone:  4-8

Habitat:  Spontaneous Urban Growth community.  Prefers moist loams but tolerates poorly drained soils. Tolerates some flooding.  Found in floodplains, forests, shores of rivers/lakes, and swamps.

Mature Size:  50-70′ tall with 40-60′ spread, with broad, pyramidal crown. Upper branches ascend, middle branches grow outward horizontally, and lower branches descend. 

Leaves:  Alternate.  Simple.  Glossy, dark green leaves grow up to 5” long and typically have 5 bristle-tipped lobes with deeply cut sinuses.  Leaves develop deep red foliage in the Fall. 

Bark:  Smooth gray-brown bark usually develops ridging with age. 

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Insignificant, yellowish-green flowers in separate male and female catkins appear in Spring.  Fruits are rounded acorns (1/2” long), with shallow, saucer-shaped acorn cups that barely cover the acorn base. Acorns have characteristic alternating darker/lighter streaks.  Trees may take 15-20 years to start producing mast.  

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[www.arborday.org] 

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Fragaria virginiana // Wild Strawberry, Common Strawberry

Origin:  Native to Eastern North America

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Fragaria comes from the Latin word Fraga for strawberries, most likely originating from “fragrans” in reference to the plant’s fragrant fruit.  Common name Strawberry comes from the historic practice of mulching the plant with straw, which fought the possible threat of fungal diseases.

Strawberries were cultivated by Native Americans and colonists as a food and medicinal source.  Commercially bought Strawberries today are a hybrid of Fragaria virginiana (which has an ideal sweet flavor) and Fragaria chiloensis (which produces larger berries).  

Zone:  5-9

Habitat:  Easily grown in fertile, moist to dry, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. Prefers organically rich, sandy loams.  Generally dislikes high Summer heat, humidity and strong winds.  Found in anthropogenic habitats, fields and meadows, and along shores of lakes and rivers.  

Mature Size:  0.25-0.75′ tall with 1-2′ spread.  Spreads with ground-hugging runners (stolons).

Leaves:  Trifoliate leaves with three coarsely toothed leaflets (leaflets grow to 2.5″ long).  Each leaf appears on a slender stalk (up to 6″ long).

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Five-petaled white flowers are about 3/4″ across, and have a multitude of yellow-anthered center stamens.  Flowers bloom in April-May in flat umbel-like clusters (4-6 flowers each) below the leaves. Flowers give way to achene-dotted ovoid fruits (up to 1/2″) which mature to red.  Seeds are embedded in the pits of the strawberries. 

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/]

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Rubus allegheniensis // Common Blackberry

Origin:  Native to North America

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Rubus means Red, and refers to a collection of plants with fruit consisting of small, rounded segments that make up a single larger berry.  Alternately called Appalachian Raspberry and Dewberry.

Harvested by both colonists and Native Americans in the 17 and 1800′s as a food source, and has also been consistently valued for medicinal properties, dyes, teas, and wine.

Zone:  3-9

Habitat:  Urban Growth community.  Prefers organically-rich, well-drained soils, but also tolerates clay-loam or rocky soil.  Grows best in full sunlight to partial shade.  Found in anthropogenic habitats, forest edges, and fields/meadows.  

Mature Size:  3-6′ tall with 2-4′ spread.    

Leaves:  Alternate.  Palmately compound leaves with long petiole have 3-7 ovate, doubly serrated leaflets.  Leaflets are dark green above, lighter green and pubescent below.

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Showy white flowers (1″ across) are borne in racemes consisting of up to 12 blossoms, each with 5 petals.  The flowers bloom during late Spring or early Summer before giving way to 3/4″ drupes later in the Summer.  The drupes begin white or green, but eventually turn red, then ultimately almost black.  They are seedy and have a sweet flavor when fully matured.

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/]

[http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/]

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Typha latifolia // Common Cattail, Broad-Leaved Cattail

Origin:  Native to North America, Europe, Northern and Central Asia, and Northern Africa

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Typha comes from Greek Typhos, meaning marsh, or Greek Typhe, meaning cat’s tail.  Common name comes from fuzzy, cylindrical fruiting spikes which resemble cat tails.  Alternate common names include Cat-o-Nine Tails, Bulrushes, and Cossack Asparagus.  

Used by both Native Americans and colonists as a food source and for various other purposes, including basket-making, matting/bedding, and rope-making.

Zone:  3-10

Habitat:  Easily grown in rich loams in full sun to part shade in water to 12” deep.  Found in anthropogenic habitats, fens, marshes, shores of rivers and lakes, and wetland margins.  Aggressive colonizers of human-disturbed areas.

Mature Size:  4-6′ tall with 4-6′ spread.  

Leaves:  Narrow, upright, mostly basal, green leaves grow up to 7’ long. Leaves rise from base of a stiff, unbranched central stalk that rises equal to or slightly less than the height of the leaves.

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Each stalk is topped with two sets of minute flowers densely packed into a cylindrical inflorescence.  Yellowish male flowers are located at the top of the inflorescence, greenish female flowers are underneath.  Flowers bloom in Summer, then the male flowers rapidly disperse, leaving a naked stalk tip.  Pollinated female flowers turn brown as the seeds mature, forming the familiar cylindrical cattail fruiting spike (up to 9” long). Foliage turns yellow-brown in Autumn. Fruiting spikes usually persist to early winter before disintegrating. 

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[plants.usda.gov]

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Polypodium virginianum // Rock Polypody

Origin:  Native to North America and Eastern Asia

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Alternate common names include Virginia Polypody, Rockcap Fern or American Wall Fern.  Common names derive from the plant’s ability to grow in extremely rocky, steep conditions. Genus Polypodium means “Many leaves.” 

It was widely used by Native Americans as a medicinal herb to treat stomach pains, colds, coughs, and sore throats.

Zone:  3-8

Habitat:  Prefers moist, humusy, somewhat infertile soils that drain well in partial to full shade.  Found on cliffs, ledges, ridges, and rocky slopes.

Mature Size:  0.5-1′ tall with 0.5-1′ spread.  Can be difficult to establish, but once adapted will naturalizes over time into large colonies by branched, creeping rhizomes.

Leaves:  Erect to arching, leathery fronds are oblong-lanceolate to triangular, deeply-cut, and pinnately lobed.

Flower/Fruit:  Reproduces through production and dispersal of spores. Soro are circular or kidney-shaped.  Young fiddleheads appear in the Spring.

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

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Polystichum acrostichoides // Christmas Fern

Origin:  Native to Eastern North America

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Common name refers to shape of leaflets, which have a lobe next to the stem that resembles a Christmas stocking.

Zone:  3-9

Habitat:  Prefers organically rich, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade.  Found in forests and rocky slopes.

Mature Size:  1-2′ tall with 1-2′ spread.  Rhizomatous, although Christmas Fern does not spread independently.  Typically grows in fountain-like clumps that gradually grow larger over time.  

Leaves:  Compound.  Leathery, lance-shaped, evergreen fronds.  Leaflets grow 0.75-3″ long.

Flower/Fruit:  Young fiddleheads appear in the Spring are exhibit a distinct silvery and scaly appearance.  Sori appear on the undersides of the pinnae only at the ends (last 1/3) of the fronds. 

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

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Rhamnus cathartica // Common Buckthorn

Origin:  Native to temperate Europe and Asia and Northwestern Africa

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Rhamnus comes from Greek Rhamnos meaning “branch.” Species epithet (cathartica) comes from Greek “cathartikos” meaning “cleansing” or “purging” because the bark is used to prepare purgatives.  Common name refers to terminal spikes that sometimes appear at the ends of branches.

Common buckthorn was originally introduced in the late 1700′s as an ornamental plant, and used for hedgerows and boundaries.  Since then, it has escaped cultivation and is now labeled invasive.  

Zone:  3-8

Habitat:  Spontaneous Urban Growth community.  Prefers consistent moisture but grows easily in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade.  Adapts to a variety of soils and environments.  Shade-tolerant and fast-growing, it is now considered an invasive species.

Mature Size:  16-25′ tall with 10-15′ spread.  Thicket-forming habit.

Leaves:  Subopposite.  Simple.  Leaves are elliptic to oval in shape and dark green in color.  Leaves grow to 3" long and have toothed margins.

Bark:  Distinctive thin gray-brown bark with horizontal lenticels, yellow inner bark and orange heartwood.

Flower/Fruit:  Dioecious.  Small yellow-green flowers bloom in the Spring. Fruit of female trees is round, fleshy, berry-like, black drupe (1/4" diameter).  Berries contain 3-4 seeds each. Birds are very attracted to the fruit. 

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[http://na.fs.fed.us/]

[starheimk]

Acer platanoides // Norway Maple

Origin:  Native to Northeastern Europe and Western Europe

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Species epithet (platanoides) means resembling platanus (Sycamore).  Common name derives from place of origin. Acer platanoides was first introduced to America by Pennsylvania botanist John Bartram in 1756.  Since then, it has been labeled invasive, as it outshades native species.  However, it remains as a common street tree, due to its hardiness and tolerance of urban conditions.  

Zone:  3-7

Habitat:  Spontaneous Urban Growth community.  Grows easily in average, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. (Prefers full sun) Tolerant of a wide range of soils, as well as heat and drought. 

Mature Size:  40-50′ tall with 30-50′ spread.  Dense, symmetrical, rounded crown and shallow root system.

Leaves:  Opposite.  Simple.  Leaves grow to 7″ across and have 5 sharply pointed lobes.  Close resemblance to Sugar Maple leaves, but leaves exhibit rounder form.  Leaf stems exude a milky sap when cut.  Yellow Fall foliage, less vivid than that of other Maples.  

Bark:  Bark is ridged on mature trees with interlacing furrows.  Gray-brown in color.  

Flower/Fruit:  Small yellow flowers appear in corymbs in the Spring before foliage.  Flowers give way to paired seeds with horizontally spreading wings (samaras to 2” long).

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org] 

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[www.nps.gov/plants]

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Solanum dulcamara // Bittersweet Nightshade

Origin:  Native to Europe, Northern Africa, and East/Central Asia

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Origin of common name “Nightshade” is unknown.  The nomenclature could be a reference to an alleged ancient Roman practice of replacing an enemy’s drink with a concoction of Black Nightshade, therefore drawing the shades for an eternal night... Or it could be more innocently describing the theory that this plant undergoes most of its growth during the night.  

Zone:  3-8

Habitat:  Spontaneous Urban Growth community.  Prefers moist, well-drained soils in full sunlight to partial shade, but can tolerate some flooding.  Grows in anthropogenic habitats, forest edges, forests, shores of lakes/rivers, swamps, and wetland margins.  

Mature Size:  2-10′ vine with creeping tendency (rhizomatous).  Plants grow both singly and in dense patches.  

Leaves:  Alternate.  Simple or compound, consisting of an opposite pair of leaflets and larger terminal leaflet.  Broadly ovate often with basal lobes, dark green above and lighter below.  Leaves grow 2-6″ long.  

Flower/Fruit:  Deep purple flowers with bright yellow anthers appear in hanging clusters.  Flowers grow about 3/4″ long and are made up of 5 sepals.  Flowers give way to clusters of bright red, glossy ovoid berries that ripen throughout Summer and Fall.  Berries are toxic.

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[http://www.fs.fed.us/]

[http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/]

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Ampelopsis brevipedunculata // Porcelain Berry

Origin:  Native to Northeastern Asia

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus Ampelopsis comes from Greek “Ampelos” meaning “vine” and “opsis” meaning “likeness”, referring to the plant’s resemblance to grape vines.  Species epithet (brevipedunculata) means short flower stalk.  Common name refers to porcelain-blue berries. 

Introduced to the United States in 1870 as a landscape plant.   

Zone:  4 to 8

Habitat:  Spontaneous Urban Growth community.  Grows easily in average, medium, well-drained soil in sun or shade, but adapts well to most soils, including sandy or rocky ones.  Found in anthropogenic habitats, forest edges, forests, marshes, and shores of lakes/rivers.  Spreads rapidly and is considered invasive. 

Mature Size:  15-20′ tall with 15-20′ spread.  Woody, tendril-climbing vine similar in habit to Wild Grapes. 

Leaves:  Opposite.  Simple.  3-lobed, deep green leaves grow up to 5″ long.

Flower/Fruit:  Cymes of non-showy, greenish flowers appear in the leaf axils in July.  Flowers give way in the Fall to showy clusters of rounded-to-oval, pale lilac-blue fruits (1/4" diameter) which mature to brighter shades of blue-green and porcelain blue.

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

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Rheum rhabarbarum // Rhubarb, Garden Rhubarb

Origin:  Native to Eurasia

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Rhubarb has been used in Asia for medicinal purposes for 5,000 years.  It was traded along the Silk Road, and eventually reached Europe, where it was known as “Turkish Rhubarb.”  It was introduced to America by European settlers in the 1700s, where it also became known as Pie Plant, due to its edible, tart stalks.  Thomas Jefferson planted Rhubarb at Monticello early after its introduction.

Zone:  3 to 8

Habitat:  Grows best with even and consistent moisture.  Prefers fertile, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade.  Cultivated in gardens for cooking (only stems are edible, leaves are poisonous).  Found in anthropogenic habitats and meadows/fields.

Mature Size:  2-3′ tall with 3-4′ spread.  Forms clumps on ground and spreads horizontally due to rhizomatous habit.  

Leaves:  Alternate.  Simple.  Large, heart-shaped, dark green leaves are highly toxic (oxalic acid) but ornamentally attractive.  Leaves grow up to 6-18″ long and up to 12″ across with curled edges.  Leaves die back each Winter but regrow from underground rhizomes with more leaves the following year.  

Stem:  Noted for edible, fleshy, colored stalk, ranging from deep red to pink to green.  Stalks may be used in pies, jams, and sauces.

Flower/Fruit:  Usually monoecious.  Tiny, whitish flowers form terminal panicles on erect stalks anytime between May and late Summer.  Flowers give way to angular winged fruits, each containing one seed. 

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[pubs.ext.vt.edu]

[starheimk]

Comptonia peregrina // Sweetfern

Origin:  Native to Eastern United States

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus name Comptonia honors dendrologist and patron of botany Henry Compton (1632-1713) who served as the bishop of London.  Species epithet means “exotic” or “immigrant”, although Sweetfern is native to New England.  Common name refers to pungent aroma released when leaves are crushed, and resemblance of notched leaf edges to fern fronds.

Zone:  2 to 6

Habitat:  Old Field community.  Grows easily in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade, but can tolerate wet, windy conditions as well as drought and a variety of soils. 

Mature Size:  2-5′ tall with 3-8′ spread.  Does not transplant well, but can spread rapidly to form colonies once established.  

Leaves:  Alternate.  Simple.  Narrow, lustrous, leaves are deeply notched and medium to dark green in color.  Leaves grow up to 4″ long, and resemble abstracted fern fronds.

Bark:  Old stems are shiny and have a coppery, purplish color.  Resin dots appear on stems.

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Insignificant, yellowish-green flowers appear in Spring, giving way to greenish brown, burr-like nutlets.

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[starheimk]

Juniperus virginiana // Eastern Redcedar

Origin:  Native to Eastern North America

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Early explorers took note of Juniperus virginiana.  Arthur Barlowe and Phillip Amadus proclaimed the trees "the tallest and reddest cedars in the world" when they arrived at Roanoke Island in 1564. 

Colonial craftsmen used the wood for fenceposts and furniture, since it proved workable while also resistant to weathering.  It was also used prolifically in the pencil industry until the supply was exhausted.  

Used by Creek, Choctaw, Natchez, Kiowa, and Zuni Native Americans for a variety of medicinal purposes.  

Zone:  2 to 9

Habitat:  Old Field community.  Grows easily in average, dry to medium-moisture soil in full sunlight.  Intolerant of wet soils but tolerant of drought. Often found on limestone bluffs, forest edges, fields, pastures, and fence lines.

Mature Size:  30-65′ tall with 8-25′ spread.  Broadly conical, sometimes columnar form with dense horizontal branching.  

Leaves:  Opposite.  Dark blue-green scaly foliage.  Foliage may turn brownish-green in the Winter.

Bark:  Gray to reddish-brown bark exfoliates in vertical shreds.

Flower/Fruit:  Dioecious.  Round, gray to blackish-green, berry-like cones (1/4″ diameter) produced by female plants in Fall of the first year.  Cones attract a variety of birds, including Cedar Waxwings (named for affinity for the tree).

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[www.arborday.org]

[www.wildflower.org/plants] 

[starheimk]

Verbascum thapsus // Common Mullein

Origin:  Native to Europe and Asia

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus name may come from the Latin word “barbascum”, meaning “bearded plant.”  Specific epithet honors the ancient village of Thapsus (now in ruins) located near Carthage in modern day Tunisia.  Common name comes from the Latin word “mollis” meaning “soft” (referring to the flannel-textured leaves).

Originally brought to the U. S. in early colonial times primarily because of its extensive history as an herbal remedy for various medicinal conditions. Listed as a noxious weed in Hawaii and Colorado.  Tea brewed from this plant has a soothing effect.

Zone:  3 to 9

Habitat:  Old Field community.  Prefers dry, stony soils, but tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, including poor soils.  Must have good drainage. Found in anthropogenic habitats, cliffs, ledges, meadows and fields, ridges and ledges.

Mature Size:  2-7′ tall with 1.5-2.5′ spread.  Erect, vertical stalk rises from rosette.

Leaves:  Basal leaves occur in a rosette.  Leaves have thick, soft, densely-hairy texture and pale gray-green color.  Leaves grow 6-15” long.  

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Stem topped in summer by a 20-inch long cylindrical inflorescence of densely-packed, 5-lobed, yellow flowers (1” across). Flowering stems appear winged because the smaller fuzzy alternate oval stem leaves have tapered and prolonged bases that extend down the surface of the stem.

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[starheimk]

Chamaecyparis thyoides // Atlantic Whitecedar, White Cypress

Origin:  Native to Eastern United States

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus name Chamaecyparis derives from “Chamai” meaning “dwarf” and “kyparissos” meaning “Cypress”.

Large stands are found growing in New Jersey, where it is the state tree.

Atlantic Whitecedar wood is very hard and resistant to decay/warping, and used in boat construction, shingles, and posts.    

Zone:  4 to 8

Habitat:  Red Maple Swamp community.  Grows easily in average, moist, well-drained soil in full sunlight to partial shade.  Tolerates wet soils.  Found in swamps, bogs, and wetland margins.  Grows in colonies in the wild. 

Mature Size:  30-50′ tall with 30-50′ spread.  Columnar form with steeple-like crown.  

Leaves:  Alternate.  Needle-like juvenile leaves and scaly mature leaves are soft blue-green in color.  

Bark:  Characteristic fissured, fibrous bark, reddish brown in color.  

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Yellow, pollen-bearing cones found at ends of stems.  Globose, seed-bearing cones emerge in clusters, initially purple before maturing to brown.  

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/]

[starheimk]

Castanea dentata // American Chestnut

Origin:  Native to Eastern United States

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Genus name Castanea comes from the name of a town in Thessaly, where these trees reportedly grew in abundance. Species epithet (dentata) describes toothed margins of leaves.  

Castanea dentata is referenced in the first line of H. W. Longfellow’s poem, “The Village Blacksmith.”  “Under the spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands...”

Native Americans used parts of this tree to treat whooping cough, heart conditions, and chafed skin.

Nuts are sweet and edible, and are associated with the holiday season. (”Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...”)

Zone:  5 to 8

Habitat:  Oak Hickory community.  Grow in moist, well-drained loams in full sun.  Forest edges.  Forests.  

Mature Size:  Once grew to 50-75′ tall with 50-75′ spreading crowns, but now American Chestnut trees are only seen as young saplings before dying off from a fungus blight introduced from China in 1904.

Leaves:  Alternate.  Simple.  Toothed, dull green leaves (6-10″ long) turn shades of yellow in the Fall.  

Bark: Smooth and brown when young.  Develops distinctive fissures and ridges as it matures.  Blight-infested bark is sunken and split, often with visible orange fungal bodies.

Flower/Fruit:  Monoecious.  Aromatic yellow-white male flowers borne in dense clusters on slender, 4-8″ catkins in June.  Female flowers appear in smaller catkins in June.  Flowers give way to small, sweet nuts encased in spiny burrs (2-3″ in diameter).  2-3 nuts are housed in each burr.  

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]

[http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/]

[starheimk]

Osmunda cinnamomea // Cinnamon Fern

Origin:  Native to the Americas and Eastern Asia

Etymology/Cultural Associations:  Common name refers to the cinnamon colored fibers found near the frond bases.  Osmunda fiber used in the potting of orchids comes from the roots of these ferns.

Zone:  3 to 9

Habitat:  Red Maple Swamp community.  Prefers moist, rich, acidic soils but can adapt to a range of soil types.  Found in moist, boggy ground along streams and on shaded ledges and bluffs.

Mature Size:  2-3′ tall with 2-3′ spread.  Typically grows in clumps.

Leaves:  Stiff, fertile fronds appear in early Spring and quickly turn brown. Fronds bear spores.  “Fiddleheads” emerge from the base of the plant and unfurl into pinnately-compound, yellowish-green, sterile fronds (2-4′ long) that turn yellow in the Fall.   

Flower/Fruit:  Spores borne from fronds.

[www.missouribotanicalgarden.org]

[www.gobotany.newenglandwild.org]