Sawtooth Oak - Quercus acutissima

   The Sawtooth Oak - Quercus acutissima is most easily recognized by it's fringed acorn cup and narrow leave with bristle tipped teeth, resembling the teeth of a saw. It is a fast growing, deciduous shade tree that can reach heights of 30- 70 feet tall. Sawtooth Oak grows in an erect fashion with a single trunk and dense rounded crown. Originally introduced from Asia, generally found in planned landscapes and is reported to be naturalized in scattered areas from Pennsylvania South to North Carolina and Georgia, South to Louisiana. Sawtooth Oak is primarily planted for wildlife cover and food due to it's abundant fruit and fast growth habit. This species is sometimes used for urban and highway beautification as it is tolerant of soil compaction, air pollution, and drought.

Image Citations (Photos 1 & 2): Richard Gardner, UMES, Bugwood.org

Named for it's unique leaf edges, the Sawtooth Oak is a beautiful tree. The green leaves are alternate, simple, oblong or obvate, 12-16 pairs of sharp bristle tipped teeth, parallel veins and a lustrous upper surface and dull pale underside. The leaves add to the visual interest by beginning a brilliant yellow to golden yellow color in the Spring, turning dark lustrous green in summer and yellow to golden brown in the fall. The bark is dark gray in color with light gray scales that become deeply furrowed with age. The fruit is in the form of an acorn, the cup encloses 1/3 - 2/3 of the 1-2.5 cm nut. The acorn rim is adorned with long spreading hairlike scales that form a distinctive fringe.

Recommended for hardiness zones 5-9, the Sawtooth Oak can be found at most larger nurseries within those zones. Sawtooth Oak is also considered to be easily transplanted and hardy making it a wise choice for any landscape with room for a large spreading shade tree. It is similar to the Chinquapin Oak Castanea pumila in appearance, distinguished primarily by the difference in fruit.

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American Basswood - Tilia americana

   The American Basswood - Tilia americana, is most easily recognized by the combination of alternate, two ranked, and heart shaped leaves that are asymmetric at the base and the leafy bract subtending the flowers and fruit.  It is a deciduous tree that reaches heights of 60-100 feet tall that grows in an erect form with a single trunk.  The crown of the American Basswood is ovoid or rounded with numerous slender branches.  

Image Citation: Vern Wilkins, Indiana University, Bugwood.org

The bark of the American Basswood is smooth and dark gray when young, becoming furrowed with vertical ridges.  The leaves are alternate, simple, 2 ranked, ovate, heart shaped and ovate at the base.  The upper surface of the leaves are a dark yellowish green, hairless with conspicuous veins, while the lower leaf surface is a paler green color and lightly haired.  The blades of the leaves are 12-15 cm long and 7-10 cm wide.  The flowers are yellowish white with 5 sepals, 5 petals and inflorescence.  The fruit is a rounded thick-shelled gray nut that is about 6 mm broad, maturing in Autumn.  

Image Citation: Wendy VanDyk Evans, Bugwood.org

The American Basswood is native to the rich and deciduous woods of North America, it is widespread in the East from New Brunswick and Saskatchewan in the North to Central Florida and Texas in the South.  

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Glossy Buckthorn - Frangula alnus

  The Glossy Buckthorn - Frangula alnus is a deciduous small tree or shrub that reaches heights of 20-25 feet.  Generally growing with multiple erect trunks in a shrubby form, with a stout crown.  Originally introduced from Europe about 200 years ago, Glossy Buckthorn has become established in weedy bogs, and other wetland areas.  Found as far North as Saskatchewan and Quebec South to West Virginia and Tennessee and West to Idaho and Colorado.  The Glossy Buckthorn is considered to be invasive in many areas and is treated as an invasive species in most Mid-Western wetland areas. 

Image Citation: Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

Named for it's lustrous or glossy upper leaf surfaces, the Glossy Buckthorn is also easily identified by it's shrubby habit and clusters of red, purple or black drupes.  The bark of the Glossy Buckthorn is smooth and gray-brown in color with visible horizontal lenticels.  Young twigs are void of thorns and slender in form.  The leaves are alternate, oblong or oval in shape, with a rounded base and sharply pointed tip, sometimes having a wavy overall appearance.  The upper leaf surface is a dark lustrous or glossy green, while the undersides are a dull paler green.  Each leaf surface contains 5-9 pairs of obvious parallel lateral veins that curve to follow the margins.  The fall foliage turns a bright yellow and tends to remain on the tree/shrub long after others have lost their leaves. The flowers are bisexual, small in size and a creamy green or yellow-green in color, occurring in clusters at leaf axils each Spring.  The fruit is a rounded drupe, usually containing 2 seeds, 5-10 mm in diameter.  The fruit is red when young becoming a purple-black with maturity in the late Summer season.  

Image Citation: Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

The Glossy Buckthorn is suited for hardiness zones 3-7 however it is not a recommended planting as it can overtake native species easily.  It's seeds are spread by various types of wildlife including birds and small mammals.  It easily adapts to not ideal growing conditions such as full sun, little sun and even high soil pH levels.  

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Cryptomeria - Cryptomeria japonica

     The Cryptomeria - Cryptomeria japonica is a monoecious ornamental evergreen tree that can reach heights upwards of 65-70 feet.  Growing in a slender, upright pyramidal fashion, it has unique short, sharp in-curved needles that are unique to this species and only the rare Taiwania (a similar species).  The needle-like leaves are 3-12 mm long and  spirally arranged. The bark is reddish brown to dark gray, fibrous and often peels off in strips. The cones are brown, slightly rounded with an apical point and are borne at the tips of the twigs in groups of 1-6.  The branching habit of this species is considered to be irregular and does not occur in a uniform fashion.

Image Citation (Mature Cryptomeria): Richard Webb, Bugwood.org

The Cryptomeria is native to only China and Japan, but has been successfully grown as an ornamental in the United States. In it's native range specimens are known to live more than 1700 years and reach diameters of almost 10 feet.  It is the national tree of Japan where it is often planted at temples and shrines.  In the US, the best specimens are found in regions with warm and moist summers.  The Cryptomeria is sometimes also called Sugi or Japanese Cedar.  This species prefers moist, rich, fertile, acidic, but well-drained soils in full sun and can only tolerate some light shade.  This tree is recommended for US hardiness zones 5-9 and is considered to be a low maintenance large specimen or screen tree.  

Image Citation (Young Cryptomeria): Bonsak Hammeraas - The Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Bugwood.org

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Sassafras - Sassafras albidum

   The Sassafras - Sassafras albidum is a member of the Laurel family. Having only three varieties, two of which are native to China and Taiwan, and the other is native to the Eastern portion of the United States. Spreading by suckers growing from the roots, in it's natural habitat it is commonly found growing along the woods edge and fields or as the under story of a forest.

The fruit from the Sassafras is blue in color when mature starting at clear and red when young. Growing from red stems the fruit grow in an almost ornamental pattern. The fruit/berries are a favorite of small birds such as Finches in the Spring and Summer. Like the American Holly, the Sassafras is dioecious, meaning the pistallate and staminate flowers mostly grow on different trees.

Image Citation: Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources - Forestry Archive, Bugwood.org

The Sassafras tree has a unique scent that is recognizable even before the tree is in view, the oil that produces the scent is in the roots, the leaves and even the bark of the tree. Teas can be made by steeping the roots of the tree-Native American are recorded to have used this tea to treat many ailments. The oil was also used as the flavoring for traditional Root Beer prior to it's use being banned by the FDA in 1960 because of the Safrole found in the oil was thought to be a possible carcinogen. This banned was reversed partially in 1994 but new restrictions were put into place to be sure that the Safrole was removed prior to human consumption . File Powder, is a spicy herb made from dried and ground leaves. It was traditionally used by Native Americans in the South, and was adopted into Creole cuisine in Louisiana as a very commonly used ingredient.

Image Citations: Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org

The foliage of the Sassafras is very unique having as many as three varying type of leaves. The leaves can vary from single lobes, double lobed or mitten shaped to triple lobed. They are green in color during the growing season and in the fall put on a very beautiful show. The leaves will vary in color in the fall from Yellow, Orange, Scarlet and Crimson.

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