Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Example:
A dichotomous key is one tool that can be used to identify trees. This type of key is also used for
flowers, animals, rocks, fish, and more! A dichotomous key contains a series
Tree has of choices
broad leaves that lead
-- Deciduous Trees
the user to the correct name of an item. "Dichotomous" means Example:
"divided into two parts." Therefore,
a dichotomous key will always give two choices in each step.
1. Use leaves from a tree or find a picture of a tree you want to identify and click on the most
appropriate match to the right.
or
2. Click one of the numbers below to identify one of our mystery trees. If you end with two
matching pictures you have identified the tree correctly.
or
3. Choose a tree from the species list below that you want to learn more about.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Fraxinus nigra
5. Black Ash
Prunus serotina
6. Black Cherry
Picea mariana
7. Black Spruce
Juglans nigra
8. Black Walnut
Populus deltoides
9. Cottonwood
Tsuga canadensis
10. Eastern Hemlock
Pinus banksiana
11. Jack Pine
Thuja occidentalis
12. Northern
White Cedar Picea abies
Acer saccharum
18. Shagbark Hickory
Larix laricina
19. Sugar Maple
Populus tremuloides
20. Tamarack
Fraxinus americana
21. Trembling Aspen
Betula papyrifera
22. White Ash
Quercus alba
LEAF Fax:
Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education 715•346•3025
College of Natural Resources
UW-Stevens Point Phone:
Stevens Point, WI 54481 715•346•4956
Needles in clusters
Example:
You have a:
Tamarack
(Larix laricina)
You have a:
White pine
(Pinus strobus)
Needles in pairs
Example:
White Pine Pinus strobus
Learn more about the white pine in the
Silvics of North America
Example:
You have a:
Red Pine
(Pinus resinosa)
Example:
You have a:
Jack Pine
(Pinus banksiana)
You have a:
Scotch Pine
(Pinus sylvestris)
So far you have chosen:
needles single or flattened and scaly
(click a choice above to go back to that part of the key)
Needles flat
Example:
So far you have chosen:
needles single or flattened and scaly
needles square, round or scaly
(click a choice above to go back to that part of the key)
You have a:
Northern White
Cedar
(Thuja occidentalis)
Example:
You have a:
White Spruce
(Picea glauca)
Example:
You have a:
Black Spruce
(Picea mariana)
Example:
You have a:
Norway Spruce
(Picea abies)
White Spruce Picea glauca
Learn more about the white spruce in the
Silvics of North America
Opposite branching
(side branches, leaves, and leaf scars grow from the stem
directly across from each other)
Example:
Alternate branching
(side branches, leaves, and leaf scars do not grow directly
across from each other)
Example:
So far you have chosen:
tree has broad leaves
opposite branching
(click a choice above to go back to that part of the key)
Compound leaves
(A single leaf with numerous leaflets. Leaflets are smaller
parts of leaves that often resemble leaves themselves and
join together along the leaf stem. A leaf actually begins
where the woody twig ends.)
Example:
Simple leaves
(The leaf stem is the same as the main vein for that leaf.)
Example:
So far you have chosen:
tree has broad leaves
opposite branching
compound leaves
(click a choice above to go back to that part of the key)
You have a:
Black Ash
(Fraxinus nigra)
You have a:
White Ash
(Fraxinus
americana)
Compound leaf.
Opposite branching.
Opposite branching
Compound leaves
You have a:
Sugar Maple
(Acer saccharum)
You have a:
Red Maple (Acer
rubrum)
** Photos:
Oregon State Univ.,
Dept. Horticulture
**
**
** Opposite branching
Sugar Maple Acer saccharum
Learn more about the sugar maple in the
Silvics of North America
**
**
**
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia
Learn more about the American beech in Silvics
of North America
Shagbark Hickory
Carya ovata
Learn more about the shagbark hickory in Silvics of
North America
**
**
Yellow Birch
Betula alleghaniensis
Learn more about the yellow birch in the
Silvics of North America
Opportunities/
School Forests Urban Forestry Wildland Fire Tree Identification
Resources
In the News
LEAF is hiring!
See the Position Announcement (PDF) and Position Description (PDF) for
information.
Contact us:
LEAF Email: leaf@uwsp.edu
Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education Fax: 715•346•3025
College of Natural Resources Phone: 715•346•4956
UW-Stevens Point
Stevens Point, WI 54481
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