North Dakota State University
NDSU Extension Service

TREES and SHRUBS of North Dakota

EB-38 (Revised), August 2003

Dale E. Herman, Professor of Horticulture
Larry J. Chaput, Research Specialist

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Preface

This 2003 revision of the booklet by John Molberg first published in 1950 retains the features of having foliage pictured against a background of inch squares. Previous revised editions were published in 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1985, 1990, and 1995.

The late John Molberg authored Common Trees and Shrubs of North Dakota. Molberg served as Associate State Forester from 1946-1972, in charge of state tree nursery operations and head of the Forestry Department at the School of Forestry in Bottineau. He was designated Professor Emeritus by the North Dakota Board of Higher Education in 1981.

Dale Herman, Professor of Horticulture, and Larry Chaput, Research Specialist, at North Dakota State University, Fargo, prepared this revised edition. Other revisions and additions were done by Robert Heintz, Vernon Quam and Earl Behrens, formerly with the NDSU Extension Service, and Richard Gilmore, formerly with the North Dakota Forest Service.

Forest Areas and Forestry in North Dakota

North Dakota is a plains state, but about 1 percent of its area is covered with forest vegetation. The wooded areas of the state are:

Turtle Mountains: These rolling hills in Bottineau and Rolette Counties rise about 500 feet above the surrounding prairie. Originally they were covered with a good growth of quaking aspen, balsam poplar, bur oak, green ash, paper birch, and American elm, but repeated fires and land clearing for agriculture have reduced the forest area by half leaving approximately 90,000 acres of forest, most of it in a low state of productivity. The numerous lakes and surrounding timber make the Turtle Mountains a favored spot for swimming, camping, fishing, and hunting. It is also the site of the renowned International Peace Gardens.

Killdeer Mountains: These rolling hills in northwestern Dunn County are smaller and not as heavily timbered but support essentially the same vegetation.

Pembina Gorge: An eroded escarpment of the Red River Valley in northwestern Pembina County, this area differs from the Turtle Mountains in that it has no lakes, does not rise over the prairie, and basswood is added to the timber species.

Devils Lake Region: Much of the shoreline and upland of Devils Lake is covered with timber growth similar to that in the Pembina Gorge. Unfortunately, large numbers of trees have been lost to flooding.

Bottom Lands of Missouri, Red, and Sheyenne River Valleys: Good stands of cottonwood, elm, ash and boxelder are found in the bottoms, much of which have been flooded by water backed up by dams.

Little Missouri Drainage: One isolated stand of limber pine, several stands of ponderosa pine, and scattered Rocky Mountain juniper make this area unique. Common juniper and creeping juniper are also present.

A major portion of forestry activity in North Dakota is the planting and care of farm windbreaks, an activity in which North Dakota leads all the plains states. The Soil Conservation Districts operate tree nurseries at Oakes and Bismarck and plant most of the trees distributed for windbreaks. Coniferous trees are grown at the Towner State Nursery, Towner, ND.

The North Dakota Forest Service is the state agency responsible for administering cooperative forestry programs, forest fire control, timber sales on state-owned land, management of state recreational forest lands, and management of the state tree nursery at Towner. Lands have been acquired for state forests in the Turtle Mountains, Pembina Hills, and Sheyenne River Valley near Fort Ransom. Over 10,000 acres of timbered lands are owned by the State Forest Service in the Turtle Mountains, with lesser amounts owned in the other areas.

The widespread use of herbicides has had a significant effect on the growth of trees in the state. Exceedingly sensitive trees such as boxelder are no longer planted. Many boxelder and Siberian elm have been killed. Resistant trees, especially conifers, have increased in popularity for shelterbelts. One study indicates that tree growth on sensitive species has been reduced about 25 percent since the advent of herbicides.

Click here for a black and white photo of tree leaves exposed to herbicides. (60 Kb b&w photo)

Names of Trees

Trees have both common and scientific names. A tree may be known by several common names in different localities. For instance, the tree known as "quaking aspen" is also called "trembling aspen." Each language may have one or more common names for the same tree. This confusion can be avoided by using a scientific name which is universal the world over. The scientific name of quaking aspen is Populus tremuloides. The first word, corresponding to a surname, refers to the genus to which the tree belongs, and the second word refers to a specific tree species within the genus. Thus, Populus and the specific name following, tremuloides, balsamifera, deltoides, etc. identify the particular tree species as "quaking aspen," "balsam poplar," and "cottonwood," respectively. The scientific names are in Latin, used worldwide and rarely change.

Tree Identification Keys

Click here for a larger image of the Tree Identification Key. (65 Kb black and white chart)

Glossary

Achene: Small, dry, one-seeded fruit.

Alkaline: Referring to soil pHs of 7.0 and higher, performance of some tree and shrub species is affected in these soils because needed minerals eg., iron, are not available to the tree.

Alternate: Bud or leaf arrangement (singly) along a stem at spiraled intervals.

Appressed: Flattened against.

Arcuate venation: To arch or curve like the veins in Dogwood (Cornus).

Ascending: Rising somewhat obliquely and curving upward.

Awl-shaped: Oval shaped, with sharp pointed end.

Blade: The broad, flat, green part of the leaf.

Bract: A modified leaf from the axil of which a flower or flower cluster arises.

Browsers: Large mammals that feed on the young growing parts of trees or shrubs.

Capsule: Pod consisting of two or more chambers.

Catkin: A scaly-bracted spike of unisexual flowers.

Chlorosis: A leaf symptom due to mineral deficiencies where the leaf will remain green next to the veins and yellow from margins inward.

Compound: A leaf that is made up of more than one leaf blade, termed leaflets.

Conical: Cone shaped.

Coniferous: Cone bearing trees and shrubs.

Cultivar: A cultivated variety as distinguished from a botanical variety.

Deciduous: Not persistent, leaves falling in autumn.

Drupe: Fleshy fruit with a pit or stone.

Drupelet: A small drupe.

Entire margin: Unbroken, without teeth or lobes.

Erose: Irregularly toothed or eroded.

Evergreen: Retains leaves year-round.

Fascicle: A small bundle.

Follicle: A dry, dehiscent fruit developed from a simple ovary and splitting along one suture.

Glabrous: Without hair, smooth.

Glandular: Small, usually shiny bumps on the surface.

Globose: Spherical.

Imbricate: Overlapping, like shingles on a roof.

Inconspicuous: Small, not readily noticed by the naked eye.

Incurved: Curved inward.

Lateral buds: Those buds below the terminal buds where side branches arise.

Leaflet: A single segment of a compound leaf.

Lenticel: A breathing pore in young bark, appearing as a light-colored, often lens-shaped, dot.

Miticide: A chemical that is used to control or kill mites.

Mottled: An irregular spotting or alternating color on leaves, stems and other plant parts.

Needle: Elongate, linear, sharp-pointed leaves.

Opposite: Growing in pairs but separated by a stem.

Palmate: With three or more lobes, veins or leaflets arising from one point.

Pendulous: Hanging down.

Petiole: The stalk of a leaf.

Pinnate: Compound leaf with leaflets on either side of central axis.

Pith: Spongy center of a twig; if it has crosswalls, it is called "chambered."

Pome: Fleshy fruit with a core, such as a crabapple.

Resinous: Sticky with resin.

Samara: Dry seeded fruit with a membranous wing.

Scale: Bud covering or tiny, blunt leaf.

Schizocarp: Winged, samara-like fruits borne in pairs.

Scurfy: Scaly or flaky on the surface.

Serrate: With sharp teeth along the margin pointing forward.

Sessile: With no stalk or petiole.

Sinus: The space between lobes.

Spur: A saclike or tubular projection on a sepal or petal.

Stomatiferous: Many pores on the epidermis of a leaf and appearing as many white dots or lines.

Subopposite: A bud/leaf arrangement in which they are close to being opposite from each other, but one is slightly lower than the other.

Two-ranked: Appearing to come from only two sides of the twig; not equally distributed around the twig.

Venation: Pertaining to the vein pattern in the leaf blades.

Wildlife species: Those creatures that are associated with woody plants, such as insects, mammals and birds.

Wildlife value: A rating value of woody plants to wildlife species.

Contents | Deciduous Trees | Deciduous Shrubs | Evergreen Trees | General Identification Information

For more information on this and other topics, see: www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu

EB-38 (Revised), August 2003

NDSU Extension Service, North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science, and U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Sharon D. Anderson, Director, Fargo, North Dakota. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. We offer our programs and facilities to all persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, Vietnam era veterans status, or sexual orientation; and are an equal opportunity employer.
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North Dakota State University
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