Alternate Leaf Dogwood in Winter

Alternate-leaf dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) is a less than common native shrub or small tree in this area of Ohio.  I see C.alternifolia in both floodplains and along headwater streams and 9 times out of 10 my first impression is that it is a young sassafras tree.  On older twigs it can be hard to see that the leaf scars are alternate - they appear bunched even whorled sometimes however if you find a young fast growing twig it is clear that the tree is alternate.  You will almost always notice that one of the lower branches will be dead or will have dead twigs - they will stand out as a bright orange branch.



young twig

 


old twig and dead twig

 

Terminal Buds of Four Hickories

A look just at the terminal buds of four different native hickories: Clockwise from top left - shagbark hickory (C. ovata), bitternut hickory (C. cordiformis), pignut hickory (C. glabra) and mockernut hickory (C. alba). Colored pencil.

Various Twigs

Above is the twig and leaf scars of blue ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata)



Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)  showing leaf buds and a flowering bud (turban-like)

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) twig is one of the few species having noticeably green twigs.

Sweet gum

A corky-winged twig of sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)

And a sketch of the famous "gum ball" fruit



Basswood

Two looks at winter basswood twigs

Sambucus

Two species of elderberry in winter

Yellow Poplar

The fall fruit and winter twig of a tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Northern Catalpa

Northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)

American Beech

American beech (Fagus grandifolia) - unmistakable cigar-shaped terminal bud!

Witch-hazel

Twig of witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) illustrated in mid-December

Winter Twigs

Top to Bottom: red osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), pawpaw (Asimina triloba), musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana), Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and American basswood (Tilia americana)

Twig Variety

More winter twigs... Left to Right - black oak (Quercus velutina), bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis), tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) and Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra).

Oak Twigs

Here is a trio of winter oak twigs white (Q. alba), black (Q. velutina) and bur (Q. macrocarpa)

Zanthozylem

Zanthozylem americanum or prickley-ash is a native midwestern shrub.

OHIO

OK, so my firs blog worked and the image even appeared! The above image is dedicated to my new home state - Ohio. The image is again in colored pencil and is of a Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) leaf bud breaking dormancy.