Forest Trees
of Illinois
THIRD EDITION
By Robert H. Mohlenbrock
Department of Botany, Southern Illinois University
Photography by John A. Richardson and Robert H. Mohlenbrock
Illustrations by Miriam Wysong Meyer and Fredda J. Burton
Southern Illinois University
Printed by authority of the State of Illinois
Issued by
DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION
Division of Forestry
14
(17943—10M—4-80)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Acknowledgments 4
- Introduction 5
- Illustrated Glossary 6
- Key to the Trees of Illinois in Spring, Summer, and Fall 9
- Key to the Trees of Illinois in Winter 27
- Trees of Illinois 38
- Special Places to Study Trees 318
- White Oak, the State Tree of Illinois 322
- Illinois Big Tree Champions 323
- Index to Common and Scientific Names 324
- District Foresters 330
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the late Mr. Fred Siemert, State Forester of theIllinois Division of Forestry, for suggesting the need for a new“Forest Trees of Illinois.” The first and second editions of this workhave been immensely popular, and the need for a third edition isgratifying.
This third edition is only slightly modified from the second. A fewillustrations and bark photographs have been substituted, and thekey has been improved in places. New material has been added tothe description of the water hickory.
I wish to give thanks to Mr. Al Mickelson of the Illinois Divisionof Forestry for encouraging this third edition, and to his assistants,Mr. John Sester and Mr. Ernest Kunze, for editing it forpublication. Mark Mohlenbrock has redrawn the leaves and fruitillustrated on pages 101 and 169.
Introduction
The initial edition of Forest Trees of Illinois was written in 1927by W. R. Mattoon and R. B. Miller, two prominent foresters in thestate at that time. This was revised in 1955 by Dr. George DamonFuller, then of the Illinois State Museum, and E. E. Nuuttila, StateForester of Illinois.
In 1973, I prepared the first edition of the new Forest Trees ofIllinois with new text, keys, photographs, and illustrations. Anupdated second edition was published in 1978. Because of theheavy demand for this work, this third edition has been prepared.
Woody plants are usually divided into trees and shrubs, but thedifference between these growth forms is not always distinct. In thiswork, we consider a plant to be of tree stature if it has a single erecttrunk which branches above the ground to form a crown. It musthave a diameter of at least 3 inches 4½ feet above the ground and anovera