801-413-3895

​

Tree Characteristics

 

Tree characteristics mentioned in the Tree Browser generally are for the species or most commonly planted cultivar, though some species show a wide range of characteristics between cultivars. Characteristics are organized into four areas: General Characteristics, Growth Characteristics, Ornamental Characteristics and Tolerance. Select one or more characteristics to narrow the list of species included.

 

General Characteristics

Family

A group of closely related species and genera; scientific name ends in "aceae".

 

Cultivar Availability 

Cultivar Availability means that selected, genetically pure trees are available with known characteristics. Cultivars often prove to be more desirable than trees grown from seed or collected in the wild.

 

USDA Hardiness Zones 

A USDA Hardiness Zone range is given for each tree species. The lowest number indicates the tree's coldest recommended zone. The highest number is an approximate indicator of a tree's tolerance of a hot climate. These zones are broad and general. For more information on hardiness zones, and for a table of hardiness zones in Utah and surrounding counties, go to http://forestry.usu.edu/trees-cities-towns/tree-selection/hardiness-zones and https://www.usna.usda.gov/science/plant-hardiness-zone-map/. Utah's hardiness zones range from zone 3 in eastern Rich County and eastern Summit County, to zones 5 and 6 in the Salt Lake City area and most of the rest of the state at lower elevations, to zone 7 in Southern Utah and even zone 8 in the Glen Canyon and St. George areas. Planting on sites colder than recommended may work if the site is protected. Species should be planted outside their recommended zones only on a trial basis.

 

Tree Type 

Select Conifer for pines, firs, junipers, ginkgo, and other conifers (gymnosperms).

Select Broadleaf for trees with broad, flat leaves (more or less) (angiosperms).

 

Utah Native 

Native and introduced trees are referred to throughout this database. The term 'native' refers to trees that naturally occurred in the area prior to European settlement. Most of these trees are found in the mountains, or near streams and other water sources at lower elevations. Few native trees are planted in our cultivated landscapes, though many would make good ornamental trees. Trees native to Utah (most also are native to the surrounding states) are noted in the Browser with 'Yes'; non-Utah native trees are denoted by 'No'.

 

Growth Characteristics

Growth Rate 

Growth rate refers to height growth for the first ten years after a tree is planted.

Select Low for < 12-inches/year height growth.

Select Low-Medium for low or medium growth rate.

Select Medium for 12- to 24-inches/year height growth.

Select Medium-High for medium or high growth rate.

Select High for > 24-inches/year height growth.

 

Mature Height

Mature height will vary considerably by cultivar and site and is shown here assuming adequate care.

Select Low for < 20 feet mature height.

Select Low-Medium for low or medium mature height.

Select Medium for 20 to 40 feet mature height.

Select Medium-High for medium or high mature height.

Select High for > 40 feet mature height

 

Longevity 

The typical life span of a good tree in a suburban neighborhood is 30 to 50 years, while downtown trees may only last 5 to 10 years. People tend to plant fast-growing trees that often have fairly short lives. While some of this is all right, homeowners and communities should also plant trees that might grow slower (though some grow quite fast) but that are longer-lived.

Select Low for less than 25 years typical life span.

Select Medium for 25 to 50 years typical life span.

Select High for more than 50 years typical life span.

 

Powerline Suitability 

Only very short trees should be planted under or directly adjacent to overhead electric lines. Medium height trees should be offset 15 to 20 feet horizontally from electric lines. Large trees should be offset 30 feet. Wider crowned trees like elms or maples should be offset more than narrower crowned trees like spruces or firs. If you suspect that you are planting in an area with underground electric lines or other buried utilities, call Blue Stakes at 1-800-662-4111 to have utilities located and marked. "Yes" in this database means a tree is suitable for planting directly under powerlines. "No" means it is not. However, even a species that gets a "No" may have small-maturing cultivars available.

 

Crown Shape Crown Shape 

Crown shape varies considerably by cultivar and sometimes by site. The common crown shape for a species is shown as follows: Pyramidal, Round, Columnar, Weeping, Broad, Oval, Vase, Layered, Shrubby, and Irregular.

 

Ornamental Features

Ornamental Features

​

Ornamental characteristics are important factors in tree selection even though they usually have little to do with whether a tree can survive and thrive on its site. Ornamental factors to consider include flower and fruit presence and appearance, foliage color and texture, bark characteristics, shade density, fall color, and winter appearance. Some trees have thorns or spines, objectionable odors, a tendency to have basal or root sprouts, or maintenance-related needs that also should be considered. 'Yes' for these features means that a species is noted for a particular ornamental feature; 'No' means it is not, though there may be exceptions depending on cultivar.

 

Tolerance Of...

Tolerance of Shade 

Shade tolerant plants often are best planted in at least partial shade, though many will do well in full sun. Shade intolerant plants usually need full sun to thrive.

Select Low for low shade tolerance.

Select Low-Medium for low or medium shade tolerance.

Select Medium for medium shade tolerance.

Select Medium-High for medium or high shade tolerance.

Select High for high shade tolerance.

 

Tolerance of Salt 

Generally means tolerance to salt on above ground plant surfaces, though may indicate some tolerance to soil salinity.

Select Low for low tolerance of salt.

Select Low-Medium for low or medium tolerance of salt.

Select Medium for medium tolerance of salt.

Select Medium-High for medium or high tolerance of salt.

Select High for high tolerance of salt.

​

Tolerance of Drought 

Indicates the tree's tolerance of low soil moisture, heat and/or low humidity.

Select Low for low tolerance to drought.

Select Low-Medium for low or medium tolerance to drought.

Select Medium for medium tolerance to drought.

Select Medium-High for medium or high tolerance to drought.

Select High for high tolerance to drought.

 

Tolerance of Poor Drainage 

Indicates the tree's tolerance to waterlogging, compaction, or otherwise poorly oxygenated soil.

Select Low for low tolerance to poor drainage.

Select Low-Medium for low or medium tolerance to poor drainage.

Select Medium for medium tolerance to poor drainage.

Select Medium-High for medium or high tolerance to poor drainage.

Select High for high tolerance to poor drainage.

 

Tolerance of Alkalinity 

Indicates the tree's tolerance of high soil pH or soil alkalinity; soil pH above 6.5 to 7.

Select Low for low tolerance to soil alkalinity.

Select Low-Medium for low or medium tolerance to soil alkalinity.

Select Medium for medium tolerance to soil alkalinity.

Select Medium-High for medium or high tolerance to soil alkalinity.

Select High for high tolerance to soil alkalinity.

 

Ease of Transplanting

This describes a tree's relative likelihood of transplanting success. A low ranking indicates a plant that may need extra care at planting and may do better if transplanted while fairly small.

Select Low for low transplanting difficulty.

Select Medium for medium transplanting difficulty.

Select High for high transplanting difficulty.

​

 

Achene: small, dry and hard one-seeded fruit.

 

Acorn: nut-like fruit of an oak with a scaly or warty cap.

 

Alternate leaves: leaves arranged on alternating sides of the twig.

 

Angiosperm: class of plants that has the seeds enclosed in an ovary; includes flowering plants.

 

Annual rings: a layer of wood – including spring-wood and summer-wood – grown in a single season; best seen in the cross-section of the trunk.

 

Awl-like leaves: short leaves that taper evenly to a point; found on junipers and redcedars.

 

Berry: fleshy fruit with several seeds.

 

Bisexual flower: a perfect flower; a flower with organs of both sexes present.

 

Broadleaf: trees having broad, flat-bladed leaves rather than needles; also a common name for hardwoods.

 

Cambium: layer of tissue one to several cells thick found between the bark and the wood; divides to form new wood and bark.

 

Capsule: dry fruit that splits open, usually along several lines, to reveal many seeds inside.

 

Chambered pith: pith divided into many empty horizontal chambers by cross partitions.

 

Common name: familiar name for a tree; can be very misleading because common names vary according to local custom, and there may be many common names for one species.

 

Compound leaves: leaves with more than one leaflet attached to a stalk called a rachis.

 

Conifer: trees and shrubs that usually bear their seeds in cones and are mostly evergreen; includes pines, firs spruces, yews and Douglas Fir.

 

Cross-section: surface or section of tree shown when wood is cross-cut; shows the circular growth rings.

 

Deciduous leaves: leaves that die and fall off trees after one growing season.

 

Dichotomous key: a key to tree identification based on a series of decisions, each involving a choice between two alternate identification characteristics.

 

Diffuse-porous: a type of hardwood in which vessels in the spring-wood are the same size as vessels in summer-wood (maples, birches, poplars, etc.).

 

Dioecious: having unisexual flowers with staminate (male) and pistillate (female) flowers borne on different trees.

 

Drupe: fleshy fruit with a single stone or pit.

 

Elliptic: resembling an ellipse and about one-half as wide as long.

 

Entire margin: leave margins that are smooth (not toothed).

 

Evergreen: trees and shrubs that retain their live, green leaves during the winter and for two or more growing seasons.

 

Family: group of closely related species and genera; scientific name ends in "aceae".

 

Forest ecology: study of the occurrence of forest plants and animals in respect to their environment.

 

Genus: a group of species that are similar; the plural of genus is genera.

 

Glabrous: Smooth, with no hair or scales.

 

Gymnosperm: large class of plants having seeds without an ovary, usually on scales of a cone; includes conifers and the ginkgo.

 

Hardwoods: usually refers to trees that have broad-leaves and wood made up of vessels; similar to angiosperms.

 

Heartwood: nonliving wood (often dark) found in the middle of a tree's stem.

 

Imperfect flower: a unisexual flower with either functional stamens or pistils but not both.

 

Inflorescence: the flowering portion of a plant.

 

Lanceolate: lance-shaped; about 4 times as long as wide and widest below the middle.

 

Lateral buds: buds found along the length of the twig (not at the tip); they occur where the previous year's leaves were attached.

 

Leaflets: small blades of a compound leaf attached to a stalk (rachis); without buds where they attach.

 

Legume: fruit that is a dry, elongated pod that splits in two, with seeds attached along one edge inside.

 

Lobed margin: leaf margin with gaps that extend more or less to the center of the leaf.

 

Lustrous: glossy, shiny.

 

Monoecious: having unisexual flowers with staminate (male) and pistillate (female) flowers borne on the same tree, though often on different branches.

 

Multiple fruit: fruit made up of a cluster of ripened ovaries that came from many separate flowers attached to a common receptacle.

 

Naturalized: nonnative trees that have escaped cultivation and are growing in the wild.

 

Needle-like leaves: very thin, sharp, pointed, pin-like leaves; found on pines, firs and some other softwoods.

 

Node: the point on a stem at which leaves and buds are attached.

 

Nut: hard, dry fruit with an outer husk that sometimes does not split open readily and an inner shell that is papery to woody.

 

Obovate: inversely ovate.

 

Opposite leaves: leaves arranged directly across from each other on the twig.

 

Orbicular: circular in outline.

 

Oval: broadly elliptic, with the width greater than one-half the length.

 

Ovate: having the lengthwise outline of an egg, widest below the middle.

 

Palmately compound: compound leaves in which several leaflets radiate from the end of a stalk (rachis); like the fingers around the palm of a hand.

 

Perfect flower: a bisexual flower with functional stamens and pistils.

 

Persistent leaves: leaves that remain on the tree during winter.

 

Petiole: a slender stalk that supports a simple leaf.

 

Phloem: inner bark of a tree that carries food and sugars from the leaves to other parts of the tree.

 

Photosynthesis: process through which the leaves, with energy from sunlight, make food from water and carbon dioxide.

 

Pinnately compound: compound leaves in which leaflets are attached laterally along the rachis or stalk; leaves may be once, twice, or three-times pinnately compound.

 

Pistil: the ovary-bearing (female) organ of a flower.

 

Pistillate flower: a unisexual (female) flower bearing only pistils.

 

Pith: soft and spongy, or chambered tissue found in the middle of the stem.

 

Polygamo-dioecious: having unisexual flowers with staminate (male) and pistillate (female) flowers borne on different trees, but also having some perfect flowers on each tree.

 

Polygamo-monoecious: having unisexual flowers with staminate (male) and pistillate (female) flowers borne on the same tree, along with some perfect flowers on each tree.

 

Polygamous: Having some unisexual flowers and some bisexual flowers on each plant (can be polygamo-monoecious or polygamo-dioecious).

 

Pome: fruit with a fleshy outer coat and a stony layer (similar to plastic) within, with seeds inside the stony layer (apples, pears, etc.).

 

Pubescent: covered with hairs.

 

Rachis: the central stalk to which leaflets of a compound leaf are attached.

 

Radial-section: surface or section of a tree shown when wood is cut down its length straight through the middle.

 

Rays: ribbon-like groups of vessels, tracheids and fibers that move water and other substances in the xylem between inner and outer rings and the phloem; best seen in radial sections of the trunk.

 

Rhombic: with an outline resembling a rhombus (diamond-shaped).

 

Ring-porous: type of hardwood in which the vessels in spring-wood are much larger than vessels in summer-wood (oaks, ashes, elms etc.).

Samara: dry fruit with one or two flat wings attached to a seed (as on elms and maples).

 

Sapwood: living wood, often light colored, found between the bark or cambium and the heartwood, usually darker colored.

 

Scale-like leaves: small, short, fish-scale-like leaves which cover the entire twig; found on juniper and redcedar.

 

Scientific names: Latin-based names used world-wide to standardize names of trees and other plants and animals.

 

Semi-ring-porous: type of hardwood in which the vessels in the spring-wood are somewhat larger than vessels in summer-wood; between diffuse-porous and ring-porous (black cherry, black walnut, etc.).

 

Serrate: with teeth.

 

Shade intolerant: trees that need a lot of sunlight for growth and survival.

 

Shade tolerant: trees that can tolerate less sunlight for growth and survival.

 

Shrub: low-growing woody plant with many stems rather than one trunk.

 

Simple leaves: leaves with one blade attached to a petiole, or stalk.

 

Sinus: a recess between two lobes.

 

Softwoods: usually refers to trees that are conifers or cone-bearing; conifers generally have softer wood than angiosperms or hardwoods, but there are many exceptions.

 

Solid pith: pith that is not divided into chambers.

 

Species: trees with similar characteristics and that are closely related to each other; species is used in both the singular and plural sense (specie is not proper).

 

Spring-wood: wood on the inside of an annual ring, formed during the spring; cells are often thinner-walled.

 

Stamen: the pollen-bearing (male) organ of a flower.

 

Staminate flower: a unisexual (male) flower bearing only stamens.

 

Strobile: a cone or inflorescence with overlapping bracts or scales.

 

Summer-wood: wood on the outside of an annual ring, formed during the summer; this wood is sometimes dark and cells are often thicker-walled.

 

Tangential-section: surface or section of a tree shown by cutting a tree lengthwise, but not through the middle.

 

Tepal: A usually showy part of the outer portion of a flower that is not differentiated into a sepal or petal.

 

Terminal buds: bud appearing at the apex, or end, of a twig; usually larger than other lateral buds.

 

Toothed/serrated margin: leaf margin with coarse, fine, sharp or blunt teeth.

 

Tracheids: small-diameter tubes in the wood of trees that carry water from the roots to the leaves; water carrying tubes in conifer xylem are all tracheids.

 

Tree: a woody plant with one to a few main stems and many branches; usually over 10 feet tall.

 

Unisexual flower: an imperfect flower; a flower with organs of only one sex present.

 

Vessels: large-diameter tubes in the wood of hardwood, or angiosperm, trees that carry water from the roots to the trees

 

Xylem: the wood of a tree, made up of strong fibers, tracheids and vessels.

​

all text and information on this page are brought to you by: TREEBROWSER.ORG