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Welcome to the Horticulture Department at Clemson University

Familiar Trees of South Carolina

Trees, one of the most conspicuous features of the South Carolina landscape, have played an important role in the history and the economic development of the Palmetto State.

This tree study presentation has been prepared to aid 4-H Club members, teachers, youth group leaders, and others who want to identify or to know more about the trees of our state. This presentation is a revision of an Extension bulletin, first printed in the 1950’s.

Nature has endowed South Carolina with a wide variety and abundance of trees. Although this presentation does not include all the trees found in the state, it is hoped that the 60 more important and common ones covered will help stimulate observation and arouse interest and appreciation of trees-one of South Carolina’s most important renewable natural resources.

About This Key

This is a dichotomous key. This type of key is a series of statements or questions that occur in pairs.

To use this key to identify plants, start with the first pair of choices and decide which of the two statements best represents the tree sample that you are viewing.

Once you have decided which statement best agrees with your sample, you will be directed to the next pair of statements by clicking on a numbered link. This will continue until you are directed to a link to a particular tree. Each image of a tree can be enlarged by clicking on the thumbnail.

Within the statements may be terms that are unfamiliar to you. By clicking on these terms, you will be linked to diagrams or definitions that explain them.

1. Trees with needlelike or scalelike leaves (conifers) 2
2. Trees with broad flat leaves of many shapes and patterns (broadleaves): 11

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1. Leaves needlelike: 3
2. Leaves scalelike, sometimes prickly on young trees: Eastern redcedar

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1. Leaves in bundles or clusters (fascicles) of five or fewer (pines): 4
2. Leaves not in bundles or clusters: 10

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1. Leaves in bundles of five: Eastern white pine
2. Leaves in bundles of two or three: 5

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1. Leaves in bundles of two: 6
2. Leaves in bundles of three or of two and three : 7

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1. Leaves twisted, mostly two inches long or shorter: Virginia pine
2. Leaves in bundles of three or of two and three : Spruce pine

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1. Leaves in bundles of two and three: 8
2. Leaves in bundles of three: 9

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1. Leaves short (2-4 inches), cone small (2-3 inches): Shortleaf pine
2. Leaves long (6-10 inches), cone large (4-6 inches): Slash pine

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1. Leaves very long (8-14 inches), cone very large (8-10 inches): Longleaf pine
2. Leaves 5-9 inches long, cones 4-6 inches: Loblolly pine

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1. Leaves flattened, evergreen, two white stripes on underside: Eastern hemlock
2. Leaves fernlike, deciduous, green on both sides: Bald cypress

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1. Leaves fan-shaped, two or more feet across: Cabbage palmetto
2. Leaves otherwise: 12

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1. Leaves opposite or whorled: 13
2. Leaves alternate: 17

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1. Leaves in whorls of three: Southern catalpa
2. Leaves opposite in pairs: 14

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1. Leaves compound: 15
2. Leaves simple: 16

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1. Leaflets three to five, margins with coarse large teeth (dentate) or shallowly lobed: Boxelder
2. Leaflets five to nine, margins smooth or with fine serrate teeth: White ash

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1. Leaves three to five lobed, margins doubly serrated: Red maple
2. Leaves not lobed, margins smooth, veins curve towards tip: Flowering dogwood

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1. Leaves compound: 18
2. Leaves simple: 23

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1. Twigs with thorns, spines, or prickles: 19
2. Twigs without thorns, spines, or prickles: 20

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1. Twigs with long thorns, leaves once and twice compound: Honey locust
2. Twigs with short spines, leaves once compound: Black locust

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1. Leaves with terminal leaflets larger than lateral leaflets, twigs with solid pith: 21
2. Leaves with terminal leaflets same size as lateral leaflets, twigs with chambered pith: Black walnut

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1. Leaflets 5-9, leaflets, petiole and rachis densely hairy: Mockernut hickory
2. Leaflets 3-7, leaflets, petiole and rachis smooth or nearly so: 22

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1. Bark shaggy, peeling in long strips: Shagbark hickory
2. Bark tightly furrowed, not peeling: Pignut hickory

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1. Leaves evergreen, thick and leathery: 24
2. Leaves deciduous, thin and papery: 27

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1. Leaves with spine-toothed margins: America holly
2. Leaves with smooth margins: 25

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1. Leaves large, over 6 inches long, with rusty hairs beneath: Southern magnolia
2. Leaves small, 2-5 inches long, without hairs: 26

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1. Leaves white and waxy beneath, without lobes: Sweetbay
2. Leaves greenish or slightly white beneath, with or without lobes: Live oak

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1. Leaves lobed: 28
2. Leaves unlobed or with occasional small shallow lobes: 41

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1. Leaves with 3 shapes (unlobed, lobed, 3-lobed): 29
2. Leaves with one basic shape: 30

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1. Lobes with smooth margins: Sassafras
2. Lobes with serrate margins: Red mulberry

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1. Leaves star-shaped, with 5 to 7 lobes: Sweetgum
2. Leaves not star-shaped: 31

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1. Tip and base of leaves truncate, shallowly 4-lobed: Yellow poplar
2. Leaves not truncated: 32

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1. Leaves with 3 or more main veins, margins with large coarse teeth: American sycamore
2. Leaves with 1 vein, margins deeply lobed (oaks): 33

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1. Leaves with smooth, rounded lobes (white oaks): 34
2. Leaves with bristly tipped lobes (red oaks): 36

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1. Lobes similar with sinuses halfway to midrib: White oak
2. Lobes uneven with varying depths of sinuses: 35

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1. Three upper lobes square, forming a cross, deep central sinus: Post oak
2. Three upper lobes pointed, shallow, central sinus: Overcup oak

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1. Base of leaves rounded, 3-5 leaflets with terminal lobe long and narrow: Southern red oak
2. Base of leaves tapering or rounded with terminal lobe and lateral lobes of same size: 37

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1. Base of leaves strongly tapering ( cuneate): Turkey oak
2. Base of leaves rounded or shallowly tapering: 38

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1. Base of leaves rounded, shallowly 3-lobed, with minute bristles at tip of lobes: Blackjack oak
2. Base of leaves shallowly tapering with 5 to 7 lobes: 39

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1. Leaves leathery, hairy beneath: Black oak
2. Leaves papery, without hairs beneath: 40

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1. Lobes large, sinuses shallow and narrow: Northern red oak
2. Lobes small, sinuses deep and wide: Scarlet oak

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1. Leaves with smooth margins (or occasionally with shallow teeth): 42
2. Leaves with toothed margins: 48

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1. Leaves heart-shaped: Eastern redbud
2. Leaves not heart-shaped: 43

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1. Leaves deciduous, but stay on the tree through the winter, Less than 4 inches long: 44
2. Leaves deciduous and fall off the tree before winter, 4-10 inches long: 45

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1. Leaves with occasional lobes and teeth, wider at tip with a long tapering base: Water oak
2. Leaves with wavy margins, occasionally with teeth, having a rounded base with red petiole: Laurel oak

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1. Leaves 3 or more times as long as wide: Willow oak
2. Leaves less than 3 times as long as wide: 46

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1. Leaves 6-10 inches long, with occasional large shallow teeth: Water tupelo
2. Leaves 4-6 inches long, without teeth: 47

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1. Leaves widest towards tip ( obovate): Black tupelo
2. Leaves widest at middle ( elliptical) or towards base ( ovate): Common persimmon

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1. Leaves with small teeth near tip, smooth margins near base : Sourwood
2. Leaf margins toothed throughout: 49

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1. Leaves with parallel veins, each vein ending in a tooth: 50
2. Leaves with net veins, not ending in a tooth: 56

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1. Leaf margins with serrate teeth: 51
2. Leaf margins with doubly serrate teeth: 53

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1. Leaves with rounded teeth ( crenate): 52
2. Leaves with sharp points or bristles on the teeth: American beech

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1. Leaves downy beneath, petioles yellow: Swamp chestnut oak
2. Leaves smooth beneath, petioles green: Chestnut oak

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1. Leaves that have bases with unequal (oblique) sides (elms): 54
2. Leaves with symmetrical bases: 55

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1. Leaves 1 to 3 inches long, twigs sometimes with corky wings: Winged elm
2. Leaves longer than 3 Inches: American elm

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1. Leaf bases broadly wedge-shaped or truncate base: River birch
2. Leaf bases rounded or tapered: American hornbeam

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1. Leaves 4 or more times as long as wide: Black willow
2. Leaves not more than twice as long as wide: 57

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1. Leaves heart-shaped, white beneath: White basswood
2. Leaves not heart-shaped, green beneath: 58

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1. Midvein paralleled by two prominent lateral veins from leaf base: Sugarberry
2. Midvein distinct, often with rusty hairs beneath: Black cherry

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Glossary of Terms

Accessory bud - buds found beside or above the true bud on the stem
Adventitious - arising from an unusual or irregular position
Apex - terminal or end
Appressed - pressed close to the stem, not spreading
Armed - bearing sharp spines, thorns, or prickles
Axil – angled formed between leaf petiole and stem
Bloom - a waxy coating that covers plant parts giving a grayish color and can be easily rubbed off.
Bract - leaf-like appendage associated with a flower
Ciliate - marginally fringed with hairs
Deciduous – plant which drops its leaves with the onset of cold weather
Deltoid - triangular
Distal - toward the apex, away from the base
Divergent - spreading at a wide angle
Exfoliate - to peel off in shreds or thin layers as in the bark of a tree
Falcate - sickle-shaped
Fastigiate - erectly branched
Glabrous - not hairy
Glaucous - covered with a waxy bloom
Glossy - shiny
Imbricate - overlapping as in shingles on a roof
Internode - stem part between nodes
Latex - milky sap
Lustrous - dull sheen
Node - point on stem where secondary growth can occur at the axillary bud
Pendulous - hanging or weeping back towards ground
Plicate - folded like a fan
Pubescent - covered with hairs

Downy - covered with fine soft hairs
Felty - covered with compressed or matted hairs
Scabrous - rough or gritty to the touch
Stellate - star-like clusters of hairs
Tomentose - densely woolly

Ranked - foliage in rows along stem
Resinous - secreting a sticky sap
Rhomboidal - diamond-shaped
Rugose - wrinkled
Sessile - without a stalk
Sinus - the space between two lobes
Stipule - leaf-like appendage at the base of the petiole
Vine - plant which climbs a support by use of twining stems, tendrils, aerial roots, twining petioles, or disks.

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The mission of Clemson University's Department of Horticulture is to promote personal and professional growth through the discovery, communication, and application of horticultural experiences, knowledge, and scholarship. Our work fosters environmental stewardship while improving economic wellbeing, health, and quality of life for all.

Designed by Sarah Matzko Horticulture Department
College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences
Information: 864-656-6355 FAX: 864-656-4960

Department of Horticulture
E-143 Poole Agricultural Center
Box 340319
(Street Address: 50 Cherry Rd.)
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0319

Linda D. Alexander, Department Webmaster ( lalxndr@clemson.edu)