Statements are designed to be read in order. If your specimen doesn't match the first statement, go to the next group or statement. The reverse lettering allows one to determine how many keying statements are present.
1d - bundles of > 6; soft & deciduous = Tamarack (European Larch)*
1c - bundles of 5 = White Pine
1b - bundles of 3 = Pitch Pine
1a - bundles of 2
2b - needles > 4"; bark reddish; mottled/blotched; large tree with straight trunk = Red Pine
2a - needles < 2"; cones up to 2"; curved, closed and persistent; irregular growth form = Jack Pine (Scots Pine)**
3c - leaves without 2 lines on underside; sprawling shrub = Canada Yew (English Yew)***
3b - twigs opposite; leaves mostly >3/4"; bark with resin blisters; aromatic foliage = Balsam Fir
3a - twigs mostly offset; needles with small stems; leaves mostly <3/4" = Eastern Hemlock
4b - twigs hairy (use hand lens)
5b - needles blunt; some hairs glandular; cones globose and persistent = Black Spruce
5a - needles (usually) shiny & sharp; abundant non-glandular hairs; cones oblong and shed thru winter = Red Spruce
4a - twigs without hairs (use hand lens)
6b - branches pendant; cones >4 inches and pendant = Norway Spruce
6a - needles blunt; foliage glaucous often with pungent odor = White Spruce
7b - shrub
8b - trailing shrub with scale-like leaves = Creeping Juniper
8a - prostrate or upright shrub with sharp awl-like needles = Common Juniper
7a - tree
9b - scale-like leaves hugging the twig
10b - foliage rounded = Atlantic White Cedar
10a - foliage & foliage sprays distinctly flattened = Northern White Cedar
9a - foliage both scale-like (older) and awl-like (younger); foliage sprays not flattened = Eastern Redcedar
*European Larch - introduced and rarely naturalized; needles over 1"; cones > 3/4"; lower branches drooping; upland habitat
**Scots Pine - introduced and rarely naturalized; upper trunk bark flaky, orange; needles glaucous, blue-green up to 3 inches (variable in young - up to 4" and bundles of 3 or 4 near tips); cones 1-3 inches with small persistent prickle shedding seeds annually.
***English Yew - introduced and rarely naturalized; can be very large and tree-like; bark thin and scaly, coming off in flakes; needles to 4 cm (vs 2 cm in Canada Yew)
FASCICLED = Jack Pine; Pitch Pine; Red Pine; Scots Pine; White Pine; Tamarack; European Larch
SCALED = Atlantic White Cedar; Northern White Cedar; Creeping Juniper; Eastern Redcedar
AWL-LIKE = Common Juniper; Eastern Redcedar
FLAT = Eastern Hemlock; Balsam Fir; Canada Yew; English Yew
4-SIDED = Black Spruce; Red Spruce; Norway Spruce; White Spruce
Chamaecyparis thyoides - Atlantic White Cedar; southern white cedar; white cedar; swamp cedar; false cedar; juniper
Juniperus communis - Common Juniper; ground juniper; dwarf juniper; prostrate juniper; old field common juniper; mountain common juniper
Juniperus horizontalis - Creeping Juniper; creeping cedar
Juniperus virginiana - Eastern Redcedar; red cedar; aromatic cedar; Virginian juniper; eastern juniper; red juniper; pencil cedar
Thuja occidentalis - Northern White Cedar; eastern white cedar; white cedar; eastern arborvitae; arborvitae; swamp cedar
Abies balsamea - Balsam Fir; balsam; Canada balsam; eastern fir; blister fir; bracted balsam fir
Larix decidua – European Larch; common larch; Polish larch; alpine larch
Larix laricina - Tamarack; eastern larch; American larch; Alaskan larch; black larch; red larch; hackmatack
Picea abies - Norway Spruce; European spruce; Siberian spruce
Picea glauca - White Spruce; Canada spruce; skunk spruce; cat spruce; western white spruce; Alberta white spruce; Black Hills spruce
Picea mariana - Black Spruce; bog spruce; swamp spruce
Picea rubens - Red Spruce; yellow spruce; West Virginia spruce; eastern spruce
Pinus banksiana - Jack Pine; scrub pine; northern scrub pine; gray pine; black pine; Banksian pine; Hudson Bay pine; Banks pine
Pinus resinosa - Red Pine; northern pine; Norway pine
Pinus rigida - Pitch Pine; candlewood pine; torch pine
Pinus strobus - Eastern White Pine; king's arrow pine; king pine; northern white pine; white pine; Weymouth pine
Pinus sylvestris - Scots Pine; Scotch pine; torch pine; Norway pine; Riga pine; Mongolian pine
Tsuga canadensis - Eastern Hemlock; Canada hemlock; hemlock spruce
Taxus canadensis - Canada Yew; American yew; ground hemlock
Taxus baccata - English Yew; European yew; common yew
Forest Trees of Maine by Maine Forest Service - This lists all trees in Maine but excludes shrubs. In addition to the web version, it is available as a printed book. I suggest the PDFs of the individual species as a basic reference.
Dendrology: Trees with Don Leopold YouTube. Don Leopold is a PhD dendrologist at SUNY ESF in Syracuse. He has produced a series of very short YouTube videos for each of the tree species in NY, many of which are also found in New England.
Gymnosperm Database by Christopher J. Earle. This is a world-wide list of topics on gymnosperm species. Nice tidbits on big trees and ethnobotany. His ‘Bookstore’ and ‘Links’ are exhaustive and worth a peak.
Wikipedia - Conifers (Pinophyta) Really - why wouldn't you start your search here? Excellent information with seemingly endless links, internal & external, to more information than anyone would need.
Silvics of North America (Agriculture Handbook 654) by USDA Forest Service. This online resource is geared toward forestry but has oodles of quality information on all North American tree species. This link goes right to the conifer table of contents - aka species list.
GoBotany by The Native Plant Trust. This link goes right to conifers but is easy to find even from the Native Plant Trust main website. This is an on-line key essentially extracted from ‘Flora Novae Angliae’ by Arthur Haines. It can be used in a variety of ways and usually includes many photos.
Flora of North America (FNA) presents information on the names, taxonomic relationships, continent-wide distributions, and morphological characteristics of all plants native and naturalized found in North America north of Mexico. Pinaceae and Cupressaceae are the conifer families. One can also search by genera. Also available in print as ‘Volume 2: Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms’ for $95.
USDA Plants Database Best reference for legal status, wetland status and a few good photos. Just enter the conifer name at the top left.
Fire Effects information System (FEIS) by United States Department of Agriculture. Geared towards the forestry industry; this government resource provides a synthesized scientific knowledge about fire effects on organisms in the United States. Species Reviews are syntheses of the published literature covering the biology, ecology, and fire effects on plants and animals in the United States. Type in a tree name, scientific or common, and click 'Enter Species'.
Peterson Field Guide To Eastern Trees by George Petrides. I like my very old version of this book a lot. The Sibley guide is also nice but includes the entire US. The Audubon Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region is also pretty good.
Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast by Michael Wojtech. A unique field guide to just the bark of trees.
Errors, suggests or a key you wish to have posted or adapted for posting? Contact Jeff at info@DigitalNaturalist.info.
last update 2024-Mar-2