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Oleaceae- Olive Family |
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Common & Scientific
Name |
Description |
Uses |
Fringetree
Chionanthus virginicus
 |
Shrub or small tree, 6-20ft; leaves
opposite, oval, 3-8” long; white, fragrant flowers in drooping
clusters with smooth petals; fruits bluish-black |
Native Americans
used root-bark tea to wash inflammations, sores, cuts, and infections;
once considered diuretic, useful tonic, and alternative |
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Green Ash
Fraxinus penslyvanicum
 |
Tree to 100ft; twigs hairless;
leaves opposite, pinnate, with 5-9 leaflets, oval, slightly toothed
or entire margin; fruits winged |
Chippewa made a tonic from
the inner bark of ash, and they used a decoction of dried ash roots
as an ingredient in enemas. |
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White
Ash
Fraxinus americana
 |
Tree to 100ft; twigs hairless; leaves
opposite, pinnate, with 5-9 leaflets, oval, slightly toothed
or entire margin; fruits narrow, winged |
Used by Connecticut Native Americans
to treat cancerous growths. Other antiseptic or diuretic medicines
were made from the leaves, bark or seeds. |
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Pineaceae- Pine
Family
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Common & Scientific
Name |
Description |
Uses |
Balsam
Fir
Abies balsamea
 |
Coniferous tree with upright cones
1-4” long; grows to 60ft; flattish needles to 1.25” long with
two vertical white stripes on underside; bark smooth with resin
pockets. |
Used as antiseptic and
diuretic; leaf tea used for colds, coughs, and asthma; oleoresin
pleasantly scented |
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Red
Pine
Pinus resinosa
 |
Tree to 50ft; 2 long needles
per fasicle; cones are ovoid and 1.5-2.5 in long |
Used primarily for timber and pulpwood. |
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White
Pine
Pinus strobus
 |
Largest native conifer
in the Northeastern US; 5 needles per fasicle; cones cylindrical
and 4-7 in long |
Used for dimension lumber,
millwork, pulpwood |
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Roseaceae- Rose
Family
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Common & Scientific
Name |
Description |
Uses |
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Black Cherry
Prunus serotina
 |
Deciduous tree that grows
40-90ft; leaves alternate, oval to lanceolate shaped, blunt toothed,
has pubescence on midrib beneath; fruits almost black cherries;
bark rough and ‘plated’ |
! Contains
cyanide-like glucoside, prunasin, which can be highly toxic! Inner
bark used for tea or syrups for coughs, fevers, colds, sore throats,
lung ailments, bronchitis, diarrhea, and dyspepsia |
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Choke
Cherry
Prunus virginiana
|
Tree, 6-20ft;
egg-shaped and bristly sharp-toothed leaves with bare midribs;
blossoms and fruits in long clusters and lack spur branches; flowers
white; fruits purplish; |
Tart fruits
can be made into jellies and used for pies; songbirds, ruffed grouse,
raccoon, black bear, red fox, etc consume fruits |
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Common Apple
Malus sp.
|
Tree;
leaves simple, alternate, and doubly serrate; bark gray, broken
and scaly; white flower |
Fruits eaten
by humans and wildlife. |
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Hawthorn
Crataegus sp.
|
Distinctive
group of shrubs, but species relatively undistinguishable; have
long thorns on twigs and trunk; fruits small, yellow to red and
apple like, persistent on plants throughout winter |
Songbirds frequently use dense thickets
of Hawthorn for nesting; fruits consumed by wildlife during winter;
many varieties used for landscaping |
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Serviceberry
Amelanchier arborea
|
Shrub to
25ft; bark gray and white striped; leaves alternate, simple and
oval to oblong; fruits pomes |
Serviceberries
eaten by bird species, including mockingbirds, cardinals, cedar
waxwings, towhees, Baltimore orioles, and many others. Rabbits
and deer browse its stems |
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Sweet Cherry
Prunus avium
|
Tree; broad,
simple leaves not lobed with fine, double teeth; bark red-brown
and smooth with horizontal lenticels; red, edible drupe fruit |
Fruits
consumed by humans and wildlife. Workers in Europe often use wood for
interior finish and for making furniture |
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