Content tagged with "Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines"

Possum Haw

Ilex decidua

Possum haw is the more common of two native Missouri hollies that lose their leaves each fall. This shrub or small tree is eye-catching in the fall and winter when the bright red berries persist on the gray and brown branches and twigs.

Post Oak

Quercus stellata

True to its name, post oak has long been favored for fence posts and played an important historic role in the success of American pioneers. This tree, which has distinctive cross- or ghost-shaped leaves, is found in rocky upland woodlands and in flatwoods on broad ridges.

Prairie Crab Apple

Malus ioensis

An attractive, small, ornamental tree with low, crooked branches and attractive spring flowers. Its hard, bitter fruits can be used in making tasty jellies, cider and vinegar.

Prairie Rose (Climbing Rose)

Rosa setigera

"Climbing rose" is the better of the two common names for this native shrub or woody vine: It is most common near woodlands, where it climbs and trails on neighboring shrubs and small trees.

Red Buckeye

Aesculus pavia

Red buckeye and Ohio buckeye are both found in Missouri. You can distinguish red buckeye by its having usually 5 leaflets (not 7), its red (not greenish-yellow) flowers, and the absence of any spines on its fruit hulls. Although both buckeyes are cultivated statewide, red buckeye grows in the wild only in our southeastern counties.

Red Maple

Acer rubrum

Red maple is one of our most useful—and beautiful!—native trees, and you can find it in the woods as well as in landscape plantings statewide. Many horticultural varieties are available at nurseries.

Red Mulberry

Morus rubra

Red mulberry is native to Missouri and North America. You may be wondering how it differs from the introduced white mulberry tree, which is considered a noxious weed. You can begin to tell them apart by examining the leaves and the fruits.

River Birch

Betula nigra

A native tree easily identified by its reddish, papery, peeling bark, river birch is used extensively in landscaping, where many-stemmed groupings are planted in moist places in yards and along streams and ponds.

Rough-Leaved Dogwood

Cornus drummondii

This thicket-forming dogwood is one of the hardiest of Missouri shrubs, capable of withstanding cold and drought. The leaves of this species emit a faint odor of sour milk.

Russian Olive

Elaeagnus angustifolia

This small tree with distinctive silvery leaves was introduced to America in the late 1800s and widely planted as an ornamental and windbreak. However, in the Great Plains and western states it has proven to be invasive, where it outcompetes native vegetation and causes a host of ecological problems. Although it's not as invasive in the eastern United States, it could become a problem here in Missouri.

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Content tagged with "Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines"

Possum Haw

Post Oak

Prairie Crab Apple

Prairie Rose (Climbing Rose)

Red Buckeye

Red Maple

Red Mulberry

River Birch

Rough-Leaved Dogwood

Russian Olive

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