Field Guide

Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines

Showing 1 - 5 of 5 results
Illustration of dewberry leaves, flowers, fruits.
Dewberry
Rubus flagellaris
Dewberry is a lot like common blackberry, except that instead of being a small shrub, its canes form trailing woody vines. Both plants are prickly, and both produce delicious deep purple berries!
Illustration of hackberry leaves, stem, fruit.
Common Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis
Common hackberry is named for its sweet, purple, edible fruits, but most people identify hackberry with its weird-looking bark, which develops numerous corky, wartlike projections and ridges.
Illustration of pawpaw leaves, flowers, fruits.
Pawpaw
Asimina triloba
“Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch” is an old song you might be familiar with — but today, surprisingly few Missourians know a pawpaw tree when they see one. This is a good tree to know, especially when the large, sweet fruit are ripening!
Illustration of persimmon leaves, branch, fruit.
Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
Persimmon is best known in the fall, when its orange, plumlike fruits come on. Be careful, however, to make sure a persimmon is ripe before you pop it into your mouth, or you could have a puckery surprise!
Illustration of lowbush blueberry leaves, flowers, fruits
Lowbush Blueberry
Vaccinium pallidum (syn. V. vacillans)
Lowbush blueberry is a stiffly branching shrub to 3 feet high. The berries are tasty raw or cooked in pies, muffins, and preserves. It is mostly found south of the Missouri River. It often grows in extensive colonies.
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About Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines in Missouri

There are no sharp dividing lines between trees, shrubs, and woody vines, or even between woody and nonwoody plants. “Wood” is a type of tissue made of cellulose and lignin that many plants develop as they mature — whether they are “woody” or not. Trees are woody plants over 13 feet tall with a single trunk. Shrubs are less than 13 feet tall, with multiple stems. Vines require support or else sprawl over the ground.