Title: Identify native and nonnative tree species.
Course: Community Forestry and Tree Management (18502-III) > Section: Classifying and Identifying Trees

Identification should include differentiation among

- anatomical characteristics of species (e.g., leaf, bark, bud)
- ecoregion
- forest cover type
- potential natural vegetation
- naturalized
- invasive.

Teacher Resources:

- Common Native Trees of Virginia Identification Guide Book. Virginia Department of Forestry (https://www.dof.virginia.gov/infopubs/Native-Tree-ID_2020.pdf).
- Common Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of Virginia, Virginia Department of Forestry (https://dof.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/Common-Native-Shrubs-and-Woody-Vines-ID-spreads_pub.pdf).
- Hardin, James W., Donald J. Leopold, and Fred M. White. Harlow & Harrar’s Textbook of Dendrology.
- Native Plants, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/nativeplants).
- Schoon, Kenneth. City Trees: ID Guide to Urban and Suburban.
- Silvics of North America,S. Department of Agriculture. 1990. (https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654_vol1.pdf).
- State of the Forest Annual Report on Virginia's Forests, Virginia Department of Forestry, (https://dof.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/SOF-2020_pub.pdf)
- Virginia Tech Dendrology, Virginia Tech college of Natural Resources and Environment, 2021. (http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/main.htm).
- Williams, Dan D., and Bill J. Lott. FFA Georgia State and National Tree Lists. 2012.
- Dendrology, Virginia Tech (http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/main.htm).
- FFA Georgia State and National Tree Lists, by Bill J. Lott and Dan D. Williams (2012)
- Harlow & Harrar’s Textbook of Dendrology, current edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company
- Native Plants, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/nativeplants).
- Silvics of North America, Handbook #654, volume one and two, U.S. Forest Service, P. O. Box 2417, 12th and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20013

Process/Skill Questions:

- How do environmental factors influence species location?
- What characteristics are used to identify trees?
- How is leaf size affected by the tree’s environment?
- How are simple leaves distinguished from compound leaves?
- What are trade-offs between native and nonnative plants?
- How do invasive plants affect native ecosystems?