VOL. 11 NO.

2 FEBRUARY, 1936

MORTON ARBORETUM

JOY MORTOI'J . FOUNDER

BULLETIN OF
LISLE, ILLINOIS POPULAR INFORMATION

WINTER BEAUTY
January and February, those two long winter months when spring
seems so far distant, may easily be removed from the category of the
drab and dreary if one can only develop an appreciation of the finer
qualities of the winter landscape.
To the observing, beauty in nature is omnipresent, regardless
of season, but many have yet to be stirred by the subtleties of winter
form, texture and color.
At no other time of the year are tree forms more conspicuous.
Against the whiteness of snow and the intensity of a blue winter sky,
the bold patterns of sturdy trunk and intricate branch stand out most
vividly, revealing characters of wide diversity. The graceful vase
shaped American Elm, the rugged sturdiness of the Oaks, the flat­
topped Thorns, the pyramidal spires of Poplars and the Sugar Maple's
symmetrically rounded domes are but a few of the most familiar forms.
Closer inspection will reveal further unexpected beauty in detail
of bark, bare twig and bud. The bark of some trees is unmistakable;
that of the Hickory, Carya ovata, with its loose, shaggy plates, the
Sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, with its curious mottling of olive
green and white and the thin, papery layers of the Canoe and European
Birches, Betula papyri/era, B. pendula. Others, although equally dec­
orative, are not as well known. There are the gray barked trees such
as the Old Field Birch, B. populi/olia, the Silver Poplar, Populus alba,
whose greenish-gray bark becomes dark spotted and ridged with age,
the Aspens, both Large Toothed, Populus grandidentata, and Quak­
ing, P. tremuloides, the Blue Beech, Carpinus caroliniana, with its
tight fitting sinewy bark and the smooth trunked American Beech,
Fagus grandi/olia, a delight to behold at any season.
Among the flaky barked trees may be mentioned the distinctive
orange-brown River Birch, Betula nigra, of ragged, unkempt appear­
ance, its near relative, the Yellow Birch, Betula lutea, and the unique
Paperbark Maple, Acer griseum, from West China. The thin, scaly
barked trees include such species as -the aromatic Cherry Birch, B.
lenta, the polished Black Cherry, Prunus serotina, and the Red and
Silver Maples, Acer rubrum, A. saccharinum. While the boles of the
latter are smooth in their youth, at maturity. their bark becomes rough
and flaky. We may recognize the Ironwood, Ostrya virginiana, by its
thin bark, split into narrow shreds, the White Oak, Quercus alba, by
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its flat, oblong scales and the Slippery Elm, Ulmus fulva, famed for
its mucilaginous inner bark, by flat topped, flaky ridges. Deeply fur­
rowed bark of various form and color characterizes the Cottonwood,
Populus deltoides, White Ash, Fraxinus americana, Black Walnut,
luglans nigra, Butternut, luglans cinerea, Sugar Maple, Acer sac­
charum, Red and Bur Oak, Quercus borealis maxima, Q. macrocarpa.
In a class by itself is the Hackberry, Celtis occidentalis, whose deep
discontinuous fissures and rough excrescences mark it distinct from
all other trees.
Bud structure furnishes further winter interest. There is an un­
mistakable hint of promise in the smooth red buds of the Silver
Maple, A. saccharinum, conspicuously developed even in January, in
the more plump reddish buds of the Linden or Basswood, Tilia glabra,
and in the Bitternut or Yellow Bud Hickory's, Carya cordiformis,
golden yellow, glandular ones. None can compare with the long, sleek,
sharp pointed buds of the Beech, Fagus, however, not even the Horse­
chestnut's, Aesculus Hippocastanum, sticky brown ones or the Euro­
pean Ash's, Fraxinus excelsior, buds of jet black.
With the ascent of sap in stem and twig, hastened as it were by
the lengthening of the days, that most cheering winter effect, color,
is ushered into prominence. Although evidenced particularly among
members of the Willow, Salix, and Cornel, Cornus, clan, other genera
assist these in displaying a color range varying from white and gray
through yellow, orange, red, purple, brown and green.
Plants with white stems are limited to several oriental Raspber­
ries, notably Rubus biflorus, Rubus lasiostylus, the Wooly Raspberry
and Rubus Giraldianus. The latter species, though not found in our
collection at present, is hardy in this locality.
Among the gray stemmed types the list is more varied, Amelan­
chier amabilis, Cornus racemosa, the Gray Dogwood, Zenobia pul­
verulenta, the Dusty Zenobia, and the Willows, Salix cordata rigida,
Salix dicroa mascula and Salix missouriensis, all being effective.
For a yellow effect, there are the two Dogwoods, Comus san­
guinea viridissima and Comus stolonifera flaviramea, the first with
lemon yellow bark and the latter with stems of bright yellow, Tilia
platyphyllos aurea, the yellow branched form of the Large Leaved
Linden and the following Willows: Salix alba vitellina, Salix baby­
lonica aurea pendula, Salix ural and Salix sesquitertia, the Triple
Willow.
Blending into shades of orange, we have the reddish yellow
branched variety of the Speckled Alder, Alnus incana ramulis coc­
cineus, Berberis virescens, Physocarpus opulifolius, the Common Nine­
bark, with its shaggy, peeling stems and Salix fragilis Basfordiana, a
tall growing Willow.
The "reds" outclass all others in both number and brilliance.
The most outstanding are Dogwoods, of which the following are rep­
resentatives: Comus alba (Blood red), Comus alba Rosenthali (Chi­
nese red), Comus alba Sibirica (Coral red), Comus Baileyi (dark
red), Comus obliqua (purplish to yello~ish red), Comus sanguinea
(dark red), Comus stolonifera (dark blood red) and Comus stoloni­
fera coloradensis (rosy red). Willows share equal honors with the
Cornels, the brightest being Salix alba chennesina (scarlet), Salix
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 THE GRAY OR OLD FIELD BIRCH, Betula populi/alia
The peculiar triangular or V-shaped marks of black diverg­
ing below each branch distinguish the Gray Birch in winter.

- . .;
 coccinea (reddish), Salix commutata (glossy, silvery rose), Salix
Hookeriana (scarlet), Salix irrorata (rosy with a white bloom) and
Salix sericea (reddish with silvery buds). Of the more somber toned
shrubs may be mentioned Cotoneaster rosea alba (rosy red with a
gray bloom), Rosa rubrifolia, the Redleaf Rose (purplish red) and
Tamarix parviflora (brownish red).
The distinction between "reds" and "purples" is a difficult one
to make, due to the fact that certain plants under different lights often
appear to exhibit both colors. It is therefore largely a matter of per­
sonal interpretation when it comes to classifying them. Our selectio,n
might include Comus Amomum (reddish purple), Cotoneaster race­
miflora soongorica (brownish purple), Rosa setigera (reddish pur­
pIe), Salix incana (grayish purple), and Salix amygdalina, the pur­
plish brown Almond-leaved Willow.
Brown in a variety of shades is supplied chiefly by the Coton­
easters and Forsythias. There is Cotoneaster acutifolia villosula with
reddish brown stems, Cotoneaster hupehensis, Cotoneaster integerrima,
Cotoneaster multiflora calocarpa, Cotoneaster obscura and the ex­
tremely graceful Cotoneaster tenuipes. Several willows also belong in
this group: Salix blanda pendula (bronze), Salix cinerea (greenish
brown), and Salix Grisonensis (Greenish bronze).
Green barked plants seen in combination with the livelier colors,
afford pleasing contrasts. Particularly conspicuous is the white­
striped, bright green bark of Acer pennsylvanicum, the Moosewood,
the' yellowish green branchlets of the Sassafras, Sassafras officinale,
and the fresh green twigs of the Japanese Kerria and its varieties,
Kerria japonica. Others of value for their green effect are, Comus
sanguinea viridissima, the Greentwig Dogwood, Cytisus scoparius, the
Scotch Broom, Evonymus europaea, the European Spindletree, For­
sythia viridissima, the Greenstem Forsythia, Salix discolor, Pussy
Willow (greenish gray), Salix fragilis decipiens, Salix muscina, Salix
myricoides rigida and Salix vitellina rosea.
Additional interest in the winter landscape is provided by a wide
assortment of berried plants, whose vari-colored fruits of white, pur­
ple, red and black persist throughout most of the winter. There are
also those forms with ornamental catkins such as the Alders, Hazels
and Willows, those with persistent foliage represented by the Beech
and Oaks, as well as an infinite number of conifers of varied shape
and color and a more restricted list of broad-leaved evergreens. These
last groups will be discussed individually at some future time.
E. 1. KAMMERER.
* * *
NOTE: We regret that through an oversight in proofing, "Garden Glories,"
the official publication of the Garden Club of Illinois, was omitted from the printed
list of periodicals received regularly by the library of the Morton Arboretum,
which appeared in the January issue.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

MRS. JOSEPH M. CUDAHY, Chdirmdn

MRS. JOY MORTON MARK MORTON EDWARD H. STEARNS JOSEPH M. CUDAHY

WIRT MORTON STERLING MORTON DANIEL PETERKIN

CLARENCE E. GODSHALK
*E. *
LOWELL KAMMERER
* JOHN VAN GEMERT
Superintendent Arboriculturist Propagdtor

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