Native plant identification key for the
Palos Verdes Peninsula, California
Trees
Woody plants usually with one (rarely two) main stems or trunks, with
branching off from this. With strong and centralized wood support, trees can
attain much larger size than any other terrestrial life-form, though some
trees can be smaller than some shrubs.
- Leaves simple, not divided into separate leaflets
- Leaves alternate (single leaves come out of the stem on alternating
sides)
- Leaves linear, finely serrated, silvery olive in youth/dark olive when
mature, ~6-13 cm long, pointed at both base and tip, a deciduous tree ~6-10 m
tall, with rough dark brown bark and thin yellowish twigs = Salix
gooddinggii (Goodding's black willow)
- Leaves lanceolate/oblong-lanceolate, finely serrated, yellow-green above,
pale underside, ~5-12 cm long, acute tip, less acute or rounded base, a
deciduous tree ~5-15 m tall, with rough dark brown bark, thin red to
yellow-brown twigs = Salix
laevigata (red willow)
- Leaves ovate, sclerophyllous, glabrous, dark green above, lighter
underside, ~1-2.5 cm long, irregularly toothed, almond smell when crushed, an
evergreen tree < 15 m high = Prunus
ilicifolia subsp. lyonii (Catalina cherry)
- Leaves opposite (paired leaves) or whorled/fascicled (more than 2 leaves)
come out of a single node on the stem
- No native tree species on the Palos Verdes Peninsula have opposite,
whorled, or fascicled leaves (any such trees are exotics, such as the Aleppo
pine, Pinus
halapensis)
- Leaves compound, or divided into a series of separate leaflets
- No native true tree species on the Palos Verdes Peninsula have compound
leaves (any such trees are exotics, such as the Peruvian pepper tree, Schinus molle). Alternatively, the Mexican
elderberry, normally a large shrub with multiple main stems, may take
on a treelike appearance with two or three main stems, large size, and it does
have compound leaves, with 3, 5, 7,or 9 leaflets.
First placed on web: 07/31/11
Last revised: 08/02/11
Christine M. Rodrigue, Ph.D., Department of Geography, California State
University,
Long Beach, CA 90840-1101
rodrigue@csulb.edu
The development of this key was partially funded through the Geoscience
Diversity Enhancement Program (Award #0703798) and through a course of
re-assigned time provided by the CSULB Scholarly and Creative Activities
Committee. Thanks also to the students in sections of biogeography,
introductory physical geography, GDEP, and LSAMP for "test-driving" various
editions of this key.