Invasive trees in Clay County
Spreading here on their own. Cutting is only half the job; the stump needs treating or it comes back.
The white-flowering, fish-smelling street tree of every subdivision, now seeding into fields and roadsides across Missouri as thorny wild thickets. Selling it is banned in Missouri as of 2025.
10 records in the county
Photo: Bruce Marlin · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Long compound leaves with a glandular notch at each leaflet base, rank odor, and smooth gray bark. Spreads by root suckers and millions of seeds along roads, railroads and lots statewide. Host of the spotted lanternfly.
10 records in the county
Photo: Darkone (talk · contribs) · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Small single-toothed leaves and gray furrowed bark; planted for shelterbelts, now seeding into pastures and fencerows, especially west and north.
2 records in the county
Photo: Tiarescott · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Glossy, smooth-topped leaves and white-to-purple fruit; brought for silkworms, now in fencerows and lots statewide and crossing with native red mulberry.
18 records in the county
Photo: Emőke Dénes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Fern-like leaves and pink powder-puff flowers in summer, escaping along roads and streams in the southern half of the state.
6 records in the county
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The large shrub that greens up first and drops last, with hollow stems and red berries, crowding out everything under the trees in woodlots and parks across Missouri.
127 records in the county
Photo: Eric Hunt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Silver-backed leaves, fragrant spring flowers and red speckled berries; planted for wildlife, now blanketing old fields and roadsides statewide.
10 records in the county
Photo: KENPEI · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Yellow summer flowers and papery lantern pods; escaping from yards into bluffs and roadsides, mainly around St. Louis and the eastern Ozarks.
2 records in the county
Photo: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Native trees in Clay County
Missouri's signature forest tree, with rounded-lobed leaves, light gray flaky bark and a broad crown. Grows on uplands and slopes statewide and lives for centuries.
7 records in the county
Photo: Marty Aligata at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Thick corky bark, big fringed acorns and leaves widest near the tip. Found in bottoms, prairies and savannas across the state; tolerates drought and fire.
20 records in the county
Photo: Heath Cajandig · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cross-shaped leaves and a stocky form, common on dry rocky ridges in the Ozarks and southern counties. Slow-growing and long-lived.
2 records in the county
Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Coarsely toothed leaves like a chestnut's and flaky gray bark. Favors limestone slopes and bluffs, which Missouri has plenty of.
19 records in the county
Photo: Vojtěch Zavadil · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Two-toned leaves, dark green above and whitish below, with peeling bark on young limbs. Grows in bottomlands and wet flats, mostly north and east.
3 records in the county
Photo: Bruce Marlin · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Pointed-lobed leaves, bark with shiny flat ridges, and fast growth for an oak. Common on moist slopes and in yards statewide.
5 records in the county
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Velela assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Dark blocky bark with yellow-orange inner bark, glossy leaves. One of the most common upland oaks in the Ozarks.
1 record in the county
Photo: Willow · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Deeply cut leaves that turn brilliant red in fall. A dry-ridge tree of the Ozarks and eastern Missouri.
1 record in the county
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pyramid shape with lower limbs that droop, small deeply cut leaves, and leaves that hang on through winter. Native to wet bottoms, planted everywhere.
3 records in the county
Photo: Bruce Marlin · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
An oak with smooth, unlobed leaves like a laurel's. Common statewide on slopes and in fencerows.
28 records in the county
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Narrow willow-like leaves on a true oak. Native to Bootheel bottoms and widely planted as a street tree.
1 record in the county
Photo: Freekhou5 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Named for the long bark plates that curl away from the trunk. Five leaflets, sweet nuts, found statewide on slopes and bottoms.
1 record in the county
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Smooth-looking leaves, pear-shaped nuts, tight bark. Dry upland woods across the southern two-thirds of the state.
4 records in the county
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Bright yellow winter buds give it away. Moist woods and bottoms statewide; the fastest-growing hickory.
3 records in the county
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. MPF assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Native to the Missouri and Mississippi river bottoms and the Bootheel; many leaflets and the familiar nut. Planted well beyond its range.
1 record in the county
Photo: Bruce Marlin · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A smaller hickory of dry Ozark ridges, with dark bark and rusty-scaled buds.
1 record in the county
Photo: Te Chang · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Dark furrowed bark, long compound leaves, and the round green-husked nuts that stain everything. Rich bottoms and slopes statewide; Missouri leads the nation in wild nut harvest.
29 records in the county
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Five-lobed leaves with smooth edges and the best orange fall color of any native tree. Rich wooded slopes, mostly the eastern half and the Ozark border.
3 records in the county
Photo: Superior National Forest · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Deeply cut leaves silvery underneath, fast growth, and shaggy bark. Native to river bottoms statewide and planted in countless yards.
10 records in the county
Photo: Darkone (talk · contribs) · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Red twigs, red flowers in late winter and red fall leaves. Native to the eastern Ozarks and Bootheel swamps; cultivars planted everywhere.
5 records in the county
Photo: Ayotte, Gilles, 1948- · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A maple with compound leaves, often mistaken for poison ivy as a seedling. Grows fast in bottoms, fencerows and neglected lots statewide.
35 records in the county
Photo: CK Kelly · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The vase-shaped shade tree of old main streets, with lopsided double-toothed leaves. Native to bottoms statewide; Dutch elm disease has taken most large ones.
3 records in the county
Photo: Marty Aligata · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Native
Rough sandpaper leaves and a slimy inner bark once used as a remedy. Moist slopes and bottoms statewide.
1 record in the county
Diamond-furrowed bark, opposite compound leaves whitish underneath, purple fall color. Upland woods statewide.
1 record in the county
Photo: Willow · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Missouri's fastest-growing and often largest tree, with triangular leaves that rattle in wind and cottony seeds in June. River bottoms and wet ground statewide.
10 records in the county
Photo: Laurent Bélanger · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The native streambank willow, often with several leaning trunks and dark rough bark. Statewide along water.
3 records in the county
Photo: Bruce Marlin · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
White upper bark peeling in patches, huge leaves and dangling seed balls. Creek and river bottoms statewide; among the largest trees in the state.
42 records in the county
Photo: Marty Aligata · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Warty, corky bark and lopsided leaves; purple berries birds love. Bottoms, slopes and city lots statewide, tough as nails.
16 records in the county
Photo: Chhe (talk) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
The southern hackberry, smoother-barked with narrower leaves, in Bootheel and southern bottomlands.
1 record in the county
Photo: Gaberlunzi (Richard Murphy) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Dark scaly bark like burnt potato chips, glossy leaves and small black cherries in summer. Fencerows and woods statewide.
7 records in the county
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Tall and straight with square-tipped leaves and tulip-shaped green-and-orange flowers in May. Native to the eastern Ozarks and Bootheel; planted widely.
14 records in the county
Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Star-shaped leaves, corky twigs and the spiky gum balls that litter yards. Native to the Bootheel and southeastern bottoms, planted statewide.
6 records in the county
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Horizontal branching, glossy leaves that turn scarlet early, blocky bark. Dry Ozark ridges and acid flats in the southern half.
1 record in the county
Photo: Eric Hunt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Blocky black bark and orange fruit that is mouth-puckering until frost. Old fields and edges across the southern two-thirds.
31 records in the county
Photo: Peterwchen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wicked branched thorns on wild trees, fine feathery leaves and long twisted pods. Bottoms and pastures statewide; thornless forms are planted.
33 records in the county
Photo: Plant Image Library from Boston, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Deeply furrowed bark, paired thorns at the leaf bases and fragrant white flowers in May. Native to the Ozarks, spread statewide along roads and fields.
7 records in the county
Photo: Pollinator at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Huge twice-compound leaves, thick leathery pods and a coarse, bare winter look. Rich bottoms and slopes, scattered statewide.
7 records in the county
Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pink-purple flowers on bare branches in early April, then heart-shaped leaves. Woodland edges statewide and a favorite yard tree.
55 records in the county
Photo: Greg Hume · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Missouri's state tree: white bracts in April, red berries and maroon fall leaves, under taller trees in the Ozarks and eastern counties.
7 records in the county
Photo: Eric Hunt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Big lopsided heart-shaped leaves and fragrant June flowers that hum with bees. Moist slopes and bottoms, more common north and east.
2 records in the county
Photo: Plant Image Library · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Salmon-pink peeling bark and doubly toothed leaves. Native along streams statewide; the most planted birch in Missouri yards.
2 records in the county
Photo: Greg Hume · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Five leaflets in a fan, yellow spring flowers and shiny brown nuts in spiny husks. Rich bottoms and slopes, mostly the eastern half.
17 records in the county
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Big drooping tropical-looking leaves and the largest native fruit, like a mango-banana in September. Moist bottoms and shaded slopes statewide.
89 records in the county
Photo: Scott Bauer, USDA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Shreddy bark in thin strips and hop-like seed clusters. Dry wooded slopes statewide.
3 records in the county
Photo: Eric Hunt · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The first white bloom in the woods each March, then sweet purple berries in June. Bluffs and slopes across the Ozarks and eastern Missouri.
1 record in the county
Photo: Dcrjsr · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Large sandpapery leaves, some mitten-lobed, and dark purple fruit in June. Moist woods and bottoms statewide; hybridizes with the invasive white mulberry.
10 records in the county
Photo: Douglas Goldman · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Native
Thorny, with orange-brown furrowed bark and softball-sized green fruit. Native to the southwest corner, planted as hedgerows statewide before barbed wire.
23 records in the county
A conifer that drops its feathery needles each fall, with buttressed trunks and knees rising from swamp water. Native to the Bootheel and lower Mississippi lowlands; planted statewide.
7 records in the county
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
The evergreen that takes over every unmowed pasture and glade, with shreddy red bark and blue berry-like cones. Statewide.
20 records in the county
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The evergreen Christmas holly, native to the Bootheel and southeastern lowlands and planted farther north.
1 record in the county
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Flat white flower clusters in May and blue-black fruit; a small stiff tree of woodland edges statewide.
3 records in the county
Photo: Robert H. Mohlenbrock. USDA SCS · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Four-lobed pink capsules that split to show red seeds in fall. Moist woods and fencerows statewide.
4 records in the county
Photo: Mason Brock (Masebrock) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Huge heart-shaped leaves, orchid-like white flowers in June and long bean pods. Native to the Bootheel bottoms; planted and naturalized statewide.
2 records in the county
Photo: Mark Wagner · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
The thicket dogwood of fencerows and prairie edges statewide, with white flower clusters and white berries.
21 records in the county
Photo: photo by John Knouse · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Records from GBIF (herbarium specimens and verified observations). A species missing here may still grow in the county; nobody has filed a record.