Tree dictionary
Trees of Randolph County
42 native and 2 invasive species recorded here. All of Missouri.
Invasive trees in Randolph County
Spreading here on their own. Cutting is only half the job; the stump needs treating or it comes back.
Glossy, smooth-topped leaves and white-to-purple fruit; brought for silkworms, now in fencerows and lots statewide and crossing with native red mulberry.
2 records in the county
Photo: Emőke Dénes · 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.
1 record in the county
Photo: Eric Hunt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Native trees in Randolph County
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.
1 record in the county
Photo: Heath Cajandig · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Coarsely toothed leaves like a chestnut's and flaky gray bark. Favors limestone slopes and bluffs, which Missouri has plenty of.
3 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.
2 records in the county
Photo: Bruce Marlin · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Large wavy-toothed leaves and sweet acorns wildlife favor. Found in rich bottomland forests of southeastern Missouri.
1 record in the county
Photo: Jaknouse at English Wikipedia · Public domain · 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.
2 records in the county
Photo: Bruce Marlin · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Small, scrubby, with thick leathery club-shaped leaves and black blocky bark. Dry rocky glades and ridges of the Ozarks.
1 record in the county
Photo: DeepFork (talk) (Uploads) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
An oak with smooth, unlobed leaves like a laurel's. Common statewide on slopes and in fencerows.
2 records in the county
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Named for the long bark plates that curl away from the trunk. Five leaflets, sweet nuts, found statewide on slopes and bottoms.
3 records in the county
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Like shagbark but with seven leaflets and the largest nuts of any hickory. A bottomland tree, mostly along the larger rivers.
1 record in the county
Photo: Robert H. Mohlenbrock. USDA SCS. Midwest wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Fuzzy leaf undersides, tight furrowed bark, and nuts with thick shells and little meat. Common on Ozark uplands.
2 records in the county
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang · 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.
1 record 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.
2 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
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.
3 records in the county
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Deeply cut leaves silvery underneath, fast growth, and shaggy bark. Native to river bottoms statewide and planted in countless yards.
2 records in the county
Photo: Darkone (talk · contribs) · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
A maple with compound leaves, often mistaken for poison ivy as a seedling. Grows fast in bottoms, fencerows and neglected lots statewide.
2 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.
2 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.
5 records in the county
Corky ridges on older twigs and the hardest wood of any elm. Uncommon, on limestone slopes in northern and central Missouri.
1 record in the county
Photo: Ronnie Nijboer · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Diamond-furrowed bark, opposite compound leaves whitish underneath, purple fall color. Upland woods statewide.
3 records in the county
Photo: Willow · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
The common bottomland ash, planted by the thousands as a street tree for decades. Leaves green on both sides.
4 records in the county
Photo: Jerzy Opioła · CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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.
2 records in the county
Photo: Laurent Bélanger · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 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.
1 record 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.
2 records in the county
Photo: Chhe (talk) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Dark scaly bark like burnt potato chips, glossy leaves and small black cherries in summer. Fencerows and woods statewide.
1 record in the county
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 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.
2 records in the county
Photo: Famartin · 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.
2 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.
2 records in the county
Photo: Plant Image Library from Boston, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Huge twice-compound leaves, thick leathery pods and a coarse, bare winter look. Rich bottoms and slopes, scattered statewide.
2 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.
5 records in the county
Photo: Greg Hume · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Big lopsided heart-shaped leaves and fragrant June flowers that hum with bees. Moist slopes and bottoms, more common north and east.
1 record 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.
1 record 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.
1 record in the county
Photo: Unknown author · 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.
3 records 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.
4 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.
2 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.
1 record 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.
2 records in the county
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Flat white flower clusters in May and blue-black fruit; a small stiff tree of woodland edges statewide.
7 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.
1 record in the county
Photo: Mason Brock (Masebrock) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Fragrant pink spring flowers and small hard green apples, in prairie edges and open woods, mostly north and west.
8 records in the county
Photo: M.S. del, J.N.Fitch, lith. · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Dozens of hard-to-tell-apart native species: thorny small trees with white spring flowers and red haws. The state flower comes from this group. Pastures and edges statewide.
5 records in the county
Photo: Nadiatalent · 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.