burr oak

Trees Take Flight

At a recent tree identification workshop I brought some samples of hedge maple (Acer campestre) and when the learners were keying these out I noted to them that stems had “wings”. Several attendees were more quizzical than usual at my ramblings and asked what I meant. “Wings” or raised or corky projections on stems of woody plants are perhaps most common with regard to winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus) from the Latin alatus which means “having wings or winglike extensions”.

There are many additional woody plant species that have “wings”, though, including...

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Jim Chatfield