This large tree with a dense crown of small, drooping branches grows to 100 ft. tall. It may have two or more trunks which sprout in a circle from the stump.

BUDS: Scale like a "monk's hood"; false end buds.

TWIGS: Reddish or green and slender; hairless; slightly zigzag.

BARK: Shallowly grooved and dark; vertically striated.

HABITAT: Moist woods; likes calcareous sites and high pH soils; native to the south and west of New England.

RANGE: Northeastern U.S.--Minnesota on the northwest east across Canada to the middle of Maine, south to western North Carolina, and west to northeastern Oklahoma.

USES: The soft, light wood is used for making boxes, yardsticks, furniture, and pulpwood. The fibrous inner bark can be twisted into cords and mats. Bees favor these trees which produce a strongly favored honey.