green --6.

6a. Fruit clusters woody, persistent on the plant for a long time
--7.

6b. Fruit clusters herbaceous, dropping in late autumn --9.

7a. Leaves rusty or whitish beneath, and pubescent at least on the veins
=Speckled Alder, Alnus incana.=

7b. Leaves green beneath, and either pubescent or smooth --8.

8a. Leaves broadest at or below the middle
=Mountain Alder, Alnus crispa.=

8b. Leaves broadest above the middle
=Smooth Alder, Alnus rugosa.=

9a. Tree; fruit a cluster of bladder-like sacs each containing a small
achene =Ironwood, Ostrya virginiana.=

9b. Shrubs; fruit a nut within a close-fitting involucre --10.

10a. Involucre of 2 broad bracts, almost separate and not much
longer than the fruit =Hazel, Corylus americana.=

10b. Involucre of united bracts, prolonged into a bristly beak
beyond the fruit =Beaked Hazel, Corylus rostrata.=

FAGACEAE, the Beech Family

Trees (or 1 species shrubby), with alternate simple leaves and
monoecious flowers, the staminate flowers in catkins, and the pistillate
solitary or in small clusters. Fruit a nut (or acorn) enclosed in a cup
or bur.

1a. Leaves serrate with numerous sharp-pointed teeth --2.

1b. Leaves serrate, lobed, or entire, but never serrate with
sharp-pointed teeth; fruit an acorn; pith 5-angled in the young
twigs (Oak) --3.

2a. Bark gray, smooth; buds 3-4 times longer than wide; nut
triangular =Beech, Fagus grandifolia.=

2b. Bark rough; buds relatively thicker; nut rounded
=Chestnut, Castanea dentata.=

3a. Leaves entire, except for a bristle at the tip
=Shingle Oak, Quercus imbricaria.=

3b. Leaves toothed or lobed, the points bristle-tipped --4.

3c. Leaves toothed or lobed, the points without bristles --10.

4a. Leaves entire below the middle, with a few shallow lobes beyond
=Black Jack Oak, Quercus marilandica.=

4b. Leaves deeply lobed throughout --5.

5a. Cup of the acorn saucer-shape, covering less than one-third of the
acorn --6.

5b. Cup of the acorn hemispherical or top-shape, covering one-third