Posted by Rebecca Johnson on September 14, 2006

Q: I need to identify a leaf for a school project. I live in Central Virginia. The leaves I found are compound leaves. The stalk they are on is about a foot long. There are 9 leaves on it, in pairs, across from each other, with one leaf at the end. The leaves get bigger towards the end of teh stem. The smaller leaves on the stem are wider at the base, then narrow out. The biggest three leaves, which are about 7 inches long and 3 1/2 inches wide, are narrower at the base that at the end. The leaf edges have tiny jagged edges. The top side of the leaves are very rough, and the bottoms are slightly velvety/hairy. The tops are a darker shade of green than the bottoms, and they are not shiny at all. The ends of the leaves come to points, and the leaves are not oval-shaped. They are shaped a bit like human eyes. I have tried several online tree ID websites, and gotten multiple answers. Does anyone have any idea what this tree could be?

thanks

P.S. I found this in a wooded area. They didn't come off a tree, but a cluster of branches that were growing out of a severed stump.

Habitat: forest/open woods

State: Virginia

Habitat: forest/open woods

A: Wow, your description was excellent - was I impressed!!! Wish everyone would describe their mystery animals and plants as well as you have - your instructor should be especially proud. Despite your excellent description, making an ID from just a leaf is not all that easy but I think I can narrow down your possibilities. If I could have seen the stump (bark), that would have been helpful and maybe even matched the leaves you found with an uncut tree in the surrounding area to compare it with. Keep that in mind the next time you're out collecting.

Two species come to mind immediately. The Black Walnut and Butternut both grow in parts of VA and either sounds like it is a possible match. The walnut has a rather spicy odor when the leaves are crushed so try doing that if you have a reasonably fresh leaf. Although walnuts often do NOT have an end leaflet, they sometimes do. Butternut leaves look very much like walnut leaves but typically have an end leaflet. The buds on Butternut have very fine hairs on them. Another possibility is the Bitternut Hickory which has bright yellow-powdery buds.

Sorry I can't nail this for you but I hope you're that much closer to figuring it out. Try looking up these three species and see if one fits your leaf. Best of luck.

John Wiessinger ( September 15, 2006)