Trees, Shrubs, & Vines of Oswego NY and its Immediate Surroundings

I have started this site so that persons interested in trees, shrubs, and vines can view many of the plants found in the Oswego area. We searched for specimens in the city

of Oswego, the college at SUNY Oswego, and the surrounding towns of Minetto, Oswego, and Scriba –

within three miles of the city limits. However, it has not been possible to see what is in many backyards or

woodlots around the city and outlying areas; so we may not have been able to cover the many species that may actually be here. We have only been able to view front

and side yards, except where generous people, like Darleen Parsons, Jim Kraus, and Peter and AnneMarie Rounds, have let us onto their properties to examine and

photograph specimens.For these persons and others, we are grateful.

Jim Seago

The trees and shrubs covered are ‘seed plants’ - gymnosperms (plants that have naked seeds or seeds

not enclosed in fruits) and angiosperms (the flowering plants that have seeds in fruits).

The woods and trees of gymnosperms (like Ginkgo and the conifers) are often termed softwoods, and the woods and trees of angiosperms or flowering plants are often termed hardwoods. Two of the three major groups of flowering plants include woody plants; they are the basal angiosperms

(including the magnolia’s) and the eudicots (including oaks, maples, ashes, dogwoods,

honeysuckle’s, and hydrangea’s).

The names are the binomial scientific name (genus and species - italicized), followed by the most used common name, for example,

Quercus alba white oak.

We have made little attempt to deal much with the many varieties of the species covered here because they can be so

numerous and even difficult to distinguish.

This website will take 2-3 years to complete, but it starts with many of the gymnosperms and basal

angiosperm/flowering plants found in the Oswego region.

Please excuse us while we construct it.If you have suggestions, criticisms or

corrections, please contact us atjames.seago@oswego.edu

Acknowledgements: Eric Hellquist will be a major part of this endeavor, and we are receiving assistance

from Tiffany Brancheau. Many thanks to April Tuttle for help.

Special gratitude goes to my wife, Marilyn A. Seago, who has helped me on so many

ventures around Oswego to shoot the photos and make the identifications.

GYMNOSPERMS Ginkgophyta: Ginkgo biloba

maidenhair tree

GYMNOSPERMS Pinophyta: the conifers

Abies balsamea balsam fir

Abies concolor white fir

Cephalotaxus harringtonia dwarf Japanese plum yew

Chamaecyparis pisifera Sawara cypress

Cryptomeria japonica Japanese cedar

Juniperus chinensis Chinese juniper

Juniperus horizontalis creeping juniper

Juniperus virginiana eastern red cedar

Larix decidua European larch

Metasequoia glyptostroboides dawn redwood

Picea abies Norway spruce

Picea glauca white spruce

Picea pungens Colorado blue spruce

Pinus mugo mountain pine

Pinus nigra Austrian pine

Pinus resinosa red pine

Pinus strobus white pine

Pinus sylvestris Scot’s pine

Pseudotsuga menziesii Douglas fir

Taxus cuspidata Japanese yew

Thuja occidentalis arborvitae

Tsuga canadensis eastern hemlock

Basal Angiosperms: the Magnoliids Magnolia soulangeana saucer magnolia

Magnolia stellata star magnolia

Liriodendron tulipifera tulip tree

Asimina triloba paw-paw

Calycanthus floridus Carolina allspice

Aristolochia durior Dutchman’s pipe