City of Colorado Springs / Forestry / Forestry & Tree Resources / Tree Glossary

Trees for Colorado Springs Glossary

acidic
a soil with a pH of < 7.0
fastigate
grows upright
columnar
sand
large particle soil (low water retention)
alkaline
a soil with a pH of > 7.0 (most Colorado soils)
fireblight
bacterial
disease in rose family (i.e. apple, mtn. ash, pyrocantha)
scale
insect protected by waxy coating
amur
orange color
gall
growth often insect caused
spike
long grouping of flowers
anthracnose
leaf and twig fungal disease
gumosis
globs of hard sap
suckering
new shoots from tree base or roots
aphid
small sucking insect
hardiness
how cold of temperatures a plant can withstand
sunscald
damage to the trunk caused by intense sunlight, usually in the winter
canker
sunken area in the bark caused by wounding or disease
honeydew
sugary, sticky substance secreted by sucking insects
taproot
central root on young trees that heads straight down
capsule
a dry fruit
invasive
gets into things
transplant
dig and move a plant
catkin
spike-like flower
loam
medium particle soil
variety
a subgroup of species
chlorosis
leaf yellowing usually from a nutrient deficiency
panicle
a cluster of small flowers
verticillium wilt
a fungus that blocks the water conducting ability of the tree
clay
fine particle soil (high water retention)
pH
a measure of hydrogen ions in soil
volunteer
a tree that comes up on its own
compound leaf
several leaflets make up a leaf
pome
a fleshy fruit (apple)
wetwood
fermented sap that oozes from tree caused by a bacteria
drupe
a fleshy fruit with a hard seed (cherry)
psyllid
small sucking insect
 
 
Dutch elm disease
fungus disease that causes the tree to wilt
samara
dry papery fruit with a wing
 
 
 
This information was funded by Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services with a matching grant from the Colorado Tree Coalition.