CATS New Mexico Tree Identification 4

Question 1

Which New Mexico conifer has needles in bundles of 3, orange-red plated bark on the upper trunk, and is the dominant ponderosa type in the southern Rockies?

Accepted Answer

Ponderosa pine

Answer

Apache pine

Answer

Chihuahua pine

Answer

Arizona pine

Question 2

A native New Mexico shrub-tree with pinnately compound leaves, showy pink flowers in racemes, and flattened seed pods that persist into winter is:

Accepted Answer

New Mexico locust

Answer

Desert willow

Answer

Catclaw acacia

Answer

Honey mesquite

Question 3

Which New Mexico riparian tree has opposite, simple, heart-shaped leaves, showy white tubular flowers, and long bean-like pods up to 20 inches?

Accepted Answer

Western catalpa

Answer

Desert willow

Answer

Apache plume

Answer

Arizonia ash

Question 4

An arborist finds a small desert tree with linear leaves, trumpet-shaped purple-to-white flowers, and long narrow pods. This is:

Accepted Answer

Desert willow

Answer

Screwbean mesquite

Answer

Kidneywood

Answer

Mexican elderberry

Question 5

Which feature best distinguishes Gambel oak from gray oak in the field?

Accepted Answer

Gambel oak has deeply lobed leaves, while gray oak has entire or slightly wavy margins

Answer

Gambel oak produces acorns and gray oak does not

Answer

Gambel oak has reddish bark

Answer

Gray oak is evergreen and Gambel oak is deciduous, with Gambel oak having smooth leaf margins

Question 6

A fast-growing invasive tree common along New Mexico irrigation ditches with feathery, scale-like leaves and pink flower plumes is:

Accepted Answer

Salt cedar (tamarisk)

Answer

Russian olive

Answer

Siberian elm

Answer

Tree of heaven

Question 7

Which native New Mexico tree is the primary food source for Clark's nutcracker, which in turn plays a critical role in the tree's regeneration?

Accepted Answer

Colorado pinyon

Answer

Ponderosa pine

Answer

Limber pine

Answer

Engelmann spruce