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- Ptelea trifoliata
Ptelea trifoliata — common hoptree
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New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
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Facts
Common hoptree is a member of the citrus family; as such, its foliage and fruits tend to have a rank and acidic smell. Even the yellow flowers, blooming in June, give off a fragrance that is enticing only to flies, which pollinate them. That said, this native shrub or small tree (to 20 feet or 6 m tall) is an important member of glade and prairie natural communities and its seeds have also been historically used as substitutes for hops (hence its common name).
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, forests
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Growth form
-
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- the plant is a tree
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
-
- the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
- Bark texture
-
- the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- red
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Superposed buds
-
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
- there are superposed buds above the main (terminal) bud
-
Flowers
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
-
- white
- yellow or green
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower does not have a hypanthium
- Inflorescence type
- the inflorescence is a corymb (with long lower branches and shorter upper branches, giving it a more or less flat-topped look)
- Number of pistils
-
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- Ovary position
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal fusion
- the perianth parts are separate
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Stamen number
-
- 4
- 5
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
- NA
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is an achene (dry, usually 1-seeded, does not separate or split open at maturity)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- the fruit has one or more wings on it
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is clear and watery
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
-
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- the plant is a tree
-
Leaves
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
-
- the base of the leaf blade is rounded
- the base of the leaf blade is truncate (ends abruptly in a more or less straight line as though cut off)
- Leaf blade edges
-
- the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade flatness
- the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
- Leaf blade hairs
-
- NA
- at least some of the hairs on the leaf blade have glands at their tips
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
- the leaf blade is triangular, with the stalk or attachment point on one of the sides
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- the leaf blade has translucent dots on it
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf teeth
-
- the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)
- the leaf blade margin is crenate (with rounded teeth) or crenulate (with tiny, rounded teeth)
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaf is compound, with three leaflets
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- edges of forests
- forests
- man-made or disturbed habitats
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
-
- the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- red
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)
New England distribution and conservation status
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- absent
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
ssp. trifoliata var. trifoliata
- Massachusetts
- not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
Native to North America?
Yes and no (some introduced)
Synonyms
- Ptelea baldwinii Torr. & Gray
Family
Genus
Notes on subspecies and varieties in New England
Our variety is Ptelea trifoliata L. ssp. trifoliata var. trifoliata.
From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae
1. Ptelea trifoliata L. ssp. trifoliata var. trifoliata E
common hoptree. Ptelea baldwinii Torr. & Gray • CT, MA, ME, NH, VT. Roadsides, forest fragments and borders, waste areas. Reports of this species in ME (e.g., Seymour 1982, Kartesz 1999) are based on specimens taken from planted individual.