Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
1 rating

Monday - June 27, 2011

From: Sugar Land, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Large Leaved Trees in Sugarland, TX
Answered by: Brigid & Larry Larson

QUESTION:

Can you give me a list of trees which bear thick and broad leaves?

ANSWER:

Of course, but that is an awfully broad question!   As the Wildflower Center has a goal of encouraging the local native species, I am going to narrow this by listing trees considered native to Sugarland but which have comparatively large leaves.

Our list of native species is found from a special link in our Recommended Species page, and specifically, you live in the Gulf Marshes & Prairies ecoregion.  

With a smaller list to be considered – They can be examined for leaf size.  Mr Smarty Plants used the comments in the NPIN database and also from the University of Connecticut plant database. Records in this database explicitly shows leaf size in the search results.  There is a final complication to be considered.  Leafs are separated as to whether they are “simple” or “compound”.  North Dakota State University has a pictorial description of this. Often, the compound leaves are discussed as the whole, which gives a much larger number.  Sometimes, the leaflets are also described.

That said, here is a list of trees with large leaves:

Simple Leaves:

Magnolia grandiflora (Southern magnolia):  They have a dense growth of smooth, leathery evergreen leaves that are alternate, 5–10 inches long, 2" to 5" wide.

Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore) : Simple ovate leaves, 3 to 5 lobed margins, 6" to 10" long.

Quercus macrocarpa (Bur oak):  Leaves up to 9 inches long with a central midrib from which branch veins lead into rounded lobes.

Morus rubra (Red mulberry): Leaves up to 8 inches long, ovate and with or without lobes.

Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweetgum):  Alternate "maple-like" star shaped leaves, 5- to 7- lobed, 4 to 8" long and wide.

Diospyros virginiana (Common persimmon): Large, oval, mature leaves usually become yellow-green in fall, 2" to 6" long.

Quercus stellata (Post oak): Leaf blades variable, 3 to 5 inches long or longer, wavy margined to deeply lobed; the lobes rounded and up to 4 on each side.

Prunus mexicana (Mexican plum): Leaves up to 5 inches long and 2 inches wide, ovate to narrower with serrate margins.

  

Compound Leaves:

Juglans nigra (Black walnut): Leaves up to 2 feet long with 5 to 11 pairs of leaflets along a central axis and a single-leaflet at the tip, leaflets are up to 5" long.

Carya illinoinensis (Pecan): Pinnately-compound, deciduous leaves are 12-20 in. long with 11-17 leaflets.

Fraxinus pennsylvanica (Green ash): Leaves up to 8 or more inches long, divided into 5 to 9 1eaflets, which are 2" to 5" with smooth or toothed margins.

Aesculus pavia var. pavia (Scarlet buckeye): Large leaves with 5 leaflets radiating from the tip of a long petiole, each 2" to 5" in length.

 

More Trees Questions

Fraxinus cuspidata (Fragrant Ash)
May 30, 2008 - Two part question: 1) Will fragrant (flowering; Fraxinus cuspidata) ash survive in Zone 7b? 2) Where can I get it?
view the full question and answer

Source for dwarf red mulberry from Spring Hill TN
December 08, 2012 - Hello: Where can I buy a dwarf red mulberry tree in the USA? Thanks
view the full question and answer

Pruning a rough-leaf dogwood in spring
May 04, 2012 - Is it OK to trim a rough leaf dogwood now? Should I spray after trimming? Thanks
view the full question and answer

Need suggestions for trees with non-invasive root system in Paramus, NJ.
August 23, 2011 - What trees can I plant in New Jersey with non invasive root systems? We lost our tree to a storm and are looking for a viable replacement.
view the full question and answer

Trees for clay soil from Charlotte TX
August 25, 2013 - We have an area in our yard that even Esperanzas won't grow. It is near another that does great. Six Esperanzas are planted in a north/south row about with 10' between plants, the southern most plan...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.