DECIDING WHICH COMPONENT TO USE IN THE MIAMI UNIVERSITY DENDROLOGY EXPERT SYSTEM CREATED BY ROGER D. MEICENHEIMER

Flowers are typically present for only 1-2 months during the year for any given species. There is wide variation in the appearance of flowers. Cones produced over a period of up to 3 years at various stages of development may be present on a tree. Some species have bluish fleshy "berry-like" cones. Most cones are greenish or brownish. There is a wide variety of fruit morphology. Indehiscent fruits enclose seeds at maturity. Dehiscent fruits split to release seeds at maturity. Gymnosperm seeds are born directly from ovules associated with cone scales. A few species have "berry-like" fleshy cones. A few species have single seeds enclosed in fleshy red or orange arils. Leaf blade is relatively broad and flat. May be evergreen or deciduous. There is wide variation in shape and complexity of leaf blades. Typically small greenish or brownish leaves that are more or less closely oppressed to the stem. Typically yellowish or greenish, elongated, cylindrical or slightly flattened leaves that are either born singly or in definitive clusters. Vessels with relatively large lumens (pores) are interspersed among other cells with smaller lumens as viewed in transverse section. Vessel pores may or may not be visible to the unaided eye. Wood consists of tracheids with more or less uniform diameter lumens as viewed in transverse section. Some variation in tracheid wall thickness may be apparent within a growth ring. Examine the leaf and/or reproductive features of the unknown tree to determine whether it is a gymnosperm or angiosperm. Assess morphological features associated with the production of seeds. Examine the variation in cell types apparent in a transverse section of the wood.