A Bur Oak Twig (3.19473)
Date: 1940sCreator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Detailed illustration of a single bur oak twig with identifying text.
Text: a bur oak twig
Extent: 1 sheet
Four Oaks (3.19491)
Date: 1940 – 1959Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Illustrations of four oaks: Chinkapin oak, Swamp white oak, White oak and Bur oak. Each tree is illustrated by silhouette, and is accompanied by an outline of its leaf and drawings of its twig with a winter bud and its acorn.
upper left: Quercus muehlenbergii, Chinkapin oak
upper right: Quercus bicolor, Swamp white oak
lower left: Quercus alba, White oak
lower right Quercus macrocarpa, Bur oak
Extent: 1 sheet
Winter Buds, #1 (3.19511)
Date: 1940 – 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Large poster depicting 16 types of winter buds, bound in green tape.
Illustrations and text, from left to right, top to bottom:
- white ash
- black ash
- blue ash
- red ash
- sugar maple
- Norway maple
- silver maple
- box-elder
- horse-chestnut
- ohio buckeye
- flowering dogwood
- catalpa
- ironwood
- gray birch
- European white birch
- European alder
Extent: 1 sheet
Winter Buds, #2 (3.19512)
Date: 1940 – 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Large poster depicting 12 types of winter buds, bound in green tape.
Illustrations and text, from left to right, top to bottom:
- bitternut hickory
- witch-hazel
- shadbush
- beech
- black walnut
- butternut
- sassafras
- shagbark hickory
- linden
- mountain ash
- sour gum
- silver poplar
Extent: 1 sheet
Winter Buds, #3 (3.19513)
Date: 1940 – 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Large poster depicting 16 types of winter buds, bound in green tape.
Illustrations and text, from left to right, top to bottom:
- honey locust
- black locust
- Osage orange
- hawthorn
- wild crab
- wild plum
- European larch
- ginkgo
- red oak
- white oak
- tulip tree
- sycamore
- Kentucky coffeetree
- tree of heaven
- staghorn sumac
- willow
Extent: 1 sheet
Cedar Apple Rust: First Year and Second Winter (3.19518)
Date: 1940sCreator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Panel 1 of 4 with illustrations and informational text about the fungal disease cedar apple rust cycle and its effect on Red cedar and Hawthorn trees. Focus of this panel is on the first year and second winter of the disease cycle, featuring drawings of Juniper twigs, galls, and a Red cedar tree.
Header: FIRST YEAR and SECOND WINTER
Drawings and text, clockwise from left:
- FIRST YEAR
- Juniper twig: WINTER; NO EFFECT EVIDENT
- Twig and gall: SUMMER; PURPLISH-BROWNISH GALL DEVELOPS
- GALL GROWS
- Twig with gall: SECOND WINTER; FUNGUS REMAINS DORMANT WITHIN SWOLLEN TISSUE
- RED (left half image of a full-sized Red cedar)
Extent: 1 sheet
Cedar Apple Rust: Spring (3.19519)
Date: 1940sCreator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Panel 2 of 4 with illustrations and informational text about the fungal disease cedar apple rust cycle and its effect on Red cedar and Hawthorn trees. Focus of this panel is on the disease cycle in spring, depicting the growth of a gall. Drawings feature Juniper twigs and galls, and a Red cedar tree.
Header: SPRING
Drawings and text, clockwise:
- Juniper twig and gall: GALL SHOWS CHARACTERISTIC DEPRESSIONS WITH ROUNDED PIMPLES
- Juniper twig and horned gall: SPORE HORNS PUSH OUT
- Juniper twig and gall with longer horns: HORNS BECOME JELLY-LIKE
- SPORES ARE CARRIED BY WIND TO
- CEDAR (right half image of a full-sized Red cedar)
Extent: 1 sheet
Cedar Apple Rust: Late Summer To Fall (3.19520)
Date: 1940sCreator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Panel 4 of 4 with illustrations and informational text about the fungal disease cedar apple rust cycle and its effect on Red cedar and Hawthorn trees. Focus of this panel is on the disease cycle from late summer to fall describing spore on leaves and wind carried spores. Drawings feature an infected Hawthorn leaf, a Juniper twig, and a Hawthorn tree.
Header: LATE SUMMER TO FALL
Drawings and text, clockwise from right:
- Hawthorn leaf with spores: ON UNDER-SIDE of LEAF WHITE TUBES DISCHARGE YELLOW SPORES
- yellow arrow: SPORES CARRIED BY WIND TO RED CEDAR
- Juniper twig
- HAW (left half image of a full-sized Hawthorn)
Extent: 1 sheet
Winter Twigs, page 1 (3.24627)
Date: 1943Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Page 1 of 4, illustrations showing identifying characteristics of different types of winter twigs, created to accompany "Winter Twigs" article featured in Morton Arboretum Bulletin of Popular Information. Illustrations include those with distinctive leaf scars, buds, and pith. Original identifying text has detached.
Illustrations are divided into three sections, depicted from top to bottom, left to right:
1) [Original text] SOME HAVE DISTINCTIVE LEAF SCARS
- Black walnut
- Butternut
- Catalpa
- Maple
- Sycamore
- Sumac
- Ash
- Flowering dogwood
- Beech
- Willow
- Oak
- Linden
- Alder
- Tulip [tree]
3) [Orignial text] SOME HAVE DISTINCTIVE PITH
- Black walnut
- Butternut
- Hackberry
- Tulip [tree]
- Kentucky coffee tree
- Oak
- Alder
Extent: 1 sheet
Winter Twigs, page 2 (3.24631)
Date: 1943Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Page 2 of 4, illustrations showing identifying characteristics of different types of winter twigs, created to accompany "Winter Twigs" article featured in Morton Arboretum Bulletin of Popular Information. Original identifying text has detached and is mostly missing.
Illustrations are divided into two sections, depicted from top to bottom, left to right:
1) [Original text] TREES WITH OPPOSITE BRANCHING
- White ash -- Fraxinus americana
- Black ash -- Fraxinus nigra
- Blue ash -- Fraxinus quadrangulata
- Red ash -- Fraxinus pennsylvanica
- Sugar maple -- Acer saccharum
- Norway maple -- Acer platanoides
- Red maple -- Acer rubrum
- Silver maple -- Acer saccharinum
- Box-elder -- Acer negundo
- Horse-chestnut -- Aesculus hippocastanum
- Ohio buckeye -- Aesculus glabra
- Flowering dogwood -- Cornus florida
- Catalpa -- Catalpa speciosa [and] Catalpa bignonioides
- Ironwood -- Ostrya virginiana
- Gray birch -- Betula populifolia
- [as a single illustration:]
- Yellow birch -- Betula lutea
- River birch -- Betula nigra
- Cherry birch -- Betula lenta
- Paper birch -- Betula papyrifera
- European white birch -- Betula pendula
- European alder -- Alnus glutinosa
Extent: 1 sheet
Winter Twigs, page 3 (3.24632)
Date: 1943Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Page 3 of 4, illustrations showing identifying characteristics of different types of winter twigs with identifying labels and text above each, created to accompany "Winter Twigs" article featured in Morton Arboretum Bulletin of Popular Information. Some original identifying text has detached and is no longer present.
Illustrations are divided into seven sections, depicted from top to bottom, left to right:
1) TREES WITH THORNS
- Honey locust -- Gleditsia triacanthos
- Black locust -- Robinia pseudo-acacia
- Osage orange -- Maclura pomifera
- Hawthorn -- Crataegus
- Wild crab -- Malus ioensis [and] Malus coronaria
- Wild plum : Prunus americana [and] Prunus nigra
- European larch -- Larix decidua
- Tamarack -- Larix laricina
- Ginkgo -- Ginkgo biloba
- Black Oak Group
- Red oak -- Quercus borealis maxima
- Northern pin oak -- Quercus ellipsoidalis
- Pin oak -- Quercus palustris
- White Oak Group
- Bur Oak -- Quercus macrocarpa
- White oak -- Quercus alba
- Swamp white oak -- Quercus bicolor
- Tulip [tree] -- Liriodendron tulipifera
- Sycamore -- Platanus occidentalis
- Kentucky coffee tree -- Gymnocladus dioicus
- Tree of heaven -- Ailanthus altissima
- Staghorn sumac -- Rhus typhina
- Smooth sumac -- Rhus glabra
- Willow -- Salix
Extent: 1 sheet
Winter Twigs, page 4 (3.24636)
Date: 1943Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Page 4 of 4, illustrations showing identifying characteristics of different types of winter twigs, created to accompany "Winter Twigs" article featured in Morton Arboretum Bulletin of Popular Information. Original identifying text has detached and is no longer present.
Illustrations are divided into seven sections, depicted from top to bottom, left to right:
1) [Original text] TREES WITH FLATTENED YELLOWISH BUDS
- Bitternut hickory -- Carya cordiformis
- Witch-hazel -- Hamamelis virginiana
- Shadbush -- Amelanchier canadensis
- Beech -- Fagus grandifolia
- Black walnut -- Juglans nigra
- Butternut -- Juglans cinerea
- Sassafras -- Sassafras albidum
- Shagbark hickory -- Carya ovata
- Linden -- Tilia americana
- Mountain ash -- Sorbus
- Sour gum -- Nyssa sylvatica
- Silver poplar -- Populus alba
Extent: 1 sheet
Forest Nature Trail Guide, page 13 illustrations and layout (3.24670)
Date: 1946Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Original illustrations and layout for page 13, excluding text, for The Morton Arboretum Forest Nature Trail Guide booklet. Key lines included.
Illustrated stumps with numbers indicate points of interest along trail as seen on trail map.
Tree stump #34: Ironwood or Hop Hornbeam
Identifying characteristics for leaves, seeds, and fruits illustrated to the right.
Tree stump #35: Are you as Smart as a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker?
Illustration of a red oak trunk and sugar maple trunk to the right - sugar maple includes drawing of yellow-bellied sapsucker pecking rings of holes in the maple's trunk for sap.
Tree stump #36: Where Does the Water in These Streams Go?
Map of DuPage River, including West Branch and East Branch at Arboretum near top right, the Des Plaines River center right, the Kankakee River center bottom, and the Illinois River center left with arrow pointing left labeled "to Mississippi".
Tree stump #37: The Thickness of Twigs
Identifying characteristics of ironwood and sumac twigs illustrated to the right.
Tree stump #38: Blue Ash
Identifying characteristics for leaves and twig illustrated to the right.
Extent: 1 Sheet
Twelve Oaks (3.24795)
Date: 1944Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Drawing
Description:Illustration of leaf, acorn, and twigs with buds for twelve different types of oak, created to accompany "The Oaks Of The Morton Arboretum" article featured in Morton Arboretum Bulletin of Popular Information. Drawings are divided into two categories and depicted in columns with descriptive text.
Header: TWELVE OAKS
Leaves, acorns, and twigs as depicted in two categories, from left to right, top to bottom:
Category 1: The Black Oak Group
- Eastern Red Oak - Quercus borealis
- leaf - dull above, glabrous beneath, lobes narrowing toward margin, sinuses about half-way to mid-rib.
- acorn - shallow cup, saucer-shaped, with glossy tight scales, white kernel
- twig with buds - buds red brown, not angled; twigs red-brown, smooth
- Northern Pin - Quercus ellipsoidalis
- leaf - lustrous, deeply lobed, lobes widening toward margin, base truncate or broad-cunate, 5 to 7 lobed
- acorn - top-shaped cup, enclosing half of nut, yellow kernel
- twig with buds - buds red-brown, obtuse at tip; twigs red-brown
- Black - Quercus velutina
- leaf - leathery, thick, petioles yellow, sinuses varying from shallow to deep
- acorn - bowl-like cup, scales form fringe at margin, yellow kernel
- twig with bids - buds pale woolly, strongly 5-sided; twigs red-brown, lenticels conspicuous
- Pin - Quercus palustris
- leaf - thin, lustrous, 5 to 7 lobed, few-toothed, slender petioles, base cuneate
- acorn - saucer-shaped cup, scales with free tips, nut often striped
- twigs with buds - side buds at wide angle; twigs red-brown, smooth
- Shingle - Quercus imbricaria
- leaf - lustrous above, pubescent below, persistent in Winter
- acorn - stalked cup, bowl-like, thin
- twig with buds - buds brown smooth; twigs smooth, gray-brown
- Willow - Quercus phellos
- leaf - lustrous, nearly sessile, acute at both ends
- acorn - talked cup, shallow, thin
- twig with buds - buds brown; twigs fine
- White - Quercus alba
- leaf - glabrous, with deep sinuses, often persistent in winter
- acorn - bowl-like cup, with thickened warty scales, nut edible
- twig with buds - buds red-brown, smooth; twigs red-brown, later ashy-gray; lenticels pale, conspicuous
- Bur - Quercus macrocarpa
- leaf - usually with "wasp-waist" - thick, smooth above, pale-pubescent beneath
- acorn - cup fringed, covering half or more of nut, larger in South
- twig with buds - buds pale-woolly, gray-tan; twigs gray, later corky-ridged
- English - Quercus robur
- leaf - auricled base, nearly sessile
- acorn - cup enclosing 1/4 to 1/3 of nut, long-stemmed
- twig with buds - buds, brown; side buds divergent; twigs brown
- Chinquapin - Quercus muehlenbergii
- leaf - thick, shiny above, pubescent beneath, somewhat sharply-toothed, rounded base, slender petiole
- acorn - cup bowl-shaped, thin, scales indistinct
- twig with buds - buds chestnut-brown; twigs orange-brown
- Basket - Quercus michauxii
- leaf - crenate margin, pale-pubescent beneath, cunate base, 10 to 14 pairs of teeth
- acorn - cup bowl-shaped, thickened, scales wedge-shaped
- twig with buds - buds chestnut-brown, twigs orange-brown
- Swamp White - Quercus bicolor
- leaf - thick, firm, coarsely-toothed, shining above, pale-fomentose beneath, 6 to 10 pairs of teeth, often persistent in winter
- acorn - usually paired, cup bowl-shaped, slightly-fringed, long-stalked
- twigs with buds - buds brown; twigs yellow-brown, with pale, raised lenticels
Extent: 1 sheet
Leaf Prints: White Ash (3.27661)
Date: circa 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Print
Description:A white negative nature print of White Ash leaves, stems, twig, and buds on a dark background with identifying text at bottom right handwritten by May T. Watts.
Identifying text:
- Ash white
- Fraxinus americana
Extent: 1 sheet
Leaf Prints: American Beech (3.27664)
Date: circa 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Print
Description:A white negative nature print of American beech leaves, stems, and a twig with buds on a dark background with identifying text at bottom right handwritten by May T. Watts.
Identifying text:
- Beech American
- Fagus Americana
Extent: 1 sheet
Leaf Prints: Bitternut Hickory (3.27699)
Date: circa 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Print
Description:A white negative nature print of bitternut hickory leaves, stems, twigs, buds, and flowers on a dark background with identifying text at bottom right handwritten by May T. Watts.
Identifying text:
- Hickory bitternut
- Hicoria minima
Extent: 1 sheet
Leaf Prints: Shagbark Hickory (3.27700)
Date: circa 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Print
Description:A white negative nature print of shagbark hickory leaves, stems, twigs, buds, and flowers on a dark background with identifying text at bottom right handwritten by May T. Watts.
Identifying text:
- Hickory shellbark
- Hicoria ovata
Extent: 1 sheet
Leaf Prints: Ironwood (3.27701)
Date: circa 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Print
Description:A white negative nature print of ironwood, or hop-hornbeam, leaves, stems, twigs, buds, and flowers on a dark background with identifying text at bottom right handwritten by May T. Watts.
Identifying text:
- Hop-hornbeam
- Ostrya virginiana
Extent: 1 sheet
Leaf Prints: Balsam Poplar (3.27730)
Date: circa 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Print
Description:A white negative nature print of balsam poplar leaves, stems, and a twig with a bud on a dark background with identifying text at bottom right handwritten by May T. Watts.
Identifying text:
- Poplar balsam
- Populus balsamifera caudicans
Extent: 1 sheet
Leaf Prints: Sycamore (3.27741)
Date: circa 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Print
Description:A white negative nature print of sycamore leaves, stems, and a twig with a bud on a dark background with identifying text at bottom right handwritten by May T. Watts.
Identifying text:
- Sycamore
- Platanus occidentalis
Extent: 1 sheet
Leaf Prints: Black Walnut (3.27745)
Date: circa 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Print
Description:A white negative nature print of black walnut leaves, stems, flowers, and a twig with buds on a dark background with identifying text at bottom right handwritten by May T. Watts.
Identifying text:
- Walnut black
- Juglans nigra
Extent: 1 sheet
Leaf Prints: Butternut (3.27746)
Date: circa 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Print
Description:A white negative nature print of butternut, or white walnut, leaves, stems, fruit, and a twig with buds on a dark background with identifying text at bottom right handwritten by May T. Watts.
Identifying text:
- Walnut white
- Juglans cinerea
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Willow (3.31790)
Date: 1940 – 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a Willow tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf, a drawing of a twig with buds, and descriptive text.
Header: WILLOW
Drawings and text, from top to bottom, left to right:
- leaf
- twig and buds: single scale on each bud
- tree: twigs slender, yellow in Spring; along a river bank
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: White Ash (3.31792)
Date: 1940 – 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a White Ash tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf, drawings of a twig and a seed, and descriptive text.
Header: WHITE ASH
Drawings and text, from top to bottom, left to right:
- leaves: opposite branching
- tree
- twig with close-up sketch of texture: diamond-shaped ridges
- seeds
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Swamp White Oak (3.31796)
Date: 1940 – 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a Swamp White Oak tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf, drawings of a twig, a fruit, and descriptive text.
Header: SWAMP WHITE OAK
Drawings and text from top to bottom, left to right:
- leaf
- fruit
- tree: on low ground
- twig
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: English Oak (3.31801)
Date: 1940 – 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of an English Oak tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf, a drawing of a fruit, a twig, and descriptive text.
Header: ENGLISH OAK
Drawings and text from top to bottom, left to right:
- leaf: alternate
- fruit: not native
- tree: European
- twig with buds
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Kentucky Coffeetree (3.31802)
Date: 1940 – 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:A nature print outline of a Kentucky Coffeetree leaf, drawings of its seeds, a twig, and descriptive text.
Header: KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE
Drawings and text from top to bottom, left to right:
- leaf
- seeds
- twig: salmon-colored pith
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Chestnut Oak (3.31806)
Date: 1940 – 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a Chestnut Oak tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf, drawings of a twig, a fruit, flowers, and descriptive text.
Header: CHESTNUT OAK
Drawings and text from top to bottom, left to right:
- leaf
- tree
- twig with buds: native just south of Arboretum
- fruit: matures in one year; kernel sweet
- flowers
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Sycamore Maple (3.31808)
Date: 1940 – 1950Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a Sycamore Maple tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf, drawings of a twig, seeds, and descriptive text.
Header: SYCAMORE MAPLE
Drawings and text from top to bottom, left to right:
- leaf
- tree: dark heavy green; no Autumn coloring; no milk
- twig with buds
- seeds: ripe in Fall; European
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Shagbark Hickory (3.31818)
Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a shagbark hickory tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf, and drawings of a nut and a twig with buds. Tab taped to bottom left corner includes assigned number.
Descriptive text in bottom left tab:
- 19
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Kentucky Coffeetree (3.31858)
Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a Kentucky coffeetree tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf and drawings of its seeds and twig. Tape adhered to bottom left corner indicates assigned letter.
Descriptive text in bottom left:
- R
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Peach-Leaved Willow (3.31869)
Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a peach-leaved willow tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf and drawing of a twig with buds.
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Gray Birch (3.31894)
Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a Gray Birch tree, including nature print outlines of a leaf and twig, and a drawing of seeds.
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Chinkapin Oak (3.31899)
Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a chinkapin oak tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf, with drawings of a twig with buds and an acorn.
Extent: 1 sheet
Tree Portraits: Persimmon 2 (3.31900)
Creator: Watts, May Theilgaard
Type: Painting
Description:Color silhouette of a persimmon tree, including a nature print outline of a leaf and a drawing of a twig with fuit.
Extent: 1 sheet