Tree Identification Guide

It isn’t until one dies on your property and you need a tree removal service or someone  knowingly spouts the name of a tree because of its leaf shape, that we take a closer look at a specific tree. It’s then that we start to marvel at the diversity of shapes, leaves, branching or barks. Then we want to know more.

So, if we’re going to start learning to identify the trees around us, what comes first?

FIRST, WHAT EXACTLY IS A TREE?

Sounds obvious, but officially it’s a woody plant with a single vertical trunk that measures a minimum of 3 inches in “Diameter at Breast Height” (DBH).

WHAT IS NOT A TREE?

• A shrub or bush, on the other hand, is a woody plant that grows low and has multiple stems. No trunk.
• A vine, also a woody plant, cannot stand on its own but needs to support itself on something. Again, no trunk.
• And a palm is not woody.

WHAT ARE THE PARTS OF A TREE?

TO MOVE FORWARD, WE NEED TO KNOW THE MAIN PARTS OF A TREE

• The cones or flowers that serve as reproductive mechanisms, so the species don’t die off.

• The distinctive leaves that grow out of the branches and form the green crown.

• The central column or trunk, which is covered with bark.
• The network of roots that anchor the trunk into the ground.
• The branches and twigs that grow out of the trunk, above ground, in different configurations.

SPECIES? WHAT IS A TREE SPECIES?

It’s “an individual kind of tree that shares the same general appearance and the same characteristics of bark, leaf, flower, and seed.”

Nearly 1,200 species of trees grow naturally in the U.S. To that we can add all the trees that people have brought here from elsewhere and planted where conditions are similar enough for the trees to thrive.

(That accounts for hundreds of more species of ‘naturalized exotics.’) All told, worldwide we have about 50,000 species. With that many species, we’d better have a good way to name them.

HOW DO WE NAME TREES?

We refer to trees by a double name, made up of their genus and species. A species is the most specific level of classifying living things. A genus brings together a group of closely related species.

PLANT TAXONOMY

HOW PLANTS ARE NAMED

Uses Latin Names

Eg. Red Maple

• KINGDOM Plant
• PHYLUM Spermatophyta
• CLASS Angiospermae
• ORDER Acerales
• FAMILY Aceraceae
• GENUS Acer
• SPECIES rubrum
• VARIETY OR CULTIVAROctober Glory

LETS SEE HOW IT WORKS, WITH AN EXAMPLE

We’ll start with an oak tree, a tree most of us have seen since oaks are found in so many climates throughout the United States. All 60+ species of oaks fall under one single genus: Quercus.

But how can we tell what particular species of Quercus we’re examining? The species of oak can usually be identified by the shape of the leaf.

A SOUTHERN RED OAK, OR QUERCUS FALCATA

Has a long narrow lobe at the end of the leaf, plus one more on either side, that makes it look a bit like a turkey foot. (“Falcata” is actually the name of a pre-Roman sword. Can you see that in the leaf?)

VALLEY OAK, OR ROBLE

In California, however, we are likely to see a Valley Oak, or Roble, which goes by the genus and species of Quercus lobata. The “lobata” name comes from its easily identifiable, deeply ‘lobed’ leaves. (Think earlobes.)

SO WHY USE THE FORMAL NAME?

We use the genus-and-species combination to be specific enough to avoid confusion since people can give the same tree many different common names. The Valley Oak, or Quercus lobata, has been called white oak, swamp oak, bottom oak, mush oak and water oak, and the Spaniards have named it roble. When you say Quercus lobata, there is no confusion.

TWO BASIC TREE TYPES: CONIFERS AND BROADLEAF TREES

Trees can be divided into two easily recognizable groups: conifers & broadleaf trees. The name conifer comes from the cones that grow on these trees as their form of ‘fruit.’

Of the 200 species of conifers in North America, pines, redwoods, firs, spruces, larches, cypress, and cedars are the most familiar ones. Most have some form of a needle in the place of flat leaves.

(On the other hand, broadleaf trees have exactly that: leaves that are generally broad and flat, even though they come in all shapes and sizes.)

A SIDE NOTE:

EVERGREEN OR DECIDUOUS?

Before we start examining conifers and broadleaf trees any further, let’s clear up a mistake people often make. Trees that do not lose their leaves each year are called ‘evergreen.’ Those that lose them are called ‘deciduous.’

We think of all conifers as staying green all year – think pine trees, like Christmas trees – and all trees with leaves as losing them. But that’s not always the case.

While most conifers stay green all the time, some broadleaf trees – like American holly and evergreen magnolias – do, too. These are all called ‘evergreens.’

Then, especially where we have marked seasons, many broadleaf trees lose their leaves in the fall, often after a beautiful change of color. However, the conifer called a larch also loses its needles in the fall. These are all called ‘deciduous.’

CONIFERS

Let’s start our examination of conifers first, as they’re a little less complicated to identify than broadleaf trees.

As we said, these trees get their name because they produce cones as part of their reproductive process.

(The two exceptions to that rule are yews and junipers that produce berry-looking fruit instead of typical cones, but still qualify as conifers for their other characteristics.)

CONIFERS HAVE EITHER NEEDLES OR SCALES, INSTEAD OF TRADITIONAL LEAVES.

Needles are long, thin and pointy (remember the Christmas tree?). In the case of needles, the growth pattern and shape of the needle may be your identifier.

• If the needles grow in little bundles, with two or more joined together where they come out of the branch, you are probably looking at a pine tree.
• If you hold a single needle between two fingers and you can roll it easily because it has multiple sides, it’s probably a spruce tree.
• If the needle you hold between your fingers doesn’t roll easily because it’s flat and two-sided, it’s probably a fir tree.

Scales are little curved shield-shaped pieces that overlap up the twig instead of the more common needles.

IN THE MAINTIME, THIS HANDY ILLUSTRATION WILL HELP YOU IDENTIFY THE MORE COMMON CONIFERS.

BROADLEAF TREES

Once we get into broadleaf trees, or hardwoods, the number of variations multiplies.

Eventually, you might want to learn about all the identifiers of a tree: its leaves, bark, twigs, fruit/flower and overall shape.

However, for now, let’s start building your identification muscles by looking at the easiest way to identify a particular broadleaf tree: by its leaves. Sometimes recent tree trimming work can make it more difficult to use other identifiers, which further underscores the usefulness of the leaf. 

Some broadleaf trees have such famous shapes that they can be identified by their leaf alone. The distinctive Canadian maple leaf is one.

But even leaves that are less famous can help you identify a tree if you know what to look for.

HERE IS A SIMPLIFIED CHECKLIST:

• Leaf structure: simple or compound?
• Compound leaf structure: if compound, pinnate or palmate?
• Arrangement on the stem: opposite, alternate or whorled?
• Leaf shape: linear, cordate, lanceolate, reniform, spatulate or something else?
• Leaf margins: entire, serrate, lobate or other?
• Leaf veins: pinnate venation or palmate venation?

LEAF STRUCTURE

Broadleaf trees can have simple or compound leaves.

• A simple leaf is arranged as just one single leaf attached to a stem.
• A compound leaf has multiple leaves attached to a stem in a specific pattern.
• A doubly compound leaf has multiple leaves attached to multiple leaves.

COMPOUND LEAF STRUCTURE

Compared with a simple leaf, the little leaves that make up a compound leaf are called leaflets and can be arranged in one of two ways: pinnately or palmately.

If the leaflets are arranged in rows up along a single center vein, it is a pinnately compound leaf. Walnut, pecan and ash trees are examples.

If all the leaflets originate from the same point, it is a palmately compound leaf. Horse chestnut and buckeye trees are examples.

ARRANGEMENT ON THE STEM

Leaves can be attached to the stem in various ways: opposite, alternate and whorled, for example. Leaves that are attached:

• In pairs, across from one another, are called opposite.
• Progressively on alternating sides, moving up the stem or twig, are called alternate.
• in groupings of three or more, all at the same level and usually in some symmetrical pattern, are called whorled.

LEAF MARGINS

Leaves can have many different edges, or ‘margins.’ Some more common edges include:

• A smooth (or ‘entire’) edge like a magnolia.
• A saw-tooth (or ‘serrate’) edge like an elm.
• An edge with regular or irregular indentations and protrusions that create ‘lobes’ (or ‘lobate’) like an oak.

LEAF VEINS

With pinnate venation, the veins all come off the central midrib and go out to the leaf edge. Oak and cherry are examples.

With palmate venation, all the veins radiate fan-like from a single point at the leaf’s base. Maple and sweetgum are examples.

Veins can also be dichotomous, fanning out and forming a ‘y’ (as in ginkgoes). They can be parallel, too, but these are found in grasses and banana trees, not in broadleaf trees.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LOCATION

Not all broadleaf trees grow in all parts of the U.S., so identifying where the tree is planted will dramatically reduce our options and streamline our search.

WE CAN ESTABLISH OUR LOCATION IN TWO WAYS:

BY GEOGRAPHY

The state or region of the country, such as Northeast, Pacific Northwest, Southwest and others.

BY USDA GROWING ZONE

The U.S. is divided into climatic zones, running from 1a-13b. Based on plant hardiness, it helps define what can grow in that location. You just need to know what zone you’re in.

USING WHAT YOU KNOW

As you build the inventory of trees you recognize in your region, one way to add more is to use the checklist provided above. Let’s gather as much as we can from the following tree in Oregon’s coastal forest.

By itself, this leaf information will not identify this tree. However, you could if you knew how rare it is that the tree you are looking at, although not a conifer, has flowers that become inch-long cone-like fruits containing seeds. Also, if you knew how unusual it is to have serrated leaves that curl under like this tree’s do.

Each of those things would tell you it was a Red Alder, or Alnus rubra.

SOURCES

http://www.oaknames.org/

https://www.thoughtco.com/

https://selectree.calpoly.edu/

https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide

https://www.RogersTreesAndShrubs.com

How to Identify Trees for Beginners

https://www.todayshomeowner.com/how-to-identify-a-tree/

http://sequingardens.org/conifer-identification-google-search/

https://www.extension.iastate.edu/forestry/publications/PDF_files/F-374.pdf

https://greenarborists.com/three-great-tree-identification-apps-smart-phone/

https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/leaf/Pages/LEAF-Tree-Identification-Cards.aspx