Winter Tree Identification
Evergreens (Conifers) Deciduous Leaves are needles or scalelike Leaves stay on Tree year round Fruit is a cone Sap has “antifreeze” Leaves are flat with veins Leaves fall off tree in autumn Fruits vary
How to Identify Conifers Are leaves needle or scalelike? Are needles in a bundle or do they grow singly? How many needles are in a bundle? Do leaves fall off in autumn?
Scalelike Leaves Eastern red cedar Northern white cedar
Eastern White Pine Jack Pine Needles in Bundles
Single Needles Colorado blue spruce
Alternate Leaves Opposite Leaves Leaf Arrangement in Deciduous Trees Whorled Leaves
Trees with Opposite Leaves MAD Horse Buck (and Viburnum) Maple Ash Dogwood Horse Chestnut Buckeye Viburnum
Trees with Alternate Leaves Everything else… Oak Beech Hickory Aspen Elm Hackberry Etc….
Simple vs. Compound
Twig Anatomy
Maple (Acer sp.) Twigs/Buds Sugar Maple Silver Maple
Maple (Acer sp.) Bark Sugar Maple Silver Maple
Ash (Fraxinus sp.) Twigs Black Ash White Ash Green Ash
Ash (Fraxinus sp.) Bark White Ash Green Ash
Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra) Opposite Leaf Scars Hexagonal Pith Peanut Butter Colored Large Bud Light Gray Bark
Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) Chambered Pith Bud and Leaf Scar (Monkey Face) Fruit
Birches (Betula sp.) Young bark of River Birch Bark of Paper Birch Mature bark of River Birch
Hickories (Carya sp.) Shagbark Hickory Bitternut (or Yellow-bud) Hickory
Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) Whorled Leaf ScarsBark Fruit
Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) Bud – Hairy Pseudoterminal Bud Angled Warty Bark in Young Trees
American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) Smooth, Silvery Bark Spiky Fruit Bud – Long, Narrow Cigar
Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) Bud – One Scale Distinctive Flaky Bark Fruit
Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) Blocky Bark Bud – Imbricate Scales, Shiny and Large
Basswood (Tilia americana) Bud – Smiling Shark Mature Bark – Deep Fissures Young Bark – Smooth
Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) Paired Thorns on TwigBark – Deep Fissures
Oaks (Quercus sp.) Red Oak White Oak
Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) Young Bark (horizontal lenticels) Mature Bark
Field Guides and Resources Trees of Wisconsin website