Tree ID:
Distinguishing Traits of Common Genera
Arborvitae (Thuja)
 Evergreen
 Leaves are scale-like
 Leaves fan out to make a flat branchlet
(vs. red cedar is sharp and not flat)
Ash (Fraxinus)
 Opposite branching—look at twigs
 Compound leaves—5-11 leaflets (You
will see mostly 5-7)
 Often diamond shaped pattern in bark
 Fruit: samaras
Baldcypress (Taxodium)
 Deciduous conifer (loses its needles)
 Miniature needle-like leaves
 Form—often pyramidal with many
horizontal branches
 Fruit—prominent green balls
 Bark—Tan to reddish-brown, shredded,
stringy
Beech (Fagus)
 Distinct bark—steel gray, smooth, thin
(even when old)
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
 Leaves coarsely serrated
Birch (Betula)
 Distinct bark: peeling, can be white
(white birch) or
tan/cream/brown/copper (river birch)
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
 Fruit: catkins
Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
 Compound leaves—11-15 leaflets—
Each leaflet 1 inch long and rounded
 Alternate branching
 Seed pods—3 inches
 Thorns—1/2 inch long
Black Walnut (Juglans)
 Compound leaves—11-23 leaflets—
terminal leaflet missing or suppressed
 Alternate branching
 Fruit: Green, spherical—Look for
pieces of husks on the ground
 Chocolate brown bark underneath
Boxelder (Acer negundo)
 Compound leave—3-5 leaflets—
Leaflets are notched/lobes (vs. ash are
smooth)
 Opposite branching
Buckeye (Aesculus)
 Palmately compound leaves (5 leaflets
originate at a single point)
 Opposite branching—Look at twigs
Cherry (Prunus)
 Many varieties
 Flowers in clumps of 3-5
 Bark of young trees has lenticels
(horizontal marks)
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
Cottonwood (Populus)
 Leaves—triangular shaped, toothed
edges, flattened petiole
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
 Bark of young trees—thin, smooth and
light gray-green; Bark of older trees—
thick and deeply furrowed with long,
ash-gray ridges
 Tufted, cotton-like seeds
Crabapple (Malus)
 Many varieties
 Bark—grayish-brown, smooth when
young, cracks/tears when older
 Finely serrated leaves
 Small fruit—up to 2 inches diameter
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
Elm (Ulmus)
 Distinct fruit—flat, round, has a paperlike casing
 Leaves—jagged edges, uneven base
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
Fir (Abies)
 Coniferous—Needles for leaves—
Needles are flat, single, in a spiral
arrangement
 Upright cones—vs. spruce cones that
hang
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus)
 Opposite branching—Look at twigs
 Simple leaves
 Twigs curve upward
 Distinct flowers with 4 bracts
 Floral buds—on tips of twigs, large,
showy, look like onions
Flowering Pear (Pyrus)
 Tree form—pyramidal, narrow (vshaped) branch angles
 Leaves—shiny, dark green
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
Tree ID:
Distinguishing Traits of Common Genera
Ginkgo (Ginkgo)
 Distinct leaf —fan shape, with a split in
the center
 Leaves grown on pegs
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
Hackberry (Celtis)
 Bark smooth to warty
 Simple leaves—Leaves have curved,
asymmetrical base
 Alternate branching—zig-zag twigs
 Leaves often have nipple gall
 Fruit—dark purple sphere, 1/3 inch
diameter
Hawthorn (Crataegus)
 Small tree
 Many varieties—Nearly all have thorns
 Variable leaf shape – simple, combo of
lobes and serrations
 Berry-like fruit—usually red/orange
 Flowers can be white, pink, or red.
Hickory (Carya)
 Compound leaves—7-17 leaflets,
leaflets are larger at terminal end of leaf
 Fruit—nut with a woody husk—Look for
pieces on the ground
 Alternate branching
Honeylocust (Gleditsia)
 Bark—dark red-brown and fairly
smooth; on older trees it breaks into
long, thin, flat, longitudinal ridges with
curled edges.
 Doubly compound leaves—leaflets are
about 1 inch long
 Alternate branching
Linden (Tilia)
 Greenish-yellow leafy bract attached to
flower/fruit

Simple, alternate leaves—Heartshaped
Magnolia (Magnolia)
 Flowers—Large, showy
 Bark—thin, smooth, gray
 Leaves—up to 12 inches long, glossy,
underside sometimes a lighter color
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
Maple (Acer)
 Simple leaves with pointed lobes
(Canada flag)
 Opposite branching—Look at twigs
Oak (Quercus)
 Leaves usually have distinct lobes
o Some do not have lobes, such
as Sawtooth oak, shingle oak,
willow oak.
 Fruit—Acorns
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
Pine (Pinus)
 Coniferous—Needles for leaves—
Needles in groups of 2-5
 Cones are rigid and woody compared
to spruce
Redbud (Cercis)
 Leaves—heart-shaped, simple
 Fruit—Seed pods
 Alternate branching—zig-zag twigs
Redcedar (Juniperus)
 Coniferous—scale-like leaves
 Leaves are sharp, not flat like
arborvitae
 Fruit—fleshy, berrylike
Spruce (Picea)
 Coniferous—Needles for leaves—
Needles are single
 Unlike fir, needles are not flat—can roll
it in your finger
 Cones hang (vs upright on fir)
Sweetgum (Liquidambar)
 Star-shaped leaves
 Fruit—Spikey gumball—Look for fruit
on tree and ground
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
Sycamore (Platanus)
 Bark—Unique, white/gray/green/brown,
mottled, looks like camouflage
 Leaves—similar to maple leaf, 3-5
lobes
 Fruit—woody ball
 Alternate branching, simple leaves
Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus)
 Compound leaves—Small gland bump
on underside of each leaflet
 Stout twigs and large, heart-shaped
leaf scar
 Grows like a weed
 Alternate branching
Tuliptree, aka Tulip-Poplar (Liriodendron)
 Leaves—distinct shape—4 pointed
lobes
 Flowers—tulip-like, greenish-yellow
 Fruit—cone-shaped cluster, persists on
branches
 Alternate branching, simple leaves