S.O.G. 402
Tree ID
Handout
Tree identification might seem like a daunting task at first, but it is a logical and easy process of
gathering a set of clues. The first step in tree identification is knowing that there are always
distinguishing characteristics that separate one tree species from another. By examining different
tree parts you will be able to confidently identify the different trees. Like a detective, to be
successful at tree identification, you will need to sharpen your observational skills. This will
require some careful detective work on your part, but it should be fun and easy. The more clues
you have, the more likely you will be successful at identifying the tree. As with most newly
acquired skills, it might seem overwhelming at first, but with practice you will begin to find that
it is simply a matter of paying attention to a few details about the tree and the environment in
which it is found.
Here are some clues that you will need to examine:
•
TREE TYPE --Deciduous or Conifer? Tree or a shrub? Determining these things
starts you off on your way to tree identification.
•
LEAF --Leaves are often the easiest way to identify most trees. Are the leaves
arranged in an opposite or alternate pattern?
•
BARK --Bark can be helpful for identifying some types of trees.
•
FRUIT --The wide variety
of fruit shapes makes them
useful when identifying
trees.
•
TWIG --You can actually
tell a lot just by looking
at the twig.
•
FORM --The way a tree
grows can tell you a great
deal about a tree.
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Examples of tree forms.
•
Leaf arrangements
1.
Alternate (single leaf at each node)
2.
Opposite (two leaves at each node)
•
Leaf parts
1.Blade
4.Lobes
2.Stalk
5.Petiole
3.Node
•
Leaf characteristics
1.
Leaf kind – broadleaf, scale-like, needle-like.
2.
Leaf margins - smooth, toothed, or serrate.
3.
Leaf arrangement – Simple, compound leaves, or whorled.
4.
Lobes -pinnate or palmate leaves.
5.
Leaf shape – Linear, heart, ovate, etc.
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CONIFERS - Woody cone bearing seed gymnosperms (naked seed). Conifers are softwood
plants that bear needle-like or scale-like foliage. Conifers are typically evergreen.
1.
Loblolly Pine
2.
Short Leaf Pine
3.
Eastern Red Cedar
4.
Bald cypress
BROADLEAF EVERGREENS – Bear flat, wide leaves that remain green throughout the year.
1.
Southern Magnolia
2.
American Holly
3.
Wax Myrtle
4.Yew
5.
Red Tip Photinia
BROADLEAF TREE – Any tree that has wide leaves, rather than slim, needle-like leaves found in
conifers. Most are deciduous, hardwood trees.
OAKS – There are over six hundred species that exist. Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, hard
grey bark with deep grooves and ridges. The circumference of the trunk may reach six foot or
more, and can grow over one hundred feet tall. All oaks bear acorns for fruit.
White Oak – Leaves have deep rounded lobes and are uniform in size. The bark has white, ashy
gray plates peeling away from the stem. Acorns mature in the first year.
1.
Post Oak
2.
Overcup Oak
3.
Swamp Chestnut Oak
Red Oak – Leaves have spiny, pointed lobes. Acorn is dormant the first year. The dark reddish-gray brown bark has ridges that appear like striping all the way down the trunk.
1.
Nuttal Oak
2.
Willow Oak
3.
Water Oak
4.
Shumard Oak
5.
Southern Red Oak
HICKORY – Produces dense, strong wood used to make tool handles. Narrow, dark green to
yellow green leaves that grow in a compound structure. Always have an odd number of leaflets
on each rachis. There is always a leaflet growing straight out the end of the rachis. The bark forms
ridges in a vertical pattern. Bare large oval four chambered fruits.
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1.
Shagbark Hickory
2.
Mockernut Hickory
3.
Pignut Hickory
4.
Bitternut Hickory
ELM – There are only eight species in North America. Alternate leaves along two sides of the
stem. The jagged leaves are oval in shape and come to a point at the end. The light grey to dark
grayish-brown bark is rough and course, with intersecting ridges. Small blooms appear in early
spring are yellow or purplish yellow. The seeds are round, flat covered by a thin, paper-like casing
that hooks at the top, making them easily windblown.
1.
Winged Elm
2.
American Elm
3.
Drake Elm
4.
Princeton Elm
MAGNOLIA - May be evergreen or deciduous trees known for their magnificent blooms. The
fragrant blooms may vary in shape (saucer shaped, star shaped) and have five or more petals. The
bark is grayish or brown. The simple leaves are arranged in an alternate pattern. The fruit is cone
shaped, but not woody.
•
•
Evergreen Magnolias
1.
Little gem Magnolia
2.
Southern Magnolia
3.
DD Blanchard Magnolia
Semi-evergreen Magnolias
1.
•
Sweet bay Magnolia
Deciduous Magnolias
1.
Star Magnolia
2.
Saucer Magnolia
3.
Tulip Tree
MAPLE – Have single leaf blades, three to five deep lobes with notches between lobes. They are
arranged in an opposite pattern. Produce a fruit called samara (pair of connected winged seeds).
1.
Red Maple
3.
Sugar Maple
2.
Silver Maple
4.
Japanese Maple
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S.O.G. 402
Tree ID
Handout: Approved Species List
Common name
Botanical name
American Beech.......................................................................... Fragus grandfolia
American Holly........................................................................... Ilex opaca
American Sycamore.................................................................... Platanus ocidentalis
Baldcypress................................................................................... Taxodium distichum
Bitternut Hickory........................................................................ Carya cordiformis
Black Cherry................................................................................ Prunus serotina
Black Walnut................................................................................ Juglans nigra
Blackjack Oak.............................................................................. Quercus muehlenbergii
Cucumbertree Magnolia............................................................ Magnolia acuminate
Crape Myrtle................................................................................ Lagerstroemia indica
Deodar Cedar............................................................................... Cedrus deodara
Dogwood...................................................................................... Cornus florida
Drake Elm.................................................................................... Ulmus parvifolia
Eastern Redcedar......................................................................... Juniperus virginiana
Kwanzan Cherry.......................................................................... Prunus serrulata
Laurel Oak.................................................................................... Quercus laurifolia
Little Gem Magnolia................................................................... Magnolia grandifolia
Loblolly Pine................................................................................ Pinus taeda
Longleaf Pine............................................................................... Pinus palustris
Mockernut Hickory..................................................................... Carya tomentosa
Mary Nell Holly........................................................................... Ilex mary nell
Nellie R. Stevens Holly................................................................ Ilex x nellie r stevens
Northern Red Oak....................................................................... Quercus rubra
Nuttall Oak................................................................................... Quercus nuttallii
Overcup Oak................................................................................ Quercus lyrata
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Pin Oak......................................................................................... Quercus palustris
Pignut Hickory............................................................................. Carya glabra
Post Oak........................................................................................ Quercus stellate
Pumpkin Ash............................................................................... Fraxinus profunda
Red Maple..................................................................................... Acer rubrum
Red Mulberry............................................................................... Morus rubra
Redbud.......................................................................................... Cercis canadensis
River Birch.................................................................................... Betula nigra
Sassafras........................................................................................ Sassafras albidum
Shagbark Hickory........................................................................ Carya ovate
Saucer Magnolia.......................................................................... Magnolia x soulangeana
Shortleaf Pine............................................................................... Pinus echinata
Shumard Oak............................................................................... Quercus shumardi
Slash Pine...................................................................................... Pinus elliottii
Southern Magnolia...................................................................... Magnolia grandifolra
Southern Red Oak....................................................................... Quercus Falcata
Star Magnolia............................................................................... Magnolia stellata
Swamp Chestnut Oak................................................................. Quercus michauxii
Sweetbay Magnolia...................................................................... Magnolia virginiana
Thuja Green Giant....................................................................... Thuja standisii x plicata
Water Oak..................................................................................... Quercus nigra
Wax Myrtle................................................................................... Morella cerifera
White Oak.................................................................................... Quercus alba
Willow Oak.................................................................................. Quercus phellos
Winged Elm................................................................................. Ulmus alata
Yellow Poplar ............................................................................... Liridendron tulipifera
Yaupon Holly................................................................................ Ilex vomitoria
Yochino Cherry........................................................................... Prunus x yedeoensis
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