Tree Identification

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Gnarled and mighty, the hornbeam is as tough as they come. It’s beautiful, useful, and its year-round leaf cover makes it a winter haven for wildlife. Some species, like hornbeam, may be cut at the base known as coppicing which produces a tree with several stems rather than a single trunk.

Tree Identification Guides - ThoughtCo The 6 Best Tree Identification Guides - ThoughtCo

Trees and woods play a vital role in reducing flooding by slowing down the flow of rainwater, absorbing rainwater, and reducing erosion. Discover amazing woods and wildlife when you become family members. We’ll also send you a handy tree ID guide so you can learn more together.

Leaves and needles

Overall shape is also useful when identifying conifers. The layers of horizontally spreading branches of a mature cedar of Lebanon contrast with the sparsely branched Scot’s pine or densely bushy yew. The UK has at least fifty species of native trees and shrubs, and many more species of introduced non-native trees. Most conifer trees have needles or scales present all year that can be used for identification. One of the few exceptions is European larch which loses its needles in winter. Ash flowers are by no means showy, but they are an unmistakable deep purple colour. The flowers appear before the leaves have emerged. Pines, spruces, firs, cedars and larches have needles. They can be different shapes, sizes and be arranged differently on twigs. Flattened needles could mean a yew or whorls of three needles juniper.

Woodland Trust A-Z Guide - British Trees - Woodland Trust

The leaves of downy birch are triangular (deltoid). Other birches, like silver birch, also have leaves that are this shape. Look at the leaves or needles. Is it a broadleaf (usually deciduous) or is it a conifer (usually with needles or scales)? Charming and domestic, the whitebeam’s fruit is a favourite of garden birds. It’s rarely found in the wild but is a popular ornamental tree in parks and gardens, with lovely blossom and russet autumn leaves. Woodland is home to a wealth of wildlife. If we don't protect what we have left and work to create woodlands of the future, we stand to lose more than just trees.

Featuring 80 native and ornamental species, this book gives growing tips, facts, statistics and tree trivia and is illustrated throughout with photography and line drawings. Each tree is detailed with height, shape, fruit, leaves, flowers, bark and more. An ID guide and a practical handbook for growers. Tall ornamental with feathery foliage. One of the UK’s most popular garden conifers, Lawson cypress has rot-resistant wood which is popular in Japan for coffins and shrines.

The Tree Identification Book by George W.D. Symonds - Goodreads The Tree Identification Book by George W.D. Symonds - Goodreads

A tree of strength and industry, western red cedar is grown in the UK for hedging and timber. Though less useful than our native trees, it provides food and shelter for wildlife. Different features will be visible through the seasons. In winter, for broadleaf trees, you'll have to use twigs, leaf buds and bark. Deep purple, distinctive, dramatic. Loved by some but loathed by others. You’ll often find this striking tree planted in landscape-scale gardens as a specimen tree. Charming, sturdy, pollinator-magnet. Not only does the small-leaved lime’s blossom produce a sweet scent and pleasantly minty honey, its leaves support the caterpillars of moths such as the lime hawk, peppered and vapourer. Street tree, early spring flowerer and ancestor of the domestic plum. Cherry plum is one of the first trees to blossom in the UK.

Distinctive and spiky, the monkey puzzle has been making strong impressions since dinosaurs roamed the earth. These days, jays and squirrels feast on its nuts. Cones are formed of scales which overlap one another for example in pines or larches or are fused together such as those of the cypresses. A true springtime stunner, it’s not so long ago that you could find wild-service fruit at a market. These days it’s rare and hard to find but it’s still a favourite with wildlife like the wood pigeon, whose gut softens its seeds for propagation. Pleasant smelling, antiseptic, highly flammable. Eucalyptus might be the favourite of koalas in its native Australia, but in the UK it is insects which are drawn to its rich oil. Does it have a pattern of ridges or depressions, peeling flakes or is it fissured, smooth or shiny?