Identifying one tree to another can be a tricky job. Because, there are so many types of trees that exist. You should pay attention to special characteristics such as the nature of the foliage and bark. It is important that you do frequent studies and exercises if you want to know how to identify trees more efficiently.
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Part 1 of 3: Basic Procedure
Step 1. Familiarize yourself with the trees in your area
Before you start identifying a particular tree, you should know the types of trees that are most likely to be in the geographic area where you are. Knowing this will give you a narrower range of choices making it easier to draw conclusions.
- There are more than 700 species of trees in the United States. The chances of correctly identifying trees will increase significantly if you focus on identifying trees that exist in your area rather than trying to remember about 700 tree species.
- When you are selecting research sources, choose sources that are limited to the area you are in. If you can't find a specific source, at least look for sources that are limited to half of your country.
Step 2. Pay attention to the leaves
Pay attention to the leaves of the tree you are trying to identify. Pay attention to the shape of the needles, leaves, color, size and pattern of the leaf veins. Such information may further limit your choices.
- The needles have a thin, blunt tip that usually appears in clusters.
- The scales are wider than the needles, but also have a pointed tip and appear in clusters. Scales overlap each other.
- The broad, flat leaves have a broad, flat shape.
- The usual leaves can be broad or narrow, but they are flat in shape with smooth tips. The serrated or sharp-toothed leaves are similar to the regular leaves except that they have a pointed ridge along the sides.
- The grooved leaves have broad leaves with large bumps or what may be called "hills and valleys" along the leaf margins.
- Menjari leaves have many thin leaves on one stalk, while pinnate leaves have thin leaves attached to each stalk.
Step 3. Pay attention to the bark
Look and touch the bark to determine the texture of the bark. Include the finding data into the data set that has been obtained.
- The bark in general has a grooved texture. Deep grooves run up and down along the bark with no visible texture.
- The scaly bark has deep cracks, but the cracks overlap along the tree.
- The smooth bark has slight indentations. Smooth bark has fairly shallow indentations.
Step 4. Pay attention to the branches
Pay close attention to the pattern of tree branches and twigs at each end of the trunk.
- Sharply ascending branches are usually scattered separately but grow at sharp angles. On the other hand, the ascending branches have something in common in that they are spread apart but grow at a less sharp angle.
- Spread and exposed branches have great distances. The branches grow almost horizontally when viewed from above.
- An ascending, scattered or curved branch begins to rise before curling and descending or unraveling.
- The jostling branches rose at a sharp angle, but the branches were scattered close together.
Step 5. Record each fruit or flower
Pay attention to the type of fruit produced by the tree. If the fruit is not yet ripe, you can pay attention to the flowers on the tree. Also pay attention to the arrangement of the shoots on the tree.
- Cone or catkin like pine cones have woody parts similar to scales arranged in a cylindrical or conical shape.
- Flesh or soft fruit including berries or edible fruits such as apples or pears. Flesh has a soft texture and "something comes out" when pressed.
- Hard, woody fruit has a hard outer texture. The fruit of the oak tree and nuts are included in this type of fruit.
- Inside the pod, there are several seeds or hard objects in a pod or around it.
- Winged fruit contains a hard seed in the middle of the fruit with a light weight and has a paper-like skin that emerges from the seed.
Step 6. Learn the overall shape and height
The size and shape of the tree is the last data you need to identify the tree.
- Trees with a conical shape or peak tend to have a pointed top shape. The shape of the side of the tree looks like a triangle.
- Scattered trees are broad in shape and their branches tend to grow away from the trunk.
- An upright tree is similar to a tree with a scattered shape, but the branches are not so far apart that they appear slightly pointed.
- Overhanging trees have branches and leaves that bend down and hang low.
Part 2 of 3: Expanding Your Knowledge and Using Hints
Step 1. Ask the experts for help
You can learn a lot about identifying trees on your own. However, if you are really serious and want to learn more about trees and how to identify them, ask the experts for help. By enlisting the help of experts, you can get the knowledge you need more quickly and accurately.
- Look for courses or workshops in your area. You can increase your knowledge of trees in your area by taking a class taught by an expert. Look for classes and workshops held by universities, campus agencies, environmental organizations, climbing organizations, agricultural extension offices and local, city and national parks services.
- Meet an expert outside of class time. In addition to gaining the necessary knowledge and offering some field experience in the classroom, you can also learn these things if you can make an appointment with an expert in a park or yard.
Step 2. Do frequent studies
Whether you have formal education or are conducting studies on your own, one of the main components in increasing your accuracy and ability to identify trees is to carefully study the tree species in your area, especially the most commonly occurring species. One way to gain such detailed knowledge is to frequently study the characteristics of the tree.
- You have to do a lot of field practice. You can study books or other resources, but field practice can help you practice identification at a faster pace.
- In the beginning, you will need to bring some tools such as books, maps and mobile apps to the field to help you identify trees directly. As your experience increases, you will be able to identify trees without the help of these tools.
Step 3. Get a book
Get an illustrated encyclopedia of trees. A good book has language characteristics that are easy to understand and the categorization of trees in the book is categorized into identifiable characteristics, not just by name.
- Look at the pictures in the book carefully. These images usually contain detailed therapy information that is easy to understand.
- At this stage, avoid books that contain technical descriptions. If you want to know more about technical information, read the book as soon as you gain experience and hone your skills.
Step 4. Print a tree distribution map
As a general rule, it's a good idea to bring along a map of the distribution of trees in your area. Maps are easier to carry than thick, heavy books, so you can use them right away when you find a specimen you don't know about.
- You can create your own maps based on other sources, or you can view them from books, manuals or online sources.
- Butler University has a small map that you can use as a basic guide. Use the map to identify trees or as an example a map you can create yourself. View the map here:
Step 5. Find an app to identify trees
Today, there are smartphone apps that can help you identify trees as you cross them. Find the right app for your needs or do a test run before you choose one.
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Some applications that can be tried are:
- What Tree Is That?, which can ask questions to find out which tree you are describing.
- Leafsnap, which requires you to take a photo of the leaf or bark so that it can be identified from its database.
- Each application has its own use. Therefore, you need to read the user manual or find out how to use it.
Step 6. Look for online resources
If you don't have a smartphone or can't find an app that fits your needs, then you need to look for answers from online sources. Search for “identify tree” and then scroll through the results that appear until you find a web page that can help you identify the specimen you are looking at based on identifiable characteristics.
- Web pages that can help you filter your results based on specific characteristics are likely to be more helpful than web pages that provide a broad index and an alphabetical list.
- You can access the What Tree Is That? online if you don't want to use the phone app. Find it here:
- The University of Wisconsin also has a tool for identifying trees that can be accessed online:
- Kew Gardens also has an online application that you can use to help you identify trees:
Part 3 of 3: Specific Examples
Step 1. Identify a pine tree
There are many different kinds of pine trees, but as a broad family they tend to share similar characteristics.
- Loblolly pine is a tall tree, usually reaching 30 to 35 m in size. The tree has needles that appear in three bunches. The tree produces fruit that is shaped like a cone. The bark is scaly, while the branches are clustered at the top of the tree.
- The lodgepole pine is a thin tree measuring about 40 to 50 m. The top of this tree tends to be flat, but there are still needles that appear in two bunches and there is a cone-shaped fruit.
Step 2. Find a spruce tree
As with pine trees, there are several variations that differ from one spruce species to another. However, most cypress trees have similar characteristics.
- The douglas spruce is one of the tallest tree species in the world with an average size of 60 and 75 m. The bark on young trees is thin and smooth, but older trees have thick and rough bark. These trees produce fruit that is shaped like a cone, brownish red scales and needle-shaped leaves arranged in a circle found on tree shoots. The top of the tree looks cylindrical.
- The balsam tree is a smaller species with sizes reaching 14 and 20 m. The top of the tree is narrow and pointed, so it doesn't look like a cone. Young trees of this type have smooth bark and are gray in color, while older trees have rough, scaly bark and needle-shaped leaves. The resulting ripe fruit is brown in color but will fall off and release the winged seeds in autumn.
Step 3. Know what the oak tree looks like
Oaks are usually divided into groups of white and red oaks, but there are other types as well.
- White oaks have simple, notched leaves with no hairy ends. This tree produces oak fruit and the bark is gray with a scaly appearance.
- Red oaks also produce oak fruit, but this species has curved leaves with hairy tips. The bark is scaly and reddish gray to reddish brown in color. The trunk of this tree is thin and initially appears bright green in color until it turns dark red to dark brown.
Step 4. Introduce yourself to the maple tree
All types of maple trees look basically the same, but this tree also has a wider range of species.
- The sugar maple tree has five lobes. In spring or summer, the leaves are green, but turn bright yellow, orange or crimson in autumn. Color changes in autumn are not uniform. The bark of this tree has a shoot in it and this tree produces fruit that has wings.
- Silver maple trees have sharply cut lobes. The leaves are bright green in summer and pale yellow in fall. The bark has a smooth texture and is silver in color on young trees, whereas on older trees it has a rough texture and is gray in color.
- Red maple trees have leaf lobes that are shallowly cut. During the summer, the leaves are green and then turn bright red during the fall. Young trees have a soft bark texture that is pale gray in color, but older trees have a darker bark and a plate-like texture. The red ''maple'' tree bears fruit with wings on both sides.
