Trees with ridged, furrowed bark

Ridges with grooves between them. Look at the pattern: short and knobbly, a neat net, or twisting round the trunk.

What to look for

English oak: barkEnglish oakGrey, short deep knobbly ridges Common ash: barkJan Sheppard, CC BY 4.0Common ashPale grey, in a shallow criss-cross network Sweet chestnut: barkjamie-aa, CC BY 4.0Sweet chestnutRidges that spiral round an old trunk Black poplar: barkZeke Marshall, CC BY 4.0Black poplarDark and deeply cracked, studded with burrs Common lime: sprouts and burrsCommon limeTwiggy sprouts and knobbly burrs round the foot Alder: barkJan Sheppard, CC BY 4.0AlderBrown, in close deep square plates Bay willow: barkBay willowDark grey, scaling into crossing ridges Cedar of Lebanon: barkMichael and Antoni Hinczewski, CC BY 4.0Cedar of LebanonBlackish brown, close ridges and deep cracks Cherry plum: barkjamie-aa, CC BY 4.0Cherry plumDark grey, with rows of small white pores Corsican pine: barknaturalist charlie, CC BY 4.0Corsican pineGreyish mauve, wide cracks between big scaly plates Douglas fir: barkBarry Walter, CC BY 4.0Douglas firResin blisters when young, deep corky ridges later Elder: barkGlossysun (Sunny Pearce), CC BY 4.0ElderCreamy grey, corky, in criss-cross ridges European larch: barkEuropean larchPinkish brown, with wide criss-crossing scaly ridges Field elm: barkWendy Herniman, CC BY 4.0Field elmGreyish brown, with ridges crossing Field maple: barkWendy Herniman, CC BY 4.0Field maplePale brown, close ridges, cracking into small squares Ginkgo: barkCassian, CC BY 4.0GinkgoGreyish brown and corky, craggy with age Hawthorn: barkNick Butcher, CC BY 4.0HawthornBrown, with shallow scaly ridges in a spiral Honey locust: barkHoney locustPurplish grey, wide ridges, spine clumps Japanese larch: barkMarco Mussita, CC BY 4.0Japanese larchReddish brown, scaling into shaggy ridges Large-leaved lime: barkLarge-leaved limeGrey, criss-cross ridges, clean to the ground Lombardy poplar: barkAndrew Skotnicki, CC BY 4.0Lombardy poplarGreyish brown and craggy, with burrs Norway maple: barkKatja Schulz, CC BY 4.0Norway maplePale grey, small close criss-crossing ridges Red oak: barkRed oakSilvery grey and smooth, some later ridged Sessile oak: barkSessile oakGreyish brown, with deep cracks up and down Walnut: barkWalnutSilvery grey, in shallow rounded ridges Weeping willow: barkMichelle Norcéide, CC BY 4.0Weeping willowPale greyish brown, deep criss-cross ridges Western hemlock: barkhumon, CC BY 4.0Western hemlockDark brown, furrowed into rugged scaly ridges Western red cedar: barkWestern red cedarSoft reddish brown bark in long stringy ridges White willow: barkWhite willowDark grey, deep ridges crossing one another Wych elm: barkSinclair Laing, CC BY 4.0Wych elmSmooth grey for 20 years, then shaggy ridges
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Photographs: Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), Jan Sheppard (CC BY 4.0), jamie-aa (CC BY 4.0), Zeke Marshall (CC BY 4.0), alexey_yabs (CC0), Michael and Antoni Hinczewski (CC BY 4.0), naturalist charlie (CC BY 4.0), Barry Walter (CC BY 4.0), Glossysun (Sunny Pearce) (CC BY 4.0), johnt77 (CC0), Wendy Herniman (CC BY 4.0), Cassian (CC BY 4.0), Nick Butcher (CC BY 4.0), Marco Mussita (CC BY 4.0), peter_reynolds (CC0), Andrew Skotnicki (CC BY 4.0), Katja Schulz (CC BY 4.0), duzzilives (CC0), Michelle Norcéide (CC BY 4.0), humon (CC BY 4.0), haida_gwaii (CC0), Sinclair Laing (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.