Trees with long, pointed buds

Long, sharp buds set one at a time. How they sit on the twig, standing out, pressed close or bunched on spurs, tells them apart.

What to look for

  • BeechCopper buds standing well out from the twig
  • HornbeamSlender buds hugging a zig-zag shoot
  • AspenPressed to a shiny brown twig
  • Wild cherryReddish brown, bunched on short spurs
Common beech: twigs and budsCommon beechLong copper buds standing out at 60° Hornbeam: twigs and budsNick Butcher, CC BY 4.0HornbeamSlender 8 mm buds hugging a zig-zag shoot Aspen: twigs and budsjamie-aa, CC BY 4.0AspenLong sharp buds pressed to a shiny brown twig Wild cherry: twigs and budsWild cherryLong reddish brown buds bunched on short spurs
In the app

Not sure? Ask the app

  • Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely names the tree
  • No signal? The guided keyOne simple question at a time, about what you can see
  • Every part, through the yearSo you can name it in winter as surely as in June
  • A short round each dayUntil you know them on sight
App StoreGoogle Play

Free to download.

Photographs: steve_mcwilliam (CC0), Nick Butcher (CC BY 4.0), jamie-aa (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.