Winter tree identification

How to identify trees in winter

With the leaves gone, a tree still gives itself away: by what stays green, its buds, what hangs on it, its bark and what lies underneath. Five things to look at, in the order that narrows it fastest.

1

Is it still green? Start with the evergreens

Most broadleaf trees are bare from December to March, so anything in leaf narrows it fast. Conifers keep their needles or scales (all but the larches, which turn gold and drop them), and holly, yew and holm oak stay green all winter.

Holly leaves: glossy and hard, spiny low down, smooth higher upHollyGlossy and hard, spiny low down, smooth higher upYew shoots and needles: flat dark needles in two rowsYewFlat dark needles in two rowsHolm oak leaves: dark evergreen ovals, greyish fawn beneathHolm oakDark evergreen ovals, greyish fawn beneathScots pine needle pairs: short greyish green needles in twisted pairsScots pineShort greyish green needles in twisted pairsNorway spruce shoots and needles: single four-sided needles on woody pegsNorway spruceSingle four-sided needles on woody pegsLawson cypress sprays: flat fern-like sprays smelling of parsleyLawson cypressFlat fern-like sprays smelling of parsley
2

Look at the buds: in pairs, or one at a time?

Every bare twig carries next year’s buds. Buds in facing pairs, one each side of the twig, leave only a few trees, among them ash, the maples and sycamore, horse chestnut and elder. Then the colour: ash’s are sooty black, horse chestnut’s big and sticky, sycamore’s green.

In pairsCommon ash black buds: sooty black buds in opposite pairsCommon ashSooty black buds in opposite pairsIn pairsHorse chestnut sticky buds: sticky buds over horseshoe-shaped leaf scarsHorse chestnutSticky buds over horseshoe-shaped leaf scarsIn pairsSycamore green buds: big green buds in opposite pairsSycamoreBig green buds in opposite pairsOne at a timeCommon beech twigs and buds: long copper buds standing out at 60°Common beechLong copper buds standing out at 60°One at a timeEnglish oak twigs and buds: cluster of light brown buds at each tipEnglish oakCluster of light brown buds at each tipOne at a timeHazel twigs and buds: fat green buds on rough, hairy shootsHazelFat green buds on rough, hairy shoots
3

What’s still on it? Leaves, keys, cones, catkins

Plenty hangs on through winter. Young beech and hornbeam hold their dead leaves; ash keeps bunches of keys; alder carries small woody cones; and from January hazel, then alder, hang out their catkins.

Common ash keys: bunches of biscuit brown keys, held all winterCommon ashBunches of biscuit brown keys, held all winterAlder cones: small woody cones, on the tree year roundAlderSmall woody cones, on the tree year roundHazel catkins: yellow catkins on bare stems in FebruaryHazelYellow catkins on bare stems in FebruaryAlder catkins: catkins on bare twigs in late winterAlderCatkins on bare twigs in late winter
4

Read the bark: it’s there all year

On an older trunk, is the bark smooth, cut into ridges, broken into plates, or peeling? Silver birch’s white, beech’s smooth grey, oak’s deep knobbly ridges and ash’s neat net of crossing ridges all read as well in January as in June.

Silver birch bark: white, peeling, with black diamonds at the baseSilver birchWhite, peeling, with black diamonds at the baseCommon beech bark: smooth silvery grey with faint horizontal linesCommon beechSmooth silvery grey with faint horizontal linesEnglish oak bark: grey, short deep knobbly ridgesEnglish oakGrey, short deep knobbly ridgesCommon ash bark: pale grey, in a shallow criss-cross networkCommon ashPale grey, in a shallow criss-cross networkLondon plane bark: patchwork of grey, cream and oliveLondon planePatchwork of grey, cream and oliveSweet chestnut bark: ridges that spiral round an old trunkSweet chestnutRidges that spiral round an old trunk
5

Look down: what’s on the ground

Under the tree lie last autumn’s clues: acorn cups under an oak, split spiny husks under horse chestnut and sweet chestnut, beech’s three-sided nuts in their prickly cases, and cones under the conifers.

English oak acorns: acorns on long stalks, often in pairsEnglish oakAcorns on long stalks, often in pairsHorse chestnut conkers: a conker in a thick spiny huskHorse chestnutA conker in a thick spiny huskSweet chestnut chestnuts: dense ball of fine spines, usually three nutsSweet chestnutDense ball of fine spines, usually three nutsCommon beech beech mast: triangular nuts, two to a prickly huskCommon beechTriangular nuts, two to a prickly husk
Take it with youA printable winter twig spotter sheet, free, no sign-up
In the app

Know them bare

  • Every tree, every seasonTwigs, buds and bark photographed in winter, not only in leaf
  • A short round each dayUntil you know a bare ash from a bare oak at a glance
  • The guided keyOne simple question at a time about what you can see, with no signal
  • Name it from a photoThe bark works too, when the leaves have gone
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Free to download.

Photographs: Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), Ewan Shilland (CC BY 4.0), Louis Aureglia (CC BY 4.0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0), dawn2022 (CC BY 4.0), Kieran Roy Powell (CC BY 4.0), empressmoth (CC0), bobwardell (CC0), scallions (CC BY 4.0), Dave (CC BY 4.0), Owen and Carol Fawcett. (CC BY 4.0), sim_elliott (CC0), Jan Sheppard (CC BY 4.0), jamie-aa (CC BY 4.0), cjoynson (CC0), oliverc29 (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.