AlderChase Mathey, CC BY 4.0
Alder
Common beechJuraj Ahel, CC BY 4.0
Common beech
Lookalikes

Alder or common beech?

Both have leaves with a wavy edge.

The quickest check

The quickest check is the tip of a leaf. Alder: rounded, often with a small notch. Common beech: oval, ending in a pointed tip. No leaves on the tree? Check the winter bud.

At a glance

Look atAlderCommon beech
Tip of a leafRounded, often with a small notchOval, ending in a pointed tip
Winter budClub-shaped, dusted mauve, on a short stalkLong, thin and copper, sharply pointed
Older trunkBrown, cracked into small square platesSmooth and grey, with faint lines across it
Fruit on the twigsA small woody cone, 8 to 12 mmA prickly four-lobed husk holding two nuts

Four ways to tell them apart

Tip of a leafLeaves
Alder: tip of a leaf
AlderRounded, often with a small notch
Common beech: tip of a leaf
Common beechOval, ending in a pointed tip
Winter budTwigs and buds
AlderClub-shaped, dusted mauve, on a short stalk
Common beechLong, thin and copper, sharply pointed
Older trunkBark
Alder: older trunkJan Sheppard, CC BY 4.0
AlderBrown, cracked into small square plates
Common beech: older trunk
Common beechSmooth and grey, with faint lines across it
Fruit on the twigsCones
Alder: fruit on the twigsscallions, CC BY 4.0
AlderA small woody cone, 8 to 12 mm
Common beech: fruit on the twigs
Common beechA prickly four-lobed husk holding two nuts
Think you can tell them apart now? Try the tree quiz: real photographs, and what gives each tree away.Take the quiz

The two trees

Alder

Alnus glutinosa

Alder grows by rivers and on wet ground. Its leaves are dark and rounded, and small woody cones hang on its twigs in every month of the year.

How to identify alder →

Common beech

Fagus sylvatica

Beech is a big tree with smooth, silvery grey bark on a round trunk. Its long, pointed copper buds stand out from the twig at a wide angle.

How to identify common beech →

Their other lookalikes

AlderHazelAlder or hazel?Quickest check: the tip of a leafAlderSilver birchAlder or silver birch?Quickest check: the older trunkAlderDowny birchAlder or downy birch?Quickest check: the older trunkCommon beechCommon ashCommon beech or common ash?Quickest check: the older trunkCommon beechHornbeamCommon beech or hornbeam?Quickest check: the trunk surfaceCommon beechSweet chestnutCommon beech or sweet chestnut?Quickest check: the huskCommon beechEnglish oakCommon beech or English oak?Quickest check: the older trunkCommon beechHazelCommon beech or hazel?Quickest check: the tip of a leaf
In the app

See them side by side in Treely

  • Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
  • Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
  • A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
  • The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them
App StoreGoogle Play

Free to download.

Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: Chase Mathey (CC BY 4.0), Juraj Ahel (CC BY 4.0), nick88 (CC0), Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), Jan Sheppard (CC BY 4.0), scallions (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.