Common ashMalc_l, CC BY 4.0
Common ash
Common beechJuraj Ahel, CC BY 4.0
Common beech
Lookalikes

Common ash or common beech?

Young trees of both stand as smooth pale grey poles in the same wood.

The quickest check

The quickest check is the older trunk. Common ash: pale grey, shallow ridges crossing in a net. Common beech: smooth silvery grey, with faint sideways lines.

At a glance

Look atCommon ashCommon beech
Older trunkPale grey, shallow ridges crossing in a netSmooth silvery grey, with faint sideways lines
Winter budSooty black squat cones, in facing pairsLong, sharp and copper, set one at a time
Whole leaf9 to 13 leaflets along one stalkOne oval blade with a wavy edge

Three ways to tell them apart

Older trunkBark
Common ash: older trunkJan Sheppard, CC BY 4.0
Common ashPale grey, shallow ridges crossing in a net
Common beech: older trunk
Common beechSmooth silvery grey, with faint sideways lines
Winter budTwigs and buds
Common ashSooty black squat cones, in facing pairs
Common beechLong, sharp and copper, set one at a time
Whole leafLeaves
Common ash: whole leaf
Common ash9 to 13 leaflets along one stalk
Common beech: whole leafKieran Roy Powell, CC BY 4.0
Common beechOne oval blade with a wavy edge
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

Common ash

Fraxinus excelsior

Ash has an open, airy crown on slender, curving limbs. Its leaves usually have 9 to 13 leaflets, and sooty black buds sit in pairs on its grey shoots.

How to identify common ash →

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

Common ashElderCommon ash or elder?Quickest check: the leaflets on one leafCommon ashTree of heavenCommon ash or tree of heaven?Quickest check: the edge of a leafletCommon ashEnglish oakCommon ash or English oak?Quickest check: the older trunkCommon ashFalse acaciaCommon ash or false acacia?Quickest check: the edge of a leafletCommon ashHoney locustCommon ash or honey locust?Quickest check: the leafletsCommon ashSycamoreCommon ash or sycamore?Quickest check: the whole leafCommon beechAlderCommon beech or alder?Quickest check: the tip of a leafCommon 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

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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: Malc_l (CC BY 4.0), Juraj Ahel (CC BY 4.0), Jan Sheppard (CC BY 4.0), Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0), Kieran Roy Powell (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.