Common beechJuraj Ahel, CC BY 4.0
Common beech
English oak
English oak
Lookalikes

Common beech or English oak?

Both hold some dead leaves through the winter.

The quickest check

The quickest check is the older trunk. Common beech: smooth silvery grey, with faint sideways lines. English oak: grey, in short, deep, knobbly ridges.

At a glance

Look atCommon beechEnglish oak
Older trunkSmooth silvery grey, with faint sideways linesGrey, in short, deep, knobbly ridges
Outline of a leafOval with a pointed tip and a wavy edgeDeep rounded lobes, three to six a side
Fallen fruitTwo triangular nuts in a prickly four-lobed huskAn acorn in a shallow scaly cup

Three ways to tell them apart

Older trunkBark
Common beech: older trunk
Common beechSmooth silvery grey, with faint sideways lines
English oak: older trunk
English oakGrey, in short, deep, knobbly ridges
Outline of a leafLeaves
Common beech: outline of a leafKieran Roy Powell, CC BY 4.0
Common beechOval with a pointed tip and a wavy edge
English oak: outline of a leaf
English oakDeep rounded lobes, three to six a side
Fallen fruitBeech mast
Common beech: fallen fruitikelman, CC BY 4.0
Common beechTwo triangular nuts in a prickly four-lobed husk
English oak: fallen fruitWendy Herniman, CC BY 4.0
English oakAn acorn in a shallow scaly cup
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 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 →

English oak

Quercus robur

English oak is a broad, spreading tree with heavy, twisting branches. Its leaves have deep rounded lobes and a very short stalk. The acorns hang on long stalks, often in pairs.

How to identify English oak →

Their other lookalikes

Common beechAlderCommon beech or alder?Quickest check: the tip of a leafCommon 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 beechHazelCommon beech or hazel?Quickest check: the tip of a leafEnglish oakCommon ashEnglish oak or common ash?Quickest check: the older trunkEnglish oakSessile oakEnglish oak or sessile oak?Quickest check: the acorn stalkEnglish oakRed oakEnglish oak or red oak?Quickest check: the ends of the lobesEnglish oakHolm oakEnglish oak or holm oak?Quickest check: the outline 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: Juraj Ahel (CC BY 4.0), empressmoth (CC0), Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), Kieran Roy Powell (CC BY 4.0), ikelman (CC BY 4.0), Wendy Herniman (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.