Trees, and how to know them

How to recognise each tree by its leaves, bark, buds and fruit, and what it’s mistaken for.

Oaks, beeches and sweet chestnut Fagaceae

Common beech: leavesKieran Roy Powell, CC BY 4.0Common beechOval, wavy-edged, fringed with fine hairs Copper beech: leavesCopper beechOval and wavy-edged, wine-red to near-black English oak: leavesEnglish oakRounded lobes, ear-like flaps, a very short stalk Holm oak: leavesLouis Aureglia, CC BY 4.0Holm oakDark evergreen ovals, greyish fawn beneath Red oak: leavesJarro Nevsbaru, CC BY 4.0Red oakBig and matt, each tooth ending in a bristle Sessile oak: leavesSessile oakShallow regular lobes on a long stalk Sweet chestnut: leavesSweet chestnutLong leaves edged with coarse spine-teeth Turkey oak: leavesjamie-aa, CC BY 4.0Turkey oakRough jagged leaves, grey with fine hairs beneath

Birches, alders, hazel and hornbeam Betulaceae

Alder: leavesAlderRacquet-shaped, dark and leathery, tip rounded or notched Downy birch: leavesBarry Walter, CC BY 4.0Downy birchRounded triangles, single teeth, a hairy stalk Hazel: leavesHazelNearly round, soft and floppy, tip suddenly pointed Hornbeam: leavesJoss Carr, CC BY 4.0HornbeamOval, big and small teeth, creased by deep veins Silver birch: leavesSilver birchTriangular, straight-sided, big and small teeth

Cherries, hawthorns, rowans and apples Rosaceae

Apple: leavesAppleOval, to 12 cm, softly hairy beneath Blackthorn: leavesBlackthornSmall and wrinkled, widest at or above the middle Cherry laurel: leaves and shootsErin Lalime, CC BY 4.0Cherry laurelBig, thick and glossy, tiny dark spots beneath Cherry plum: leavesHenry Miller, CC BY 4.0Cherry plumFresh green, glossy, rounded teeth Common whitebeam: leavesCommon whitebeamOne oval leaf, white and fuzzy underneath Crab apple: leavesCrab appleGlossy oval leaves, smooth beneath once grown Hawthorn: leavesHawthornSmall, cut at least halfway to the centre line Midland hawthorn: leavesMidland hawthornShallow lobes, toothed nearly to the base Ornamental cherry: leaveswild_wind, CC BY 4.0Ornamental cherryLarge, a fine whisker on each tooth Purple-leaved plum: leavesPurple-leaved plumMaroon from spring, near black by late summer Rowan: leaves呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), CC BY 4.0RowanFeathered into 13 to 15 toothed leaflets Swedish whitebeam: leavesSwedish whitebeamLobed oval leaf, a coat of grey hairs beneath Wild cherry: leavesWild cherryDeep blunt teeth and a long pointed tip

Maples and horse chestnut Sapindaceae

Field maple: leavesField mapleSmall, five rounded lobes, few blunt teeth Horse chestnut: leavesHorse chestnutFive to seven leaflets, fanned like fingers Japanese maple: leavesMarco Mussita, CC BY 4.0Japanese mapleNarrow pointed lobes, cut two-thirds of the way in Norway maple: leavesNorway mapleFive lobes, few long teeth, hair-tipped Sycamore: leavesKieran Roy Powell, CC BY 4.0SycamoreFive lobes, with coarse blunt teeth

Willows and poplars Salicaceae

Aspen: leavesDan McLaughlan, CC BY 4.0AspenNearly round, trembling on a flattened stalk Bay willow: leavesHelen Waterman, CC BY 4.0Bay willowThick glossy ovals, finely toothed, bluish beneath Black poplar: leavesBlack poplarSmall, shiny green, with a long fine tip Lombardy poplar: leavesAndrew Skotnicki, CC BY 4.0Lombardy poplarSmall, long-tipped, hairless, in dense masses Weeping willow: leavesWeeping willowLong and narrow, finely toothed, pale beneath White poplar: leaveshjcjim, CC BY 4.0White poplarFive lobes, thick white hairs beneath all season White willow: leavesyvesbas, CC BY 4.0White willowNarrow, finely toothed, silvery white beneath

Limes Malvaceae

Common lime: leavesCommon limeHeart-shaped and lopsided, buff tufts underneath Large-leaved lime: leavesrmjb, CC BY 4.0Large-leaved limeSoft fur all over beneath, up to 15 cm Small-leaved lime: leaveschrisdt, CC BY 4.0Small-leaved limeRusty tufts where the veins meet underneath

Elms Ulmaceae

Field elm: leavesField elmSmooth and glossy, on a stalk about 1 cm Wych elm: leavesRosy Thomson, CC BY 4.0Wych elmRough as sandpaper, with a lopsided base

The pea family Fabaceae

Honey locust: leavescigazze, CC BY 4.0Honey locustSmall leaflets in pairs, the stalk often branched Judas tree: leavesFranco Folini, CC BY 4.0Judas treeRound and greyish green, the tip blunt or notched

Pines, firs, spruces, larches and cedars Pinaceae

Atlas cedar: needle tuftsAtlas cedarShort stiff needles in dense tufts, tipped with spines Cedar of Lebanon: needle tuftsLouis Aureglia, CC BY 4.0Cedar of LebanonStiff needles in tufts on short spurs Corsican pine: needle pairsCorsican pinePaired needles, 12 to 18 cm, twisted Douglas fir: shoots and needlesjamie-aa, CC BY 4.0Douglas firSoft needles standing all round the shoot European larch: needle tuftsJarro Nevsbaru, CC BY 4.0European larchSoft needle tufts on woody knobs, shed in autumn Grand fir: shoots and needlesGrand firFlat needles combed into two rows Japanese larch: needle tuftsSimon Colenutt, CC BY 4.0Japanese larchDark greyish green needles in tufts, shed in autumn Noble fir: shoots and needlesDavid Anderson, CC BY 4.0Noble firBluish grey both sides, swept up off the shoot Norway spruce: shoots and needlesdawn2022, CC BY 4.0Norway spruceSingle four-sided needles on woody pegs Scots pine: needle pairsScots pineShort greyish green needles in twisted pairs Sitka spruce: shoots and needlesCaroline Kane, CC BY 4.0Sitka spruceFlat sharp needles, bluish white beneath Western hemlock: shoots and needlesWestern hemlockTwo needle lengths, blunt tips, white beneath

Cypresses, junipers and redwoods Cupressaceae

Giant redwood: shoots and scalesBen Hayden, CC BY 4.0Giant redwoodHard scales clasping the shoot, smelling of aniseed Juniper: shoots and needlesZeke Marshall, CC BY 4.0JuniperSharp needles in threes, one white band Lawson cypress: spraysLawson cypressFlat fern-like sprays smelling of parsley Western red cedar: spraysWestern red cedarFlat glossy sprays, pineapple when crushed

Other trees

Common ash: leavesCommon ashNine to thirteen leaflets, the leaves in opposite pairs Dogwood: leavesDogwoodOpposite pairs, smooth edges, veins curving to the tip Elder: leavesKieran Roy Powell, CC BY 4.0ElderFive or seven leaflets, in opposite pairs Eucalyptus: leavesТатьяна Максимова, CC BY 4.0EucalyptusTwo kinds: round silver pairs, long grey leaves Ginkgo: leavesjamie-aa, CC BY 4.0GinkgoFlat fans with forking veins, tufted on spurs Holly: leavesHollyGlossy and hard, spiny low down, smooth higher up Indian bean tree: leavesportioid, CC BY 4.0Indian bean treeHuge broad leaves, often three at one spot London plane: leavesoliverc29, CC BY 4.0London planeBroad, with three to five pointed lobes Magnolia: leavesТатьяна Максимова, CC BY 4.0MagnoliaOval and smooth-edged, widest above the middle Tree of heaven: leavesTree of heavenHuge and feathered, big teeth at each leaflet base Tulip tree: leavesTulip treeFour lobes and a tip cut off square Walnut: leavesAlexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC BY 4.0WalnutUsually seven leaflets, smooth round the edge Yew: shoots and needlesEwan Shilland, CC BY 4.0YewFlat dark needles in two rows
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Photographs: steve_mcwilliam (CC0), Dan McLaughlan (CC BY 4.0), amigolimax (CC0), Helen Waterman (CC BY 4.0), olly_morgan (CC0), Louis Aureglia (CC BY 4.0), Erin Lalime (CC BY 4.0), Henry Miller (CC BY 4.0), Kieran Roy Powell (CC BY 4.0), kh-c (CC0), ben_deed (CC0), jamie-aa (CC BY 4.0), Barry Walter (CC BY 4.0), Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), Татьяна Максимова (CC BY 4.0), Jarro Nevsbaru (CC BY 4.0), Ben Hayden (CC BY 4.0), rockybajada (CC0), cigazze (CC BY 4.0), Joss Carr (CC BY 4.0), portioid (CC BY 4.0), Simon Colenutt (CC BY 4.0), Marco Mussita (CC BY 4.0), Franco Folini (CC BY 4.0), Zeke Marshall (CC BY 4.0), rmjb (CC BY 4.0), Andrew Skotnicki (CC BY 4.0), oliverc29 (CC BY 4.0), David Anderson (CC BY 4.0), dawn2022 (CC BY 4.0), wild_wind (CC BY 4.0), 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi) (CC BY 4.0), Caroline Kane (CC BY 4.0), chrisdt (CC BY 4.0), Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas (CC BY 4.0), dan308 (CC0), bradenjudson (CC0), quillipede (CC0), hjcjim (CC BY 4.0), yvesbas (CC BY 4.0), Rosy Thomson (CC BY 4.0), Ewan Shilland (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.