A guide to identifying trees by the features you can see, written to be accurate first and useful second.
About this guide
What it is
Tree Identification is a field guide for anyone who wants to put a name to a tree. It is organised the way people actually look at one: its leaves or needles, bark, buds, fruit and shape. It covers the trees of North America and the most widely planted European species, with plain explanations of how trees live, grow and are named.
How it is checked
Descriptions follow standard references, including the USDA PLANTS Database, the Forest Service's Silvics of North America, the Arbor Day Foundation, the Royal Horticultural Society and the Woodland Trust, and the sources for each page are linked at its foot. Where a point depends on region, season or the age of the tree, the page says so. Where a feature can mislead, such as bark colour, it is marked as a second opinion and not as proof.
How to use it
If you have a tree in front of you, start with the key, which asks one question at a time and shows what to look for with a picture. If you already know something, such as the shape of a leaf, use the picker on the common trees page. The key and picker narrow a tree to a group or to a short list. For a species name, confirm against a field guide or an arboretum or extension service for your region.
Pictures
The plates and engravings are public domain illustrations from Mathews, Familiar Trees and Their Leaves (1911), and Loudon, Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum (1844), via Wikimedia Commons. Links to each are in the footer. The leaf and fruit drawings in the key and picker are simplified diagrams.
Contact
Corrections and questions are welcome: info@tree-identification.com. Send the page and what you found, and it will be checked against the sources and corrected.