How to Identify Deciduous Trees by Their Leaves

It is important to note that not all leaves are the same even on the same tree. Trees have different types of leaves on the same tree.

• Note that it’s not uncommon for different types of leaves to exist on the same tree. In general, you’ll find two or three leaf shapes on each deciduous tree.
• Leaves can also vary significantly from year to year on the same tree, depending on the weather and soil conditions present during the growing season.
• Keep in mind that even if you correctly identify a certain type of tree in the spring and summer, it’s possible for a different type of leaf to appear when fall arrives.

Identify a leaf that has simple shape and broad edges, it is an aspen leaf.

• Identifying an Aspen Leaf

Aspen trees have simple leaves. This means they don’t have the complicated shapes of lobes and bays—they’re just smooth. An aspen leaf will be oval or heart-shaped with broad, untoothed edges. The underside of the leaf is lighter in color than that of the top, making it easy to identify when you’re looking at a tree with bright yellow fall foliage.

Pear leaves are heart-shaped or fan-shaped with wavy edges.

Pear leaves are heart-shaped or fan-shaped with wavy edges. They are serrated and the pear tree is deciduous.

The shiny, green leaves of a pear tree have smooth edges with a few hairs on the underside.

Find out if red oak leaves are lobed and pointed at tips, sometimes with fine side lobes, too.

Find out if the red oak leaves are lobed and pointed at tips, sometimes with fine side lobes, too.

Red oak leaves are usually green but can be yellowish or reddish. They can grow up to four to 10 inches long.

Some trees have clusters at the end of branches. Sweet gum trees have three to 7-pointed lobes and star-shaped leaves.

The sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is the most easily recognizable tree in this category because its leaves are star-shaped. The five to seven pointed lobes of the sweet gum leaf are arranged in clusters at the end of branches. This tree’s leaves look similar to maple leaves but have more points and duller edges. The underside of each leaf has small white dots from tiny resin canals or pores.

The maple leaf comes in a variety of shapes and forms but it is always opposite in pairs on twigs and it has several sharp points.

• The maple leaf comes in a variety of shapes and forms but it is always opposite in pairs on twigs and it has several sharp points.
• Each leaf is broad, with three to five lobes, and pointed at the tips.
• The leaves have a rough feel and sometimes have a milky sap.
• Maple leaves can vary in size from 1-inch up to 9-inches long.
• The color of maple leaves varies from green to yellow to red and even purple depending on the variety of tree you are looking at and your geographic location (maple trees grow around the world).

The ash tree is easily identified by its opposite branching and odd leaflets. The compound leaf has five to 11 leaflets arranged in pairs along the central stalk with a single one at the tip.

Ash trees have opposite branching and have simple leaflets, arranged in pairs along a central stalk. The leaves are also often compound: that is, they have five to 11 leaflets arranged in pairs along the central stalk with a single one at the tip. Their branches are often unbranched and of irregular size, though many species grow short branches alongside their trunks. They have smooth gray bark but varying shapes; some are rounded or triangular while others can be heart-shaped. Some species’ bark is peeling while others’ isn’t (but still has rings). Many ash species are pale green or greyish-green with light brown undersides. Their branches are scruffy looking, like tree limbs on the verge of collapse from years of abuse from snow and wind.

Ash trees usually live for about 100 years unless they’re firewood collectors, then it’s about as long as it takes for your husband to realize you’ve been having an affair out of desperation to keep him from leaving you for someone else who makes more money than you do at your job that nobody wanted because your doctor told you it was good for you so don’t question her

Hickory leaves are compound leaves that are arranged in pairs along a common stalk. Depending on species, they can be eight inches long with five to nine broad leaflets.

Leaves of the hickory tree are compound, meaning they’re made up of multiple leaflets on one leaf stem. The leaves can be eight inches long, with five to nine leaflets. These are arranged in pairs along a common stalk.

There are many kinds of deciduous trees with varying kinds of leaves

There are many kinds of deciduous trees with varying kinds of leaves. Here is a quick guide to identifying them: