How to Identify Trees By Tree Shape
Coniferous trees
Needles on a tree. Finally, something good. Not long ago, the coniferous trees in our backyard were promising to resemble thin needles at all times of the year, but they had yet to deliver. For some time the evergreens made promises that never turned into reality; the trees weren’t always green and not everything looked like a Christmas tree when we looked out our window.
Then one day it happened—a crispness came over us as we stepped outside and saw a green coniferous needle pointing away from us through our front yard. The way it was placed on top of an evergreen trunk suggested that it was meant to be there, waiting for its true purpose to be fulfilled. We wondered why this particular tree had been chosen for this role—it wasn’t yet seasonably green though the rest of its body was covered in needles (and even some real leaves), suggesting that the tree was too young to be able to claim an identity of its own. Also, how would we find out who planted such a grand coniferous?
A few days later there were two needles sticking up from our front lawn…
Deciduous trees
The easiest way to identify deciduous trees is by looking at their leaves. If the tree has large, flat leaves that are green in the spring and summer but turn a different color in the fall and drop off of the tree, you know it’s a deciduous tree. Deciduous trees are also known as broadleaf trees because of their wide leaves. In some cases, deciduous tree leaves are oval-shaped or rounded with pointed tips. The vast majority of deciduous trees have alternate branching patterns with branches that grow from opposite sides of a single trunk rather than from directly above each other on alternating sides.
Deciduous trees come in a wide variety of leaf sizes, shapes and colors. Some common types include maple, magnolia, birch and oak trees.
Columnar trees
Columnar trees are long and straight, with no branches until the top. They are usually much broader at the top than at the bottom, but sometimes they taper evenly along their length. Because of their narrow shape, they do not take up much space, making them perfect as a fast-growing screen or privacy fence.
Examples include:
- White columnar Mexican pine
- Columnar common pear
Globose trees
- Globose: Short trunk, round and very thick crown. Common in urban environments.
- Example: elms, oaks
- Another example: apple trees
Pyramidal trees
Pyramidal trees are naturally conical, with the trunk being narrower at the base and broader at the top. They typically have very straight trunks, although they may be wavy if grown in exposed conditions. These trees often need to be pruned occasionally to avoid becoming top-heavy.
Oval or Rounded Trees
If you see a tree with an oval or rounded canopy, it is probably a variety of maple, sweetgum, birch, prunus, cherry or fruit tree. These trees are well suited to life in urban areas because they can develop dense canopies that resist storm damage and prevent soil erosion. They also tend to be short and squat with horizontal branches so they don’t interfere with power lines. A few examples of these trees include:
- Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)
- Zelkova (Zelkova serrata)
- American Basswood (Tilia americana)
- Eastern Redbud (Cercis Canadensis)
- Golden Raintree (Koelreuteria paniculata)
Vase-Shaped Trees
A vase-shaped tree is a tree that has a single, straight trunk that widens into a broad, rounded crown. Examples of vase-shaped trees include sweet gum and tulip poplar. Vase-shaped trees are often found in parks or wide open spaces because they don’t require much room to grow.
Broad-Rounded Trees
A broad-rounded tree is one that has a broad, round crown. Some examples of broad-rounded trees include the red maple and redbud.
The red maple, also called the scarlet maple and swamp maple, is a popular deciduous shade tree. Its leaves have three lobes and turn bright red in the fall. The tree’s buds are also usually reddish in color, hence its name – but sometimes they can be green as well. The male flowers are yellowish in color and appear in drooping clusters before the leaves emerge each spring; female flowers are yellowish-green.
Weeping Trees
A weeping tree is often a broad-leaved tree that has been trained to grow with a single trunk and a flat top. From the horizontal branches of this type of tree, long shoots are allowed to grow downward, resulting in the characteristic weeping shape. Weeping trees are very attractive and are often used in landscaping for providing shade.
Knowing the shape of a tree helps you identify it.
Knowing the tree shape helps you identify the type of tree. This article explains how to do this.
When it comes to identifying trees, knowing the shape of a tree is your first step. When you know what shape a tree is, it will narrow down a list of possible species and help you identify that species by its other features. Knowing the shape also gives you clues about the environment in which it grows, and what other trees grow near it.
There are many factors that can determine what kind of tree shape will emerge from different types of conducive soil and environmental conditions such as moisture levels, pollution, exposure to wind or fire, etc…