How to Identify Trees With Leaves

An easy way to identify trees is by their leaves.

“In the fall, I like to look for trees with leaves that are in various shades of red, orange, or yellow. If you want to identify the trees, leaf shape and size are important. The leaves may be oblong or round and slightly curved at the edge. If you check online for local information about trees with leaf colors and shapes in your area, there is a helpful website called ‘Trees of North America.’ They have pictures and descriptions of different species of trees.”

Look for the shape of the leaf.

The first and easiest way to identify trees is simply by looking at the shape of their leaves. Tree leaves come in many shapes, but some trees feature leaves that are all about the same shape, which makes them easy to recognize. Other trees have a hodgepodge of different kinds of leaf shapes (such as hickory and walnut), so you have to look for more subtle clues when trying to identify them.

There’s no need to memorize every possible leaf shape, but knowing a few will help you better understand how to classify what you see in nature. Here are a few different types of tree leaves you might find:

Research which trees grow in your area.

• Research which trees grow in your area. There are several resources that can be helpful in this process:
• Search local tree enthusiasts’ forums. You can find a list of these on the International Dendrology Society website.
• Look for local books on tree identification. If there is a nature center near you, you may find a book about the trees of your region for sale there, or you can use the International Dendrology Society’s list to look up informative books online.
• Seek out local nature tours and excursions. Many cities have parks and recreation departments that regularly offer free nature tours led by experts on the local fauna.
• Visit local preserves and gardens. The best way to learn about trees is to see them up close, so make sure to visit forests, arboretums, parks, forest preserves and botanical gardens in your area as often as possible.

Look at the leaves in all seasons, since not all species keep their leaves year-round.

Tip: Examine the tree’s growth patterns and leaves in all seasons since not all species retain their leaves year-round.

• Look for new growth. New growth is a term used to describe the plant’s most recent shoots or branches, which are known as “current season’s growth.” Look at the leaves on any new shoots on trees during the springtime and match them to your reference guide if you’re unsure of their identity.
• Look for flower buds. The flower buds of many trees will appear before leaves do in some instances, though this is rarer with deciduous trees than coniferous ones whose flowers may appear only once every 10 years or so.[9] Examine the flower buds at close range in order to determine what type of tree you’re looking at if your references are inconclusive.
• Consider the shape of the tree versus other trees nearby that you can identify positively (such as elm, maple, etc.). Some species have a distinctive shape that may help with identification while others don’t differ significantly from one another.

If you’re trying to identify a tree in your own yard, look for other similar trees nearby.

Do you find yourself in a similar situation? If so, look for nearby trees with the same shape of leaves or other characteristics. Then compare the two to see how they differ.

Once you’ve identified the second tree, use that information to identify the mystery tree in your yard. If it’s not a close match, keep looking! You’ll figure it out!

Consider what else is around the tree you’re trying to identify.

Consider what else is around the tree you’re trying to identify. This can help you narrow down your search – if the tree is in a forest, chances are it’s another type of evergreen, or at least another conifer (a tree with cones) – but if it’s growing in open field, it could be anything! Conversely, if there are trees which have leaves around where the leafless trees are located, then they may be deciduous as opposed to evergreen.

Keep an eye out for fruit, flowers, and cones that can help with identification.

Look for the fruit, flowers, and cones of a tree to help identify it. These are all secondary characteristics, so they may not be present on a tree at the time of identification. However, your observation can help you narrow down the possibilities. Secondary characteristics can be more useful than primary ones because they tend to be more distinctive and easier to remember.

Take a closer look at your leaf’s shape and margins.

The shape and margins of a tree’s leaf can be used to help identify the tree.

Leaf shapes can vary from needles, to lance-shaped leaves, to broad fan-shaped leaves.

Examples of lance-shaped leaves include those found on Ginkgo biloba (Gingko or maidenhair trees), Aesculus spp. (horsechestnut or buckeye trees), Sassafras albidum (sassafras trees), and Prunus serotina (black cherry trees).

Examples of fan-shaped leaves include those found on Metasequoia glyptostroboides (dawn redwood trees) and Sabal palmetto (cabbage palm trees).

If you’re having trouble identifying a leaf based on shape, try looking at the arrangement of its veins.

Shape: The shape of a leaf is related to its venation, or the arrangement in which veins run down the edge. A palmate leaf has parallel veins, so it looks like a thumb and pointer finger with lines running from each tip to the other. If you were to draw such a leaf, you’d get something that looks like this:

Palmate leaves are sometimes called “fingers” because they look like the fingers of a hand when viewed from above. The opposite type of veining is netted; this means that there are two parallel veins running down the opposite edge of the leaf, giving it a net-like appearance.

In our modern world, many trees do not have leaves at all. In these cases, you can use venation to help identify them—just imagine drawing both sides of a leaf on paper and then tracing along each vein until you come out on top where your letter ends. If you look closely at very young tree tops (less than ten years old), you will often see that they have another kind of pattern—this pattern is known as pinnate venation. Pinnate venation looks similar to palmate venation but instead of making one big vein in order from near one end towards another near the other end (palmate), pinnate leaves make four or more veins in between each main vein that extends all along its length in addition to those four main ones (see diagram for an example).

There are many ways to identify a tree by its leaves if you know what characteristics to look for.

There are many ways to identify a tree by its leaves if you know what characteristics to look for. Seeing a single leaf, or a part of a leaf (such as an edge), isn’t usually enough to identify the species. You need to use all the information you observe, including the shape, size and pattern of veins, as well as how leaflets are arranged on the stem and how they’re connected to each other.

The following is a primer about identifying trees by looking at their leaves alone. It’s not meant to be comprehensive but rather will help you begin your observations. Be sure to take photos and keep notes in your field journal so you can refer back later when you’re ready to narrow down your identification options.