A Kids Guide to Tree Identification

Tree identification can be a fun way to learn more about what lives and grows all around you, even the trees in your back yard. When you are learning about tree identification you will begin to look at the trees in your yard, at your school, and at the local park in a whole new way. There are many great things to learn about trees, and when you realize how interesting trees are you’ll wonder why you didn’t notice them before.

The first think you’ll want to do for tree identification is to stand back and look at the whole tree. you’ll want to take note of the overall shape of the tree, the colours it displays, and if there is anything unusual or remarkable about it. It might help to take notes, that way when you are going over everything you are sure you remember exactly the way it looked to make a real tree identification.

Next, you’ll want to get up close and really look at the bark. Is it smooth, furrowed, warty, scaly, plated, shaggy, papery, or fibrous? Really take a close look and see what you think, a tree identification field guide can help explain and give clear examples of what each type of bark looks like. Bark is sort of like a fingerprint for the tree, if you can identify what type of bark the tree has you are well on your way to tree identification.

Next, you’ll want to look at the leaves on the tree. If you can, find a leave to add to your own field guide or scrapbook. Look closely at the leaf, is it one continuous leaf, or is it a bunch of leaflets on one stem? Or, is it not very leafy at all, does it have needles? Knowing what the leaf looks like close up will help aid you in tree identification, because the leaves are much like the bark, unique to each tree.

The leaves of a conifer are like needles and they do not loose all of their needles at once, instead they are constantly reproducing so that when needles fall off there are more to take their place. A deciduous is a tree that looses its leaves, like a maple or oak tree. Knowing if the tree is a conifer or deciduous tree will also aid in tree identification.

Knowing what types of trees grow in your area will also help with tree identification. Get with your science teacher or a parent and discuss some of the trees that you know are common to your area, and this will help you with tree identification as well. You’ll find that some trees just aren’t in your area because of the climate, so you can rule those out as possibilities right away.

Taking a sample leaf and taking notes will help you later identify similar types of trees, and even comparing and contrasting the differences between leaves and bark of other trees that you may come across. A leaf sample from each tree you attempt to identify will also allow you to create your own field guide, and it can be a lot of fun to look at the leaves of all the places you might travel on vacations.

Buying a field guide will help you with tree identification after you have decided what type of bark the tree has, and after you’ve looked at the leaves and determined if it is a conifer or deciduous tree. You can find great tree identification field guides in the bookstore, or there are even great guides available online. Tree identification will become
easier and more fun if you practice, so don’t hesitate to get out there and check out the trees all around you!