winter tree identification - dendrologist · winter tree identification beech (fagus sylvatica) ash...

The Dendrologist Vol. 18 No. 5: Winter 2009/2010

WINTER TREE IDENTIFICATION

Beech(Fagus sylvatica)

Ash(Fraxinus excelsior)

White Poplar(Populus alba)

Black Poplar(Populus nigra)

Wild Cherry(Prunus avium)

Wild Service Tree(Sorbus torminalis)

Field Maple(Acer campestre)

Birch(Betula pendula)

Alder(Alnus glutinosa)

Hazel(Corylus avellana)

Crab Apple(Malus sylvestris)

Twigs slender, buds spiky,spindle-shaped spreading1/2 inch or more long.

Buds appressed to thetwig, exposed bud scale,one.

Bud scales black, terminalbud the largest; twigssmooth.

Young twigs covered witha white, cottony film.

Buds chestnut-brown,glossy, often resinous.

Twigs not spiny, budslarge, glossy, ovoid withabout 6 exposed scales.

Buds sub-globose, smoothat the tips.

Buds woolly, scales darkpurple.

Twigs greyish, spiny, budsminute, rounded.

Bud scales hairy at thetips, branches withoutspines; older twigs withcorky ridges.

Exposed bud scales two orthree, twigs slender, flexible, sometimes warty.

Buds stalked, with waxybloom, twigs reddishbrown.

Twigs as above but budsovoid, shorter.

Buds pale brown, obtusetwigs often clothed withglandular bristles.

Buds clustered at tip ofshoot, with numerous 5-ranked scales.

Twigs red, zig-zag,glabrous, shining.

Young twigs partiallyhairy, short branches ending in a thorn.

Buds elongated, hairy atthe tips.

Lime(Tilia x europaea)

English Oak(Quercus robur)

Crack Willow(Salix fragilis)

Hornbeam(Carpinus betulus)

Whitebeam(Sorbus aria)

Hawthorn(Crataegus monogyna)

Habit – How the branches growForm – The outline of a tree

Nicki Tullett, RHS SGM 2007, illustrations from a forthcoming book

Mountain Ash(Sorbus aucuparia)