While in the woods today, I took notice of a small white oak sapling that at first glance I thought was a cherry. I had to look at a couple of things to get the ID correct and it made me reflect on some of the posts here asking for tree ID help. I know that some people try to look at a picture of a split from 20' away and make a positive ID. Sometimes it simply can't be done. With all of that said, I thought I'd start a thread for folks to post their ID tips that may help some of the new people trying to figure out how to ID different trees. This is the tree that started this for me today. The bark was a little flakey like cherry but after seeing one of the leaves, I recognized it as a white oak.
If I hadn't had a leaf to look at, I would have sliced off a twig to look at the pith. Oaks have a star shaped pith. I think most people are used to looking for the medullary rays in oak as seen in the background wood in the above pictures.
I don't have pictures but black walnut twigs have a chambered pith. Another distinct pith characteristic is the salmon colored pith of the Kentucky Coffee Tree. Take a look at these two trees. Both are oaks but the bark is very different. The one on the left is a white oak and the one on the right is a Northern Red Oak. This is a leaf from the tree on the left. And this is some leaves on the tree on the right. Red oaks have points on the ends of their leaf lobes but that can be a little hard to see sometimes. This is a blackjack oak, which is in the red oak family but the leaf points are hard to see. In fact they are missing on this dried leaf but there would be a small sticker like point on the end of each lobe of a green leaf.
Sometimes you can spot elms from a great distance by a bleached out stripe of bark down the trunk. When an elm has a wound, the rain water will wash over it and down the trunk and a bleached stripe will result. Maybe somebody with a lot of elms around will post a picture. I've seen some people on here reference MADog syndrome talking about the fact that Maples, Ashes and Dogwoods have opposite branching as opposed to alternate branching or whirled branching. An ash leaf may look similar to a hickory leaf but the opposite branching will narrow it down for you. When looking at leaves, you have to be sure you are looking at a leaf and not a leaflet. The leaf of a pecan may look similar to a black walnut but a leaflet of a pecan will look similar to a soap berry tree.
There are a ton of tips to tree identification and sometimes you have to look at 2,3,4 or more things to get a positive ID, like was it found in a creek bottom or on the upland? Is its growth habit columnar or rounded. How does it smell when you crush a leaf? Are the leaf edges smooth or serrated? Are the leaves glossy or hairy? Does the tree flower in the spring or in the fall? Most of the tips I've picked up are from a forest dendrology class from 35 yrs ago and I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of them. My hope is that others will post their tips, with pictures if possible, to help some of the people new to tree identification.
Very helpful Brad M , Thank you. I often ID trees this way due to being a firewooder. 1. Good hardwood = high btu. 2. Medium hardwood = shoulder season wood. 3. Trash= Willow, Cottonwood, Basswood etc. That means I'm going to charge you to dispose of it.
Great thread, maybe it can be “stickied”...? Edited to add- When including pics, please remember to take shots of 1) bark, 2) split face, & 3) end grain.... Leaves and /or mast are of course super helpful.
Great thread Brad M . The pictures you posted are perfect for ID'ing trees/wood here on this site. Close, clear and focused. This would make things much easier and more accurate for someone learning and seeking help here.
I've seen many times even on this forum people having problems between red oak and pin oak. Also, I hope everyone knows the difference between red and white oaks. Now for just the red. And then the pin. Also with pin oak, they have many more branches and on the lower branches they tend to die but also rather than pointing up, they point down. Then there is the one some call the Michigan tree; sassafras. It can have one of three types of leaf. Notice the middle leaf which is shaped somewhat like the lower peninsula of Michigan. Another way to id these beauties is the odor they give off when cut. Sweet for sure.
Black birch - scrape a twig with your thumbbail. Should smell like wintergreen or spearmint. If it smells like root beer, it's sassafrass
Mulberry has different leaves like sassafras as well. Good note on the pin oak branches pointing down. It looks a lot like shumard oak except shumard branches point up. I think one thing that confuses people about oaks is that oaks are divided into red and white. And then under red, there are some varieties with red in the name, like northern red and southern red. Same with oaks under the white oak banner.
Box elder is one that can be a little tricky. It's in the maple family but has compound leaves like an ash. Since they both have opposite branching, it can be a little tricky. Sometimes you may have to check for the diamond shaped bark pattern of the ash to tell a difference. Then of course there's the red tint to the split wood of the box elder that's a telltale. I get more tripped up on little box elder seedlings or saplings because they look like poison ivy. I've had to look for the opposite branching to be sure but still been leery about touching it
Brad M I learned tree identity from an old book I bought in a downtown Brooklyn used book store in 1985. It was a 1930's Horticulture/arborist science and guidebook that is very detailed and about 4oo pages. I still have it somewhere in my attic because that book was really a treasure and very smart in it's visuals and descriptions. So yeah, that was my start as I was collecting wood at the time to carve and make sculpture while in art school. I stayed fascinated with trees and up on my knowledge because I continue to build, burn, and garden. I think they are just so beautiful, majestic, useful as both building and artistic material, and also a great source of energy. I cant think of a more important organism that we take for granted on this planet. Anyway, as you say it can be tricky with ID's sometimes. Tree age comes to mind as one factor, for instance with maple often all the barks is smooth like Beech on young wood until they grow older and the bark starts to take on its individual character. Then we can tell a silver maple from a sugar maple, but without being there in person to inspect, a one off photo of silver maple bark can look like a white oak in some cases (earlier today there was some debate of a tree being either shag bark hickory or white oak or even perhaps silver maple). That's why we always ask to see all the identifying features like the wood grain and if possible a leaf. There is no substitute however for being there in person as all other senses play a roll including smell as two other posters on this thread have mentioned with sassafras, but even oak can have smells and we all know the dreaded smell black locust can have under the bark in that slimy layer during decomposition. Speaking of black locust, you know how many times people confuse its wood with mulberry when looking in my piles? They never seem to learn the subtle difference in the color and grain. This brings me to my next point, some people are better than others at ID, but time and experience are big factors. The biggest factor is having a healthy curiosity and taking the time to observe trees everywhere you go. When you find one that confuses you or you aren't sure, take samples like photos and leaves to identify when back home in front of a book or computer. I always take time in the field to teach others about the different species including shapes of their crowns as an identifying point which keeps me sharp while hopefully inspiring someone to find a passion and curiosity for trees.
Two tips for the newbie: 1. remember this acronym: MAD Horse. It stands for Maple, Ash, Dogwood and Horse chestnut, a.k.a. buckeye. These are the only deciduous trees in North America that have opposite branching and leafing. So if you find a tree with opposite branching or leafing you have a starting point for identification. 2. Buy a really good book on tree identification and try to identify and memorize 2 trees a day.
Like Brad M said above, I picked up a lot of info in a college dendro class(mine was 15 yrs ago). I still have the book from the class and use it several times a year. I can identify almost everything in our area, the exceptions are some of the landscaping elements that are not normally found locally.
Then there are the times when people can easily get confused. I remember well many moons ago on a different forum where someone posted this picture: I was chastised because I said it was popple. One of the so-called esteemed members said there was no doubt it was beech. After all, about all he had on his land was beech and he knew what beech was. Okay. Fast forward a couple months and I PM'ed the guy who had posted the pictures so see if he had determined that it was popple and not beech. He aplogised and said that yes, it was popple and not beech. But, he didn't have balls enough to post it on the main forum. And I was really amazed that nobody on the forum stood up to me that it was not beech. I think they were afraid of the idiots who ran the forum. So, I'm wondering if anyone on this forum would think this was beech. I can understand why if one had not handled much of either.
I'm not questioning you about the ID here just curious as I'm learning as well what gives it away as people? Is it the grain pattern, bark color, location, etc?? Unless I missed it I dont see any leaves... Just trying to glean some info...
