Tips for tree ID

[hiites]

There are a lot of threads asking for wood identification so I thought I would start a thread dedicated to tips for tree identification. Please add any tips you have and include pictures if you can. A few come to mind right off, remembered from a forest dendrology class from 30+ years ago.

Oak wood has rays that emanate out from the center of the tree. Seen here, the rays are the light colored streaks that angle up from right to left.


Oaks also have a star shaped pith that can be seen if you cut a twig on a bias. You can also see the rays coming out from the center of this twig.


Kentucky coffee tree has salmon colored pith.


Black walnut has chambered pith which can be seen when a twig is cut on a bias.


A lot of times, you can ID an elm tree from a distance due to a bleached out stripe running down a branch or trunk. This is caused from a wound that may be weeping fluid which is infected with something (I can't recall exactly what), that infection causes the fluid to be very alkaline, which bleaches the bark. Sorry, no picture.

Maples, ashes and dogwoods have opposite branching. This happens to be an ash twig.


All oaks are divided into 2 subgroups, either red or white. Red oak leaves have points on the edge where veins end.


Crushed leaves of a sassafras tree smells like root beer. It also has 3 different shaped leaves on the same tree.


Mulberry also has 3 different shaped leaves on the same tree.


A lot of the time you have to take several clues together to come up with an ID. Clues are gathered looking at the leaves (if present), twigs, buds, bark, split wood, where it's growing (upland, river bottom, swampy area, etc.), does it have a distinctive smell.


That's all I've got off the top of my head. I'll add to this as I remember more.

Please add more that you guys know.

 

[paul bunion]

Seeds, nuts, fruits, catkins and flowers. Many trees are easily identifible by them alone, you just have to wait till the right season.

My favorite is red and silver maple vs. sugar maple. Red and silver seed (the helicopters) in the spring, and sugar makes helicopters in the fall. Norway is later in the season also but I think most people can id a norway by bark alone.

 

[hiites]

That's a good one Paul. Reminds me of an elm, I think lace bark elm, is the only elm that fruits in the fall. I'll have to double check that one.

Also, does the tree have thorns or not? The shape of buds is a good clue. Also, how many buds at the end of a twig?
I'll try to get some pictures examples of some of these things tomorrow.

 

[Applesister]

Thats very nice of you to post all this. I love this stuff. Alot of very interesting tidbits on trees. There was a cool thread a little while ago about telling mulberry from osage orange. Osage has an orange dye it emits when soaked in water.
I guess if you cant tell the 2 woods apart.
Ive seen that star shaped pith in Chestnut oak and it forms a very nice star pattern for quite a ways into the heartwood. But not always, its kinda random.
One off the top of my head...Norway maples have white milky sap when you snap leaf stems.

 

[blazincajun]

Nice photos and good idea. Know a few folks who miss identified trees for years and were glad of the tips that I gave them. Having a viewing pocket lens is also a good investment for our old eyes.

 

[BEConklin]

Thats very nice of you to post all this. I love this stuff. Alot of very interesting tidbits on trees. There was a cool thread a little while ago about telling mulberry from osage orange. Osage has an orange dye it emits when soaked in water.
I guess if you cant tell the 2 woods apart.
Ive seen that star shaped pith in Chestnut oak and it forms a very nice star pattern for quite a ways into the heartwood. But not always, its kinda random.
One off the top of my head...Norway maples have white milky sap when you snap leaf stems.

When I was a kid we used to split the seed end of Norway maple helicopters and use the milky gluey sap to wear them like a mustache

 

[BEConklin]

Edited to add: Oops - I see this has already been covered - here's a memory tip and a graphic

One tip that I find handy - around here at least. Opposite VS Alternate twig branching. Not many hardwood trees in the northeast display opposite branching - so if you find one, it's likely that it's either a maple, an ash, or a dogwood. The saying to remember is MAD dog ....

 

[BEConklin]

another tip around here...if the crown is dying...it's probably an ash with EAB

 

[BEConklin]

...and if it's late February or early March and there's a bucket hanging off the trunk...it's probably a sugar maple

 

[nrford]

Ask me!! just couldn't help being a smarta$$!