How to Identify trees
Look after our trees and they will look after you. They are the lungs of our planet, so please love them, protect them and nurture them.
Look after our trees
Save our trees
Save our planet
Teach and tell others
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There are over 3 Trillion trees on our planet!
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There are over 60,000 different species of tree!
These are very big numbers, so how do we begin to tell them apart?
Most of our trees are one of two different types:
Deciduous
or
Evergreen
Evergreen or Coniferous trees, lose their leaves throughout the year a little bit at a time. This means that they always have plenty of leaves and so always look green.
They can do this because they have very strong leaves that are rolled up tight, like long, thin needles. This shape allows the evergreens to conserve water, which is needed for photosynthesis. Because they have more water than their deciduous cousins, their leaves stay green, and stay attached longer.
Trees with flat, wide leaves that change their colours in the autumn are called deciduous. They will drop their leaves when the weather gets cold.
Trees use the energy from sunlight and water to turn carbon dioxide into a kind of food. This process is called photosynthesis. The days get shorter in winter, so there is less sun energy to use. Deciduous trees close up the little holes where the leaves attach so they don’t lose moisture or water. This makes the leaves drop off.
Have you ever wondered why some trees keep their leaves in winter when all the other leaves fall off? Trees have different life cycles, and are either called deciduous or evergreen.
Evergreen
Deciduous
Different species of trees
We have over 60,000 species of trees on our planet, but why do we need to know what species they are?
It is important to know the different types, names or species of trees because this can help us in many ways:
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Knowing which trees are growing on a site can tell us about the soil, the climate, and other environmental conditions there.
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Certain trees make good building materials, paper, medicines, food, or other products that people need.
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Knowing their names and how to identify them is a sign of both respect and appreciation.
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Knowing how to identify trees can help you know more about the ways trees grow, where to find them, and how to care for them.
Use the Woodland Trust
A to Z of British Trees
How to Identify Trees
With so many different species of trees on our planet, where do we start!
How can we find out the name or species of the tree you are looking at?
or How do you find a particular species of tree?
We are living in the modern age of technology and so, it is becoming easier to identify trees, we just need an app, but technology is not always available. There are many different ways to identify a tree.
Here are some different ways you can try:
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Go on an organized walk with an expert.
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Collect the leaves, fruit and seeds from under the tree, bring them home and study them.
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Take photographs of different parts of the tree and then investigate your pictures in books or on the internet.
Here are some different clues you can look for:
Looking for Clues!
Sometimes, especially in Winter, it is not so easy to identify trees - all the leaves, fruit and seeds appear to be gone! - You might need to look for clues!
Leaf Shape is a really good way to identify trees. Even in winter, you may be able to find leaves on the ground beneath a tree.
Leaf type, shape, appearance, texture and colour are all key characteristics when identifying trees. They are also often the most obvious feature, particularly in spring and summer. The needles and scales of conifers are also considered types of leaves.
Leaf shape
Test your knowledge with this Woodland Trust Leaf Identification Dial (iDial).
Download your Knick-Knack Tree - Leaf identification chart.
Blossom & Flowers
Download your Knick-Knack Tree - Blossom & Flowers identification chart.
Spring is a wonderful time of year to look for clues. Tree flowers burst into bloom, providing an early source of pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators, before falling from their boughs like confetti.
In late summer and autumn, you can recognise trees by their fruits, nuts and seed cases. Take the Knick-Knack Tree 'Fruit & Seeds Identification' chart outdoors to see what you can discover.
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Hunt through the hedgerows and underneath trees.
Fruits & Seeds
A tree's fruit contains seeds - Seeds contain an embryo and food to help a new tree grow.
Download your Knick-Knack Tree - Fruit & Seeds identification chart.
Bark texture and colour.
Silver Birch
Yew
Horse Chestnut
Bark Texture & Colour
When no other clues can be found, the bark of a tree is always visible. You will be surprised at how many different patterns, textures and colours (characteristics) you will find.
Even if you have found other clues to a tree's identification it is always a good idea to look at the bark to confirm what species it is.
Download your Knick-Knack Tree - Bark identification chart.
Twigs
The long thin twigs on the end of a tree's branches can give you clues to a tree's identification. There will always be something going on there, so look very carefully.
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There may be some of last season's seeds still hanging there.
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Look for new buds beginning to grow in spring, they can be of different shapes, sizes and colours.
Download your Knick-Knack Tree Twig Identification chart to help you.
Trees can be identified by there shape. Even when their leaves have fallen to the ground the shape or profile of the tree stays the same.
Some trees happily grow on hillsides, whilst others like to grow near water.
Location
Using technology
You can download this FREE Woodland Trust App
Use the Woodland Trust FREE Tree identification app.
In just a few steps you can identify native and common non-native trees in the UK whatever the season using leaves, bark, twigs, buds, flowers or fruit.
Watch the film to see how it works.
The Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 43 million trees since 1972.
LET's GET STARTED!
The Knick-Knack Tree has set you some challenges, he wants to know how many different trees you can identify.
Now that you know so much more about trees and you now have the skills to identify them, go out into the countryside, villages towns and gardens and see what different trees we can find.
TEST YOUR NEW SKILLS
Finding Trees
Piece all your clues together,
the more information you can find, the more accurate your identification will be.
Knick-Knack Tree Identification Charts
Identifying Trees
Who lives in our trees
