Identifying Broadleaved Trees in Winter

Identifying Broadleaved Trees in Winter

Photo Suzanne Sancisi-Frey, Forest Research

Suzanne Sancisi-Frey, Forest Research

Identifying winter trees

• Some features that can be used to identify winter trees are:

• Buds – these can change between the

autumn and spring • Twigs • Bark (this not a great ID feature for many

trees as can vary with age) • Leaf scars • Fruits and seeds (autumn) • Growth form of tree and branching pattern • Use as many of the features as possible

don’t rely on just one • Look at a number of twigs/buds from the

tree you are trying to identify – not just one or two

Fruits and seeds

SSF FR

Sycamore

Norway maple

field maple

ash

Ash keys

Remnants of ash keys

Plane fruits

Sweet chestnut

All

ph

oto

s Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

Buds and Twigs

• Bud arrangement:

alternate, opposite or spiralling

• Bud shape

e.g. oval, conical, pointed or blunt

• Bud colour

• The presence or absence of hairs on buds

• The presence or absence of bud scales

• The size of buds in relation to the twigs

• The shape and colour of twigs

• The presence or absence of leaf scars

• Presence or absence of hairs on twigs

Bud arrangement

Terminal bud single Terminal buds clustered

buds opposite

buds alternate

buds spiralling

All

ph

oto

s Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

Buds and twigs

Terminal bud

Leaf scar

Lateral bud

Leaf stalk

Last years

growth

Lenticels (Small bumps; gas exchange)

Leaf scar

Bud scales

Bud scale scars

All photos Suzanne Sancisi-Frey, Forest Research

Hand lenses

• X 10 is usually enough

• X 20

• Swanky ones with lights

• Phonescopes

Hold lens to eye - move subject towards it

All

ph

oto

s Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

Glossary

• Adpressed – Held tightly against the twig • Alternate – An arrangement of buds on a twig

when individual buds are spaced along the twig at regular intervals alternating either side

• Bud scales – Leafy plates which form a protective covering on a bud

• Catkins – flowers of alders, birches and hazels • Crocodile back – gnarled appearance of twigs

from trees such as elm, field maple and liquidamber

• Lateral buds – Buds present on the sides of a twig • Leaf scar - a mark just below the bud left on a

twig when the leaf falls • Lenticels – gas exchange structures; can be spots

or lines • Opposite - An arrangement of buds on a twig

when individual buds face each other on opposite sides of the twig forming individual pairs

• Spiralling - An arrangement of buds on a twig when individual buds are spaced along a twig at regular intervals in a spiralling pattern

• Terminal bud – The bud growing right on the end of the twig

Your answers number Tree species

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

• Terminal buds in groups

Oak (Quercus robur and Q. petraea)

• Buds spiralling

• Buds orangey colour with many bud scales

• Fruits/seeds – Acorns in acorn cups

Ad

rian

Hill

kn

ow

ing

and

dra

win

g tr

ees

SSF FR

• Q. robur – acorns on stalks, leaves sessile

• Q. petraea – acorns

sessile, leaves on stalks

30 m tall

Bark - regular network of vertical furrows

All

ph

oto

s Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)

• Black, opposite/offset buds on green or grey twigs

• Ends of shoots curl upwards

• Fruits are single keys in bunches

Ad

rian

Hill

kn

ow

ing

and

dra

win

g tr

ees

30 - 42 m tall


Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)

• Buds are opposite, large, brown and sticky

• Large leaf scars in a horse shoe shape incl. studs

• Fruits - conkers within fleshy green spiky cases

Adrian Hill knowing and drawing trees

30 m tall

All

ph

oto

s Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

• Buds alternate and sit on ‘shelves’

• Buds yellow/green to pinky brown

• Twigs have light coloured and noticeable lenticels - looks warty

• Young shoots are angular with ridges

• Fruit/seeds – Spiny fruit case with sweet chestnuts within

Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)


30 m tall

Bark can spiral as shown in drawing above

All

ph

oto

s Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

Beech (Fagus sylvatica)

• Buds alternate, pointed and brown with large scales

• Twigs have a zig zag shape, hairy, lenticels, purpley brown

• Seeds (beech nuts) within a hairy, 4 lobed seed case

Ad

rian H

ill kno

win

g and

draw

ing trees

30 m tall

Smooth, grey bark

Beech nut cupules

All

ph

oto

s Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

• Buds alternate, long, bluntly pointed and held against the twig or slightly curled

• Twigs brown and slightly hairy

• Fruits/seeds – ribbed nutlets hanging in clusters

• Bark smooth, grey and fluted

Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)


Forestry Commission

20 m tall

Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)

• Buds are opposite, green and egg shaped with a pointed end. Single terminal bud

• The edges of the bud scales are purple and lined with fringe of ‘golden eyelashes’

• Twigs paired - green when young then light brown

• 2 winged fruits at 90 degrees to each other with plump rounded seeds

Ad

rian

Hill

kn

ow

ing

and

dra

win

g tr

ees

30 m tall

All

ph

oto

s Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

Field maple (Acer campestre)

• Buds opposite, brown with white hairy scale edges

• Twigs light brown, slender, straight, slightly hairy, crocodile back when older

• Fruits 2 winged set at 180 deg to each other with flat seeds. In bunches

Photo FC booklet No 20 9 m tall

All photos Suzanne Sancisi-Frey, Forest Research unless otherwise stated

Norway maple (Acer platanoides)

• Buds opposite, deep red/brown but not hairy

• Terminal bud can be paired

• Twigs light brown, thin and hairless when young

• Fruits in bunches 2 winged with flat seeds. Look like a droopy moustache!

FC J

oh

n W

illia

ms

18-21 m tall

Bark lightly fissured

All

ph

oto

s Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

Silver birch and downy birch (betula pendula + B. pubescens)

• Whitish bark with black diamond shaped cracks

• Buds alterrnate, small, shiny, pointed

• Slender purple twigs with catkins • Weeping habit for silver birch • No weeping for downy birch • Warts but no hairs on twigs for

silver birch • Hairs but no warts on twigs for

downy birch • Birch species can hybridise

Forestry Commission


12-18 m tall

Catkins

ph

oto

Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

Diamond shaped cracks

Common Walnut (Juglans regia)

• Buds spiralling/alternate, oval purple/black and velvety

• Large distinctive horseshoe/heart shaped leaf scars

• Twigs green/bronze when young dark brown later

• Central pith is segmented • Fruits/seeds – walnuts

within green, fleshy husks

Ad

rian

Hill

kn

ow

ing

and

dra

win

g tr

ees

30 m tall

Segmented pith


London plane (Platanus x acerifolia)

• Buds alternate, conical/rounded and red/brown

• Leaf scar almost entirely circling buds

• Twigs olive green grey when young becoming twisted later

• Fruits/seeds – stalked, spherical, with individual seeds and bristly hairs visible

Plane Fruit clusters in winter

Forestry Commission

Ad

rian

Hill

kn

ow

ing

and

dra

win

g tr

ees

30 m tall

Bark mottled and peeling in patches

All

ph

oto

s Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

un

less

oth

erw

ise

stat

ed

Rowan (Mountain ash)

(Sorbus aucuparia)

• Buds alternate, dark purple, long, slender and hairy with one sided point. Lateral buds often on short stalks

• Fruits bright red and look like miniature apples size of holly berries

• Twigs grey or brown, upward growing, smooth, can have long hairs

FC J

oh

n W

illia

ms

15 m tall

Ph

oto

Su

zan

ne

San

cisi

-Fre

y, F

ore

st R

esea

rch

Lime (Tilia spp)

• Buds alternate, red/purple and bluntly rounded

• Twigs very red (when young), smooth and waxy/shiny looking.

• Lenticels noticeable • Fruit clusters of green or

brown capsules with single brown wing (bract)

Ad

rian

Hill

kn

ow

ing

and

dra

win

g tr

ees

All photos Forestry Commission

Elder (Sambucus nigra)

• Buds opposite, red/brown ragged/untidy looking

• Twigs yellowish brown with obvious lenticels

• Twigs often brittle and containing white pith

Photo Suzanne Sancisi-Frey, Forest Research

Photo Forestry Commission

Pith

Lenticels

How did you do? number Tree species

1 Horse chestnut

2 Sycamore

3 English oak

4 Rowan / mountain ash

5 Ash

6 Field maple

7 Lime

8 Silver or downy birch

9 Elder

10 Common walnut

11 Sweet chestnut

12 Plane

13 Norway maple

14 Beech

15 Hornbeam

Documents

Identifying Broadleaved Trees in Winter