I’ve laid out similar looking species side by side so that you can easily distinguish between them. The guide features 18 native and common British trees which have buds, twigs and leaf litter that you might already be familiar with but also there’s other signs here that you’ve probably never noticed before.
I’ve created a handy guide you can use when you’re out and about looking at trees during winter. That way we can be sure we’re investigating the right tree and the knowledge of bud and twig is transferable no matter whether the ground below is humous or concrete. Now this only works if there’s something to find and also you should be wary of relying on this too heavily where the tree is crowded with others as what you’re looking at may have fallen from it’s neighbour.īy the far the most reliable method of winter tree identification is to begin with a branch and study a healthy twig and it’s buds. There’s much to be gained by looking down. Beech mast is very reliable under mature trees and you’ll find yourself crunching in underfoot as it carpets the woodland floor. Then there’s tree like out three native Limes which have special leaves called bracts, which look like nothing else you’ll find on the woodland floor and can only belong to a Lime tree. Look under an established hazelnut and you’ll most likely find empty nut shells, nibbled away by rodents and birds. Some trees, like the Crab Apple, have a dead giveaway with the fallen, rotting fruits. Bottom Left: Conkers from Horse Chestnut.
Top Right: Hazelnuts, nibbled by wildlife. So, we need to look at other clues to help us out. To help confuse matters both these species have alternate buds and the buds are very small and grow in cluster at the end of the twig. Not only are their names similar, but they also are thorny, shrubby trees which populate our hedgerows, often growing side by side. Let’s take two very common trees which often get confused. In the Free Winter Tree ID Guide I’ve grouped alternate budding trees separate from opposite budding trees for easy reference. This is when tree identification can become very satisfying and you can really start showing off. When you become practised at this you will begin to start noticing the bud arrangement from a distance, as you look at the form of tree. So, you can be looking at an older branch and thinking that they definitely don’t grow in opposite pairs, but then on closer inspection you might well notice the old scar left over from where it’s opposite equivalent was self-selected to be dropped by the tree in favour of it’s partner. One last thing to remember it’s important to select a young healthy twig to answer this question because as a branch matures it will often self-select the healthiest of the twigs to grow on and will drop it’s near partner.
The majority of native tree species in Britain have their buds arranged alternately along the branch. This is absolutely key to nailing the species of tree as once you’ve answered that question it allows you to eliminate a whole bunch of species from your enquiry. One of the first things you can ask a tree when you are trying to identify it in winter is this “Are the buds arranged alternately or in opposite pairs?” More details can be found at the end of the article. You can get outdoors and spot these clues for yourself with a free download I’ve created Winter Trees Guide, which you can get your hands on just below.īy the way, if you love trees, but struggle to tell one species from another, then you could enrol in my FREE Tree Identification Course online. In this blog I’ll introduce you to some of clues to look out for in winter and break down the differences between common trees which often get confused. The clues are all there if you know how to look. Many of us might well be able to spot an oak in winter by looking for fallen acorns or the familiar leaves, but could you tell me the difference between blackthorn and hawthorn in winter just by looking at the buds? Or do you know which trees give themselves away in winter by their bark? We might be able to identify trees in summer when their leaves are on but winter is a whole different ball game.įor anyone looking to improve their tree identification skills winter provides us with many distinctive signs such as buds, bark, twigs and fallen leaf litter that we can use to recognise our native and common tree species.