Pennsylvania s forests grow some of the most valuable hardwoods in the world.
Identifying hardwood trees by their leaves.
About 90 percent of all the trees in pennsylvania s forests are hardwoods.
They have rounded or pointed knobs around the leaf.
There is much more to identifying tree leaves than just by their shape.
Deciduous trees including oaks maples and elms shed their colorful leaves in the fall and sprout bright new green leaves in the spring.
The difference between round and pointed is that round lobed leaves mean that the oak is a white oak and pointed leaves mean the oak is a red oak.
When identifying leaves the first thing to look at is the arrangement of the leaves along the stem.
The wood of these trees is generally hard and dense but there are exceptions.
Most evergreens have needles or scales while most broadleaf trees are deciduous meaning they drop their leaves when dormant.
Oak leaves are easily identifiable because of their lobed leaves.
What tree is that.
There are dozens of different varieties each with their own unique leaf structures and shapes.
Also the margins of these leaves can be smooth serrated notched or lobed.
Most hardwood trees are deciduous trees which lose their leaves annually like elm or maple.
There are three basic leaf types.
However there are exceptions.
Begin identifying your tree by choosing the appropriate region below.
Softwood comes from a conifer cone bearing or evergreen trees such as pine or spruce.
Hardwood trees are distinguished from evergreen trees because they lose their leaves when the weather grows cold a mechanism that protects the trees from dehydration when groundwater freezes during the winter.
Our illustrated step by step process makes it easy to identify a tree simply by the kinds of leaves it produces.
At first glance this protective outer coating of a tree s trunk and branches may seem like an unending sea of gray and brown.
But you can also identify trees by looking at their bark.
When trying to identify a tree by its leaves you can also notice the venation patterns on the leaf as well as its color.
Hardwood trees lose their leaves each autumn.
Ovate shaped tree leaves can be rounded elongated or taper to a point.
The remaining 10 percent are softwoods.
Tree identification field guide.
The starting point for most people when identifying trees species is the leaves.
The shape arrangement complexity texture and pattern of leaf veins will all help you to identify your hardwood tree.
Needles scales and broadleaf.
How to identify trees by their leaves.