Knowing a tree’s species is key to understanding their proper growing conditions, how to prune them and what insect and disease problems they might experience. Plus, tree identification is a great garden party trick.
Mark Vitosh, a district forester at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, is the expert.
“In college, I had a bag of 75 woods that I carried around and my dorm friends used to make fun of me because I'd be back there carving with my knife and smelling,” Vitosh said. “And it's called getting happy with nature.”
On Garden Variety, he shared what characteristics to pay attention to when determining a trees species.
The basics
In the Midwest, we have conifers and hardwoods.
Conifer trees...
- Have needle-like or scale-like leaves
- Are often evergreen — which means they keep their needles on all year long
- Produce cones
- Include Pine, Spruce and Fir
- Are also known as softwoods
Hardwood trees ...
- Have broad leaves
- Are often deciduous — meaning they drop their leaves in the fall
- Include Oak, Maple and Ash
These rules have their exceptions
- There are some deciduous conifers, such as Bald Cypress and Larch
- There are some evergreen broad leaves, like the Christmas Holly
Getting specific
Once you've determined whether the tree is a conifer or a hardwood, there are lots of other characteristics to help you narrow down what you're looking at.
Notice the leaves. What shape does the leaf have? Are there pointy teeth on the ends? Are there lobes with gaps in between? Is there fall color on the tree? And remember, a needle is a leaf.
You can also scrutinize the color and texture of the bark and cones. Note any buds, flowers, fruit or nuts.
Look at the tree growth. What is the shape of the tree silhouette?
Where is the tree growing? Native trees will grow in specific locations, such as along rivers and streams, or on a slope.
Once you have an idea of the tree’s key characteristics, you can match them to a species by using an online tree identification key or a good old-fashioned book, like the Forest and Shade Trees of Iowa. You can also use apps like PictureThis or LeafSnap, which will provide a list of possible matches that you can use alongside your tree knowledge to determine the species.
