Identifying different tree species.

I would be very interested as well!

Winter tree ID of the more common Trees

A tree bud has all of next years’ leaves, stems or flowers squeezed inside it.
The bud scales (coat) protect the tiny leaves, stems or flowers during the winter.
A leaf scar is where the leaf, from last year, was attached to the twig.
On a twig, the buds can be arranged opposite (opp), alternate (alt) or spirally (spi).
Some twigs/stems have obvious warty marks. These are lenticels and are the trees pores.
Terminal bud is the top bud on a twig, there may be 1, 2 or a cluster
It is also a good idea to look at the shape of trees that you have id during the winter.

Common Name, Bud Arrangement and Unique Bud/Twig Feature

Alder alt purple buds, old mans thumb shaped. The Italian alder has a tint of orange in the bark of new twigs and a hint of orange when the catkins open in spring, whereas the ordinary alder has purple in the bark and the catkins

Apple alt small reddish buds, look for fruiting spurs in tree (also tip bearers)

Ash opp Matt black angled buds, big clusters of seeds

Beech alt Cigar shaped brown buds,

Birch alt White bark. Downey birch more prevalent in Ireland with more toothed leaves. The white bark of the Downey appears to have cracked bark further up the stem than the Silver Birch which seems to only have the cracked bark at the base of the stem. Jackmontii has its lovely white bark all the way to the ground

Blackthorn Tiny buds, lots of big thorns, bark black

Cherry alt Brown buds in clusters, shiny horizontally stripped bark on stem, lenticels

Elder opp Scrubby growth, red buds look like small shoots, very warty stems

Elm alt Small black roundy buds

Hawthorn alt Tiny red buds, single thorn, bark light brown

Horse Chestnut opp Big sticky brown buds, big horseshoe shaped leaf scar

Lime alt yellowy green under and reddy green above on bud, the same on the twig, the twigs zigzags from bud to bud.

Oak alt Brown buds in clusters at terminal, kinda like smaller sycamore buds but more regal, deeply grooved bark, acorn cups

Poplar alt brown buds like big slender willow buds, tree shape more like a candle, vigorous growth, diamond shapes in bark.

Rowan alt medium red/purple, terminal bud a bit hairy around bud scales

Spindle Green twigs, tiny green buds

Sycamore opp Crown shaped green buds, smooth platy bark. All Acers have the same buds from the diminutive Japanese maples to the larger Sycamore.

Sweet Chestnut alt small red buds with 2 large bud scales, ridge along twig

Willow spi Yellow lemon pip shaped to slender appressed buds, vigorous growth

Makes me wish I had an iphone or an ipad that app looks fab, but it dosnt say how many trees it covers?

aerosol wrote: »

I also like this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Tree-Guide-Owen-Johnson/dp/0007207719

I'd give that Collins book a big thumbs up too. It's the one we recommend to students on the Intro to Forestry/Dendrology course. All the main species (both native and non) you will encounter are in it as well as a lot of cultivars and specimens trees too. It also has colour plates which identify key species id characteristics.