The Arborphile

  American Sycamore ( Platanus occidentalis) Easy is a relative term. I'm talking about trees that have distinctive bark or distinctive leaves that you can identify either year-round or at least spring to fall. In some cases keep in mind that there will be variation within any species, plant, animal, or other, and you may find an individual tree here and there that doesn't match the type. As always, I am referring exclusively to trees found native to my region, the Piedmont area of North Carolina. These guides may not apply to other regions where there may be lookalikes that I am unaware of. 1. Sycamore ( Platanus occidentalis ) I'll start with sycamore as seen in the image above. There's simply no mistaking sycamore for any other tree, at least if it's old enough to start shedding bark. Of course in many cities you may find the variant called London plane, which is a hybrid of American sycamore and a Eurasian species, Platanus orientalis . The visual difference is ...

Boxelder fruit (samara). Acer negundo Here is a partial list of sources I use most often. I also frequently run a google search for a specific tree when I am uncertain and stick to university departments (.edu) or government agencies (.gov) as to do further research. I am looking into more resources and will post as I explore them. In the field apps: Virginia Tech Tree ID App - this works if you have a rough idea what you are looking at ("some kind of maple," e.g.) and use the app to pin down the exact species. This app keys in on your location so you aren't chasing around trees that grow outside of your range - although you can choose to load trees from anywhere in the USA. The guide provides images of leaves, bark, flowers, fruits/seeds, and a map of the species range. There are some gaps, however, and not all species have images for all of these characteristics. Leaf Snap App - I have found this less useful, even after trying the paid version that offers more feature...

  Southern red oak has one of the most distinctive leaf shapes among the reds. Whenever leaves are present they alone can be used to identify the species. Long and thin with a distinct central lobe, it always makes me think of a hand giving someone the middle finger.  Of course there is variation in the leaves, but if you see a collection of them together it's easy to find examples that fit the "typical" shape and structure. At the base the bark tends to be dark gray with medium deep fissures. It is darker and rougher than northern red bark, but there is enough variation in both species to make it difficult to use bark alone to identify. Dark gray (compared to white oak) base bark, flattened ridges Also looking up into the upper branches it starts to look more like northern red oak ( Q. rubra ) with the flattened ridges of the bark lighter in color giving it something of a ski slope look (in northern red you can typically see the ski trails even around the base):   ...

This is a brief introduction, but I will post individual profiles of each of the dominant species found in my area.  As a group, the oaks are abundant in the mature forests around me. From an economic, ecological, and aesthetic perspective they are unrivaled. The number of species you can find in my little corner of the world is also impressive. Below is a list of types that I routinely encounter on my walks, roughly in order of abundance: Eastern White oak ( Q. alba ) Southern red oak ( Q. falcata ) Willow oak ( Q. phellos ) Northern red oak ( Q. rubra ) Post oak ( Q. stellata ) Pin oak ( Q. palustris ) - mostly planted by cities and homeowners as ornamental, uncommon in my local forests. A number of other species are described as native to the Piedmont (NC), but I have yet to encounter or identify any of them. These include: *Chestnut oak ( Q. montana, formerly prinus) Swamp chestnut oak ( Q. michauxii ) Black oak ( Q. velutina ) Scarlet oak ( Q. coccinea ) Blackjack oak ( Q. ma...

  My current favorite tree. Immediately identifiable by its smooth, bright gray/silver bark, it's a standout in a forest of otherwise furrowed, rough, blocky, scaly, flaky, fibrous, and warty skinned trees.  The only native trees in Piedmont NC that you might misidentify at first as beech are musclewood ( Carpinus caroliniana ) and young silver maple ( Acer saccharinum ). They both have similarly smooth bark but underneath the bark, musclewood grows muscle-like ridges, where the beech is much more smoothly rounded. For maple look to the buds in winter or obviously the leaves when present give it away. Extreme example of ridged "muscles" of musclewood.   No muscle here (beech). Musclewood is also an understory tree that seldom grows more that 10-12 inches in diameter, while American beech can reach 3-4 feet in diameter for older individuals.  In winter for smaller or on younger trees you can also count on the distinctive buds to help rule out musclewood. The buds of m...

Just a regular guy with a devotion to trees, forests, nature. I have no credentials other than my passionate amateur identification, appreciation, and study of all kinds of trees (and mushrooms, but that's another story).  Use this blog to find more details about individual trees than what you will find in most of the comprehensive identification guides - by necessity they usually provide a few key features and photos of a large number of trees. Use an ID guide to get you started with a preliminary identification, then check here for more details. For the most part I will use layman's terms to describe the features where possible and technical terms parenthetically: "The leaves are smooth (glabrous), not hairy or fuzzy." Each post will highlight a specific tree, and over time will be updated to introduce new information or pictures, such as seasonal changes. Range: I am mostly interested in native trees in the Piedmont section of North Carolina. This simplifies my tas...