Neither of these two characteristics are present in every elm, so you cannot count on them, but they remain good things to look for.Ī similar looking tree to the american elm is the american hophornbeam (a.k.a. It is not uncommon for the central truck of an elm eventually to split into many upward growing branches that look like a vase. The bark of a paper birch is usually brilliant white with thick, wide peeling strips.Īmerican elms often have roots that start above ground, so it looks like the tree has feet. We’ll start with the most obvious tree in the forest, the paper birch (a.k.a. Fortunately, their bark is different and helps us to identify one from another. The next seven trees all have very similar leaves: rough ovals with serrated edges. OK, we’ve covered all the deciduous trees with easy identifiable leaves. Once I get some good pictures of cottonwoods, I’ll add them to the post.) I was going to go to Shelburne Farms, but they had to cut their massive cottonwoods down this winter. (Sorry, I don’t have a picture of an eastern cottonwood yet. The trunks of an eastern cottonwood can be huge, with diameters of 6 feet. Second, eastern cottonwood leaves are roughly twice the size of quaking aspen leaves. First, the leaf shape of the eastern cottonwood looks more like a triangle than a heart its point is more pronounced and it is straighter (less curvy) by its stalk. It is the eastern cottonwood.Įastern cottonwood leaves look similar to the leaves of a quaking aspen. It is, however, not uncommon in parks and yards. The last aspen I’ll mention is not on the kids scavenger hunt because it is not often found in the forests of New England.

More obviously, the edges of the leaf are finely serrated, they contain many little, pointy teeth without any real “U” shaped valleys between them.

It’s leaves are about the same size as the bigtooth aspen, but the shape of the leaves is less like an oval and more like a heart. The next most common kind of aspen is the quaking aspen. The bottom two lobes of a red maple are smaller and less pronounced, so much so that sometimes they are not even there. Notice as well that the overall shape of Red’s leaf is different. While the leaves of sugar maples have smooth “U”s between their points, the leaves of a red maple are serrated between their points. To differentiate the red maple from the sugar, look at the edges of the leaves.

The second most common maple in the forests of the Northeast, one often confused with the sugar, is the red. It changes so much as the tree matures that it is useless as an identifying characteristic.

She makes a lovely lady, don’t you think?ĭon’t bother paying attention to the bark of a sugar maple tree. You can quote me on that.) All of this combines to give the sugar maple leaf its perfect shape.Īrms? Lobes? Cleavage? Yes, I am anthropomorphizing the maple leaf. (Technically, these notches are called sinuses, but I much prefer cleavage. Finally, look at the size of the notches between the lobes, the leaf’s cleavage, if you will. Notice that the three middle lobes (and sometimes the outer lobes, just not in this picture) have multiple points on them, and that between the points the edges of the leaf are smooth. Notice the five primary arms on the leaf, 3 big ones in the middle and two small ones by the stem.

Tree leaf guide