How to identify trees by their leaves

Hello! In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to identify some of our most common tree by their leaves. Specifically, we will learn how to identify leaves by their shape. Are you ready? Lets get started!

(To help make it easier for you, I have divided the leaves into groups, so you can use these quick links to jump where you need to go x)

Star-shaped leaves
Palmate leaves
Spiky leaves
Lobed or wavy leaves
Pinnate leaves
'Leaf'-shaped leaves
Round leaves

Star-shaped leaves

Norway maple

Norway maple leaves are sharp at the tips compared to field maple and sycamore.

Field maple

Field maple leaves are much rounder at the tips and smaller than Norway maple and sycamore.

Sycamore

Sycamore leaves are softer at the tips than sycamore, but sharper than field maple.

Palmate (hand-like) leaves

Horse chestnut

Horse chestnuts are the most common tree you are likely to find with characteristically hand-shaped leaves.

Spiky leaves

Holly

Holly trees have dark, shiny, very spiky leaves. Another spiky shrub (and a garden run away), is mahonia.

Lobed or wavy leaves

Oak

Oak trees have distinctively lobed leaves, often very gnarled, spreading branches - and a helpful clue - acorns!

Hawthorn

Hawthorn trees are usually a dense tangle of lichen-covered, shrubs with thorny branches.

Pinnate (or feather-like) leaves

Ash

Ash trees have thin leaflets, often more than 5 to a stem and clustered at the tips of the branches.

Elder

Elder leaves are rounder than ash and often darker and thicker. In addition, it is a more-shrub-like plant.

Rowan

Rowan trees have skinny, leaflets with saw-like edges. They also often have white lichen spots on their bark.

Leaf-shaped leaves

Beech

Beech tree leaves are quintessentially 'leaf' shaped and leathery. They are often slightly wavy around the edges.

Hornbeam

Hornbeam leaves might look like beech leaves, but they have deep valleys between their veins.

Wych elm

Wych elm leaves can be spotted by their asymmetrical leaf base and their pointy (sometimes 3 pointed) tip.

Round leaves

Aspen

Aspen leaves are rounded (sometimes slightly pointed), very delicate-looking leaves with gently-waving edges.

Hazel

Hazel leaves are larger than aspen with a marked tip. They are also narrow at the base, wider at the top.

Linden

Linden leaves look like upside down hearts, with a curved base, wide middle and widely pointed tip.

How do you identify trees by their leaves?

Sometimes (but not always) one of the easiest ways to identify a tree is by looking at its leaves. Your clues are the shape, size, margins, tips and bases and arrangement of the leaves.

This might sound like a lot of things to look at, but really, usually, you only need to focus on two things - the arrangement of the leaves and their shape. These help you to narrow the leaf down. Then, the extra details like the margins, tips and bases just provide extra clues to help you confirm what it is.

The two types of leaf arrangement

When looking at leaves, I like to start wide and then move in and the best way to start wide with leaves, is by looking at their arrangement and how they attach to the branches or stems. There are two types of leaf arrangement: simple and compound.

Simple leaves are individual leaves, each with their own special connection to the twig or tree branch. While, compound leaves are a group of leaves which join together and share a connection to the tree branch. These can be further divided into pinnate and palmate.

Pinnate-type compound leaves consist of individual leaflets that join along a main stem and attach to the branch via the main stem. While, palmate-type compound leaves are individual leaflets that radiate out and join in one central point, from which a shared stem then emerges to attach them to the tree branch.

Simple leaf

Pinnate leaf

Palmate leaf

Summary

Well... there we go! In this lesson, we met some of our most common tree leaves and learned how to identify them all. I hope you feel more confident about identifying them now?

Just remember, there are many, many different trees - all with different leaves - and I have only covered a few of them here.

Tree leaves nature study

Right! Now it is time for your tree leaves nature study.

Your task, is to go out on a nature walk and find some tree leaves.

Try and identify the leaves you find using the downloadable guide
Handle the leaves and get to know their colours, size and shape.
Notice the details of the leaves - their stems and how they attach to the leaf
Look at the arrangement of the veins running through the leaf
Run your fingers over the edge of the leaves and feel their margins
Examine the underside of the leaves for fine hairs or fuzziness
See how bouncy, crisp or delicate the leaf might be

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Wild Berries - Easily identify our wild hedgerow berries

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About this tutorial

Hello! In this tutorial, we are going to meet some of the most common berries you are likely to find on a late summer or early autumn walk in the country. Are you ready? Lets get started!

Which are our most common hedgerow berries?

One of the best places to start looking for wild fruits and berries are the hedgerows bordering our roads and country lanes. And, if you take a stroll and keep your eyes open in late summer and autumn, you are sure to see all sorts of wild fruit adorning the twigs and branches. Some of these berries are edible and some of them are poisonous - so be sure to know with exact certainty that the berries you are picking are edible if you go foraging.

Here are some of the wild fruits and berries you can expect to meet:

Blackthorn (sloe)

Blackthorn berries can be black or deep blue with a light blue bloom. They are small, round and have long thorns.

Brambles (blackberries)

Brambles are one of our most easily identified hedgerow berries and I am sure, need no description.

Damson

Damsons can be purple, reddish or blueish, and egg-shaped or round. Unlike blackthorn, they do not have thorns.

Elder

Elderberries are small, deep-purple or black berries growing in large clusters joined by purple or red stems.

Guelder rose

Guelder rose berries are bright red - almost translucent, nearly perfectly round and hang in clusters.

Hawthorn

Hawthorn berries are slightly elongated with a raised bottom. They are deep red and hang in small bunches.

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle berries are smallish, round and bright red. They grow in small clusters between the paired leaves.

Rowan (mountain ash)

Rowan berries hang in clusters and look like minature, bright orange or red apples, with inward dimpled bases.

Wild rose

Wild rose hips are, smooth, orangey-red egg-shaped, pinched at the bottom and ending in a slightly tufted base.

What other wild berries are there?

In addition to the fruits and berries mentioned above, there are of course many others. When trying to identify them, remember, that some berries change colour as they mature, e.g. tutsan starts off red and turns black. Here area few of them:

Red: Whitebeam, yew, nightshade, holly, bryony, tutsan, raspberries, strawberries, wild cherries, lingon
Black: Bryony, nightshade, ivy, tutsan
Orange: Whitebeam, sea buckthorn
Bright pink /orange: Spindle
Brown: Service tree, wild pear
Blue: Bullace, bilberries, blueberries
Bubbley berries: Wild raspberry, dewberry, stone berry
Ground dwelling berries: Cuckoo's pint, wild strawberries

Which wild berries are edible?

Please remember, never attempt to eat or taste any wild berry unless you are absolutely certain of its identity and know it is safe to eat. Many of our most tasty-looking berries are poisonous. With that said, here are a few of our most common edible wild fruits: bilberries, blueberries, bramble (wild blackberries), elderberries, hawthorn, raspberries, rosehips, rowan, damson, wild raspberries, wild strawberries and sloe (blackthorn).

Please note, that even though these are edible, some of them need to be cooked before they are eaten. (Much like potatoes... they are edible too, but only once cooked!)

Which berries are poisnous?

Once again, remember, never eat or taste any berry, unless you are absolutely sure of its identity and the fact that it is safe to eat. Some of our most common poisonous berries, are: bittersweet (woody nightshade), black bryony, deadly nightshade, holly, honeysuckle, ivy, lords and ladies (cuckoo pint), spindle and yew (seeds).

Where else do wild berries grow?

Anywhere shrubs and trees and plants grow, you can find wild fruits growing: Along cliffs and coast lines; high up on the slopes of moors and mountains; down amongst the bogs and swamps; beside lakes and riverbanks; in fields and meadows; scattered amongst our forests and hedgerows; and hidden in wastelands and thickets.

Summary

Well, there we go! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and have a better idea now, about some of our most common wild hedgerow berries. To be notified about new nature walk tutorials, you can join the Nook below x

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Meet Our Common Tree Nuts

Meet Our Wild Nuts

Hello! In this tutorial, we are going to meet some of the most common tree nuts you are likely to find on your countryside nature walk and learn how to identify them. Their names are:

Beech
Hazel
Horse chestnut
Oak
Sweet chestnut
Walnut

Are you ready to meet them? Lets get started!

Which trees have nuts and seeds?

There are many sizes and shapes of tree seeds, but usually, we only notice the larger sized seeds. In addition to the trees mentioned here, there are also nine other seed-bearing trees you may spot on your nature walks: These are ash, field maple, hornbeam, linden, London plane, Norway maple, pine, sycamore and wych elm, which you can learn more about on my tree seeds tutorial.

How to identify our most common nuts

Acorns

Acorns come in all shapes and sizes, but usually have an oval shaped seed nestled in a textured cup.

Beech nuts (mast)

Beech nuts are triangular and nestled inside a three-bladed husk, which is smooth inside and spiky outside.

Hazel (filberts)

Hazelnuts are round with a little crinkled gather at the top and sit inside a feathery, leafy husk.

Horse chestnuts (conkers)

Horse chestnuts are round, deep chestnut brown with a pale spot beneath and grow inside a tough, spiky, rounded shell.

Sweet chestnuts

Sweet chestnuts are a beautiful reddish brown, with pale tufts on top and often grow in pairs inside a spikey shell.

Walnuts

Walnuts are a light brown, crinkly nut, growing inside a tough, fibrous shell, inside a tough, apple-green outer husk.

What are nuts?

Nuts and seeds are basically the babies or offspring of parent trees.

They are produced following pollination of the trees' flowers and contain all the genetic material of the tree and inside, they have a supply of food and nutrients ready to start their journey into new trees. In fact, even their shapes are specially designed to help give the seedlings a head start in life.

Because, in order to grow up strong and healthy, trees need space to grow and access to good sunlight. So, if they fell and sprouted right under their parent, they would be competing with them for space, sun and nutrients.

In order to solve this little problem, nuts have found different ways to help themselves disperse and travel away from their parent tree.

How are nuts adapted to travel?

To help them on their journey, seeds and nuts have adapted various tricks to help them travel.

Some nuts are hard and round, like horse chestnuts. This way, when they fall, they bounce and roll away. Others make themselves tasty to wildlife like squirrels (like acorns and hazelnuts), who carry them away and even bury them in the earth.

Yet others have little pockets or air to make them bouyant so they float. Or, they have wings to fly away.

But, you may be wondering, how can they grow if they are eaten? Well... think about how many acorns the squirrels bury... and in how many places. No matter how many they eat, there will always be some left over or forgotten about. These are the nuts which grow.

How do nuts avoid being eaten?

Aside from dispering away from their parents, another problem that nuts and seeds face, is surviving long enough to mature and be ready for the seed to grow. Because, it is not good for the nuts to be eaten or carried away from the tree before they are ready. So, they have developed various tricks here too.

Look at the beech nuts, horse chestnuts and sweet chestnuts above. Can you see their spines? The spikes and spines on these nuts deter animals from picking them up or eating them until the seed inside is ready.

Once they are ready, these husky, spiky shells split open - often as the nuts hit the ground when they fall. This reveals the tasty, non-spiky nuts inside, ready for the animals to dig them out.

Some nuts use a trick of making themselves taste disgusting too. Like horse chestnuts. These contain a chemical called saponins and any animal who eats one, will be left with a horrible taste in their mouth and so learn to leave them alone.

Summary

Well, there we go! In this tutorial, we have met six of our most common tree nuts and learn how to identify them. Can you remember their names? They are:

Beech
Hazel
Horse chestnut
Oak
Sweet chestnut
Walnut

In addition to meeting these nuts, we also learned a little bit about what they are (shelter and protection for baby trees) and how even their shapes help out the little trees disperse and avoid being eaten or carried away too soon.

Wild nut nature study

Right! Are you ready for your wild nuts nature study?

Your task, is to take a nature walk and look for nuts! I want you to:

Try and identify the nuts you find
Handle the nuts and look at their shapes, weight, textures and colours
Examine their husks - examine the insides and the outsides of the husks. How do they feel? How are they different?
Think about how the shape of the nut and its husk or coating might help it travel or avoid being eaten

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How to identify our most common helicopter seeds

Identifying Helicopter Seeds

In this tutorial, we will learn about how to identify helicopter seeds.

Here in Ireland and the British Isles, you are most likely to find the following helicopter seeds:

Field maple
Norway maple
Sycamore

These three seeds may look very similar, but there are some easy ways to tell them apart. So, let's take a look and learn a bit about them.

How to identify our helicopter seeds

Field maple seeds

Field maple seeds have the greatest angle of the three and grow almost horizontally away from each other. Each seed is curved in an upward scoop from the bottom.

Norway maple seeds

Norway maple seeds also grow far apart from each other, but at a closer angle than field maple seeds. Each seed is broad at the tip and has a wavy appearance to its edges.

Sycamore seeds

Compared to field maple and Norway maple, sycamore seeds are smaller and they grow much closer together. Each seed is rounded at the tip and curves outwards at the bottom.

What are helicopter seeds?

Have you ever asked yourself, what are helicopter seeds and why do they have wings?

Well, there are two types of flying seed - parachute seeds and winged seeds. Helicopter seeds are winged seeds. Their wings are single, stiff, flat membranes, which are attached to the actual 'seed' bit and designed to help the seed catch the wind as it falls from the tree and fly away. Theis helps it move away from its parent tree so it is not competing for food, water and sunlight.

The reason they are called helicopters is because of the way they spin as they fall from the tree. But, they have other names too, including spinning jennies, whirligigs and whirlibirds. But their proper name is a samara.

Have you ever wondered why maple seeds spin as they fall ? You can find out here.

Summary

Well, I hope you have enjoyed learning all about helicopter seeds? Do you remember their names? They are:

Field maple
Norway maple
Sycamore

We also learned about why they have wings, what their wings are, and some other names for them too.

Helicopter Seed Nature Study

Now it is time for your helicopter seed nature study. Are you ready?

Your task, is to go out on a nature walk and try and find all three of the seeds we have just learnt about. I want you to:

Examine the shape of their wings
Look at the angle between the two wings in a joined up pair
Feel the texture of the wing around its different sides
Notice the size, shape and location of the 'seed' relative to the wing

What next?

Check out these related links and resources:

P.S. If you enjoyed this tutorial, don't forget to subscribe below and be notified about new articles and tutorials.