Identifying trees
There are something like 70 native tree species found in the wild in New
Hampshire. The exact number is hard to determine because some are rare, some
are mostly found as shrubs, and others can be distinguished from each other
only by the most determined dendrologist. This List of New
Hampshire Native Trees lists species that are native to at least part of
New Hampshire and capable of growing into a tree.
Helpful
Characteristics for Identifying Shrubs (and a few trees) in Winter lists
key identification points for over 40 shrubs (and some trees). It includes
colored pictures of twigs and buds.
Anyone interested in tree id needs
to have at least a passing familiarity with dichotomous keys. This Wisconsin
site for kids walks you through using a Dichotomous
Key.
Michigan State
University has a versatile site with 4 keys moving you through to
identification. Easy to use and fully illustrated.
Forest Biology and Dendrology at Virginia
Tech includes tree identification fact sheets for 450 species. Figure out
your unknown specimen, using the twig or leaf key. Easy to use and fully
illustrated.
The National Plants
Database is a single source of standardized information about plants. It
covers vascular plants (such as trees), mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and
lichens of the US and includes names, checklists, automated tools,
identification information, species abstracts, distributional data, crop
information, plant symbols, plant growth data, plant materials information,
plant links, references, and other plant information.
For those interested in knowing more than what tree it is, Chaney's
The Tree Biology Corner from Purdue University has tree physiology articles
about how trees work.
A Partial Listing of Publications on Tree and
Shrub Identification should help serious students find additional books to
add to their library.
