Winter twigs Juan Jóse Mena

Opposite buds ........................................................................................................ 4

Aesculus hippocastanum .................................................................................... 4

Acer platanoides ................................................................................................. 4

Acer pseudoplatanus .......................................................................................... 5

Acer campestre ................................................................................................... 5

Acer negundo ..................................................................................................... 6

Fraxinus excelsior ............................................................................................... 6

Fraxinus angustifolia ........................................................................................... 7

Alternate buds ........................................................................................................ 8

With spines ...................................................................................................... 8

Robinia pseudoacacia ................................................................................. 8

Crataegus monogina ................................................................................... 8

Without spines .................................................................................................... 9

1 scale ............................................................................................................. 9

Platanus occidentalis ................................................................................... 9

Salix alba ..................................................................................................... 9

Salix purpurea ........................................................................................... 10

2(3) scales. .................................................................................................... 10

Alnus glutinosa .......................................................................................... 10

Tilia cordata ............................................................................................... 11

Tilia plathyphyllos ...................................................................................... 11

Castanea sativa ......................................................................................... 12

Liriodendron tulipifera ................................................................................ 12

Many scales .................................................................................................. 13

Junglans regia ........................................................................................... 13

Juglans nigra ............................................................................................. 13

Corylus avellana ........................................................................................ 14

Corylus nigra ............................................................................................. 14

Quercus robur ............................................................................................ 15

Quercus petraea ........................................................................................ 15

Quercus cerris ........................................................................................... 16

Quercus pubescens ................................................................................... 16

Cerasus avium. .......................................................................................... 17

Ulmus minor .............................................................................................. 17

Ulmus leavis .............................................................................................. 18

Populus alba .............................................................................................. 18

Fagus sylvatica .......................................................................................... 19

Carpinus betulus ........................................................................................ 19

Betula pendula ........................................................................................... 20

Betula pubescens ...................................................................................... 20

Sorbus aucuparia ...................................................................................... 21

Populus nigra ............................................................................................. 21

Populus tremula ......................................................................................... 22

If you Press ctrl+click on the name of the plant and you

will be directed to the plant information.

Winter tree identification

Opposite buds

Aesculus hippocastanum

Stout, with a large shield-shaped leaf scar; terminal buds are; shiny, sticky and

reddish brown, lateral buds are much smaller.

Acer platanoides

Twigs are stout, brown with green buds with overlapping bud scales. The leaf

scars are crescent-shaped with 3 distinct bundle scars, the pairs of leaf scars join

around the stem to form a sharp angle.

Acer pseudoplatanus

Stout, brown with a large, turban-shaped, green to purple (fall and winter) terminal

bud, large bud scales.

Acer campestre

Slender, light brown, opposite buds are small and grayish brown, twigs will often

develop corky fissures.

Acer negundo

Green to purplish green, moderately stout, leaf scars narrow, meeting in raised

points, often covered with a glaucous bloom; buds white and hairy, lateral buds

appressed

.

Fraxinus excelsior

Stout, gray brown, leaf scar narrow u-shaped, buds pubescent, very dark

(essentially black).

Fraxinus angustifolia

Stout, light gray-brown; buds large, dark brown leathery scales; leaf scars

crescent-shaped.

Alternate buds

With spines

Robinia pseudoacacia

Zigzag, somewhat stout and angular, red-brown in color, numerous lighter

lenticels. Paired spines at each leaf scar (often absent on older or slow growing

twigs); buds are submerged beneath the leaf scar.

Crataegus monogina

Slender, gray; buds dark, shiny red and round; bearing obvious, stiff, 1 inch long

thorns; leaf scars contain 3 bundle scars.

Without spines

1 scale

Platanus occidentalis

Obviously zigzag, quite stout and orange-brown in color; leaf scar surrounds the

bud and the stipule scar surrounds the twig; terminal bud is absent; lateral buds

are reddish, resinous, with a single, cap-like scale.

Salix ssp. (Nail-like scales, eliptic cross section)

Salix alba

Very slender, smooth or slightly downy, yellowish brown (golden), flexible; buds

are small, appressed and covered by a single, cap-like scale. Terminal buds

lacking.

Salix purpurea

Very slender, reddish purple and green, shiny; buds red with a single cap-like

scale, small, appressed. Sometimes with opposite buds.

2(3) scales.

Alnus glutinosa

Green and sticky when young, later turning greenish brown; buds are stalked,

purplish brown in color and somewhat three sided.

Tilia cordata

Slender, zigzag, green-brown or red-tinged (particularly in the winter); terminal bud

is false, buds are plump with one side bulging conspicuously, edible and when

eaten they are mucilaginous.

Tilia plathyphyllos

Slende, zigzag, red-brown and pubescent twigs; Glabrous, ovoid and redish

buds.

Castanea sativa

Twigs are thick and coarse looking, dark-brown and downy at first and then

becoming smooth. With silver hairs and silver spots (lenticels).

Liriodendron tulipifera

Red-brown in color, often with a shiny appearance or a waxy bloom. Stipules are

large and encircle the twig; buds are elongated and valvate, resembling a "duck

bill". Twigs have a sweet, spicy odor when broken.

Many scales

Junglans regia

Stout, light brown, with a buff-colored chambered pith, terminal buds are large,

broadly pointed, often paired and pubescent, lateral buds are much smaller, pre-

formed male catkins often in axils of leaves, leaf scar 3-lobed.

Juglans nigra

Stout, light brown, with a buff-colored chambered pith; buds are tan, and large with

a few pubescent scales; leaf scars are 3-lobed, resembling a "monkey face"

Corylus avellana

Slender, zigzag, light brown, with numerous stiff, glandular hairs; buds blunt,

rounded, with few scales, green changing to tan with brown scales wrapping the

base of the bud

Corylus nigra

Slender to moderate, zigzag, gray-brown, nearly glabrous to covered with tan

glandular pubescence; buds large, brown and yellow-green, oval to nearly round

with few bud scales; twigs become fissured or corky.

Quercus robur

Moderate, yellow-brown, smooth; brown buds are angled, short and round with

each scale edged in light brown.

Quercus petraea

Buds tend to be clustered near the end of the winter twig; they have rusty brown

over-lapping scale leaves

Quercus cerris

Grey, hairy twigs. Buds with twisting whiskers.

Quercus pubescens

Young twigs greyish covered with short hairs, becoming brown, shiny; buds ovoid,

pointed, pubescent, grey brown at tip, 3 mm long.

Cerasus avium.

Medium textured, gray-brown, with a mild bitter almond taste; buds large (up to 1/4

inch), reddish brown; spur shoots present with multiple terminal buds.

Ulmus minor

The shoots are finely hairy, Tiny buds grey purple in colour.

Ulmus leavis

The buds are sharply pointed with two-toned brown scales edged with a paler hue.

Populus alba

Medium-textured, gray to reddish brown and may have some gray pubescence;

buds are ovate and pointed, reddish brown with some gray fine hairs, laterals are

somewhat hooked. Has a bitter aspirin taste.

Fagus sylvatica

Slender, zigzag, light brown in color; buds are long (1 inch), light brown, and

slender, covered with overlapping scales that are tinged with tomentum, widely

divergent from stems.

Carpinus betulus

Slender, smooth, red brown, vertical lighter lenticels; 1/4 inch long buds are green

turning to a light brown, slightly angled, pointed and curling slightly around twig;

flower buds larger and on older parts of twigs.

Betula pendula

Twigs are slender, reddish brown in color and noticeably drooping, loighter colored

lenticels are present, but do not result in a rough feeling twig (as in gray birch),

buds slender, pointed, green and brown.

Betula pubescens

The buds form early and are full grown by midsummer, all are lateral, no terminal

bud is formed; the branch is prolonged by the upper lateral bud

Sorbus aucuparia

Moderate to stout, pubescent early, becoming shiny gray-brown later in season,

spur shoot present, leaf scars narrow, buds 3/8 to 1/2 inch long, reddish brown

with long gray pubescences.

Populus nigra

Moderate to stout, light brown to yellow-brown, swollen at leaf scars; large, sticky,

reddish brown conical buds. Pentagonal cross section.

Populus tremula

Twig is shiny brown with pointed brown buds. Glabrous twigs and buds.