Expert Lee Reich Shares How to Identify Trees in Winter

Lee suggests using expert books that guide you through tree identification steps, such as Fruit Key & Twig Key to Trees and Shrubs by William Harlow or Winter Tree Finder by May Theilgaard and Tom Watts.
Both of these books are excellent.

January 6, 1996

On this day, The News and Observer out of Raleigh, North Carolina, shared an article called "The Naked Secrets of Trees in Winter" written by Lee Reich.

To Lee, tree identification is a worthwhile activity that is made more challenging in winter:

Trying to identify leafless trees during the winter is a nice game to play alone or with a companion.

Lee reminds us that trees like Paper Birch are easy to tell apart from others because of their signature peeling white bark.

And long brown pods make the Catalpa easy to identify.

That said, most trees are challenging to identify this time of year.

Lee suggests using expert books that guide you through tree identification steps, such as Fruit Key & Twig Key to Trees and Shrubs by William Harlow or Winter Tree Finder by May Theilgaard and Tom Watts. Both of these books are excellent.

Finally, Lee shares a few more tips to consider.

Still at a loss for a tree's identity?

Break off a twig and make a slanting cut to expose the pith. Chambered rather than continuous pith characterize black walnuts and butternuts.

Butternut trees have chocolate-brown pith, and black walnut trees have toffee-brown pith.

The taste of a twig sometimes is the giveaway.

Black cherry will taste like bitter almond, and yellow and river birch will taste like wintergreen.

There is one more handy identifier.

Deciduous trees are supposed to be leafless now, but a few leaves often hang on well into the winter.

They will be dead dry and twisted but often still "readable."

Not only that, but those on oaks and beeches are so reluctant to fall that one can spot these species even at some distance by their skirt of dry leaves.