Best source for help identifying trees...by bark...and leaves....

[Rick Cicciarelli]

I have just discovered my town's tree dump. There appears to be the potential for some spectacular wood to be recovered from there. One thing I have been wanting to work on for years now is my tree identification skills and I think now is the time. Of course I'd like to be able to I.D. from the leaves, but in the case of snagging stuff form the "tree dump" I will need to be able to I.D. from the bark. Does anyone have a good book source that might help me with this? I have seen a couple of books, like the Audubon book but the photos of the bark are so small I don't find it very helpful. I would be open to any suggestions...that way I can at least look into a few and see what seems to work best for me. THANKS

[Bob Vallaster]

The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Trees
ISBN 0-394-50760-6

I see you don't find it to your liking, but I've not seen a better one.
Very handy. Color photos of bark and foliage. Portable. A bit bigger than pocket size, but easily kept in glovebox, console or knapsack.
The above ISBN is for the Eastern Region edition.

BobV

[Joe A Faulkner]

Rick, I'm not sure where you are from, but you might check with your local land grant institution - Department of Forestry - also check your county extension office (extension of U.S. Department of Agriculture) they may have some materials about identifying trees that are common to your area. Resources there are frequently free.

[Pam Niedermayer]

And there's Bruce Hoadley's Identifying Wood. Of course, it's important to know that plants cross breed all the time, so it's often very hard to look at a leaf and bark and make a correct identification.

Pam

[Joseph Klosek]

I have been using the sixth edition of "Textbook of Dendrology" by Harlow,Harrar, and White published by McGraw Hill.

This is an old textbook that I used in school and has been an invaluable resource for the past 20 years. Since this is a college forestry textbook it deals with the primary species important to timber production so it does not have much information about ornamentals or non-native species in North America.

Although the photos are black and white, there are close-up photos of bark,twig,leaf and buds to help in determining species.

The book also includes information on habitat and range which is essential to narrowing the foucs of a search.

This is by far, for me, the most helpful and easiest to use book on tree ID that I have. However, I did study dendrology and forest ecology while in school so I have some bias when it comes to this book.

You should also be aware that once you start learning the genus and species names of trees, you will find it hard not to go outside and start identifying trees whever you are.

Good luck in your search,

J.P.

PS. Check abe books or other used book sites to get a copy for a good price.

[George Sanders]

I have a copy of: Trees of the Central Hardwood Forests of North America, published by Timber Press. It's an excellent and comprehensive source of information. It has leaf, twig and bark photos and in some instances; young and old bark photos. It has habitat maps for the U.S.
The book is out of print and resells for about $250. I bought my copy for $5 at a flea market. You could ask your local library if they can borrow a copy from another library. My local library will do that.