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This is an identification program for trees of Northeastern and Central North America. Fill out the form as best as you can and you'll find which trees match. If you find no trees that match, use the "Back" button and try unchecking a box or two. If you want to see all the trees in the database, simply hit "Identify" without checking any boxes. Fully identifying the tree is up to you.
The database is derived from the "Quick-Key Guide to Trees," by David Archbald, Doubleday Press, 1967 (long out of print, unfortunately). A number of corrections and additions have been made to the original data. Lee Dunbar has written a free standalone version of this wildflower program. A Tree Quiz Program is also available, which lets you test and improve your knowledge. There are also identification programs for wildflowers and birds.
There are many sites dedicated to trees and tree identification, including What Tree is That?, Basics of Tree ID, ISU Forestry Tree Identification, and many others.
Some books which can help include:
Note: This tree database is not all-encompassing; it contains only 139 of the 800+ species native to North America north of Mexico. I have given some alternate names for some species, when there is no ambiguity. For example, I do not include "Scrub Pine", as this name is used for at least three different species (Jack Pine, Sand Pine, and Virginia Pine). I use the Audubon guide for names. If you find any errors or want to add more trees, write me. The database and perl program that runs here is free to download, and is fairly simple to figure out where and how to add trees.
Tree Leaf Characteristics: see this image (from Wikipedia) for a useful description of the leaf terminology used below .