Tree Identifier
Identify a tree from a photo of its leaves, needles, bark or fruit. You get the likely species, the features that give it away, and the trees it is most often confused with. Free, with no sign-up.
Identify a Tree
Start with the first photo on this list. If the match is uncertain, the result tells you which photo to take next.
Best photos, most useful first
- One whole leaf, flat
- A twig with leaves attached
- Bark at chest height
- The whole tree
- Fruit, seeds, cones or flowers
Choose from your photos
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JPEG, PNG, WebP or iPhone HEIC up to 10MB. Photos are compressed and stripped of metadata on your device before upload.
What to Photograph to Identify a Tree
One clear photo of the right part beats ten blurry ones of the whole tree. These are the shots tree keys rely on, most useful first.
- 1
One whole leaf, flat
Lay a single leaf or needle cluster on a plain surface and include the stalk. On compound leaves, photograph the whole leaf with every leaflet, not one leaflet.
- 2
A twig with leaves attached
Show how leaves meet the twig: in pairs across from each other (opposite) or staggered (alternate). It is one of the first splits in most tree keys.
- 3
Bark at chest height
Fill the frame with bark on a mature trunk. Young trees and branches often have smoother bark that looks nothing like the trunk.
- 4
The whole tree
Step back far enough to show the crown shape and branching. It helps separate trees whose leaves look alike.
- 5
Fruit, seeds, cones or flowers
Acorns, winged seeds, nuts, berries and cones are often the most reliable clue. Check the ground under the tree too.
In winter, photograph twigs and buds, the bark, and any dead leaves or fruit under the tree. Evergreens can be identified year-round from their needles or scales and cones.
Tree Leaf Identification Chart
Work through it in order: needles, scales or broad leaves; then whether broad leaves are opposite or alternate; then whether each leaf is simple or compound. These are common North American trees.
Needles
Narrow, stiff or soft needles, usually on an evergreen with cones.
- Pines Pinus
- Needles grow in bundles of two, three or five, held together at the base by a papery sheath. Eastern white pine has five.
- Spruces Picea
- Single, stiff, four-sided needles that roll between your fingers, each on a small woody peg. Cones hang down.
- Firs Abies
- Single, flat, soft needles that leave a round scar when pulled off. Cones stand upright on the branches.
- Hemlocks Tsuga
- Short, flat needles on tiny stalks, with two white lines underneath, and small cones.
- Larches Larix
- Soft needles in tufts on short spurs. Unusually for a conifer, they turn yellow and drop in fall.
Scales
Tiny overlapping scale-like leaves pressed along the twig.
- Junipers and eastern red cedar Juniperus
- Scale or awl-shaped leaves and small, berry-like blue cones. Eastern red cedar has reddish, shredding bark.
- Arborvitae Thuja
- Flat, fan-like sprays of scales and small, upright, oval cones.
Broad leaves, opposite
Leaves in pairs across the twig. In much of North America that usually means a maple, ash, dogwood or buckeye, remembered as “MAD Horse”.
- Maples Acer
- Simple leaves with lobes and veins that fan out from the stalk, and paired winged seeds.
- Box elder Acer negundo
- A maple with compound leaves, usually three to five leaflets, and the same paired winged seeds.
- Ashes Fraxinus
- Pinnately compound leaves, often five to nine leaflets. Mature white ash bark has diamond-shaped ridges.
- Dogwoods Cornus
- Simple, untoothed leaves whose side veins curve toward the tip, following the leaf edge.
- Buckeyes and horse chestnuts Aesculus
- Palmately compound leaves, with leaflets spread like fingers, and shiny brown nuts in a husk.
Broad leaves, alternate, simple
One leaf at each point on the twig, staggered, with a single blade.
- Oaks Quercus
- Acorns. Red oaks have pointed, bristle-tipped lobes; white oaks have rounded lobes.
- Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua
- Star-shaped leaves with five to seven pointed lobes and spiky ball-shaped fruit.
- Tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera
- Four-lobed leaves with a flat or notched tip, like a cut-off maple leaf.
- American sycamore Platanus occidentalis
- Large maple-like leaves, but alternate, and patchy bark that peels to white higher up.
- Elms Ulmus
- Toothed leaves, often doubly toothed, with a lopsided base where the blade meets the stalk.
- American beech Fagus grandifolia
- Smooth gray bark, even on old trees, and toothed leaves with straight, parallel side veins.
Broad leaves, alternate, compound
Staggered leaves, each made of several leaflets on one stalk.
- Hickories Carya
- Five or more leaflets, the end ones usually largest, and nuts in a husk that splits into four parts. Shagbark hickory has long strips of bark peeling away.
- Black walnut Juglans nigra
- Many toothed leaflets, often 15 or more, and round nuts in a thick green husk.
- Tree of heaven Ailanthus altissima
- Long leaves of smooth-edged leaflets with one or two small teeth near the base, and clusters of papery winged seeds.
- Honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthos
- Fine, feathery leaves of many small leaflets. Wild trees often carry large branched thorns.
Fans and fronds
Leaves that fit none of the groups above.
- Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba
- Fan-shaped leaves with veins that spread out from the stalk and no midrib.
- Palms Arecaceae
- Large fan-shaped or feather-shaped fronds from the top of an unbranched trunk.
Tree Bark Identification
Bark is the one feature a tree shows all year. It changes with age, so judge it on a mature trunk and pair it with a leaf or twig.
- Smooth and gray
- American beech
- Stays smooth even on very old trunks.
- Papery, peeling sideways
- Paper and river birch
- Paper birch peels white; river birch curls in salmon and brown sheets.
- Patchy camouflage
- American sycamore
- Flakes off in patches of tan, olive and cream, with white upper limbs.
- Long shaggy strips
- Shagbark hickory
- Strips curl away from the trunk at both ends.
- Diamond-shaped ridges
- White ash
- Interlacing ridges form a regular diamond pattern on mature trunks.
- Dark scaly plates
- Black cherry
- Young bark has horizontal lines; older bark breaks into curled, dark plates.
- Thin, shredding, reddish
- Eastern red cedar
- Fibrous bark that peels in long, narrow strips.
Trees People Often Mix Up
If your result names one of these, check the feature that separates it from its twin.
Black walnut vs tree of heaven
Walnut leaflets are toothed all along the edge and the tree bears round green-husked nuts. Tree of heaven leaflets are smooth-edged apart from a tooth or two near the base, crushed leaves smell strongly unpleasant, and it bears papery winged seeds.
Maple vs sycamore
Both have lobed leaves with fanning veins. Maple leaves are opposite; sycamore leaves are alternate, and sycamore bark flakes into a patchwork.
Ash vs hickory
Both have compound leaves. Ash leaves are opposite and the seeds are single wings; hickory leaves are alternate and the tree bears nuts.
Spruce vs fir
Spruce needles are square and roll between your fingers, and the cones hang down. Fir needles are flat, and the cones stand upright.
Where to double-check an ID
- Arbor Day Foundation: What Tree Is That?(opens in a new tab) A step-by-step leaf key for trees of North America.
- USDA PLANTS Database(opens in a new tab) Official profiles, photos and state-by-state distribution maps for U.S. plants.
- Find your county extension office(opens in a new tab) Land-grant university experts who can confirm an ID from a sample, often for free.
The tree identifier never says whether leaves, nuts, berries or sap are safe to eat or touch, or safe for pets. For those questions, go to the experts:
- Poison Help (U.S.)(opens in a new tab) If someone may have eaten or touched something harmful, call 1-800-222-1222.
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plants(opens in a new tab) The reference list for plants and cats, dogs and horses.
Tree Identifier FAQ
What part of the tree should I photograph?
Start with one whole leaf or needle cluster, then a twig that shows how the leaves attach, then the bark at chest height. If the tree has fruit, seeds, cones or flowers, photograph those too. You can run several photos one after another and compare the results.
Can I identify a tree in winter?
Yes, but it is harder for trees that drop their leaves. Photograph the bark, a twig with its buds, and any dead leaves or fruit on the ground under the tree. Evergreens can be identified from their needles or scales and cones all year.
Does it tell me if my tree is sick or safe?
No. The tree identifier names the tree and shows how to recognize it. It does not judge tree health, structural safety, or whether any part of the tree is safe to eat or touch. For a tree that may be diseased, damaged or leaning, ask a certified arborist.
How accurate is it?
Every result includes a confidence score, the clues it used, and the lookalike trees it ruled out. Low-confidence results ask for a specific follow-up photo. For an important decision, confirm the match with a regional key such as the Arbor Day Foundation guide or your county extension office.
Is my photo stored or shared?
After you review the local preview and choose Analyze Photo, a metadata-free copy is sent to our servers and an AI model provider to produce your result. We do not build a gallery, sell the image, or use it for advertising. See the privacy policy for details.