Homegrown: Tree ID

Lisa Slattery, Linn County Extension Master Gardener, sent the following on tree identification:

I recently had a friend request that I stop by and walk their wooded property identify some tree species.  I suggested a trained arborist might be better suited than I to identify the true tree treasures on the property and to give guidance as to what “scrub” trees should be removed to benefit the existing treasures.  I realized that my depth of knowledge about native Iowa trees is lacking and I'll bet there are many of you who feel the same.

 I know I have two ash trees in my yard as well as several pines, some maples, and a magnificent magnolia, but since I didn't personally plant these (except for the magnolia) I'm not 100% sure of the species.  I decided to change that.  I've been doing some reading and research about trees common to Iowa and have discovered some great online tools provided by Iowa State University Extension – Extension Forestry located at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/forestry.  This site offers all kinds of information about trees, tree biology, tree planting care and maintenance plus lots of helpful links and resources for tree identification including links to several ISU publications. 

 There is a link to an interactive guide on this site which leads you through a series of questions to help identify trees.  The forestry site mentions that this guide is being reworked but I still found it to be very informative and helpful for my quest to identify my Ash tree. The interactive guide asks questions about the characteristics of the leaves and branches of a tree.  No doubt this is easier in the summer when there is full foliage to help with identification, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. 

 First is to identify whether it's a conifer (evergreen) or broadleaf (deciduous) tree.  For evergreens the next selection is based on whether the tree has scales, needles or awl-like leaves.  For the broadleaf trees the next selection is whether the leaves are compound (leafs with individual leaflets) or simple (leaves with one blade).  There are additional questions which in the end lead you to a suggested species.  There are great pictures of the foliage, bark and branches of trees along with information about growth habit, height and preferable location. There is also an index of Iowa trees listed along with information on how a tree actually grows and a history of trees in Iowa; wonderful information to share with curious children.  This is a terrific online resource for both identifying existing trees and using as a reference when selecting what type of tree to plant. As for identifying my particular species of Ash tree, I'll have to wait for the leaves to return to correctly identify it, but in the meantime there is terrific information to view that will make it easier to identify additional tree species once the buds begin to break open.