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Home , Ailanthus altissima, Crataegus, Leaf, List of elm trees, Magnolia, Malus

Callery Japanese Schubert Eastern Redbud Little- Linden American Linden Pin Northern Oak Teardrop Spade virginiana canadensis neven cordata Oak Quercus rubra

Bark has and are ; is has emerge directly Leaves Leaves Most common tough and waxy tightly vase-shaped lenticels from 2” - 4” long 5” - 6” long oak in NYC

Mulberry Katsura Tree Linden Linden Japanese Treelilac Swamp White Oak White Oak English Oak japonicum reticulata Quercus alba

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All three Linden species Leaf shape Leaves in this guide have similar varies: may be 2” - 5” long; clusters of fragrant flowers mitten-shaped white and (which turn into ) Undersides of or have 3-5 lobes hairy underneath attached to a leaf-like blade leaves are fuzzy Elongated acorns

Black Silver Cornelian Pagoda American Eastern Empress American Chinese Elm Common Hackberry Scarlet Bur Shumard Black Southern Birch Cherry Dogwood Catalpa Redbud Cottonwood Tree Birch occidentalis Oak Oak Oak Oak Red Oak Betula Betula Cornus Catalpa Fagus Cercis Betula Quercus Quercus Quercus Quercus pendula mas alterniflora cultivar grandifolia reniformis deltoides tomentosa papyrifera coccinea macrocarpa shumardii velutina falcata

Long - Sandpapery Only like Bark peels off Weeping form; Dogwood with pods; big leaf; tricolor calico Sandpapery leaf; patchwork bark warty silver bark Bark is in papery sheets bark has lenticels O alternate leaves leaves O Smooth silver bark Gigantic leaves Bark has lenticels when scratched

Osage Quaking Big-Tooth Cucumber Siberian Chinese Orange Aspen Common Types of Tree Fruits and Seeds Elm Treelilac Image Sources: Kumar, Neeraj, Lawrence Barringer, Peter N. Belhumeur, Arijit Biswas, David W. Jacobs, W. John Kress, Ida Maclura Populus Populus Magnolia Ulmus Syringa C. Lopez, and João VB Soares. “Leafsnap: A Computer Vision pomifera tremuloides grandidentata acuminata pumila pekinensis System for Automatic Species Identification.” In Computer Learning basic Vision–ECCV 2012, 502–16. categories of fruits Springer, 2012. “ at Tech,” June 2014. v and seeds can Supplementary images sourced from Wikipedia Commons. help you make For more information, please visit nyc.gov/parks. better and faster This publication is copyrighted under Creative Commons Protocol identifications, but Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International. The terms remember that Seed Pod Acorn Cone Samara of the copyright are viewable at: https://creativecommons.org/ for the most part Honeylocust, Feather, , Dogwoods, licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0. they’re only on Eastern Broom, Ashes, , Large fuzzy the tree for part Redbud and Scale Prunus silver of the year. categories species TreeKIT

White Atlas Himalayan Horse Red Horse Honeylocust Ash Cedar Cedar Chestnut Buckeye Care for a tree in need near you with the Broom Compound hippocastanum Compound Gleditsia tricanthos pennsylvanica Cedrus Aesculus Aesculus Street Tree Map! Visit nyc.gov/parks/treemap to register. atlantica deodara Hand x carnea glabra Line var. inermis

Urban stressors such as dog waste, litter, O O drought, compaction, and aggressive threaten the health of street — especially during the first five years after they are planted. However, studies show that Leaves are often stewarding or caring for trees can make them doubly compound; three times more likely to survive (Boyce. tree may have long, 2010., Lu 2010). Learn a combination of Five needles Needles emerge Needles emerge green or brown, stewardship activities to help NYC’s urban from spur-like twigs from spur-like twigs twisting bean pods per bundle O O grow healthy and strong.

Water Black Red Virginia Scots Pitch American Paperbark Coffeetree Golden Raintree Watering is the most important thing you can Pine Pine Pine Pine Pine Boxelder Adding a layer of mulch suppresses japonicum Gymnocladus dioicus paniculata do for your young street tree. your tree Pinus Pinus Pinus Pinus Pinus Larix Acer Acer 15 to 20 gallons (three to four large buckets) growth and helps insulate . nigra resinosa virginiana sylvestris rigida larcina griseum negundo once a week between May and October. • Spread mulch to cover the whole tree . The layer should be no more than 2 inches Waste high, and should not be touching the of Keeping a tree bed free of litter not only helps the tree. You should be able to put your fist beautify your street, it reduces the amount of between the mulch and the trunk. stress placed on the plant. • Adding a layer of compost also improves the • Keep dog waste (both liquid and solid) away soil and gives the tree important nutrients for - from the tree. Encourage dog owners to growth. Check out the NYC Compost Project Two needles per colored bark Very sparsely clean up any droppings within the tree bed. offered by the NYC Department of Sanitation. Two needles Two needles Two needles bundle and upper Three needles that Twigs branched with Irregular per bundle per bundle per bundle trunk is orange per bundle peels are green giant leaves growth • Keep garbage and de-icing salt out of the O O tree pit. Consider installing a tree guard or Flowers signage for your tree to discourage people When planted with a tree’s health in mind, from using it as a garbage . perennials, annuals and are great Dawn Redwood Bald Cypress Eastern Atlantic False Tree of Heaven Black White additions to a tree bed. Redcedar Arborvitae White Cedar Cypress Locust Ash Feather Scales Weeds • We encourage residents to plant appropriate glyptostroboides distichum Juniperus Chamaecyparis Maackia amurensis altissima Robinia Fraxinus virginiana occidentalis thyoides pisifera pseudoacacia americana Weeds ultimately kill some and flowers and other vegetation in street stress others if they grow too large. Weeds tree beds. Not only do plantings beautify should be removed from street tree beds as the neighborhood, they prevent soil O frequently as possible. compaction and help indicate when new • Wear gloves. When removing weeds, take trees need watering. out the entire system. Leaving behind • Native perennials also help support some of the plant will allow the weed to grow local such as honeybees back. Use trowels or weeders to dig out and monarch . stubborn roots. Foliage Weedy tree; leaf smells awful • Put the plant and its roots into a garbage bag, Want to request a new tree? Tree has a strong Tree has a strong has classic Visit nyc.gov/parks/trees or call 311. pyramidal shape pyramidal shape cedar scent when bruised O or compost it.

Soil Cultivation Want to learn more? Blue Norway Eastern Pond Watch out for Kentucky Black Amur Pignut Loosening the soil can help the tree absorb Volunteer to care for trees with the Spruce Hemlock Douglas- Cypress Yellowwood Tree Mimosa more water and . NYC Parks Stewardship Program. Visit nyc.gov/parks/stewardship. Picea Picea Taxodium Carya • To aerate the soil of your tree bed, take your pungens abies canadensis menziesii ascendens kentukea nigra amurense julibrissin glabra hand cultivator and rough up the dirt 1 inch to 3 inches down. This will break up the compacted soil, and allow more water and oxygen to get down to the roots.

Boyce, Steven. 2010. “It Takes a Stewardship Village: SPOTTED EMERALD Effect of Volunteer Tree Stewardship on Urban Tree LANTERNFLY ASH BORER Mortality Rates.” and the Environment. Vol 3. 1. 3. Email [email protected] Call 1-866-322-4512 Lu, Jacqueline W.T., Svendsen, Erika S, Campbell, Two white lines to report a sighting. Lindsay K., Greenfeld, Jennifer., Braden, Jesse., King, on the undersides Tree has a strong to report a sighting. Kristen L., Falxa-Raymond, Nancy. 2010. “Biological, of needles pyramidal shape Smooth silver bark O Social, and Urban Design Factors Affecting Young Street Tree Mortality in .” Cities and the Environment. Vol 3. 1. 5. NYC’s Top 24 Tree Species How to Use This Guide Cherry Purple Leaf Chokecherry Lenticels European Football Prunus cultivar Common Name Norway Maple Planetree Norway Maple Callery Pear x acerifolia Pyrus calleryana Species Name Acer platanoides Frequency Bark is O grey, smooth, Leaf Arrangement and has lenticels; O Bark has Bark has Bark has Narrow pores on the bark young trees Leaf Image lenticels pronounced lenticels lenticels of tree bark and branches are columnar

White and tan Very geometric bark peels off and leaves have Leaves are Crabapple looks like camouflage milky in tough and waxy Serviceberry Flowering Dogwood Magnolia Sawtooth Oak Oak cultivar cultivar Cornus Magnolia cultivar Honeylocust Pin Oak Little-Leaf Linden Very geometric ID Tips leaves have milky Gleditsia tricanthos Quercus palustris sap in petiole var. inermis O Top 24

Common Name Leaf Arrangement You may know some species by a This icon appears whenever leaves join Leaves are often Buds are fuzzy slighly different name. There’s great directly across from each other on a twig doubly compound variation in common names. Please in an Opposite branching pattern. While and tree may have Leaves use the common names we’ve provided. leaf shape varies within a species, the long, green or brown, Most common Leaf Arrangement is always the same. twisting bean pods oak species in NYC 2” - 4” long Shingle Hardy Japanese Black Persian Crepe Chinese European Two-Winged Black Kousa Oak Rubber Tree Snowbell Gum Ironwood Myrtle Fringetree Beech Silverbell Cherry Holly Dogwood Quercus Nyssa Parrotia Lagerstroemia Fagus Prunus Ilex Cornus Species Name Leaf Image Japanese Zelkova Red Maple Green Ash imbricaria ulmoides japonicus sylvatica persica cultivar retusus sylvatica diptera serotina cultivar kousa This is the unique, unvarying name that Zelkova serrata The leaf photos are a jumping off point scientists use to refer to a species. for your identification. Use them to narrow down your guesses but don’t worry if the leaf in your hand doesn’t look exactly like the leaf on the page. O Frequency Leaves on the same tree can vary The green dots give an indication of based on their age and location on a how likely you are to see a tree of this , and trees of the same species Bark has Showy go species on the streets of New York City. may have very different leaves from one leaf scar lenticels; older Tough from another. With practice you’ll learn to Leaves have wihite has three dots, Bark is smooth barklooks like leathery leaves white to hone in on the details that matter. rubbery fluid inside perfectly spaced and whitish Smooth silver bark burnt cornflakes with spiny teeth green Frequent Bark has O O lenticels; tree is Common tightly vase-shaped Uncommon ID Tips Cockspur American American Japanese Southern European Chinese Hawthorn Hophornbeam Hornbeam Hornbeam Smoketree Magnolia Chestnut Rare Use these notes to help you distinguish Silver Maple Cherry American between trees with similar leaves. Carpinus Carpinus Magnolia Alnus Castanea Hornbeam For some species the fruits, seeds, bark, crusgalli var. virginiana caroliniana japonica coggygria grandiflora glutinosa mollissima Prunus cultivar Carpinus and branching shape may also inermis caroliniana be helpful.

O Trees that are especially rare are given smaller Top 24 squares on the page. All The 24 most common street trees of the same information of New York City have a star by their is given. High five your name, and they’re* repeated on the Stiff leaves Persistent team whenever you find Trunk looks front and back covers of this guide Trunk with fuzzy fruits look like one of these! muscular. for easy reference. Whorled leaf Undersides of looks muscular brown undersides cones arrangement; leaves are pale Bark has knobby twigs to silvery white lenticels

Northern Red Oak Sophora Sweetgum Maple Quercus rubra styraciflua London Planetree Norway Maple Maple Red Maple Using Leaves to Identify Trees Hand Platanus x acerifolia Acer platanoides Acer platanoides ‘Crimson King’ Acer rubrum

O O O O Blade Veins The main body of the leaf When the leaf blade makes a contour towards the midrib Acorns Lobe tops perch Where the leaf blade curves in towards the Midrib on the acorn Twigs Spherical fruit White and tan Very geometric Very geometric bodylike a cap are green with sharp point midrib The primary vein leading bark peels off and leaves have leaves have through the center of the looks like camouflage milky sap in petiole milky sap in petiole leaf blade to the twig American Linden Crimson King Maple American Elm Tilia americana Ulmus americana Petiole Acer platanoides ‘Crimson King’ Sycamore Maple Poplar Sweetgum Maple Amur Maple Hawthorn The stem-like part of the tulipifera Crataegus cultivar leaf that joins to the twig

O O O O Leaf Shapes Alternate v Opposite This guide organizes the most common This is one of the best things you can leaf shapes into 11 broad categories, learn in to quickly narrow down Very geometric indicated in green squares. potential ID . Leaves may Leaves leaves have be different shapes on different parts Spade Some leaves may blur 5” - 6” long milky sap in petiole Bud has two parts the boundaries between of a tree or on two trees of the same like a duck bill; Spherical fruit Has milky categories, so if you’re species, but Leaf Arrangement never Batman leaves with sharp points sap in the petiole not confident in your ID, changes. These are the two main Silver Linden Purple Leaf Plum Schubert Cherry check to see if it’s listed arrangements you will see: in a different category. Tilia tomentosa Prunus cerasifera Prunus virginiana Silver Maple Japanese Maple Ginkgo Watch out for A O Acer saccharinum Ginkgo biloba * Alternate Opposite Leaves alternate Leaves join the Simple versus Compound between joining on twig immediately the left and right across from one O O Pay attention to where the bud is located on your tree. This will tell you if sides of the twig. another. you’re looking at a tree with simple or Leaves compound leaves. 2” - 5” ASIAN LONGHORNED long; white and Bark has Bark has Simple hairy underneath pronounced lenticels lenticels Very fringy leaves The petiole joins to Leaf Margin Undersides of can be many Whorled leaf the twig. Most NYC Leaf Margin is the term for the leaves are pale colors; tree rarely Call 1-877-STOP-ALB arrangement; street trees have to report a sighting characteristics of a leaf at the edges. to silvery white more than 25’ tall twigs are knobby simple leaves. Once you’ve determined the overall Japanese Treelilac Chinese Elm Swamp White Oak shape of a leaf, look at the margin Ulmus parvifolia Quercus bicolor for additional clues. Shantung Black Tartar Trident Turkish Compound Maple Maple Maple Maple Hazelnut Line Acer Acer Acer Acer Corylus Sassafras Leaflets join along a truncatum nigrum tataricum buergerianum colurna albidum central stalk, which attaches to the twig.

Smooth (Entire) Wavy Compound Hand Sandpapery Leaflets all join at leaf; tricolor calico Undersides of the same point on a patchwork bark leaves are fuzzy central stalk. Trees have three different Toothed Doubly Toothed Leaves are hairy shapes of leaf O O O O (Dentate or Serrate)