- 1). Take a picture, or sketch the tree you are trying to identify. If there are fallen leaves on the ground around the tree that match those on the branches, take one and press it between the pages of your guidebook or notebook for further comparison or reference when you get home. Sometimes trees cannot be identified instantly in the field, so you must write down every observable characteristic in your field notebook in order to effectively consult with professional naturalists, arborists and foresters --- as well as several tree guidebooks --- when you get home. Also, if you can, take note of where the tree is located so you can bring a professional back to the location if necessary.
- 2). Look for distinctions of poplar leaves. Poplars (genus Populus) are in the willow family and include 35 known species of trees worldwide, eight of which are native to North America, according to tree expert David Allen Sibley. Identifying a poplar tree depends on which of the five groups it is in. During the late spring, summer and early fall, the leaves are one of the easiest elements to identify. White poplars have leaves with short stalks, usually three to five lobes, are wavy or coarsely toothed and have a dark green color on top and a woolly white color underneath. They are approximately 3 inches in length. In the fall they are a drab yellow-brown color. The leaves of all other poplars are not lobed but either heart-shaped or ovate, and most are toothed on the edges.
- 3). Observe the overall shape of the tree. The poplar family has a single main trunk with relatively stout branches, though some, such as the white poplar, spread wider than the aspens. The trunks are all lean, and easily bend in the wind, similar to birches. The trunks of white poplars are greenish-white when young, with diamond-shaped marks, and become white and black with a furrowed lower trunk when older. Quaking aspen bark can be white to greenish-gray, or bronze when young, turning a smooth, pale white with dark scars, while the base of the trunk becomes coarse and rigid on older trunks. The bigtooth aspen has a light-colored bark similar to other aspens until it matures and becomes dark gray and deeply furrowed like a cottonwood, which has a very furrowed trunk that's similar in appearance to the trunk of an oak tree.
- 4). Look for characteristics of maple trees. Maples are in the soapberry family (genus Acer), and 13 of the 125 species are native to North America. Maples are a distinct type of tree and are more easily identified than poplars. Their leaves have long stalks, sometimes the same length as the leaf itself, and have palmate compound leaves with three or five lobes around the stalks. The fruit of maple trees are a distinct, papery wing shape that twirl in the wind --- some people call them whirlybirds. Maples are known for their bright, showy display of leaves in the autumn, and, depending on the species, the leaves may turn bright lemon yellow, orange-yellow, orange, flame-red or deep burgundy. The brownish-gray bark may be smooth on young trees, but mature maples are highly textured, from the shaggy furrowed strips on a silver maple to the furrowed and large-plated bark of the sugar maple. Most maples are evenly proportioned in shape, with an egg shape overall composed of dense but slender twigs and branches.
- 5). Observe the characteristics of birch trees. Paper birches, also known as white birches, are distinguished by their papery white, cream, almond or peach-colored bark, which curls off in thin sheets. The light color of these trees will make them stand out among the darker brown-barked trees in the area, marking them straight away, though they do not become this white until mature. As saplings, they are a rich coppery-brown color with smooth bark that does not yet peel. All birches have oval, toothed leaves and slender twigs. The branches begin lower down on the trunk than most poplars. The mature bark of some birches, such as yellow birch, sweet birch and river birch, often develops broad gray-brown plates that peel from the edges.
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