How to identify trees
All trees have clues and features that can help with identification. You just need to know what to look out for with our quick guide.
Our top tipsA-Z of British trees
Explore our A-Z list of British trees from native species to naturalised and widely planted non-natives.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Alder
Swamp-dweller, water-lover. The wood of this tough tree doesn’t rot when waterlogged, instead turning stronger and harder.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Alder buckthorn
A reputation for causing a bang. Alder buckthorn is used to make gunpowder, pigments and dyes. It’s a beloved plant of the brimstone butterfly.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Apple
Tart, tangy and crisp. The fruit of the apple tree is a firm favourite in the UK. And although they’re not native, we’ve been breeding them for centuries as eaters, cookers and to make cider.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Ash
One of our most beloved trees. Ash is one of the most common trees in the UK, but as ash dieback sweeps through, is it set to be erased from our countryside?
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Trees woods and wildlife
Aspen
Trembling, fluttering and shimmering in the slightest breeze. The rippling leaves of this beautiful tree give it its name: quaking aspen.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Beech, common
Monumental, majestic, home to rare wildlife. Beech is an enchanting species and known as the queen of British trees. To wander beneath the leafy canopy, its cathedral-like branches spreading upwards, is an awe-inspiring experience.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Beech, copper
Deep purple, distinctive, dramatic. Loved by some but loathed by others. You’ll often find this striking tree planted in landscape-scale gardens as a specimen tree.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Birch, downy
Soft on the outside. Tough on the inside. On a global scale, this tree, with its fuzzy leaf stalks, shoots and twigs, grows further north than any other broadleaf species.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Birch, silver
Pretty, pale, a symbol of purity. This common tree, with its silver-white bark, is favoured by gardeners who want to renew and purify their land for coming year.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Blackthorn
Early to blossom, blackthorn trees have clouds of snow-white flowers in early spring. They’re best known for their rich, inky, dark fruits used to make a favourite wintry tipple – sloe gin.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Box, common
A native evergreen that’s at home in your garden. Box is so special it’s got a hill named after it. Box Hill in Surrey takes its name from the ancient box woodland on its steep chalk slopes.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Buckthorn, purging
Prickly and with the ability to purge. This plant’s common name harks back its use as a laxative. It’s a fierce, invasive species in North America.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Cedar
Stately, aromatic, gigantic. Find out more about one of the most majestic of all planted trees.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Cherry, bird
A stunning, scented show-stopper of a tree. In spring, nectar-loving animals flock to this beautiful tree for its almond-scented blossom.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Cherry, sour
Acidic fruits that are adored by birds. This tree gives astonishing displays of blossom in spring along hedgerows and woods.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Cherry, wild
Beautiful blossom and a bounty of bright red fruits. Wild cherry , one of the prettiest native trees, is relished by gardeners and wildlife.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Chestnut, sweet
Introduced by the Romans and a roasted winter treat. These long-lived giants, with their prickly-husks and deeply grooved bark, give us our classic Christmas nut.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Crab apple
A symbol of fertility and a forager's delight. Crab apple trees are associated with love and marriage and its small, hard fruits make an exquisite, jewel-coloured jelly.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Cypress, Lawson
Tall ornamental with feathery foliage. One of the UK’s most popular garden conifers, Lawson cypress has rot-resistant wood which is popular in Japan for coffins and shrines.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Cypress, Leyland
At the centre of many neighbour wars, Leyland cypress can reach great heights very quickly. It’s one of the fastest growing conifers and often towers over houses and gardens.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Dogwood
Understated until the colder months when it bursts into colour, dogwood is a broadleaf shrub which thrives in damp woodland edges. The timber is so hard, it was used for crucifixes.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Elder
Feared by the devil. Favoured by foragers. Find out all you need to know about why elder is the very essence of summer.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Elm, English
Once growing to lofty heights, the elegant English elm used to dominate the landscape. Now this ancient symbol of melancholy and death is a rare sight, having been decimated by Dutch elm disease.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Elm, field
A phoenix from the ashes, the field elm has been able to recover from the decimation of Dutch elm disease thanks to its ability to grow easily. However, it’s still under threat, along with the wildlife that relies on it.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Elm, Huntingdon
A hardy cultivar, the Huntingdon elm is a hybrid with some resistance to the devastating Dutch elm disease.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Elm, wych
Decimated by Dutch elm disease, the sweeping and majestic wych elm is a much rarer sight these days. Its loss goes hand-in-hand with the decline of the elusive white-letter hairstreak butterfly, whose caterpillars rely on elm leaves.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Eucalyptus
Pleasant smelling, antiseptic, highly flammable. Eucalyptus might be the favourite of koalas in its native Australia, but in the UK it is insects which are drawn to its rich oil.
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Trees woods and wildlife
European larch
A spring-time show-off, European larch is a conifer full of surprises. Introduced over 400 years ago, it’s a favourite with squirrels, birds and moths alike.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Fir, Douglas
A fragrant home for wildlife, the Douglas fir isn’t just for Christmas. First introduced in the 1800s, it’s been a valuable timber source and provided homes for the likes of red squirrels and pine martens.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Guelder rose
Flamboyant, romantic, wildlife beacon. The guelder rose brightens woods with spring blossom, autumn colour and vibrant berries.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Hawthorn
Named after the month in which it blooms and a sign that spring is turning to summer. The pale green leaves of this hedgerow staple are often the first to appear in spring, with an explosion of pretty pale-pink blossom in May. It simply teems with wildlife from bugs to birds.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Hawthorn, Midland
Dense and pungent, but with fruits that are enjoyed by birds and humans alike, the Midland hawthorn is a supremely useful tree whose natural range is not fully understood.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Hazel
Catkins resembling lambs tails, and late-summer nuts. Hazel is one of the most useful trees for its bendy stems and as a conservation saviour. And its nuts are loved by people, squirrels and hazel dormice.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Hemlock, western
Dense and graceful, the western hemlock is a handsome tree with drooping branches of soft needles. Introduced in the 1800s, the tree casts such heavy shade that not much can live beneath it.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Holly
Festive, neat and prickly. Holly is a well-loved shrub that shelters birds and gives hedgehogs a cosy place to hibernate.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Hornbeam
Gnarled and mighty, the hornbeam is as tough as they come. It’s beautiful, useful, and its year-round leaf cover makes it a winter haven for wildlife.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Horse chestnut
Spiky cases, gleaming seeds, celebrated by children. Horse chestnuts, with their mahogany-bright conkers, are the very essence of autumn.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Juniper
A cosy home for wildlife and a gin-drinker’s delight, the juniper is a much-loved evergreen that brightens up the winter months.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Lime, common
At home on a country estate or deep in the wild, this lime is common in name only. It’s a hybrid between the small-leaved and large-leaved lime, and is a particular favourite of aphids and their many predators.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Lime, large-leaved
Towering, romantic, sticky. Large-leaved lime is a handsome broadleaf tree that is a rich home for wildlife. Find out more.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Lime, small-leaved
Charming, sturdy, pollinator-magnet. Not only does the small-leaved lime’s blossom produce a sweet scent and pleasantly minty honey, its leaves support the caterpillars of moths such as the lime hawk, peppered and vapourer.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Maple, field
Pollution fighter, autumn stunner, syrup maker. The field maple is a sturdy broadleaf, which supports caterpillars, aphids, and all their predators, all while resisting air pollution.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Maple, Norway
Introduced in the 17th century, the handsome Norway maple is known for its hardy timber. Its leaves are a favourite with caterpillars and its seeds are eaten by birds and small mammals.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Monkey puzzle
Distinctive and spiky, the monkey puzzle has been making strong impressions since dinosaurs roamed the earth. These days, jays and squirrels feast on its nuts.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Oak, English
The ruling majesty of the woods, the wise old English oak holds a special place in our culture, history, and hearts. It supports more life than any other native tree species in the UK; even its fallen leaves support biodiversity.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Oak, holm
With its evergreen leaves, the holm oak is a bold splash of colour in the winter months. It was first introduced in the 1500s and, though it’s not as adapted as our native oaks, it supports plenty of our wildlife.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Oak, red
Fiery, fast and spiked, the red oak is a fast-growing tree native to North America. It is often planted as an ornamental tree for its flaming autumn colour. Although it isn’t as valuable to wildlife as our native oaks, it’s popular with nesting birds and pollinators.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Oak, sessile
Less famous than English oak, but no less loved, the sessile oak towers in the woods. Squirrels, jays and badgers love their acorns and caterpillars flock to eat their leaves, in fact 326 species of wildlife are found only on oak.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Oak, Turkey
A pretender to the throne, the Turkey oak was introduced to the UK in the 1700s and is now impacting our native oak populations. It’s less valuable to wildlife, but much faster growing and a host of the knopper oak gall wasp.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Pear
First introduced around AD 995, the diverse and delicious pear is a favourite with wildlife and people alike.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Pear, Plymouth
Rare, charming, foul-smelling. Plymouth pear was named after where it was found in the 1800s. Its fruit feeds wildlife, and its blossom, though beautiful, has quite a smell.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Pine, black
Looming, handsome, graveyard-dweller. The black pine is common in shelterbelts, gardens and timber yards alike. Despite being huge, this non-native conifer isn’t a favourite with wildlife, though birds do enjoy its seeds.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Pine, Scots
Towering in the glen, the Scots pine is a truly stunning tree. It is one of only three native conifers, and our only native pine. It’s the perfect home for iconic Scottish wildlife, such as the red squirrel, capercaillie, Scottish crossbill and the Scottish wildcat.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Plane, London
A real city slicker, the London plane is the capital’s most common tree. As a hybrid of American sycamore and Oriental plane, it was first discovered in the 17th century then widely planted in the 18th.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Plum
A butterfly’s paradise with lovely blossom and even lovelier fruit. The plum is a petite tree which is perfect for pollinators and a perfect addition to any orchard.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Plum, cherry
Street tree, early spring flowerer and ancestor of the domestic plum. Cherry plum is one of the first trees to blossom in the UK.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Poplar, black
Imposing, elegant, rare. The black poplar was once a staple of Britain’s landscape but these days, the trees are few and far between.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Poplar, white
Hardy, pale, magical. White poplar might not be native, but it is naturalised in the UK. It supports early pollinators and is an excellent coastal windbreaker, tolerating salty winds and exposure.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Rowan
Bane of witches, diviner of the future and producer of jam, rowan is an elegant tree with a mystical history. Its leaves and berries are a favourite for wildlife in woods and towns alike.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Spindle
Industrious, delicate, colourful. The spindle is at its loveliest in autumn when its leaves turn russet and its pink and orange fruits ripen. Wildlife loves its leaves and fruit, and aphids flock to it, bringing with them an array of their predators.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Spruce, Norway
Festive, useful, squirrel food. Made popular by Prince Albert, Norway spruce is a familiar non-native, with friendly winter colour and a value to native wildlife.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Spruce, Sitka
Imposing, aged, useful. The Sitka spruce accounts for around half of commercial plantations, and though it’s not as valuable as our native trees, it shelters birds and small mammals.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Sycamore
Familiar, romantic, sticky. Sycamore might have been introduced by the Romans or in the 1500s. Since then, it’s colonised woodland, becoming a source of food and shelter for wildlife including aphids that leave behind their tacky honeydew.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Walnut
Food of the gods, medicine for the people. Walnut was first introduced by the Romans who, like much of our native wildlife, valued its nuts.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Walnut, black
A handsome healer, the black walnut is both ornamental and medicinally valuable. It’s a favourite with squirrels, and its timber is extra pricey.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Wayfaring tree
A welcome sign you’re homeward bound, the wayfaring tree is so named because it grows close to paths. Look for them in hedges and woodland edges, with full bloom in the spring and heavy with berries in the autumn.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Western red cedar
A tree of strength and industry, western red cedar is grown in the UK for hedging and timber. Though less useful than our native trees, it provides food and shelter for wildlife.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Whitebeam
Charming and domestic, the whitebeam’s fruit is a favourite of garden birds. It’s rarely found in the wild but is a popular ornamental tree in parks and gardens, with lovely blossom and russet autumn leaves.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Whitebeam, Arran
Rare, rugged, isolated. Arran whitebeam is one of the rarest and most endangered trees in the world. It is a hybrid of rowan and rock whitebeam which has stayed on the Isle of Arran since the last glaciers were formed.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Whitebeam, rock
Rugged yet charming, rock whitebeam clings to areas of rocky woodland and fissures in limestone cliffs. A parent species of the rarer Arran whitebeam, the rock whitebeam is becoming increasingly hard to find.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Wild service tree
A true springtime stunner, it’s not so long ago that you could find wild-service fruit at a market. These days it’s rare and hard to find but it’s still a favourite with wildlife like the wood pigeon, whose gut softens its seeds for propagation.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Willow, bay
Small but pretty, the bay willow is named after its smell and misleading appearance. It’s a lover of damp conditions, and feeder of pollinators and caterpillars.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Willow, crack
Scruffy and loud, the crack willow is named after its habit of splitting with cracks and fissures, and how noisy its branches are when they break. It’s one of the largest willows and its leaves are popular with moth caterpillars.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Willow, goat
Also known as the pussy willow, the male catkins of the goat willow look like a cat’s paws. It supports lots of wildlife, including the elusive and regal purple emperor butterfly.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Willow, grey
A soft, silvery lover of damp woodland, the grey willow is a bit scruffy but full of charm. Caterpillars flock to feed on its leaves and its fuzzy catkins are an early pollen source for pollinators.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Willow, osier
Strong, neat and bendy, osier willow is the best of the best for basket weaving. It’s not only a source of food and shelter for native wildlife, it can even decontaminate soils it is planted on!
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Trees woods and wildlife
Willow, white
Silvery leaved, waterside and fenland dweller. White willow feeds and shelters native wildlife and has been a source of natural remedies for centuries.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Yew
Ancient, morbid, toxic. The yew is one of the longest-lived native species in Europe. This has made it a symbol of death and doom, but it provides food and shelter for woodland animals.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Yew, Irish
A mutant favourite with wildlife, the Irish yew is thought to have developed from the common yew. All Irish yews descended from cuttings of one tree found in County Fermanagh in the 1700s. Nowadays, it provides food and shelter for native animals.
Why are trees so important?
Trees woods and wildlife
How trees fight climate change
Trees are one of the best natural climate change solutions. Find out how they lock up carbon and how many the UK needs to reach carbon net zero by 2050.
Trees woods and wildlife
Can woods and trees reduce flooding?
Trees and woods play a vital role in reducing flooding by slowing down the flow of rainwater, absorbing rainwater, and reducing erosion.
Trees woods and wildlife
Why are trees important for biodiversity?
Woodland is home to a wealth of wildlife. If we don't protect what we have left and plant trees for the future, we'll lose more than just trees.