Winter Tree ID

How do you identify a tree if it has no leaves? With a little experience you can learn to use the clues of twigs, branch structure and bark to figure out the trees of the forest, even if they are not wearing their characteristic foliage.

The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust offered a free Winter Tree Identification walk on Saturday, January 21 at Thorne Head in Bath. KELT staff member Chris Cabot shared the knowledge he gained through years of walking in the woods of New England and honing his skill at the heels of Tom Wessels as a Conservation Biology graduate student at Antioch University.

What they Found:

Coniferous species

White pine – 5 needles in a fascicle/bundle, grows distinct whorls

Other native pines in Maine that we didn’t see: red, pitch, and jack

Balsam fir – (friendly fir) flat needles not in fascicles but arranged in spirals along the branches

Eastern hemlock – short flat needles (similar to balsam fir but a little shorter). Small, inverted needles on the top of the branch that run parallel to the branch. Large stands of hemlock (and other conifers) create a preferred spot for deer to have their wintering area.

Red spruce – (spikey spruce) looks similar to balsam fir but feels spikier and is generally a lighter shade of green. The needles are rounded (which you can test by rolling the needle in your fingers).

Other native spruce in Maine that we didn’t see: white and black

Northern white cedar – Soft, scale like needles, characteristic bark that peels in vertical strips

Other native cedars in Maine that we didn’t see: Eastern red and Atlantic white

We didn’t see any tamarack (they grow usually in acidic wetlands), but we did talk about how they are the only deciduous conifer in Maine.

 

Deciduous species

Beech – The biggest buds in the forest (they look like mouse cigars!) Often have leaves that stay on the tree through the winter (which is called “incomplete abscission” or “persistent leaves”)

Red oak – alternate buds/branches, buds clustered at the end of the branch, furrowed bark that increases in texture as the trees age, their acorns can be a good source of food

White oak – similar to red oak (clustered buds), but the bark is a lighter color and flakes off when rubbed. Leaves have rounded lobes compared to the sharp points of a red oak leaf.

Other native oaks in Maine that we didn’t see: black, swamp white, bur, chestnut, and scarlet

Red maple – oppositely branched, rounded buds (sugar maple has sharp buds)

Striped maple – striped bark, long reddish buds, (we talked about its photosynthetic bark)

Other native maples in Maine that we didn’t see: sugar, silver, mountain, boxelder

We also talked about the non-native, invasive Norway maple

White (or paper) birch – large peels to the bark

Gray birch – similar to white with much less peeling and distinct upside down V markings at the branch locations (“Chevrons”)

Other native birches in Maine that we didn’t talk about: yellow, heartleaf

Shrubs

Huckleberry – the small shrub we saw near the top of the hill. Looks very similar to lowbush blueberry but a little bigger. Has very tasty dark berries. Prefers sunny, warm sites.

Witch hazel – an understory shrub with naked buds that look like deer hooves. Often has persistent leaves.

Winterberry holly – the wetland shrub with distinctive red berries. Very common in wetlands.

Speckled alder – wetland shrub with distinctive catkins; purple, stalked buds; prominent lenticels on the bark; common in wetlands

William D. Sewall generously donated the majority of the 91 acre preserve to KELT to guarantee access to the land for future generations, and to see the forest managed in an ecologically sensitive manner, and to protect wildlife habitat. The land is primarily mixed forest of red and white oak as well as white pine and some red spruce, threaded with old stone walls and includes over 2,300 feet of shore frontage on Whiskeag Creek in Bath.

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