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Explore identification tips and let the trees be your guide as you build your skills.
Becoming a tree‑identification expert starts with one simple step: getting outside and looking closely at the trees around you. With practice, you'll learn to spot the clues—like leaves, bark, buds, and shape—that help you tell one species from another.
Learn Tree Identification
Identifying trees is a lot like identifying people. It is easy to recognize a good friend even if you only catch a glimpse. When you meet new people, it takes practice to remember their names and what they look like without effort. It's the same with trees.
Once you learn what features make them each unique, they will become familiar—like a good friend. Here some of those features, characteristics, and traits we look for to help identify a tree:
- Leaves
- Bark
- Fruit (and sometimes flowers or catkins)
- Twigs and buds
- Shape or form of the tree
Tree Identification for Portlanders Webinar
This webinar introduces viewers to the skills needed to identify trees and highlights over 15 of the most common trees in Portland. It's a great starting point to explore and recognize city trees.
Tree Identification Worksheet
Use this worksheet while you watch the Tree Identification for Portlanders webinar to follow along with new vocabulary and helpful visuals. When you're done, take the worksheet outside and use the last page to explore Portland's urban forest. Try spotting new trees in your neighborhood and use the Tree Inventory Map on your smartphone to check your identifications.
Tree Identification Resources
Genus Cheat Sheets:
Characteristic Cheat Sheets:
Tips for growing, measuring, and caring for trees: