Identifying Trees in Winter: A Beginner’s Guide to Spotting Trees Without Leaves
Yes, You Can Identify Trees in Winter!
I’ll be honest, when I first started learning to identify trees, winter felt like the hardest season to do it. Without leaves on the branches, trees can look like lifeless skeletons, and it’s easy to think that identifying them by species is impossible. But over time, as an outdoor educator, I’ve discovered that winter is actually one of the most rewarding times to develop tree ID skills. It really gets you looking closer at the details, and once you nail winter, identifying trees in summer becomes a breeze.
In this post, I’m going to share with you how I identify trees in winter, focusing on key seasonal features like bark, buds, leaf litter and tree form. I’ll also give you three practical examples to show how these techniques work in the field. And if you’re feeling inspired to learn more, I’ll invite you to join my free online course, Kickstart Your Tree ID Skills.
My Process for Identifying Trees in Winter
When I head outdoors in winter, I focus on four key features that trees display even when their leaves are long gone. Let me walk you through my approach:
1. Buds
Once I learned to recognise buds, a whole new world opened up. They’re like the fingerprints of trees—each species has a unique combination of shape, colour, and size. It’s important to not look at the bud in isolation though but to consider the twig and most importantly, the arrangement of the buds on that twig. More on that later. Here’s some examples of buds that stand out:
- Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) trees are easy to identify in winter with their striking large black buds, arranged in opposite pairs. The young twigs of ash are a grey/green colour. The terminal bud resembles a Phillips screwdriver head. Once you see it, you can’t un-see it.
- Beech (Fagus sylvatica) buds are long, slender (more so than any other common tree bud), and pointed—almost like little cigars waiting to unfurl. The twig of beech is typically slender, with a grey bark.
- Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) buds are huge! Noticeably larger than other common tree buds. They are arranged in opposite pairs and are sticky to the touch. Look below the buds on the twig and you’ll see what looks like a horseshoe. This is the leaf scar, left over when the leaf fell in autumn. It’s one way this tree got its name.
2. Bark
Bark can be one of the easiest and most reliable clues in winter. I love the variety you can find—some bark is smooth, some deeply furrowed, and some even peels away. Not all trees have bark that stands out from the crowd though, there’s a lot of grey/brown furrowed bark out there. But here’s some examples of a few which really ping out to the eye:
- Birch (Betula spp.) is one of my favourites to spot because of its bright, white, papery bark. There’s nothing else like it.
- Wild Cherry (Prunus avium), when it’s mature, has a rich brown bark with a high glossy shine to it. Across the trunk you’ll see distinctive horizontal lines called lenticels. The bark also has a peeling quality to it a bit like birch.
- Beech (Fagus sylvatica) trees live to a grand old age and what is distinctive about their bark is that it typically remains smooth and unifssured even in it’s veteran years when every other tree species around it has long since cracked up. This feature makes the beech an easy spot in winter.
3. Leaf Litter
Even if there are no leaves on the branches, the ground can tell you a lot. I always look for fallen leaves and other debris at the base of a tree. But heed this warning, leaf litter is most reliable when the tree is isolated. If the tree is surrounded by many others, say in a woodland setting, then how can you be sure that the leaves you’re looking at belong to the tree above? So, if I’m not looking at an isolated tree, I tend to use leaf litter to re-enforce the conclusion I’m coming to from already having looked at the buds, twigs and bark. Saying that. here’s some distinctive leaf shapes to look out for on the ground:
- Oak (Quercus spp.) leaves, with their lobed edges, are usually unmistakable. It’s a shape that appears in so much iconography that most of us know it inside out. The good news is that oak leaves have a high tannin content in them so they are well preserved through the winter for you to find.
- Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) needles can be found anytime of the year below the tree. They will have browned off form their deep green colour, but what you’re looking for are needles which are joined at their base in pairs. Remember “Is it’s a pair, it’s a pine.” Needle length around 5-7cm is typical. This is a great way to spot our only native pine species without having to climb those tricky limbs.
- Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis) is a native species that most people haven’t heard of. It’s fairly rare, preferring ancient woodland sites. But it’s leaf litter is highly distinctive as it doesn’t look like anything else out there. Imagine a maple leaf (think of the Canadian flag) with 5 pointed lobes, but then it’s been put on a rack and stretched out, elongated. In Autumn time they can be a bright firey red colour.
4. Tree Form
I always take a step back and look at the overall shape of the tree, its “posture,” if you will. In winter, there are some trees which have a very distinctive outline and it’s worth knowing these:
- Look at the outer branches of an ash (Fraxinus excelsior) tree and you’ll see they are smooth, upswept and with distinctive buds and twigs in opposite pairs. To me, the tips of the branches resemble a devil’s pitchfork. Look out for this.
- Silver Birch (Betula pendula) trees have a habit of being pendulous toward their branch tips. You’ll notice that the end of the branches droop down, sometimes dramatically so, toward the ground and ending in very fine twigs, looking almost like hair swaying in the breeze. This is also a good feature to know as it helps you distinguish this species from other birch trees.
- Hazel (Corylus avellana) is never a big tall tree. It’s a short shrubby tree that typically grows many stems from it’s base, shooting straight, long and upward to the sky. These multiple stems are often densely packed and made up of thicker and thinner shoots from several years of growth.
The Three Steps I Use to Identify Any Tree
Over the years, I’ve developed a simple three-step process that helps me identify trees, no matter the season:
STEP 1: Look at the Tree in Context
Take a moment to tune into your surroundings. I always consider where the tree is growing. Is it in a hedgerow, woodland, or near water? For example, alder and willow trees love wet habitats, while rowan is more common in upland areas. The more you practise your tree identification, the more this habit becomes useful as you ask “what do I expect to see in this environment?”
STEP 2: Begin With A Branch
Rather than getting overwhelmed, break the tree down into parts. I focus on one feature at a time starting with the a young healthy branch. Everything you need to know to identify the species is here in the buds, the twig and any withered fruits that be still hanging on. Once you’ve had a good look here, look closer at the other features such as bark, leaf litter or the overall form. Winter is perfect for this, as these features are more prominent without the distraction of leaves.
STEP 3: Ask A Question, Are The Buds Opposite or Alternate?
You might have noticed I’ve mentioned a few times whether the buds are arranged in opposite pairs or alternately along the twig. This is so important, because trees (for the most part) show one or the other. For instance, if a tree (in our British countryside) has opposite buds, it’s likely to be one of a select few; ash, elder, horse chestnut, sycamore, field maple, spindle, wayfaring tree or guelder-rose. I appreciate at this stage you might be thinking, “I can’t remember all those.” Well you don’t have to, that will come with practise,. Right now, it’s important to just look closer and start to recognise these patterns.
Example of Winter Tree ID in Action
Let’s put it into practise and I’ll share a real-life example where these techniques come into play.
Elder is a very common native tree found in all sorts of woodland and hedgerow. Here’s what i would look out for when identifying this tree in winter…
Bud & Twig – purple buds in opposite pairs on a thin grey twig.
Bark – mature bark is grey, knobbly and corky to the touch, try digging your thumbnail into it.
Leaf Litter – not usually found in late winter as it rots away, so not to be relied upon. If found, it is a composite leaf, made up of typically 5-7 smaller leaflets.
Tree Form – a small, shrubby tree, typically not taller than 6m. Often with multiple stems growing from the base or someway up.
Want to see these identifying features out in the field? You can watch my short video where I investigate the Elder in winter. It’s a snippet from my online tree ID course.
Take Your Tree ID Skills to the Next Level
If you’re excited to learn more about identifying trees, why not join me for my FREE online course, Kickstart Your Tree ID Skills? In this course, I walk you through everything you need to know to identify native UK and Ireland trees, with videos, quizzes, cheat sheets, photos and practical tips to help you grow your confidence.
👉 Sign up here for free and take the first step on your tree ID journey!
Conclusion: Why Winter Tree ID is Worth It
Remember, winter tree identification isn’t as hard as it looks—it just takes practice and a little know-how. By focusing on bark, buds, leaf litter, and tree form, you’ll soon find yourself confidently identifying species even on the coldest days.
I hope these tips and examples have inspired you to get outside and give it a go. And if you want to learn more, I’d love to see you in my free online course.
Happy tree hunting,
James
Head Instructor at Woodland Classroom
Creator of The Complete Tree ID Course
