LONGLEAF PINE

3 needles per bundle (cluster), 10 to 18 inches long, large whitish bud, large cone 6 to 10 inches when mature

LOBLOLLY PINE

3 needles per bundle, 6 to 9 inches long, blue-green in color, back is dark and deeply furrowed in trunk. Cones are flat on twigs and often curved. Lots of limbs on tree as they are shade tolerant

POND PINE

3 needles per bundle, 6 to 8 inches long, dark yellow-green in color, needles often grow in mats along tree trunk and limbs. Cones are egg-shaped when closed

PITCH PINE

3 needles per bundle, 3 to 5 inches long at right angles to limb, needles often twisted and can be yellow-green in color. Cone is almost egg-shaped like Pone Pine but is armed with small rigid prickles

SLASH PINE

2 and/or 3 needles per bundle, 8 to 12 inches long, glossy brown cones

SHORTLEAF PINE

2 and/or 3 needles per bundle, 3 to 5 inches long, dark in color, small cones 1½ to 2½ inches in size

SPRUCE PINE

Mainly 2 needles per bundle, 1½ to 3 inches long, soft, slender and dark green, cones are small, bark on twigs is smooth while bark on trunk resembles hardwoods

TABLE MOUNTAIN PINE

2 (rarely 3) needles per bundle, 1½ to 3 inches long, usually stout and twisted cones lopsided at base, armed with stout, curved claws, limited to North Georgia on ridges and slopes

VIRGINIA PINE

2 short, twisted needles per bundle, 1½ to 3 inches long, cones are small and remain on trees with dead limbs for years

EASTERN WHITE PINE

5 needles per bundle (can vary 4-6), 3 to 5 inches in length, whitish below and bluish-green on top, bark is smooth and whitish in color. Cones are 4 to 8 inches long, branches occur in regular whorls around the tree trunk

BALDCYPRESS

Flat, fan-shaped needles ½ to ¾ inches long, cones are small and round, bark is fibrous and reddish in color, often found in running water but is used in landscaping

POND CYPRESS

Scale-like needles that do not open like Baldcypress. Often found in ponds and along creeks and streams

EASTERN HEMLOCK

Needles ½ to 2/3 inches long, dark green and shiny above, white streaks below, small cones ½ to ¾ inch long, pyramidal crown with drooping branches, needles are 2-ranked on each side of twig (not flat like Baldcypress)

EASTERN REDCEDAR

Scale-like needles, short, bluish-green in color, fruit ¼ to 1/3 inches in diameter, dark blue at maturity, crown is compact and pyramidal

LEYLAND CYPRESS

Branchlets flattened, bluish-green in color. Bark is reddish-brown and scaly. Used mainly as a screen landscape plant

PERSIMMON

Leaves 2 to 6 inches long, 1 to 3 inches wide, pointed tip and rounded base, leaves in open turn reddish-purple in summer and fall, dead buds remain on limbs for years. Fruit is edible when ripe, ¾ to 1½ inches in size and pulpy, bark is dark and broken into small blocks or checks

BLACKGUM

Leaves ovate and shiny above, 2 to 5 inches long, grow in clusters near the end of twigs, twigs and branches grow at right angles to trunk

CATALPA

Heart-shaped leaves 4 to 12 inches long, pointed up, fruit is a slender, cylindrical pod 10 to 12 inches long containing many small winged seed, white blooms in spring of year

FLOWERING DOGWOOD

Leaves 3 to 6 inches long, pointed tip and base and opposite on twigs, veins run to tip of leave, small seed and red when mature, bark is broken into small blocks or checks

EASTERN REDBUD

Heart-shaped leaf, 3 to 5 inches long and about as broad, fruit -- a flat pod 2½ to 3½ inches long, flowers--small and bright purplish red in winter and early spring

SWEET BAY

Leaves 4 to 6 inches long, 1½ to 3 inches wide, shiny and smooth above and silver or white below, small bur as fruit

SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA

Leaves -- evergreen, 5 to 10 inches long, 2 to 3 inches wide, pointed at both ends, bright green and glossy above and rusty or green below, fruit--an egg-shaped bur 3 to 4 inches long with bright red seed, large fragrant white flower in spring

CUCUMBERTREE

Leaves 5 to 10 inches long, 3 to 6 inches wide, ovate, short, pointed at tip, green and hairless above, pale and soft below with soft hairs. Fruit is a bur that is conelike, dark red that turns darker in summer, cucumber-like in shape

PAULOWNIA

Broadly ovate; long, pointed at tip with several veins from notches base. Sometimes slightly 3-toothed or 3-lobed. Flowers are pale violet in color. Fruit is a 1 to 1½ inches pointed brown seed pod splitting into two parts

RIVER BIRCH

Leaves somewhat triangular, 1½ to 3 inches, double-toothed margin, dark green and smooth above, light green below, bark is papery on limb and trunks, small twigs have small white specks, found along creeks and streams, also used in landscaping

BLACK BIRCH

Leaves 2½ to 6 inches long, 1½ to 3 inches wide, oval to oblong in shape, finely serrated margin, bark is not papery, but cherry-like twigs have the wintergreen odor and taste, confined to North Georgia mountains

SOURWOOD

Leaves 5 to 7 inches long, 1½ to 2½ inches wide, oblong and pointed at end, finely serrated, leaf is smooth on top and bottom except hairy on bottom of the mid-rib vein, blooms are white in color and are small capsules that often hang upside down in clusters, leaves and bark have a sour taste

BASSWOOD

Leaves 3 to 5 inches long, 2 to 4 inches wide, heart-shaped but have an unequal base, finely serrated margin, leaves are smooth on top and are smooth and whitish below, fruit a rounded pod 1 to 2 seeded (1/3-inch diameter), attached in clustered to the narrow, l
leafy, flower bract, leaves similar to Red Mulberry but do not lobe

AMERICAN BEECH

Leaves 2½ to 5 inches long, oblong to oval long pointed
margin coarsely toothed, parallel veins from mid-rib to margin, winter buds are slender and cigar-shaped

EASTERN COTTONWOOD

Leaves somewhat triangular in shape, 3 to 5 inches long and broad rounded teeth on margins, petiole is flat

BLACK WILLOW

Leaf is 3 to 6 inches long, narrow with both ends pointed, finely serrated leaf is smooth, often branching into several trunks near the ground with irregular crown or head

BLACK CHERRY

Leaves 2 to 6 inches long, 1 to 1½ inches wide with pointed tip, leaves dark green and shiny above, fruit in clusters changing from green to black when ripe, leaves and bark bitter and aromatic smell, found throughout the South

AMERICAN ELM

Leaves 4 to 6 inches long with a pointed tip, double-toothed margin, lopsided or uneven at the base, dark green on top of leaf and can be smooth or rough, parallel veins running to the teeth of margins

WINGED ELM

Leaves are 2 inches long and about 1 inch wide, oblong and tapering at each end, margins are doubly toothed, corky wood is often found on each side of twig but is sometimes without

SUGARBERRY

Leaves are 2½ to 5 inches long, ¾ to 1½ inches wide, oblong and tapering to a point at the top, rounded and lopsided at the base, margins are smooth but toothed near tip, warty wood found on trunk, found mostly in coastal plains, small nutlet ¼ inch

AMERICAN HOLLY

Leaves 2 to 4 inches long with thickened margins armed with spiny teeth (2 to 12 spines), fruit is a small red berry

ALLEGHENY CHINKAPIN

Leaves 3 to 6 inches long, 1½ to 2 inches wide, margins coarsely toothed, fruit enclosed in a spiny bur

AMERICAN HORNBEAM

Leaves 2 to 4 inches long, 1 to 1¾ inches wide, oval, margins double serrated, fruit is a cluster of small nuts. The trunk is deeply rippled and looks like sinewy muscles. The leaf is smooth textured

HAZEL ALDER

Leaves 2 to 4½ inches long, about 2 inches wide, finely sawtoothed with 9 to 12 parallel veins on each side, small seed cones

YAUPON

Leaves evergreen, 1 to 2 inches long and ¼ to 1 inch wide, oval, margins with rounded teeth, fruit ¼ inch and red

EASTERN HOPHORNBEAM

A tree with a trunk that has light brown finely-divided bark that Hophornbeam has a shredded look. Ovate leaves that are doubly saw-toothed with many nearly straight parallel side veins. Leaf is a pale or dull color and hairy, chiefly on veins below. Fruit ¾ to 1 inch
wide and 1½ to 2 inches long. Cone-like hanging clusters
(hop-like)

SWEETGUM

Leaves 4 to 6 inches long and wide, 5 points (star-shaped) margins are finely serrated, fruit is a round prickly head attached to a long stem, branches can have corky growths

AMERICAN SYCAMORE

Leaves 4 to 8 inches wide and long, round in outline with many irregular lobes, leaves are wooly when young but smooth at maturity, fruit is a brownish ball about 1 inch in diameter, composed of many seed, attached to a long stem, bark is creamy or greenish white that scales off

SASSAFRAS

Leaves 4 to 6 inches long, 2 to 4 inches wide and can have 0, 1, or 2 lobes, leaves that have 1 lobe are mitten-shaped, new growth is green in color with twigs and leaves aromatic, can have small blue fruit seated in a red cup on a red stalk

MULBERRY

Leaves 3 to 5 inches long and 2½ to 4 inches wide, usually have 1 to many lobes, but can be found without lobes, margins are toothed, while leaf rough to touch, fruit resembling a “blackberry”, twigs when broken show fine, silky hairs on the broken surface

RED MAPLE

Leaves and limbs are opposite, leaves are deeply divided into 2 to 5 lobes, margins are serrated, stems and leaves that are reddish or green in color, leaves are smooth, fruit is red in early spring and appears in pairs on long stem

YELLOW POPLAR

Leaves 5 to 6 inches long and wide with 3 to 4 lobes, rounded base and a lobe instead of a pointed tip, flower is yellow and tulip-like in spring, fruit is a narrow upright cone made up of seed, bark on young trees is green and smooth while whitish and rougher on older trees

SILVER MAPLE

Leaves opposite, 4 to 6 inches long and nearly as wide, deep 5 lobes are pointed. Fruit is long, paired seed with wings

SUGAR MAPLE

Leaves opposite, 3½ to 5½ inches long and wide, 5 main veins from tip, leaf stalk long and hairy. Fruit is 1 inch long and paired

BLACK LOCUST

Leaves 8 to 14 inches long that have 7 to 19 oval leaflets, each leaflet is 1 to 2 inches long and ½ inch wide, twigs and branchlets armed at the node (bud) with a pair of spines less that 1 inch long, fruit is a flat seed 3 to 4 inches long

HONEY LOCUST

Leaves 7 to 8 inches long with many small leaflets, fruit a long, twisted, black seed pod up to 16 inches long, tree is armed with a long straight shiny branched thorn (up to 3-4 inches long).

BOXELDER

Compound leaves are opposite on the twig, 5 to 8 inches long, with 3 to 5 pointed leaflets, each coarsely toothed above the middle and rounded at the base, fruit double or paired as in maples, leaves resemble those of ash, twigs shiny and green.

ASH

Compound leaves 8 to 12 inches long, opposite on the twig, mostly 5 to 9 leaflets but can have 3, margins are usually toothed, fruit are pointed wings 3/8 inch to 1/½ inches long

MOCKERNUT HICKORY

Leaves 8 to 12 inches long with 7 to 9 leaflets with the terminal leaflet larger, petiole is hairy, fruit is 1½ to 2 inches and a nut

PIGNUT HICKORY

Leaves 8 to 12 inches long with 5 to 7 slender leaflets, petiole is smooth, fruit is pear-shaped about 1 inch in size

BLACK WALNUT

Compound leaf 12 to 24 inches long, 15 to 23 leaflets that are 3 inches long and have serrated margins, terminal leaflet usually falls out by summer, fruit is a walnut that is covered with a thick hull, twigs have a chambered pith, bark is dark

BUCKEYE

Leaves opposite, palmately compound, 3 to 6 inches long, 5 to 7 leaflets, fruit is flower then a brown capsule

CHINABERRY

Leaf is bi-pinnately compound, numerous paired leaflets except at tip. Flower is 5 pale purple petals. Fruit is a yellow round berry

MIMOSA

A tree with several trunks and a very broad flat crown with showy pink flower clusters. Leaves are bi-innately compound with 25-30 pairs of small leaflets. Fruit is flat, oblong pod

PECAN

Leaves innately compound, 12-20 inches long, slightly sickleshaped leaflets, long pointed at tip. Fruit is a nut with thin husk and 4 ridges

SUMAC

Large shrub or small tree with pinnately compound leaves that are lance-shaped and has a saw-tooth margin. Fruit is an upright crowded head with many small seed. Most seed heads are red

SOUTHERN RED OAK

Leaves 6 to 7 inches long, 4 to 5 inches wide, 3 to 5 sharply pointed, often curved, bristle-tipped lobes, base of leaf rounded (bell-shaped) dark green and shiny on top of leaf, rust colored below leaf

BLACK OAK

Leaves 5 to 8 inches long, 3 to 5 inches wide, 5 to 9 short or long bristle-tipped lobes, thick and leathery, dark green and shiny above, yellow-green or copper colored below and usually hairy

below

NORTHERN RED OAK

Leaves 5 to 9 inches long, 4 to 5 inches wide, 7 to 11 short, 3-pointed bristle-tipped lobes, leaf smooth on top and bottom

SCARLET OAK

Leaves 3 to 6 inches long, 2 to 4 inches wide with 7 to 9 deeply divided, bristle-tipped lobes, thin, bright green, smooth and shiny above, paler and smooth below, tufts of hair on bottom of veins

TURKEY OAK

Leaves 3 to 12 inches long, 1 to 10 inches wide, deeply divided into 3, 5 or 7 bristle-tipped lobes, leaf usually curved or twisted, yellow-green in color, shiny and smooth

BLACKJACK OAK

Leaves 6 to 7 inches long and broad, with 2 or 3 shallow divided lobes, thick leaf and dark green in top, yellow, orange or brown below and hairy, bark almost black

LIVE OAK

Leaves 2 to 5 inches long, oblong, margins slightly rolled, occasionally toothed near the end, thick, dark green leaf, leaves are evergreen

WILLOW OAK

Leaves long and narrow, 1½ to 5 inches long, 1/3 to 1 inch wide, pointed at both ends, willow-like, margins are smooth, leaf if smooth

WATER OAK

Leaves usually about 2-3 inches long, 1 to 1½ inches wide, narrowed at the base, broader at the rounded, often loved tip, dull green and smooth on top of leaf, pale and smooth below except for small tufts of hair in the axil of the larger veins

BLUEJACK OAK

Leaves oblong with smooth margins, pale and hairy below, leaves 2 to 3 inches long and ½ to 1½ inches wide

CHERRYBARK OAK

Leaf similar to Black Oak, 5 to 9 bristle-tipped lobes, lobes near the base of the leaf are uneven. Pale color on the back side of the leaf (fuzzy on leaf and petiole)

LAUREL OAK

Leaves usually 3 to 4 inches long, about ¾ inches wide, narrow at both ends. Margins are smooth, leaf is green and shiny above with yellow-green mid-rib vein. Fruit an egg-shaped dark brown to black acorn about ½ inch long

SAWTOOTH OAK

Leaves dark on top with saw tooth-like projections on each of the 12 to 16 parallel veins. Large acorn with fringe-like structures on the cup

WHITE OAK

Leaves 5 to 9 inches long, deeply divided by 7 to 11 finger-like rounded lobes, light green and smooth above, pale and smooth below, bark is light gray

POST OAK

Leaves are deeply divided by 3 to 5 rounded lobes, broadest above the middle forming a cross shape, leaf somewhat leathery and rough above and below, bark is gray, finely checked

CHESTNUT OAK

Leaves are 4 to 9 inches long and 1½ to 3 inches wide, margins are serrated or scalloped, bark is grayish-brown to darker, coarsely furrowed on older trees, fruit-an egg-shaped, shiny large acorn

OVERCUP OAK

Five to 9 pointed lobes without bristles, dark green above, acorn almost completely covered by the cup