Tree News

A surprising number of deciduous trees maintain some of last year's dead leaves well into late winter and even early spring. I took this picture of a young sugar maple on Feburary 18th of this year. However, it seems that lingering leaves on sugar maples are more the exception rather than the rule. It is very common, on the other hand, to find last year's leaves on young beeches and the lower limbs of white oaks of any age.

When you head into the woods across most of Pennsylvania and find a tree with opposite leaves, it is most likely a maple or an ash. If the leaves are simple, it would be a maple and, if compound, an ash. There are exceptions to this rule, and in future posts I will cover those exceptions (buckeyes and catalpas).

I offer the comparison of ash and maple tree leaves as a demonstration of how easy it can be to start mastering tree identification. It is only a first step, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised with your increased level of awareness with respect to trees if you start with that tidbit.