• apple, Pacific crab		• juniper, Rocky Mountain
• alder, mountain		• larch, alpine
• alder, red		• larch, western
• arbutus		• maple, bigleaf
• aspen, trembling		• maple, Douglas
• birch, Alaska paper		• maple, vine
• birch, paper		• oak, Garry
• birch, water		• pine, limber
• cascara		• pine, lodgepole
• cedar, western redcedar		• pine, ponderosa
• cedar, yellow-cedar		• pine, western white
• cherry, bitter		• pine, whitebark
• cherry, choke		• pine, yellow
• cherry, pin		• poplar, balsam
• cottonwood, black		• redcedar, western
• dogwood, Pacific		• spruce, black
• Douglas-fir		• spruce, Engelmann
• hawthorn, black		• spruce, Sitka
• hemlock, mountain		• spruce, white
• hemlock, western		• tamarack
• fir, amabilis		• yellow-cedar
• fir, Douglas-fir		• yew, western
• fir, grand
• fir, subalpine

Key for Identifying Trees with Needles or Scales

Trees with scale-like leaves

•	western redcedar		Cones egg-shaped
•	yellow-cedar		Cones round
•	Rocky Mountain juniper		Cones fleshy and berry-like

Trees with needles in bundles of 2, 3 or 5

•	lodgepole pine		Needles in bundles of 2
•	ponderosa or yellow pine		Needles in bundles of 3
•	whitebark pine		Needles in bundles of 5, small cones, grows at high elevations
•	limber pine		Needles in bundles of 5, large cones, grows at high elevations
•	western white pine		Needles in bundles of 5, large cones, not at high elevations

Trees with bundles of many needles

•	western larch		Bundles of 15 to 30 needles, grows in southern B.C.
•	tamarack		Bundles of 15 to 25 needles, grows in northern B.C.
•	alpine larch		Bundles of 30 to 40 needles, grows in subalpine areas

Trees with needles not in bundles

Needles with four sides and stalks

•	white spruce		Grows at lower elevations, needles sharp and stiff, edge of cone scales round
•	Engelmann spruce		Grows at higher elevations, edge of cone scales ragged
•	Sitka spruce		Grows in coastal areas, needles slightly flattened
•	black spruce		Grows in northern areas, clump of branches on the top of tree

Needles flat, usually with a notch at the end; cones upright

•	grand fir		Needles on upper side of the twig point sideways
•	amabilis fir		Needles on upper side of the twig point upwards
•	subalpine fir		All needles appearing to point upwards

Needles flat, with blunt ends

•	western hemlock		Needles different lengths, top branch of tree droops
•	mountain hemlock		Needles same length, curved upwards, grows at higher elevations

Needles flat with pointed tips

•	Douglas-fir		Cones with a three-forked bract
•	western yew		Fruit red and berry-like

Key for Identifying Trees with Broad Leaves

Leaves in opposite pairs

•	Pacific dogwood		Leaves no lobes, veins parallel, showy white flowers
•	bigleaf maple		Leaves with 5 lobes, very large
•	Douglas maple		Leaves with 3 to 5 lobes and coarsely toothed edges
•	vine maple		Leaves with 7 to 9 lobes, almost circular

Leaves alternating

•	arbutus		Leaves evergreen, red bark peels in flakes
•	black hawthorn		Leaves oval, branches have thorns
•	cascara		Leaves oblong, veins parallel
•	Garry oak		Leaves with rounded lobes, with acorns

Trees with fleshy fruit

•	Pacific crab apple		Small red apples, egg-shaped leaves
•	choke cherry		Long cluster of dark purple berries
•	pin cherry		Flat-topped cluster of bright red berries
•	bitter cherry		Loose cluster of dark red berries

Trees with catkins

Catkins woody

•	red alder		Leaves with rounded teeth and edges rolled under
•	mountain alder		Leaf edges are double-toothed, small tree or shrub

Catkins fall apart easily

•	Alaska paper birch		Twigs are densely covered in bumpy resin glands
•	paper birch		Leaves triangle-shaped, bark peels readily
•	water birch		Leaves oval-shaped, bark shiny and dark

Catkins bead-like

•

balsam poplar black cottonwood

releasing fluffy white seeds

Catkins small

•

trembling aspen

smooth white bark, leaves "tremble" in the wind