Index of Trees


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

Key for Identifying Trees with Needles or Scales

Trees with scale-like leaves

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

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releasing fluffy white seeds

Catkins small

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smooth white bark, leaves "tremble" in the wind