Collins Complete Guide to British Trees: A Photographic Guide to every common species. Paul Sterry

WILLOW Salix caprea

      Greyish to yellowish brown with a rough texture at first, but smooth later; buds yellowish, ovoid to clog-like, and rather congested towards the shoot tip.

      WHITE WILLOW Salix alba

      Slender, straight and greyish, downy at first but smooth later; buds flattened and silky.

      ENGLISH ELM Ulmus procera

      Slender and downy; often zigzag at the nodes. Buds tiny, and ovoid to spherical.

      WYCH ELM Ulmus glabra

      Dark greyish brown with coarse hairs; twigs often look knobbly and are not straight, with side shoots often reflexed. Buds tiny and dark brown.

      WOODLAND TREES

      OPPOSITE BUDS

      SYCAMORE Acer pseudoplatanus

      Reddish brown, often tinged greenish, marked with lenticels; buds ovoid, swollen and greenish.

      NORWAY MAPLE Acer platanoides

      Yellowish grey to pinkish brown, smooth with lenticels; buds ovoid and reddish.

      HORSE-CHESTNUT Aesculus hippocastanum

      Thick and straight, reddish grey and marked with horseshoe-shaped leaf scars; buds reddish brown, pointed and sticky.

      ASH Fraxinus excelsior

      Stout and greyish, swollen below buds, and sometimes yellowish there; buds blackish and mitre-shaped.

      ALTERNATE BUDS

      ASPEN Populus tremula

      Straight between nodes, but overall rather arching, yellowish brown and shiny eventually; buds long and sharply pointed.

      BLACK-POPLAR Populus nigra ssp. betulifolia

      Knobbly and irregular, greyish in older sections of twigs but new growth yellowish; buds yellowish brown and sharply pointed.

      GREY POPLAR Populus × canescens

      Rather irregular, yellowish grey, downy at first but soon smooth and shiny; buds yellowish brown, narrow and very sharply pointed.

      SILVER BIRCH Betula pendula

      Yellowish to purplish brown and hairless, although white warts create a rough texture; buds ovoid and pointed, greenish and reddish brown.

      SILVER BIRCH Betula pendula

      Catkins appear on bare twigs by late winter; male and female flowers in separate catkins.

      DOWNY BIRCH Betula pubescens

      Yellowish brown to purplish, with downy hairs especially towards shoot tips; buds ovoid and greenish and reddish brown.

      SWEET CHESTNUT Castanea sativa

      Greyish yellow with a few, elongated lenticels, swollen below the buds; buds yellowish red, swollen and pointed.

      SMALL-LEAVED LIME Tilia cordata

      Straight between nodes but zigzagging, shiny and reddish; buds swollen and reddish.

      LIME Tilia × europaea

      Reddish to yellowish brown, hairless and shiny; buds ovoid to spherical, swollen and reddish.

      COMMON WHITEBEAM Sorbus aria

      Yellowish to reddish, or greyish in shade, downy at first but soon hairless and shiny; buds ovoid, the reddish-brown scales tipped with greyish hairs.

      ROWAN Sorbus aucuparia

      Yellowish brown to purplish, downy at first but soon smooth; buds conical and purplish brown but scales have long, greyish hairs.

      WILD SERVICE-TREE Sorbus torminalis

      Slender, shiny and yellowish to greyish brown; buds green and spherical to ovoid.

      WILD CHERRY Prunus avium

      Rather straight, yellowish brown but with a grey bloom; buds narrow-conical and yellowish to purplish brown.

      BIRD CHERRY Prunus padus

      Greyish brown with paler, elongated lenticels; buds narrow, elongated and pointed.

      CRAB APPLE Malus sylvestris

      Greyish brown or yellowish, hairless and shiny; buds ovoid and reddish brown, with downy tips.

      HORNBEAM Carpinus betulus

      Slender and irregular, hairy at first but soon smooth; buds slender and pointed.

      PEDUNCULATE OAK Quercus robur

      Greyish to pale purplish and often rather knobbly; buds orange-brown and ovoid.

      SESSILE OAK