Tree Identification Guide

Welcome to the University of Tennessee Arboretum Tree Identification Guide! If you would like to know the common name, scientific name, fall leaf color, or characteristics of a tree at the Arboretum - or in your neighborhood - we hope this guide will help.

For this guide, we have chosen the more common trees found at the Arboretum and in the area. If you already know the common name or scientific name, just choose it from one of the two boxes below to link to a description of the tree.

Common Name Bald Cypress Beech Black Cherry Black Gum Black Oak Black Walnut Blackjack Oak Bur Oak Catalpa Chestnut Oak Cornelian Cherry Dogwood Dogwood Eastern Red Cedar Ginkgo Hickories Japanese Cedar Japanese Umbrella Pine Mockernut Hickory Pawpaw Pignut Hickory Post Oak Red Bud Red Maple Sassafras Shagbark Hickory Sourwood Southern Red Oak Sweetgum Tigertail Spruce Tulip Poplar Virginia Pine White Oak

Scientific Name Acer rubrum Asimina triloba Carya glabra Carya ovata Carya tomentosa Catalpa speciosa Cercis canadensis Cornus florida Cornus mas Cryptomeria japonica Fagus grandifolia Ginkgo biloba Juglans nigra Juniperus virginiana Liquidambar styraciflua Liriodendron tulipifera Nyssa sylvatica Oxydendrum arboreum Picea polita Picea torano Pinus virginiana Prunus serotina Sassafras albidum Sciadoitys verticella Taxodium distichum Quercus alba Quercus macrocarpa Quercus marilandica Quercus montana Quercus stellata Quercus veluntina

Perhaps you only know the shape of the leaf. Start by choosing one of the three categories below. Each will lead to thumbnail leaf photos of popular trees in that category - and, in turn, will lead to a description of the tree.

Simple Leaf Samples	Compound Leaf Samples	Needle and Scale-Like Samples

If our guide doesn't lead you to the right tree, the next time you are visiting the UT Arboretum bring your leaf sample and perhaps one of our staff can help with identification.