Hello!

I'm trying to find out how could I determine the exact (as far as
possible) species of a few trees I*found in my University's campus.
(And, more generally, how to find out the species of any tree in
general.)

I'm pretty much a noob on the subject. I have the basic knowledge of
high-school biology, and I have access to Wikipedia and I'm not afraid
to use it. I*can learn whatever is needed, but I*have no idea where to
start.

I assume there must be something like a "dictionary" somewhere, where
I*can search for traits and find the matching species. I looked around
on the net but found only small boy-scout-type "know the trees in your
area"*info. But my trees are in France, and besides, I*have no idea if
those particular trees are "native" or not.

I*have access to the trees, so I*can examine how they look. The
leaves, bark and fruit should be easy to describe. However, this being
France, they have probably been pruned extensively, so I'm not sure if
the general shape of the trunk and branches is natural.

In case there is no "universal dictionary", maybe someone can point me
in a more restricted direction:

One of the trees is some kind of chestnut according to the fruits;
it's probably quite old, the trunk is more than a meter in diameter.
It's weird in that the low part (up to knee-height)*is wider than the
rest of the trunk by almost a half, and very gnarly; I suppose it's
because of early pruning; the crown is more wide than tall. The other
trees in the area don't look like that, even if the fruit seem
identical at first look.

The other tree is strange (to me) because it has spiny leaves like
those of conifers, but it has small (0.5cm)*cylindrical red fruits
with a single seed inside.

Thanks for any pointers.

In article ,
Bogdan wrote:

I assume there must be something like a "dictionary" somewhere, where
I*can search for traits and find the matching species. I looked around
on the net but found only small boy-scout-type "know the trees in your
area"*info. But my trees are in France, and besides, I*have no idea if
those particular trees are "native" or not.

What you're looking for is a taxonomic key, a sort of flow chart or
decision tree that you follow to identify a plant, a process called
'keying it out'. Keys generally apply to plants of one geographical
area or related group. So if these are native trees, you can find them
in a key for trees of France or western Europe.

Unfortunately, plants found in non-wild areas are often not native.

One of the trees is some kind of chestnut according to the fruits;
it's probably quite old, the trunk is more than a meter in diameter.
It's weird in that the low part (up to knee-height)*is wider than the
rest of the trunk by almost a half, and very gnarly; I suppose it's
because of early pruning; the crown is more wide than tall. The other
trees in the area don't look like that, even if the fruit seem
identical at first look.

You're probably seeing an old graft union -- the top of the tree was
grafted onto a rootstock which grew faster than the top. This would
have taken place long ago, when the tree was only about as thick as
a pencil. The other trees may not have been grafted, or may have
been grafted onto a more compatible rootstock.

The tree is probably a chestnut (Castanea) or horse chestnut (Hippocastanea).

The other tree is strange (to me) because it has spiny leaves like
those of conifers, but it has small (0.5cm)*cylindrical red fruits
with a single seed inside.

Probably a yew (Taxus). The seeds are quite poisonous. IIRC, the
fruits -- seeds removed -- are edible, but please don't take my word
for it and try them!

Thanks for any pointers.

People generally learn the common names of common local trees when they
are children, so your friends may be able to give you a start. You can
also ask the grounds workers. There may be a local naturalists or
hiking club with knowledgable members. Ditto gardening or landscaping
people. You should be able to find info on trees of your geographical
area in the library or on the web. A government horticultural or
forestry site may help. Also, local nurseries may have sites with
pictures of plants they sell.

I hope this helps! Have fun learning the flora of a new area!

Bogdan wrote:
Hello!

I'm trying to find out how could I determine the exact (as far as
possible) species of a few trees I found in my University's campus.
(And, more generally, how to find out the species of any tree in
general.)

I'm pretty much a noob on the subject. I have the basic knowledge of
high-school biology, and I have access to Wikipedia and I'm not afraid
to use it. I can learn whatever is needed, but I have no idea where to
start.

I assume there must be something like a "dictionary" somewhere, where
I can search for traits and find the matching species. I looked around
on the net but found only small boy-scout-type "know the trees in your
area" info. But my trees are in France, and besides, I have no idea if
those particular trees are "native" or not.

I have access to the trees, so I can examine how they look. The
leaves, bark and fruit should be easy to describe. However, this being
France, they have probably been pruned extensively, so I'm not sure if
the general shape of the trunk and branches is natural.

In case there is no "universal dictionary", maybe someone can point me
in a more restricted direction:

One of the trees is some kind of chestnut according to the fruits;
it's probably quite old, the trunk is more than a meter in diameter.
It's weird in that the low part (up to knee-height) is wider than the
rest of the trunk by almost a half, and very gnarly; I suppose it's
because of early pruning; the crown is more wide than tall. The other
trees in the area don't look like that, even if the fruit seem
identical at first look.

The other tree is strange (to me) because it has spiny leaves like
those of conifers, but it has small (0.5cm) cylindrical red fruits
with a single seed inside.

Thanks for any pointers.
In addition to BAE's good advice, if the university has a botany or
horticulture department, there's likely a professor (or more than one)
who happen to know virtually all of the plants on the campus. If you
can locate that person, and if he/she has the personality to enjoy such
a challenge, they may take you out on a campus hike, identifying plants
as you go. We do that all the time on our campus, when we can spare the
time -- it's a great educational experience. If they don't have time
for that, either such department ought at least to be able to tell you
the appropriate key(s) to be looking for.

Malcolm Manners
Horticulture
Florida Southern College

On Oct 8, 8:21*pm, wrote:
In article ,
Bogdan wrote:
I assume there must be something like a "dictionary" somewhere, where
I*can search for traits and find the matching species. I looked around
on the net but found only small boy-scout-type "know the trees in your
area"*info. But my trees are in France, and besides, I*have no idea if
those particular trees are "native" or not.

What you're looking for is a taxonomic key, a sort of flow chart or
decision tree that you follow to identify a plant, a process called
'keying it out'. *Keys generally apply to plants of one geographical
area or related group. *So if these are native trees, you can find them
in a key for trees of France or western Europe.

Aren't there such taxonomic keys available for groups of related
plants? I mean, given that one looks like a chestnut, do I*have to
just search descriptions of all chestnut-related species to identify
it, or is there a that directly points out what I*should be looking
for?

Actually, I*imagine there are such keys, but is there a place on the
internet people-in-the-know might visit and find easily all sorts of
keys, or should I*just look generally for chestnut fans and hope
someone wrote one? Same for yews.

Thank you both for the help! I'm standing in an University and
I*didn't even think of searching for a professor... though I*doubt
there is one.

France has some of the best tree identification books available, with lots
of fine pictures. They are even translated into English and other languages.

I suggest a bookshop or library.

PvR

Malcolm Manners wrote:
Bogdan wrote:

Hello!

I'm trying to find out how could I determine the exact (as far as
possible) species of a few trees I found in my University's campus.
(And, more generally, how to find out the species of any tree in
general.)

I'm pretty much a noob on the subject. I have the basic knowledge of
high-school biology, and I have access to Wikipedia and I'm not afraid
to use it. I can learn whatever is needed, but I have no idea where to
start.

I assume there must be something like a "dictionary" somewhere, where
I can search for traits and find the matching species. I looked around
on the net but found only small boy-scout-type "know the trees in your
area" info. But my trees are in France, and besides, I have no idea if
those particular trees are "native" or not.

I have access to the trees, so I can examine how they look. The
leaves, bark and fruit should be easy to describe. However, this being
France, they have probably been pruned extensively, so I'm not sure if
the general shape of the trunk and branches is natural.

In case there is no "universal dictionary", maybe someone can point me
in a more restricted direction:

One of the trees is some kind of chestnut according to the fruits;
it's probably quite old, the trunk is more than a meter in diameter.
It's weird in that the low part (up to knee-height) is wider than the
rest of the trunk by almost a half, and very gnarly; I suppose it's
because of early pruning; the crown is more wide than tall. The other
trees in the area don't look like that, even if the fruit seem
identical at first look.

The other tree is strange (to me) because it has spiny leaves like
those of conifers, but it has small (0.5cm) cylindrical red fruits
with a single seed inside.

Thanks for any pointers.

In addition to BAE's good advice, if the university has a botany or
horticulture department, there's likely a professor (or more than one)
who happen to know virtually all of the plants on the campus. If you
can locate that person, and if he/she has the personality to enjoy such
a challenge, they may take you out on a campus hike, identifying plants
as you go. We do that all the time on our campus, when we can spare the
time -- it's a great educational experience. If they don't have time
for that, either such department ought at least to be able to tell you
the appropriate key(s) to be looking for.

Malcolm Manners
Horticulture
Florida Southern College
As a start on your chestnut issue -- assuming you know just a bit about
leaf structure, you can easily separate the true chestnuts (which have
simple leaves) out from the horsechestnuts (which have palmately
compound leaves). Once you know which you're looking at, then a local
tree book should take you quickly to species, and there aren't many
possibilities for either, so it should be a quick and easy task. If you
look at leaves from sprouts below the graft, realize that the scion (top
part of the tree) may have been grafted to a different species in the
same genus, so be sure to look at leaves from a branch arising from
above that graft union.