Previous Steps

• 1b – Alternate leaf arrangement on stem — go to 18
  • 18a – Leaf simple — go to 19
    • 19b – Thornless — go to 22
      • 22d – All leaves lobed — go to 23
        • 23a – Pinnate ventation — go to 24
          • 24b – Leaves not clustered toward tip of stem. Pith not 5-angled — go to 29

Current Step

• 29a – Long, very sharply pointed lobes. Small round white pith. Smooth white bark. Branches weeping and slender — Cutleaf Weeping Birch

• 29b – Lobes are short and rounded; margins of lobes are serrated. Pith is pale. Tiny red/blrown, shiny, hairless buds. Hairless stems — Thornless Hawthorn

• 29c – Short, rounded lobes with serrated margins. Hair on tip of young stems and on tips of bud scales. Spur shoots (short, compacted branches) are present — Crabapple

• 29d – Lobes are coarsely serrated.  Brown bark. Triangular pith.  Female catkin appears as a woody “cone”; male catkin is papery — Thinleaf Alder

Resources

• Identifying Broadleaf Flowering Trees and Shrubs, CMG GardenNotes #173
• List of trees in this key
• Glossary of Terms
• Front Range Tree Recommendation List
• Online CSU Extension publications on Tree and Shrub Selection