Needles

• 1). Look at the green part of the tree. Do you see cones and needles? If so, this is a conifer. Continue to Step 2. If not, skip to the section on Evergreens.
  
  
• 2). Look at the needles. Are they arranged in clusters of two to five and evergreen? If so, this is a pine tree. Continue to Step 3. If not, this may be a Western larch, Douglas fir, spruce or hemlock tree. The Western larch is the only conifer with needles that turn brown and fall each autumn.
  
  
• 3). Count the number of needles in each cluster. Are there two to four in each? If so, this may be a ponderosa pine (groups of two and three needles on the same tree) or a lodgepole pine (needles mainly clustered in groups of two). If not, continue to Step 4.
  
  
• 4). Count the number of needles in each cluster. Are they mostly in groups of five with cones 8 to 11 inches long? If so, this tree is probably a Western white pine.
  
  

Scales

• 1). Look at the tree's leaves. Are they scale-like, 1/16-inch long with small pink flowers? If so, this is a tamarisk, also called a salt cedar. If not, continue to Step 2.
  
  
• 2). Look for fruit on the tree. Does the fruit look like a berry? If so, this is a juniper tree, probably an Eastern red cedar or a Rocky Mountain juniper. If not, continue to Step 3.
  
  
• 3). Look at the fruit again. Does it look like an oblong cone with scales not shaped like a shield? If so, this is a Western red cedar. If the scales are shield-shaped and the fruit is round, this is an Alaska cedar, also known as yellow cedar.
  
  

Broadleaves

• 1). Examine the leaves. Are they shaped like fans and attached to short branches? If so, this is a gingko. If not, continue to Step 2.
  
  
• 2). Examine the leaves. Does each have its own stem? If so, continue to Step 3. If there are multiple leaves for each stem, skip to Step 4.
  
  
• 3). Look at an individual leaf. Do its veins follow the leaf edge? If so, this is a species of dogwood. If not, this is a species of maple (the veins will look like fingers on a hand). Maples bear twin "helicopters" that spin as they fall.
  
  
• 4). Look for fruit on the tree. Do you see acorns? If so, this is a species of oak. If not, continue to Section 4.
  
  

More Broadleaves

• 1). Look at the stem of the leaf. Is it flat? If so, this is either a quaking aspen (round leaf base; buds produce no sticky resin), Lombardy black poplar (shaped like a column, with branches that reach up) or a cottonwood (coarsely-toothed leaf borders and not shaped like a column). If not, continue to Step 2.
  
  
• 2). Look at an individual leaf. Is there a mid-rib that extends from the base of the leaf? If so, this tree is either an alder (fruit is a small cone), elm (no cones, leaves not the same on either side of the stem), birch (smooth white bark), cottonwood, poplar or willow (scaly buds). If not, continue to Step 3.
  
  
• 3). Look again at an individual leaf. Are there three to five main veins that extend from the stem with fleshy, bumpy fruit? If so, this is a mulberry tree.