What Tree is That?
If you like trees and want to learn how to identify them, I recommend that you get yourself a copy of What Tree Is That?
The book starts with a two page illustrated glossary of tree and leaf anatomy. If you don't know what the words alternate, blade, bract, broadleaf, bud scar, compound leaf, conifer, deciduous, drupe, entire, evergreen, invasive, leaf scar, lobes, margin, midrib, opposite, palmate, persistent, petiole, pinate, samara, simple leaf, sinus, spurs or teeth mean when describing leaves and trees, this is a great visual reference.
From there, readers are taken through a series of classification questions in order to identify any given tree. The first question is whether the tree is east or west of the Rocky Mountains. From there, you jump around in the text from one question to another until you find the tree you're looking for. It's a lot of fun and it's a great activity to get your children more interested in the outdoors, hiking, or botany.
If you're not familiar with the Arbor Foundation, they're a nonprofit conservation and educational organization dedicated to inpiring people to plant, nuture, and celebrate trees. With nearly one million members, they're a major force in replanting out national forests and other conservation projects. To join, a basic membership starts $10, and you'll be able to pick 10 tree saplings that grow well in your area that you can plant at home or send to someone as a gift. Alternatively, you can elect to have the foundation plant the trees on your behalf in a national forest to help us preserve these resources for future generations.
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I do some of my daily walks in the Morton Arboretum, west of Chicago, a couple times a week. The other day I was browsing in the bookstore/gift shop and I happened to see this guide. I spent a few minutes leafing through it and I was really impressed. If didn’t already have a smallish tree guide for eastern trees in my day pack, a must when hiking in the arboretum, I would have purchased it.