Tree Identification Book : A New Method for the Practical Identification and Recognition of Trees

Finally! A tree ID book with photographs! Very clear images. Wonderful aid for tree identification. Not pocket size. More of a home reference book

Occasionally I get a chance to show this book to some other tree nut. Their first reaction is "Oh, yeah, I have a great tree book too." Then we take a mystery twig and see which book is best. Without fail, this book is quicker and easier. The next thing the tree nut is saying is, "hey let me see that book." The next thing I know I'm back on this Amazon page buying a copy to send them...This book is a masterpiece. It is arranged so that you can take a single sign (twig, leaf, bark, etc.) and use pictorial keys to quickly narrow your search to a positive identification of a mystery tree. Sometimes you need to check additional signs, but often times the twig with a leaf or bloom that you bring back from a walk is all you need for a positive identification.I have had my copy since 1975 and it has never let me down as I have lived in Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and points in between. The copyright date is 1958. I don't know anything about George Symonds, but he had that rare knack for making a potentially confusing and complicated topic pleasurably accessible to the average person.This is NOT a coffee table book. It does NOT fit in your pocket. It has NO color photos. This 8.5 x 11-inch black and white volume does have incredibly clear and useful photos of all the keys. Unlike those puny photos and drawings in a pocket guide, these photos are full or one-half scale, or carefully referenced (for example bark photos include a ruler in the image). It has no stuffy writing, just the essential information in completely accessible form.The result is a low-tech looking book that blows the doors off of any other tree ID book I have ever seen.

There are very few tree identification books out there. This one is good but wish the pictures were in color to make it a little easy to identify trees.

This is a very good book. It helped me to identify a tree in the yard yesterday. I knew it was some kind of maple because of the "helicopter" seeds on the tree. We thot it was a sugar maple at first. Then I referenced the book, and it turns out it is a Box Elder, or Ash Leaf Maple, and it is a "male" tree at that, according to the book. I bought this book so I can identify which trees to cut out of the forest in order to let my nut trees grow more and better. The only thing I would improve about this book would be to have it in color. I am going to look for another book that has this similar content but is also in color. Overall, I highly recommend this book because it identifies trees thru their leaves, seeds, flowers, twigs, bark, and fruit. Buy it.

Having used a number of feild guides with resulting frastration I found this book very useful and well worth the modest price. There is a hardback available for a much higher price that would not have been worth it as a reference tool. But, I was able to quickly narrow the scope of my search for identification of a "mystery" tree in my yard. The species was not in the book, but the genus was and that allowed me to utilize Internet resources to get the exact species nailed down. I also like the fact that the book covers identification from a number of angles - leaves, flowers, fruit, bark, and twigs. As a novice, this was instructive to me. The fact that the pictures are in black and white is not a major draw back inasmuch as they are good quality. It is clearly not a stand alone reference, but is a useful tool, especially when combined with what is now available on the Internet.

I've already used to identify a sweet cherry and poplar on the property. Identification by both pics of the flowers and bark. This helped decide between a mountain ash and a sweet cherry. Quite useful!

Although this book is full of information I think if the descriptions and images were in color it would be easier to identify the plants. Hard to tell what’s what in black and what.

Purchased this as a gift for my husband who logs on the side for extra business. It is an excellent resource for an avid outdoorsman who enjoys identifying trees. The pictures are in black and white, but that in no way deters from the information. It is a nice size but not for your pocket. I don't know much about trees myself and found the reading of this book easy and enjoyable. Other reviews on here are much better than mine, I just thought I'd leave my feedback on my general impression. It's a great buy and I would recommend it for anyone just starting out with tree identification or for the veteran who would like an easy resource laying around.

It doesnt say in the description that this is for north american trees, unfortunately i didnt read the reviews before buying

This was bought as a gift for a trainee arborsit. The information is excellent but I was disappointed to find that none of the photographs were in colour.

Originally written in the 1950's and still in print, I've no doubt that this is the definative book for identifying North American Trees. Presented in glorious black and white, the many photographs are clear and bold but are of little use for precise British tree recognition. Great if you're planning a field trip to the US but I see little point in offering this book through the UK version of this web portal.

Very nice book !! i really enjoy it !

I use this for personal identification as well as educational information. I'm a Horticulture Science student and I 100% recommend this easy to understand field guide.