Dendrology at Virginia Tech

If you have questions or comments about this set of web pages or if you wish to report an error in any page, please e-mail John Peterson.

Dendro Home

I.D. Fact Sheets

Landowner Fact Sheets

Urban Tree Selector

If you have an unknown specimen, you can try to figure out what it is by using one of our keys.

Dichotomous Keys:

Key out your unknown by clicking on the button that best describes it. A table will list the possible matches, with links to our tree fact sheets. If a picture exactly matches your leaf, clicking on the picture will take you directly to a fact sheet for that species.

Leaf Key

Twig Key

Multichotomous Key:

(Interview Me)

Think of this as a process of elimination, narrowing the possibilities with each selection. If you select "I don't know" for every decision, you will view all the species in the database. Only make selections that you are sure about - or you might accidently eliminate the answer!
Click the thumbnail to enlarge.

Step 1: Location

If your specimen was planted, select your planting zone.

more info on plant hardiness zones

If your specimen was growing wild, select your state.

Step 2: Growth Habit / Size

(Click on any picture to enlarge it)

I'm not sure

large tree (>50')

small tree (<50')

shrub, sub-shrub, or lesser woody

vine

Step 3: Habitat

I'm not sure
swamp / flooded
mesic (most eastern species are here)
dry (most western species are here)
arid / desert
alpine / high elevation / far north