Studies of Trees

A tree can give away its name even after its leaves are gone: look to its bark, branching, buds—or count the needles in a pine’s cluster.

In this early-twentieth-century guide, Jacob Joshua Levison starts from a simple challenge: recognizing a tree should not depend on the brief season when its leaves are on display. He sorts familiar trees by clues that last through the year, then shows how small differences separate close look-alikes. Five bluish-green needles mark the white pine; the pitch pine carries three, while the white pine’s branches meet its trunk at striking right angles. Identification becomes a practice of looking closely, whether in forest or park. Which quiet feature will let you name the tree standing before you?

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