| 1. | Leaves consisting a mass of sharp spines only | Common Gorse Ulex europaeus |
| Leaves consisting of single or grouped needles or sprays of small scale leaves | A Conifer | |
| Leaves broad and flat | Go to 2 | |
| 2. | Evergreen (Leaves on younger shoots paler and softer than older leaves) | Go to 3 |
| Deciduous (Leaves on all shoots the same colour and texture) | Go to 10 | |
| 3. | Leaves hard and shiny with sharp spines on the edges | Holly Ilex aquilifolium |
| Leaves various and without sharp spines | Go to 4 | |
| 4. | Leaves arranged in opposite pairs on the stem | Go to 5 |
| Leaves arranged alternately along the stem | Go to 7 | |
| 5. | Leaves large (over 4 inches long), toothed, acute, whitish below | Buddleia Buddleia davidii |
| Leaves medium (2 to 4 inches long), entire, ovate, green below | Lauristinus Viburnum tinus | |
| Leaves small (under 2 inches long), dark green, slightly shiny. Twigs can be tied in a knot without breaking them | Go to 6 | |
| 6. | Leaves oval (twice as long as wide) | Japanese Privet Ligustrum ovalifolium |
| Leaves narrowly oval (at least three times longer than wide) | Common Privet Ligustrum vulgare | |
| 7. | Leaves ovate, breaking noisily and spicy scented | Bay Tree Laurus nobilis |
| Leaves large, oblong and shiny with a bitter almonds scent when crushed | Cherry Laurel Prunus laurocerasus | |
| Leaves not as above and with no distinctive scent | Go to 8 | |
| 8. | Leaves dark green, rather shiny and with serrated edge | Go to 9a |
| Leaves mid to dark green, shiny or matt but with entire edge | Go to 9b | |
| Leaves dark green above, rather matt with a few or many sharp teeth | Holm Oak Quercus ilex | |
| 9a. | Leaves broadly ovate and acute, up to 5 inches long with wine-red stalks | Portugal Laurel Prunus lusitanica |
| Leaves elliptical and obtuse, less than 3 inches long with greenish stalks | Strawberry Tree Arbutus unedo | |
| 9b. | Leaves large (about 5 inches), elliptical and glabrous or tomentose below (a large shrub on acid soils) | Rhododendron Rhododendron sp. |
| Leaves small (less than 4 inches), narrowly ovate, shiny, glabrous (a small shrub on chalky soils) | Spurge Laurel Daphne laureola | |
| Leaves smaller than 5 inches, entire edge and not as above | Likely to be a Cotoneaster sp. or Photinia davidiana | |
| 10. | Leaves and/or twigs in opposite pairs along the branches | Go to 11 |
| Leaves and/or twigs distinctly alternate along branches | Go to 17 | |
| 11. | Leaves are pinnate i.e. consisting of five or more leaflets in opposite pairs | Go to 12 |
| Leaves are single on the stalk but palmate in shape | Go to 13 | |
| Leaves are ovate or otherwise not as above | Go to 15 | |
| 12. | An irregularly branched shrub and leaves with a strong scent, leaf-stalks are conspicuously hairy | Elder Sambucus nigra |
| A regularly branched tree with one strong central trunk, leaves without a strong scent when crushed, leaf-stalks are hairless | Ash Fraxinus excelsior | |
| 13. | Leaves three lobed with indentations between lobes less than a third of way to centre of leaf | Guelder Rose Viburnum opulus |
| Leaves 5-7 lobed with indentations between lobes over a third the depth of the leaf | Go to 14 | |
| 14. | Leaves bluntly lobed, lobes with numerous pointed teeth | Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus |
| Leaves bluntly lobed, lobes without teeth but wavy edged | Field Maple Acer campestre | |
| Leaves sharply lobed, not serrate but with dentate (pointed) teeth (resembling the leaf on the Canada flag) | Norway Maple Acer platanoides | |
| 15. | Leaves large, downy, wrinkled and with minute teeth | Wayfaring Tree Virburnum opulus |
| Leaves elliptical and acute (pointed at end) and finely toothed | Spindle Euonymus europaeus | |
| Leaves small to medium sized, glabrous and not wrinkled, not toothed (entire) | Go to 16 | |
| 16. | Leaves ovate with cuneate base and prominently veined | Dogwood Cornus sp. |
| Leaves somewhat triangular with a slightly cordate base, veins not prominent | Lilac Syringa sp. | |
| 17. | Spines or thorns present on the twigs | Go to 18 |
| Spines or thorns completely absent from twigs | Go to 25 | |
| 18. | Twigs are armed with long straight, sharply pointed spines, leaves variously shaped | Go to 19 |
| Twigs are armed with very sharp, triangular thorns (on lower branches), leaves pinnate with oval un-toothed leaflets | Robinia Robinia pseudoacacia | |
| Twigs are armed with hook-like or very small thorns, leaves variously shaped | Go to 23 | |
| 19. | Spines usually in groups of three, leaves palmate | Gooseberry Ribes uva-crispa |
| Spines produced singly on the twigs, leaves variously shaped | Go to 20 | |
| 20. | Leaves small and palmate, dull (matt) or shiny | Go to 21 |
| Leaves small, ovate and toothed, not shiny | Go to 22 | |
| 21. | Leaves matt with five or seven deeply cut lobes | Common Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna |
| Leaves shiny with three shallowly cut lobes | Midland Hawthorn C.laevigata | |
| 22. | Leaves twice as long as wide and coarsely toothed (less than 20 teeth on each side of leaf) | Blackthorn Prunus spinosa |
| Leaves only slightly longer than broad and finely toothed (more than 20 teeth on each side of leaf) | Buckthorn Rhamnus catharticus | |
| 23. | Leaves all pinnate (in groups of five) and each individual leaflet neatly oval and toothed, thorns strong and down-curved or thin and fine | Go to 23a |
| Leaves in palmate (in groups of five), toothed, thorns strong and down-curved | Go to 24a | |
| At least some leaves ternate (in groups of three), toothed, thorns weak, thin or small | Go to 24b | |
| 23a. | Low growing, suckering shrub with numerous fine, thin spines | Burnet Rose Rosa pimpinellifolia |
| Scrambling shrub with strong prickles, hairless leaves not scented when crushed | Go to 23b | |
| Scrambling shrub with strong prickled, downy or hairy leaves with a fragrant scent when crushed | Go to 23c | |
| 23b. | Stems glaucous and purple, leaflets very round, leaves rather greyish green | Field Rose Rosa arvensis |
| Stems not glaucous and leaflets green and/or reddish and ovate (If leaves downy and habitat is heath land Round-leaved Dog Rose Rosa obtusifolia is possible) | Dog Rose Rosa canina agg. | |
| 23c. | Leaves with numerous reddish stalked glands, apple scented when crushed, prickles strongly down-curved | Sweetbriar Rosa rubiginosa agg. |
| Leaves downy with unstalked glands, weakly scented when crushed, prickled only slightly curved | Downy Rose Rosa tomentosa agg. | |
| 24a. | Leaves strongly whitish below and the stems very stout | Himalayan Bramble Rubus armeniacum |
| Leaves paler below but not whitish, stems rather slender | Bramble Rubus fruticosus agg. | |
| 24b. | Low-growing, often prostrate shrub with greyish, wrinkled leaves and numerous small prickles | Dewberry Rubus caesius |
| Erect, almost unbranced (no branches arising from low on stems) shrub with wrinkled leaves very pale below and a few weak prickles | Raspberry Rubus idaeus | |
| 25. | Leaves palmate (maple-like or with radiating leaflets) | Go to 26a |
| Leaves ternate (trefoil) or pinnate (at least three paired leaflets along stalk) | Go to 26b | |
| Leaves ordinary and not like any of the above | Go to 27a | |
| 26a. | Leaves large and palmate with 5-7 separate leaflets radiating from a central point | Horse Chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum |
| Leaves with blunt palmate lobes (maple like) and white below | White Polplar Populus alba | |
| Leaves with pointed palmate lobes (maple like) and not white below | Wild Service Tree Sorbus torminalis | |
| 26b. | Leaves ternate i.e. trefoil with three leaflets | Laburnum Laburnum anagyroides |
| Leaves pinnate with 3-9 un-toothed, hairless and entire leaflets | Walnut Juglans regia | |
| Leaves pinnate with 5-9 toothed, toothed leaflets that are downy below | Rowan Sorbus acauparia | |
| 27a. | Leaves cordate (heart-shaped), glabrous with a crenate (bluntly toothed edge) | Italian Alder Alnus cordata |
| Leaves not cordate (or cordate with sharp teeth around edge) | Go to 27b | |
| 27b. | Leaves entire and oval with no teeth or lobes around edges (can be wavy at edge) | Go to 28 |
| Leaves with shallow, blunt teeth or lobes around the edges | Go to 29 | |
| Leaves with distinct sharp teeth around the edges | Go to 33 | |
| 28. | Leaves 5- 9 cm (2-3 inches) long with ciliate edge, on short stalks (less than 9mm or third of an inch) | Beech Fagus sylvatica |
| Leaves up to 5cm (2 inches) long without a ciliate edge, on long stalks (10-14mm or about half an inch) | Alder Buckthorn Rhamnus alnus | |
| 29. | Leaves with large wavy lobes on edges, green below | Go to 30 |
| Leaves round with a few coarse, shallow lobes, whitish below | Grey Poplar Populus x canescens | |
| Leaves with numerous shallow, blunt teeth around the edges, paler below | Go to 31 | |
| 30. | Leaves with blunt wavy lobes and almost un-stalked with ‘auricles’ a base of leaves | Common Oak Quercus robur |
| Leaves with blunt wavy lobes and distinct stalks but no ‘auricles’ | Sessile Oak Quercus patraea | |
| Leaves narrow with sharply pointed triangular lobes | Turkey Oak Quercus cerris | |
| 31. | Leaves on long stalks, as long as the rest of the leaf | Aspen Populus tremula |
| Leaves on short stalks, much shorter than the rest of the leaf | Go to 32 | |
| 32. | Leaves round with tapering base but broad at the end | Alder Alnus glutinosa |
| (Twigs are fragile and break easily) | ||
| Leaves broadly ovate and widest in the middle | Goat Willow Salix caprea | |
| Leaves narrowly ovate and widest above the middle | Sallow Salix cinerea | |
| (Twigs are pliable and can be tied into a knot) | ||
| 33. | Leaves cordate i.e heart-shaped at the base | Go to 34 |
| Leaves are long and narrow i.e. at least 2.5 times as long as wide | Go to 38 | |
| Leaves are distinctly triangular i.e. with three roughly equal edges | Go to 40 | |
| Leaves less than 3 as long as wide and otherwise not as above | Go to 41 | |
| 34. | Leaves asymmetrical i.e. with two unequal halves | Go to 35 |
| Leaves symmetrical i.e. equal on both sides, and always cordate | Go to 36 | |
| 35. | Leaves matt, slightly contorted and very rough to the feel | English Elm Ulmus procera |
| Leaves dark green, slightly shiny, small and flat | Small-leaved Elm Ulmus minor | |
| Leaves large, mid green, flat, matt and smooth | Wych Elm Ulmus glabra | |
| 36. | Leaf stalks roughly hairy, leaves both shallowly lobed and toothed | Hazel Corylus avellana |
| Leaf stalks hairless, not at all lobed, toothed and cordate i.e. heart-shaped | Go to 37 | |
| 37. | Leaves uniformly downy below, no bosses on trunk | Large-leaved lime Tilia platyphila |
| Leaves with tufts of white hairs between veins below leaf, bosses on the trunk and suckering growth at base of tree | Common Lime Tilia x europaea | |
| Leaves with reddish tufts of hairs beneath, no bosses on trunk | Small-leaved Lime Tilia cordata. | |
| 38. | Leaves large (over 10cm or 4 inches long), with sharply toothed edges and herring-bone like vein structure | Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa |
| Leaves long and narrow (but less than 12cm or 5 inches long), finely serrated or entire and tapering at the ends, twigs pliable i.e. can be tied into a knot without breaking | Go to 39 | |
| 39. | A shrub with almost toothless leaves, extremely narrow leaves | Osier Salix viminalis |
| A shrub with glaucous, toothless narrow leaves broadest near tip | Purple Willow Salix purpurea | |
| A tree with long, mid green leaves and very fragile twigs | Crack Willow Salix fragilis | |
| A tree with long, narrow leaves that are white below | White Willow Salix alba | |
| A tree with long, narrow leaves and pendulous branches | Weeping Willow Salix babylonica | |
| (usually a hybrid of this and something else) | ||
| A tree or shrub, not as above | other Willow Salix sp. (difficult) | |
| 40a. | Outer bark papery and twigs pliable i.e. can be tied into a knot without breaking | Go to 40b |
| Outer bark not papery and twigs fragile i.e. they break when tied in a knot | Black Poplar Populus nigra agg. | |
| 40b. | Leaf tips plane near tip on outer edges, twigs downy and soft to the feel | Downy Birch Betula pubescens |
| Leaf tips concave near tip on outer edges, twigs hairless and very rough to the feel | Silver Birch Betula pendula | |
| 41. | Distinctive shiny and dark red-brown bark with horizontal lenticels | Cherry Prunus avium |
| Bark of tree otherwise | Go to 42 | |
| 42. | Leaves toothed and ovate but base slightly indented (cordate) | Hornbeam Carpinus betulus |
| Leaves toothed and ovate but cuneate at base i.e. at an acute angle to the stalk | Go to 43 | |
| 43. | Leaves large (over 8cm or 3 inches long), lobed and toothed, silvery-white below | Go to 44 |
| Leaves variously sized, not lobed or silvery below, and finely toothed or serrated | Go to 45 | |
| 44. | Leaves only shallowly lobed (fifth or less of the way to centre of leaf) and almost as broad as long | Common Whitebeam Sorbus aria |
| Leaves distinctly lobed (to about third of the way to centre of leaf) and obviously much longer than wide | Swedish Whitebeam Sorbus intermedia | |
| 45. | Leaves shiny above, ovate and on stalks at least half the length of leaf (The presence of any spines indicates Wild Pear Pyrus pyraster) | Pear Pyrus sp. |
| Leaves dull (matt) above, ovate or narrowly so and on stalks much less than half the length of the leaf | Go to 46 | |
| 46. | Leaves variable in size, ovate, densely woolly i.e. tomentose below and not flat (The presence of a few spines indicates native Crab Apple Malus sylvestris) | Apple Malus sp. |
| Leaves flat, not tomentose below and no more than 8cm (3 inches) long | Go to 47 | |
| Leaves flat, not tomentose below and the larger ones over 8cm (3 inches) long | Go to 48 | |
| 47. | Leaves almost oblong (parallel sided in middle), totally hairless and no more than 8cm (3 inches) long | June Berry Amelanchier lamarkii |
| Leaves clearly ovate, downy (at least below) and no more than 3 inches long | Go to 49 | |
| 48. | Leaves three times as long as wide, shiny above | Rum Cherry Prunus serotina |
| Leaves about twice as long as wide, dull on both sides | Bird Cherry Prunus padus | |
| 49. | Twigs smooth and somewhat shiny and greenish | Cherry Plum Prunus cerasifera |
| Twigs downy and dull brownish (occasionally spiny) | Plum Prunus domestica |
Phil Budd
Update: 19/07/2006
Phil Budd
Update: 19/07/2006