Print, cut out, and laminate these cards of common Wisconsin trees. Hang them on trees to be identified or use them in the classroom. They are helpful resources when leaves, fruit, or seeds are not present or are too high on a tree to be examined. 
Supplement to LEAF Unit 7-8, Field Enhancement 1, Tree Identification.

Individual Cards

• Tamarack/White Pine
• White Birch/Red Oak 
• Basswood/Black Cherry
• Shagbark Hickory/Box Elder
• Black Spruce/Jack Pine
• Ironwood/Black Oak
• Red Maple/Bur Oak
• Black Walnut/Red Pine
• Silver Maple/Northern Pin Oak
• Elm Species/River Birch
• Hackberry/Northern White Cedar
• Willow Species/Eastern Red Cedar
• Eastern Hemlock/Sugar Maple
• Black Ash/White Oak
• White Ash/White Spruce
• Beech/Eastern Cottonwood
• Green Ash/Balsam Fir
• Yellow Birch/Swamp White Oak
• Black Locust/Trembling Aspen
• Big-Toothed Aspen/Mountain Ash
• Balsam Poplar

LEAF’s Printable Summer Tree ID Key & Tree ID Terms (Part of the LEAF Field Enhancement 1, Tree Identification)

LEAF’s Printable Winter Tree ID Key (uses buds, twigs, and other features to identify Wisconsin trees)
Tips for printing the Winter Tree Identification Key:

• Choose “Landscape” page orientation​
• Choose “Print on both sides”
• Legal size paper works best, though Letter will also work
• To ensure the pages print in booklet form, be certain the paper is flipping on the short side; if the second page is printing upside down, the pages are not flipping on the short side.

Urban Tree Key – (not dichotomous) Courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Division of Forestry

Kevin Hall’s High School Lab :
A high school lab that Biology teacher Kevin Hall created using the LEAF Online Dichotomous Tree Key.

LEAF Field Enhancement 1 – Tree Identification :
In this lesson, students learn to use a dichotomous key to identify Wisconsin trees with LEAF’s Summer Tree ID Key.

American Forests’ Tree Doctor – Confused but curious about pruning? Baffled by bugs? Stumped by a tree ID? American Forests’ Tree Doctor is in and online. Send your tree-related questions to an expert at treedoc@amfor.org, and they’ll respond directly to you. 

Dichotomous Tree Key – EEK! Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – This is the DNR’s tree ID site for kids. It utilizes descriptions and line drawings.

National Arbor Day Foundation – Detailed information on dozens of commonly planted landscape trees that grow throughout the United States as well as tree terms, forest layers, tree classification, and anatomy of tree.

National Arbor Day Foundation – Also, from the National Arbor Day Foundation, line drawings of tree leaves found throughout the U.S. and an animated “how to” identify trees guide.

Tree and Shrub Identification – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Basic ID key with photos and descriptions of many Wisconsin tree species.

Trees of Wisconsin – Cofrin Center for Biodiversity – Features an on-line key and list of tree species with photos.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Herbarium – An incredible collection of identification resources including photos, keys, and descriptions of natural communities, fungi, plants, and more.

UI Plants – A database on woody landscape plant identification, culture, and usage for the Midwest, including native and introduced species and their major varieties and cultivars. Search by common or scientific name. Images and information on habitat, leaves, buds, stems, flowers, fruits, fall color, bark, and culture.