Tree Key

To use a dichotomous key you must be familiar with all the parts of a tree and the minute structural differences among those parts.

“Where can I get a key?” you may ask. Contact your local Extension Service and ask if your state has a tree identification publication. Otherwise, look in your local bookstore. Most field guides you can buy in stores are dichotomous keys. Get a field guide and start practicing your keying skills. Here are a few common references:

C. Frank Brockman. A Guide to Field Identification: Trees of North America. 1986.Golden Press, New York. 280 pp.

Ann H. Whitman, Ed. Familiar Trees of North America, The Audubon Society Pocket Guides. 1986. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

There are many such guides. Try a web search on “Tree Field Guides” to find others.

Web Links:

Virginia Tech University’s Dendrology Website

An Interactive Key of Common Iowa Trees

Trees of the Pacific Northwest