Random access identification key for deciduous trees, shrubs, and vines - including most of the common species - using characteristics of the twigs, buds, and bark that are visible during the winter, with supplementary characters for leaves and fruits that frequently persist on the plant or on the ground beneath.

To use this key, compare a twig sample against the characteristics given below and then select those characteristics that best match the sample. Click the Show Matches button to view a list of the species that match the selected characteristics. Characteristics are organized into categories, and within each category you can make one or more selections. If you are uncertain which character to select within a category you are better off leaving that category blank.

Characters
Location
Taxonomy
Bud and leaf arrangement:

 

Buds and leaves alternate
Buds and leaves opposite
Buds and leaves whorled
 
Bud tip shape:

 

Bud tips pointed
Bud tips rounded
 
Bud scale arrangement:

 

Scales covering bud imbricate
Scales covering bud valvate
Only a single scale covering entire bud
Bud scales absent
 
Bud scale pubescence:

 

Bud scales pubescent or ciliate-margined
Buds scales with glandular or punctate dots or scales
Buds scales glabrous
 
Bud resin:

 

Resin present on bud surface
Resin absent from bud surface
 
Primary Bud color:

 

Green or yellow
Red or maroon, or strongly tinged with such
Brown or tan
Gray, light or dark
 
Thorns or spines:

 

Stems armed with thorns, spines, or prickles
Stems lacking thorns, spines, or prickles
 
Twig cross-section:

(first year twigs)

Twigs round in cross-section
Twigs square in cross-section
Twigs angled in cross-section
 
Primary Twig color:

(first year twigs)

Green
Red or maroon, or strongly tinged with such
Brown or tan
Gray, white or black
 
Twig pith:

(spongy tissue inside twig)

Pith absent, twigs woody throughout
Pith present but not chambered
Pith present and chambered at least in center
 
Twig pubescence:

(first year twigs)

Twigs pubescent
Glands or puncate dots present on twigs
Twigs entirely glabrous
 
Vascular bundles on leaf scars:

 

Bundles not visible
Bundles 1 per leaf scar
Bundles 3 per leaf scar
Bundles > 3 per leaf scar
 
Bark color:

(main trunk or basal stems)

Green
Red or maroon, or strongly tinged with such
Brown or tan
Gray, light
 
Bark texture:

(main trunk or basal stems)

Smooth
Papery and often peeling
Scaly-plated
Fibrous, in longitudinal strips
Furrowed or fissured
 
Habit:

 

Tree
Shrub
Vine
 
Distribution:

 

Western Washington
Eastern Washington
 
Habitat:

 

Forested areas at low-mid elevation
Subalpine/alpine forest, meadow, or rocky slopes
Prairie or rocky bald in Western WA
Sagebrush-steppe, desert, or grassland in Eastern WA
Freshwater wetland, bog, lake, river, or stream
Saltwater beach, marsh, or coastal dunes
Disturbed area: field, roadside, wastelot, town
 
Leaf type:

 

Simple
Ternately compound
Pinnately compound
Palmately compound
 
Leaf veins:

 

Veins not visible
Veins pinnate
Veins palmate
Veins parallel
 
Inflorescences:

 

Catkins or woody cones
Umbels
Racemes or spikes
Branched clusters
Flowers and fruits solitary
Flowers and strictly paired
 
Fruit/seed type:

 

Fleshy
Nut, with hard woody shell
Dry, prominently winged
Dry, not winged
 
Fruit/seed color:

(when fresh)

White
Black or dark gray
Brown or tan
Green
Red, orange, or yellow
Blue or purple
 
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