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looking for a good book for tree identification

C

crashfromboston

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i just realized how many different hardwoods there are here in new england, and how few i really do know.. is there a good book that gives color photographs of both bark and leaves, and nuts and fruit.. in the various stages thru the seasons..

thanks in advance
pete
 
Pete
Yes there is a book that gives what you want. It is the Wood Bood and I know that woodcraft as well as amazon and others handle it. It gives you bark and leaves as well as finished pieces. The hard part of using this book is for some species you need to know the REAL tree name not the "what we call it" name. Hope this helps
ken
 
I have always relied on "Peterson Field Guides". I live out west and use the Western Trees book all the time. I am sure they have a Eastern Trees book. The field guide may not have all the different seasons - but the Western Trees book has everything I need. Not too expensive either. I am sure there are other books out there which have a key that one can run through to find the name of a tree. I worked in the biology field for 25+ years and have used Peterson's books throughout that time.
Let us know which book you end up with.
Hugh
 
World Woods in Color

by William Alexander Lincoln - available from Amazon. only gives tangential grain shots. woods from around the world

i have the Wood Book and agree you need some fore-knowledge to find the tree. the colour pics are good, and provides transverse (end-grain), radial and tangential (flat sawn) shots. the woods are North-American.
 
Last edited:
A Good Book

Hello Pete,

A good book I maintain in my library, as to what I think you are looking for, is titled - "The Tree Identification Book", by - George W. D. Symonds, with over 1500 illustrations and photos. However, it is only in black and white, but shows the bark, leaves, nuts, and the fruit, in various seasons. I have always found the basic colors of the leaves are green and greener, brown in the fall, and the bark can vary from brown to white - gray and black. The size, shape, texture of the bark, and the configuration of the leaves, nuts and fruit, are very well illistrated in the book.

Best of luck, Bill. 🙂
 
Hi, Pete.

I use the Audobon guide to trees in the NE. I also have a couple of other tree ID books including the Peterson guide and a wonderful book who's name I'll have to get at home today. Written in the 1950's, it's the definitive guide to tree identification through close examination of the wood structure. This is great because not all trees of the same species have the same bark patterns, and we are often working with wood that has been milled or has lost it's bark, leaves, etc. I'll bring the book along to the next club meeting to entice you to come.

Dietrich
 
i ordered the audubon book.. and will probably get the petersons field guide as well another great book..

i need to get back out into the woods to check out the trees.
 
The Tree Identification Book", by - George W. D. Symonds

Nice Bill said:
Hello Pete,

A good book I maintain in my library, as to what I think you are looking for, is titled - "The Tree Identification Book", by - George W. D. Symonds, with over 1500 illustrations and photos. However, it is only in black and white, but shows the bark, leaves, nuts, and the fruit, in various seasons. I have always found the basic colors of the leaves are green and greener, brown in the fall, and the bark can vary from brown to white - gray and black. The size, shape, texture of the bark, and the configuration of the leaves, nuts and fruit, are very well illistrated in the book.

Best of luck, Bill. 🙂
Click to expand...

Here's a good deal on the Symonds book. http://www.hamiltonbook.com/hamiltonbook.storefront/EN/product/goto/Product/View/1341820

Hamilton has lots of other tree books (woodturning books too) at affordable prices. Not affiiliated with Hamilton, just a happy customer...
 
This is a little off the mark, but...

Mark Baker, the editor of the English turning mag, "Woodturning", just came out with a wood identification book, but I don't know off hand where to get it. I imagine the GMC group that publishes the magazine would be a good start. It contains mostly European woods and has a great section on Australian timbers as well. On initial inspection, I did notice that it does have a few of the more popular North American woods there as well. One nice thing about the book is that it shows the timber being used in bowl and vessel forms.

Joe
 
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