Training one’s eye to identify trees is a fun way to connect with the world around us and can be useful for making home landscape selections. Trees are often identified using leaf shape and color, ...

Mary Jo DiLonardo has worked in print, online, and broadcast journalism for 25 years and covers nature, health, science, and animals. Young trees sometimes have smooth bark that's unbroken by ridges.

The reddish gray-brown bark of the red oak tree with its darker vertical markings is one of the key features to identifying the tree in winter. (Clay Wollney) Leaves are the most useful and frequently ...

Flowers provide color and texture. So does foliage. What is less often considered is that the bark of many trees and large shrubbery can be aesthetically appealing as well. Bark is usually thought of ...