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About This Quiz
In this quiz, we're going to test your arboreal bona fides! Can you tell one tree from another just by looking at a leaf and getting a hint? Lots of people can tell trees apart when looking at the forest, but we're going to give you a shot at earning your Master Arborist badge with this screenshot quiz!
Trees are wonderful things. They give us shade, provide habitat for all manner of creatures, provide fruit and nuts for both us and our animal friends and, occasionally, they end their lives as furniture, floorboards, house frames or any of the other myriad uses to which we put wood in the world.
Some trees have leaves that are instantly identifiable. The giant, waxy green leaf of the southern favorite, the magnolia, is unlike just about any other (especially if you've ever had to rake them in the fall). The maple leaf is so unique that it's right there on the Canadian flag! But how about the pin oak? The birch? The apple? These trees are easily identified in their whole form, but we're betting you can't call up a mental picture of their leaves.
So, put on your thinking cap, maybe sit in the shade of a tree for inspiration, and tackle the quiz!
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Cedar
Red Maple
The Red Maple is appropriately named since some part of the tree is red year-round. Its buds in winter are red, the flowers bloom red in the spring, leafstalks in summer, and it displays a bright foliage in fall.
Kentucky Coffeetree
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Yellowwood
Kentucky Coffeetree
Scrub Holly
A scrub is a community of small plants that rely on fires to grow. Natural and controlled fires burn down other plants, allowing room for the scrubs.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Sugar Maple
Pistachio
White Pine
The White Pine is the state tree for Michigan and Maine. This tree was a major resource for colonists in building homes and other structures.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Black Cherry
The fruit is food for squirrels and birds starting in early summer, even though the fruit does not ripen until late summer. The large seeds easily germinate and, once established, can withstand even poor soil conditions.
Maul Oak
Pagoda Dogwood
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Apple
Pagoda Dogwood
Eastern White Cedar
White Cedar is a favorite in building things. Though it is a soft wood, it holds paint and glue very well, and does not warp easily. This makes it great for fences and poles. However, because it is soft, it does not hold nails well.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Ebony
Eucalyptus
Red Oak
During the first decade of its life, the Red Oak will grow approximately two feet per year. It is considered a poster tree -- clean, colorful, and the perfect round tree shape. It is also resistant to pollution and highly adaptable.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Maple
Swamp White Oak
Swamp White Oak is grown in swamps or near large bodies of water. Out of all the types of white oaks, it has the brightest white on the underside of its leaves, though its wood is basically the same as the ordinary white oak.
Mahogany
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Mahogany
Sitka Spruce
The Sitka Spruce is said to be the best wood for making guitars. The wood of the Sitka Spruce was popular among sailors, who used it for ship construction, cargo boxes, and planks.
Hognut
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Chinaberry
Sugar Maple
This tree stands as the state tree for more states than any other tree -- New York, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Vermont. The sugar maple is where we get most of the sweet syrup for our morning breakfast.
Lemon
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
American Elm
The American Elm was very popular in the 19th century. So much so that it was often the only tree planted along the streets. Unfortunately, a disease specific to this tree ran rampant and killed a lot of them. People now plant a variety of trees so that complete elimination doesn't occur, and it helps prevent the spread of species diseases.
Bur Oak
Ebony
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Scrub Holly
Silver Maple
The Silver Maple produces the largest seeds of all the maples. Some find the sap of this tree of higher quality, but production is too slow to make it marketable.
Smooth Serviceberry
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Ironwood
Hill's Oak
Hill's Oak wood is strong and used in constructing. It produces acorns that take two years to mature enough to grow into a new tree.
Red Maple
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Redwood
Smooth Serviceberry
There are two theories about the origins of the Serviceberry's name. One is that it got its name because funerals were often held during the time of its bloom. Another is that it is a derivative of the name "sarvisberry" because of its close resemblance to that tree. The "smooth" part of the name refers to its hairless leaves.
Freeman Maple
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
White Spruce
The White Spruce is a popular Christmas tree, perhaps because its needles and branches are strong and stiff and it retains more needles longer than other trees, so there is less mess to clean up.
Gum Senegal
Bur Oak
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Juniper
Freeman's Maple
Freeman's Maple is a hybrid of two trees that are native to the Chicago region. Characteristics of both breeds show up in this tree -- the sturdy branches of the red maple and the quick growth rate of the silver maple.
Mulberry
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Swamp Willow
Willows are able to reproduce, not only from seeds, but also from leaves and branches. They are used in making baskets and nets.
Red Oak
Sabino
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Cherry Blossom
Dwarf Holly
Black Maple
The Black Maple differs only slightly from the Sugar Maple. The Black Maple has a darker bark (gray and sometimes black) and its leaves are wider and droopier than that of the Sugar Maple.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Eucalyptus
Juniper
Ironwood
The ironwood also goes by the name American Hop-Hornbeam. This tree is often used for windbreaks to provide shelter from the wind, especially on farms.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Kentucky Coffeetree
Honey Locust
The honey locust is used in landscaping. Because its leave are small, it does not block the sunlight from other foliage. The recognizable bean pod serves as food to both domestic animals and wildlife.
Soft Maple
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Eastern Red Cedar
Maple
Tulip Tree
The tulip tree has a long-standing history in a variety of cultures. It was a popular ornamental tree in the 1600s because it was aesthetically pleasing. Native Americans used the tree to build canoes because it could be used in one big piece. In the later 1800s, the tulip tree was used to treat conditions such as rheumatism and dyspepsia.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Giant Sequoia
Soft Maple
In order to produce only one gallon of maple syrup, it take 40-50 gallons of maple tree sap. One must be patient, since it takes 30 years before the sap of a maple is ready to be harvested.
Juniper
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Pagoda Dogwood
This is a choice tree for all four seasons, changing beautifully from one season to the next. It serves as a small tree or a shrub with a mature height of 15-25 feet.
Yellowwood
Sycamore
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Dwarf Holly
Eastern White Cedar
Hackberry
The hackberry tree is a soft wood that is sometimes used to make inexpensive furniture. It is most often used as a shade tree, or planted near rivers to help cut down on erosion. The berries are edible for both wildlife and people.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Soft Elm
Elms can live up to 300 years. Flowers on the elm appear before the leaves do.
Saloop
Tag Alder
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Sycamore
The Sycamore is a symbol of hope and protection in the U.S., probably because it served as a protective cover for George Washington's troops. This tree produces both male and female flowers and each tree will drop more than 10,000 seeds per season.
Soft Elm
Tulip Tree
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Trembling Aspen
The Okanagan people would sometimes predict the weather with this tree. When the leaves "trembled" and there was no wind, it was a sign that a storm was approaching.
Mexican Buckeye
Balsam
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Paper Birch
Historically, people would peel the bark of a paper birch and use it to write notes, as if it were piece of paper. It is also known as the white birch.
Banana
Freeman Maple
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Silver Maple
Hazel Alder
The Hazel Alder is a shrub that grows with multiple trunks. It acts as a choice habitat for insects.
Paper Birch
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Honey Locust
American Plum
The thorny branches of the American plum tree make it an ideal nesting place for birds, and a great use for a barrier. The fruit is a popular choice for jams and pies.
Juniper
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Swamp Willow
Grey Dogwood
The Grey Dogwood produces berries early on in the season, making it a popular food source for white-tail deer, squirrels, and birds. It also makes for protection, as it produces a dense thicket for wildlife to call home.
Hazel Alder
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Eucalyptus
Redwood
Redwoods are known as the oldest living trees which existed over 240 million years ago. The Pacific Coast is the only place to find them on Earth now -- they are about 20 million years old. The oldest living Redwood is approximately 2,200 years old. Though they grow to 300 feet, their roots only go down about six to 12 feet. They are able to remain sturdy by growing in groves and intertwining their roots with the other trees around them, holding each other up.
Giant Sequoia
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
American Plum
Ash-Leaved Maple
The common name and the scientific name of the Ash-Leaved Maple has been a point of controversy among scientists since the 1700s. It was previously referred to as the Box-Elder
Hazel Alder
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Black Walnut
This tree has been used to treat skin conditions, such as psoriasis, eczema, and ringworm -- among others. When eaten, the walnuts from the tree are said to remedy a number of other ailments, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and asthma.
Hill's Oak
Honey Locust
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Basswood
Bees love the basswood tree from which they pull nectar from its flowers. The wood from this tree does not contain an odor and its weight is slight. This makes it a wood of choice for packing goods, especially food.
Cherry
Freeman Maple
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Ohio Buckeye
Not only is the Ohio Buckeye the state tree, it is also the state symbol. Ohioans shouldn't eat the nuts from this tree though -- since they are toxic.
Grey Dogwood
Cherry
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Red Maple
Sabino
The Sabino is the national tree of Mexico. The giant Big Tree of Tule is a combination of three trunks merged together to form a trunk circumference of 112 feet.
Sumac
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Oregon Alder
Sugar Maple
Canadian Hemlock
The Canadian Hemlock is not poisonous and its needles are sometimes used to make a tea that is rich in vitamin C. Its bark was once used for tanning leather.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Lemon
White Pine
Pawpaw
The Pawpaw leaves are the only food Zebra Swallowtail caterpillars will eat. The Pawpaw also produces delicious fruit.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Douglas Fir
Sitka Spruce
Bur Oak
In its native region in the central US, it was used to repair wagons for travelers crossing the plains. An old Bur Oak located in Sioux City, Iowa is called the Council Oak -- so named because Lewis and Clark held meetings with the Native Americans under that tree.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Chestnut
Kentucky Coffeetree
Pioneers used the seeds of the Kentucky coffeetree as a replacement for coffee when it was unavailable. The large, yet spacious space in the structure of its branches and foliage make it easy to garden underneath.
Oilnut
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Oregon Alder
The Oregon Aldertree grows rapidly and will take over bare areas from deforestation or fires. Alders crave the sun and, since they are not resistant to shade, must be the dominate canopy in an area in order to receive the most sunlight.
Chestnut
Olive
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Bur Oak
Dwarf Holly
Blue Beech
Blue Beeches can grow to 30 feet high and 20 feet wide, giving them a muscular look that earns them the alternate name of Musclewood. The Blue Beech is an ironwood tree that is also a member of the birch family.
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Which tree goes with this leaf?
Maul Oak
The Maul Oak is native to California, but grows in a variety of habitats. Its acorns take two years to mature and were 50% of the Native American's (of California) food source.
Black Cherry
Canadian Hemlock
You Got:
/44
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