Question
I am 52 yrs. old and live in Middle Tennessee. All of my life I have had a desire to walk into any woodland area and be able to identify any of the trees according to their leaves, fruit, or bark on the tree. There must be several books published on tree identification, but I am wanting to acquire one comprehensive one, if possible, that has color illustrations of a specie's leaves, fruit, and also it's bark.
Would you have any good recommendations for a good text(s) that might fit the above description?
Thank you very much!

Mike Eidson


Answer
Hi Mike,
Thanx for your question.  When I was a boy, I developed an  interest in trees and shrubs and while in the Boy Scouts, I became an expert in the indentification of trees and shrubs.  I used to enjoy going out and looking at the trees and shrubs in the woods and I guess that must have been the precursor to my interest in horticulture.

Anyway, I have a wonderful book called "The Tree Identification Book" by George W. D. Symonds.  It has over 1500 illustrations in it and shows the leaves, flowers, bark, fruit etc. of all kinds of trees.  It also give the botanical name too.  The book is paperbound and about 272 pages.  Printed by Quill, William Morrow & Co., NY.  Cost is $20.00 U.S.  If you live near a large city, I'll bet you can find it in the Library to test to see if you like it or not, or your library may be able to borrow it for you from another library.

I hope this helps Mike.  I really like the book.
thx,
Tom