Know Your Trees - Conifer Identification

Yes, I know it is cedar, not ceder. It was a typo. I'm excellent at typos.

Some basic tips for identifying coniferous trees in the northern hemisphere, including cedar (Cupressaceae family), spruce (Picea sp.), fir (Abies sp), hemlock (Tsuga sp.), douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga sp.), and pine (Pinus sp.).

I had to be somewhat general since there is lots of variation with each of these groups. I look at clues in their profile, needles, bark, and cone. And yes, I do realize that conifers have male cones as well. I chose to ignore that fact to simplify things.

As some have pointed out, true cedars belong to the Cedrus genus and live in Asia. My bad.

Also, I'm the world's worst proofreader (well, at least when it comes to my own work). Abies lasiocarpa is subalpine fir, not balsam fir. The tree shown after (also labelled balsam fir) IS a balsam fir with the correct Latin name.

Photo Credits

Thuja plicata - Western Red Cedar near July Creek by brew brooks, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Cupressus nootkatensis by Walter via Wikimedia Commons

Shorepine Bog Trail, Pacific Rim National Park By Aaron Carlson from Menomonie, WI, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0] viaWikimedia Commons
PonderosaPine By Dcrjsr (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Google CC search.

Coulter Pine cone By TheRealDeJureTour., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pinus Nigra By Lambique (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) by Marshal Hedin [CC BY-SA 2.0] Via flicker

Engleman Spruce on the PCT by Jsayre64 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Google creative commons search
Black Spruce Stand at arctic chalet By Daniel Case (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Norway Spruce needle stomata by Greg Hume (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

By photo taken by User:Muu-karhu (Own work) CC-BY-SA-3.0, viaWikimedia Commons

Abies balsam by Di R. A. Nonenmacher - Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Abies alba By Crusier (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Abies magnifica Lassen By Tyler Karaszewski [CC BY 2.0 ] via Wikimedia Commons

Abies amabilis zampach1 By Petr Filippov (Own work)

Abies koreana By Lestat (Jan Mehlich) (Own work) CC BY-SA 2.5
Douglas Bark found using Google creative commons search

Abies Cone and Bits By MPF a, CC BY-SA 3.0,
Mountain hemlock. By Dcrjsr (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0 at

Creative Commons Links

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Please watch: "Botanical Delights at the Vallarta Botanical Gardens" for some fascinating stuff on edible plants, Mexican history, and other very cool nature nerd facts.
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[mrcanoe]

Thanks for the overview. The internet is a wonderful way to share information! I have wondered about the differences in the conifers i see for decades, and you showed them to me in 13 minutes! Well done!

[daryldrennan]

I thank God for conifers, they are my favorites amongst the trees. Thank you for sharing your knowledge about conifers.

[abmoha]

In my language, our name for Sitka Spruce is sesek̓ás. It translates to something like "plant with many sharp points".

[LondonTreeSurgeons-Camden]

A brave subject to take on as conifers can be confusing to identify and name, Western red cedar for example is not a true cedar and like you say Douglas fir is not a true fir. A great addition to any tree identification playlist, thanks!

[joycewilliams]

Thank you! Your identification tips are easy to understand and concise. Without saying too much you said everything that needed to be said, and your sense of humor is refreshing. Hope you make more videos! I immediately subscribed.

[pablogriswold]

Yup, this video had exactly what I was hoping to learn! Thank you, and rock on.

[mr.chartier]

Awesome info.
You have a great, genuine personality, funny, and it transmits well. You deliver a lot of information in a very accessible, digestible, and enjoyable manner.

Can you do a video (or videos) that address(es) committee diseases and treatments? I have a conifer (unidentified so far) that has a weeping wound on it that smells bad. I think it might be a yeast.

[benjaminhawthorne]

I am a backpacker and birder. When I lived in Colorado, I broke off a piece of bark and it smelled of butterscotch.
This is an easy way to identify "Ponderous Pine!"
😁

[JuanLopez-tphj]

I’m from Hawaii and I was born in the island of Kauai and I can only find pines and pine cones up in Kokee on Kauai but from the mountains to the ocean we can find Norfolk pine trees everywhere . But I love conifer trees they are so interesting

[philmccole]

Best tree ID video I've ever seen! Immediately subscribed!

[trevorallen]

Thank you for this video. I moved from the East coast to West coast US and have to learn a lot of new information. Your video is the best I’ve seen on the subject.

[christinawright]

We are sheltering in place during the COVID 19 pandemic. We live in a place where we can go for walks outdoors without running into other people. This video is giving us the backbone for a tree identification curriculum we made up for ourselves. Thank you!

[FloridaGirlAdventures]

I am so happy you did a video on this - as they are starting to spring into action and I was wondering about a couple different ones in my area. Thanks! LOVE your style!

[Ingramdumpkiss]

One of the best identification videos I've found. very useful. Thank you!

[AllThingsConsidered]

I am a (newer) hiker & birder & am inspired to learn how to identify the trees that the birds use for food & shelter. I also get curious when I notice the different colors & textures of tree bark when the leaves might look like they come from the same family.

I have used evergreen pitch mixed with ash for sealant and fire fuel..

I like that you include uses & medicinal info for the trees- I have been learning about plant medicine for many years but haven’t explored trees much yet til now.

Thanks so much for all the info in this video :)

[JayWandersOut]

When I hiked at Grove of the Patriarchs at Mt Rainier NP I read all the tree identification placards but I still had no idea what was what. You made it easier although I'll definitely have to watch this a few more times.

[shirakates]

This was lovely, thank you for sharing your wisdom with us!

[EconoChallenge]

I watched because I know trees. I was wrong. I learned a lot more about trees from this video. You know your trees. Thank you.

[WyeExplorer]

Great video Carley. I admire your information retention. There was so much in there it was a job to keep up. I never knew there were so many species and sub species. They sure are successful. Take care. Mark

[darceyjohnson]

Great Vid. Used this a a basis for a home school science class as I now have to home school my 7 year old during the Coronovirus pandemic. She loved the multi-colored space-shifts! Then we went outside to collect pine cones and try to identify types.