Broadleaf Evergreens

• 1). Identify holly trees by their characteristic scallop-shaped leaves and red berries.
  
  
• 2). Spot evergreen magnolias by their large (4- to 6-inch-long), thick, glossy leaves.
  
  
• 3). Distinguish tall, tree-like rhododendrons from magnolias by their smaller, narrower leaves, which are more leathery than glossy. Most rhododendrons are considered shrubs, but some varieties grow to heights of 6 feet or more.
  
  

Scale-like Needles or Leaves

• 1). Use a magnifying glass to examine the needle-like branchlets of arborvitea and false cypress. Both have tiny scale-like leaves that hug the branchlets in overlapping layers. Arborvitea scales are roundish.
  
  
• 2). Distinguish false cypress by spotting the cross-hatch X's along the branchlets. This cross-hatched look is created by the pointed scales edged in white wax.
  
  
• 3). Identify cedars by their aromatic, shaggy bark.
  
  

Trees With Needles

• 1). Examine the needles' attachment to the branch. If they are bunched, two or more needles in an attachment, they are pines. For instance, Scotch pines have bundles of two needles; white pines have bundles of five.
  
  
• 2). Distinguish trees without needle bundles by the shape of the needles and the pattern of attachment. Square, stiff needles growing right out of the branch with no stalks signal a spruce tree. Flat needles growing in a spiral are hemlocks.
  
  
• 3). Distinguish hemlocks from firs by closely examining the needle for a whitish-colored band. It will appear down the middle of the needle in a hemlock and on the edges underneath in a fir.
  
  
• 4). Check bare branches for round depressed leaf scars, which indicate a fir.