My introduction to tree identification came from a book called “Tree Trails in Central Park”, an enchanting guide to individual New York City trees.
I was living in Manhattan, in love with herbs, but bored by trees until I saw this book on a friend’s shelf. It was published by the Greensward Foundation in 1970 to raise consciousness and money for the Central Park Conservancy, and the author, M. M. Graff, adored the park trees.
He laid out eleven walking tours of the park from various entrances and explained which trees the walker would encounter at stops along the way, described their identifying characteristics, and expressed vivid opinions about the management or mismanagement of the park’s trees.
The directions were extremely specific. For instance: “As you face the water, turn right and walk to lamp post #7507 which stands under a grove of large London planes.”
I began to take his tours, book in hand, and soon discovered the delights of tree identification. In the woods, I had always been overwhelmed by the masses of anonymous trees, but here in the park, thanks to the introductions of Mr. Graff, I saw the trees as individuals worthy of acquaintance and admiration.
I began to look for their relatives on the streets and realized that there are trees on virtually every city block, a bit of nature for me to study every day. Then I began to spend time in the Catskill Mountains, and for the first time, I saw the forest trees one by one, although most of them were different species from the city trees.
I bought a field guide and carried it everywhere. By now, I can identify almost any tree in my region, in any season. And I love them.
For more information, see City Street Trees and Identifying Features of Trees.
