Virginia Tech Dendrology Tools
Dichotomous Leaf Key
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So far you have made the following choices...
Location: none selected
Plant Hardiness Zone: none selected
Which kind of plant is your leaf from? (more info)
My leaf is from a tree
My leaf is from a shrub
My leaf is from a bramble, rose, or soft-wooded shrub with arching canes
My leaf is from a climbing or scrambling vine
Which best describes your leaf?
Broad leaves
Slender or scaly leaves
My leaf is palm-like
My leaf is slender and strap-like (the yuccas)
I have a cactus, with leaves that are reduced to spines
Let's narrow our choices based on leaf arrangement.
My leaves are arranged opposite each other, in pairs or in threes
My leaves alternate on the stem - they are not whorled or in pairs
Let's narrow our choices based on leaf type.
My leaves are simple - they have a petiole that bears a single leaf
My leaves are compound - they have a central stalk with several leaflets
Let's narrow our choices based on leaflet arrangement.
My leaf is pinnately compound - it has a central leaf stalk with several leaflets
My leaf is bipinnately compound - it has a central leaf stalk with several leaflet-bearing leafstalks that branch off of that
My leaf is trifoliate compound - it has three leaflets per leaf
My leaf is palmately compound - it has a stalk with leaflets that radiate from a central point
Let's narrow our choices based on the leaflet shape.
My leaflet is heart-shaped
My leaflet is long and narrow
My leaflet is roughly oval, widest above the midpoint
My leaflet is round (in outline)
My leaflet is oval to elliptical, widest at or below the midpoint
My leaflet is wedge-shaped
Let's narrow our choices based on leaf shape.
My leaflet has obvious lobes
My leaflet has no obvious lobes (but may have teeth)
Let's narrow our choices based on the leaf edge.
My leaflet has a serrated leaf margin - the edge resembles saw teeth
My leaflet has a smooth leaf margin (but may have large teeth)
My leaflet is spine-tipped
Is your leaf thick or thin?
My leaf has is thin and easy to tear
My leaf has thick and leathery, maybe evergreen
Restart from the beginning.
Possible matches:
There were 24 matches to your search.
 Aralia spinosa - Devil's walking stick
 Carya cordiformis - bitternut hickory
 Carya glabra - pignut hickory
 Carya illinoinensis - pecan
 Carya laciniosa - shellbark hickory
 Carya myristiciformis - nutmeg hickory
 Carya ovalis - red hickory
 Carya ovata - shagbark hickory
 Carya pallida - sand hickory
 Carya tomentosa - mockernut hickory
 Juglans cinerea - butternut
 Juglans major - Arizona walnut
 Juglans microcarpa - little walnut
 Juglans nigra - black walnut
 Koelreuteria paniculata - goldenraintree
 Rhus glabra - smooth sumac
 Rhus typhina - staghorn sumac
 Schinus terebinthifolius - Brazilian peppertree
 Sorbus americana - American mountain-ash
 Sorbus aucuparia - European mountain-ash
 Sorbus decora - showy mountain-ash
 Sorbus scopulina - Greene's mountain-ash
 Sorbus sitchensis - Sitka mountain-ash
 Ungnadia speciosa - Mexican buckeye
 
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