The bark is usually bright in colour, from red on very young stems to becoming white/silver with age. The Tree Atlas . Or select a region for a larger-scale map. American beech. Learn which trees are native to Ontario and the best species to plant where you live. The buds are quite prominent on the slender twigs and may be sticky. Southwest. Click on the map as close as possible to your intended planting site. Select a region . Aspen – the leaves are heart shaped to rounded and are about 2 to 2 1/2 inches long. Anthracnose can be controlled to some extent by removing and burning the affected leaves and branches. South central. Evergreen and Coniferous Trees. A birch leaf is longer than an Aspen leaf. All regions. American elm. This means they bear both male and female reproductive material on a single tree. This material will be taken up as the tree takes up water for its leaves and remain in the tree for the remainder of the year. The edges are finely serrated or toothed. Southeast. They look broader or fatter than Birch leaves. Birch trees are susceptible to a type of fungal disease called anthracnose, which is characterized by brown spots or patches with irregular margins, on the leaves. How to Identify Tree by Leaves . Female catkins are clusters of seeds, while male catkins are clusters of pollen. They love to feed on Birch trees and can skeletonize leaves in a short period of time. Paper Birch (Betula Papyrifera) Paper birch are the most widely spread species of birch tree, spanning the entire width of the northern United States, and the entire width of Canada into Alaska, except for the high Arctic. Some birch trees such as the black birch and the yellow birch have twigs that give off a wintergreen aroma when you break them. The silver birch has pointed, triangular leaves. Silver birch has both male and female flowers (catkins) on the same tree. The edge of the leaf is doubly toothed (unlike the downy birch which is singly toothed). This disease results in loss of foliage, and also make the trees prone to infestations by insects. Photo via Flickr. Leaves of Aspen and Birch Tree. That means it is one of the first trees to colonise new (or cleared) land. Birch leaves are simple with serrated margins, and the trees are monoecious. For birches, these reproductive parts are called catkins (to picture them, think of caterpillars dangling from twigs). Single Needles: Needles on a lot of evergreen trees will be attached to a twig. Northwest. The young twigs of downy birch have small hairs, whereas the silver birch twigs have small white wart like structures. ... Leaves. Northeast. When a tree has foliage that are needles or clusters of needles, those trees are most likely a coniferous evergreen. Buds, Bark and Stem. Leaf Identification Infographic . Paper birch is an easy tree to identify, with its white bark that tears in strips from the trunk. Silver birch is a pioneer tree. The edges are more roughly serrated or toothed. A young silver birch leaf Flowers . Getting a tree service to perform a soil-applied systemic insecticide injection in the spring. The bark of most poplars is dark colored, hard, fissured or furrowed on the mature specimens. Alternate-leaf dogwood. Identifying birch trees by their leaves is one major way to tell them apart. American chestnut. Birch leaves are a source of food for various butterflies.