09/25/2026
Another leaf identification chart. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1735995498528447&set=a.215192970608715
A leaf is basically a nametag the tree wears all season, and autumn is when it finally turns the lettering bright enough for the rest of us to read.
The colors themselves were never a mystery trick. According to the USDA Forest Service, the yellows and oranges you see in aspen, birch, ginkgo, and elm were sitting inside those leaves all summer long. They are carotenoids, and they stay hidden under green chlorophyll until shorter days signal the tree to stop producing it. The reds and purples are a different story. Those come from anthocyanins, which many trees actively produce in fall. Sunny days followed by cool nights, but not a hard freeze, push anthocyanin production into high gear, which is why some autumns are spectacular and others are a little underwhelming.
Color alone will only get you so far, though. The real identification clues are in the shape, the edges, and the way the leaves attach to the twig.
Start with the maples. Maples grow their leaves in opposite pairs along the branch, which instantly separates them from lookalikes. Sugar maple (Zones 3 to 8) has smooth edges and rounded, U-shaped notches between its lobes, and it tends to glow in orange and gold. Red maple (Zones 3 to 9) has sharper, V-shaped notches, toothed edges, and a red leaf stalk, and it is one of the most dependable reds you will find. Silver maple (Zones 3 to 9) is cut so deeply it looks almost lacy, with a pale silvery underside that flashes in the wind.
Crimson King maple (Zones 4 to 7) deserves a little honesty. That deep maroon is not really a fall color at all. This Norway maple cultivar holds its purple foliage all summer and often fades to a muddy bronze in autumn. Norway maple is also considered invasive in many eastern and midwestern states, so it is worth admiring from a distance rather than planting.
Now the star-shaped leaf that fools everyone. Sweetgum (Zones 5 to 9) looks like a maple at first glance, but its leaves grow alternately rather than in pairs, and a single tree can show yellow, orange, red, and purple all at once. Crush a leaf and you will notice a pleasant, resinous scent.
Oaks split neatly into two camps. White oak (Zones 3 to 9) has rounded, smooth lobes, while northern red oak (Zones 4 to 8) has pointed lobes tipped with tiny bristles. Many oaks also hang onto their dried brown leaves well into winter, a habit called marcescence.
Among the simpler shapes, black gum (Zones 4 to 9) has glossy, smooth-edged oval leaves and is often one of the very first trees to color up. Autumn Brilliance serviceberry (Zones 4 to 9) has small oval leaves with fine teeth and earns its name every October. Elm (American elm, Zones 2 to 9) has a lopsided base and double-toothed edges. Birch (paper birch, Zones 2 to 6) has a triangular leaf with coarse double teeth.
Here is a fun one: aspens are poplars. Quaking aspen (Zones 1 to 6) belongs to the same genus as cottonwoods and other poplars (Zones 3 to 9). Its leaf stalk is flattened sideways, which is exactly why the whole tree trembles in even a light breeze.
And then there is ginkgo (Zones 3 to 8), with its fan-shaped leaves and parallel, forking veins. It is a living fossil whose lineage stretches back over 200 million years, and many trees drop nearly every leaf within a single day or two, leaving a perfect golden carpet underneath.
