London Tree Spotter

An oak tree with a wide crown.

There’s nothing more satisfying than identifying the trees you see and London has lots of them! Around 8.4 million in fact, making it one of the world’s largest ‘urban forests’.

Here are 9 nine trees to get you started on identifying trees

Species

English oak

The English oak is, perhaps, our most iconic tree: the one that almost every child and adult alike could draw the lobed leaf of, or…

Species

Sycamore

A tall, domed tree of woodlands, hedgerows and parks, the introduced sycamore is familiar to many of us the 'helicopter'…

Species

London plane

The London plane tree is, as its name suggests, a familiar sight along the roadsides and in the parks of London. An introduced and…

Species

Common beech

An iconic tree, particularly in the south of the UK, the Common beech stands tall and proud in woodlands and parks. It turns beautiful…

Species

Horse chestnut

A tall, broad tree of woodlands, roadsides and parks, the introduced horse chestnut is familiar to many of us the 'conker'…

Species

Common hornbeam

Mainly found in Southern and Eastern England, the Common hornbeam is a tall tree of ancient woodlands. Its large catkins appear in…

Species

Ash

A common tree, ash is familiar to many of us for its autumnal bunches of winged seeds, called 'keys'. It can be found in…

Species

Silver birch

A spindly tree of heathland and moorlands, and dry and sandy soils, the Silver birch is well known for its paper-thin, white bark. It is…

Species

Hybrid black poplar

The Hybrid black poplar is a variety of our wild Black poplar that can be seen along riversides, roadsides and in parks. Used for…

Download our Beginners Guide to identifying trees here

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New Cross Gate Cutting credit Jeremiah Quinn