# Tree Identification Help **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836 "2018-04-04T23:03:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/1 "2018-04-04T23:03:56Z")
The pictures linked here are of the leaves and the trunk of a tree in our back yard, in the Austin TX area. We have two of these, and would love to know what they are so we could treat them right. We have gotten a variety of answers from people who have seen the leaves or the trees but there was no agreement. There are many of these trees in our area but they tend to grow wild and I think ours did too. Any one know what they are? Thanks. [Leaves](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11280147@N02/41241466271/in/album-72157689521764180/) [Bark](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11280147@N02/27367393518/in/album-72157689521764180/) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/2 "2018-04-04T23:08:49Z")
That is the rare 403 error tree. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/3 "2018-04-04T23:16:03Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > That is the rare 403 error tree. The OP left us in the Lurch. The Lurch. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/4 "2018-04-04T23:21:58Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The OP left us in the Lurch. > > The Lurch. We’ll just have to Fester until the links are fixed. Fester. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/5 "2018-04-04T23:25:12Z")
This prompted me to try to find another tree I had been meaning to identify… and I came across this very cool list of trees. Not tree species, but famous individual trees, with their backstory. There’s some interesting browsing here. > **[List of individual trees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_individual_trees)** > > The following is a list of notable trees. Trees listed here are regarded as important or specific by their historical, national, locational, natural or mythological context. The list includes actual trees located throughout the world, as well as trees from myths and religions. > 17.361719°N 78.475166°E > 23°21′N 120°48′E I think I may have found my bucket list - to hug every tree on this list. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/6 "2018-04-04T23:51:50Z")
The links work for me. What should I do to fix them? They go to Flickr and the pictures are public. Help! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/7 "2018-04-04T23:53:39Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > The links work for me. What should I do to fix them? They go to Flickr and the pictures are public. Help! A 403 means the content is forbidden. Double-check your permissions. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/8 "2018-04-04T23:57:45Z")
OK, I think I have fixed the links. The stupid Flickr has Public and Private in a couple of places but I believe the pix are public now. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/9 "2018-04-05T00:03:56Z")
Definitely elm family; possibly zelkova. What kind of seeds/berries does it have? ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/10 "2018-04-05T00:12:42Z")
I retract zelkova – bark is wrong. Definitely an elm. ---
**Author:** ![oliversarmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/eb8c5e/32.png) [@oliversarmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oliversarmy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/11 "2018-04-05T00:45:15Z")
Looks like a cedar elm, but I’m no botanist. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/12 "2018-04-05T01:05:49Z")
You might not be a botanist, **oliversarmy** , but I think you hit the nail on the head! Thanks so much. ---
**Author:** ![hondodoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bcef8e/32.png) [@hondodoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hondodoc)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/13 "2018-04-05T16:48:53Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > The pictures linked here are of the leaves and the trunk of a tree in our back yard, in the Austin TX area. We have two of these, and would love to know what they are so we could treat them right. We have gotten a variety of answers from people who have seen the leaves or the trees but there was no agreement. There are many of these trees in our area but they tend to grow wild and I think ours did too. Any one know what they are? Thanks. > [Leaves](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11280147@N02/41241466271/in/album-72157689521764180/) > [Bark](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11280147@N02/27367393518/in/album-72157689521764180/) That’s a hackberry. Some consider it a trash tree. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/14 "2018-04-05T17:08:31Z")
> [@hondodoc](#): > > That’s a hackberry. Some consider it a trash tree. I don’t think so. The leaves are the wrong shape. Look at the base of the leaf. In the hackberry the leaf base extends perpendicular to the petiole, and the base of the leaf is distinctly wider than the tip. Or in some species the leaf is cordate (with the petiole in a cleft). These leaves are elliptic. I’m by no means an expert, but I was testing my tree i.d. skills and independently came up with Cedar Elm too, I think that’s correct. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/15 "2018-04-05T17:54:58Z")
Different trash tree: the Siberian elm. [https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant\_database/detail.php?symbol=ULPU](https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=ULPU) It will take over if you don’t control it. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/16 "2018-04-05T18:36:57Z")
> [@hondodoc](#): > > That’s a hackberry. Some consider it a trash tree. I’ve got a hackberry - leaves are quite different. Also, OP would have likely noticed the galls. IMO, far from a trash tree, it is a nigh-indestructible native. VERY hard wood! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/17 "2018-04-06T00:18:32Z")
When I saw the leaves, elm jumped out at me. Beyond that, no thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/18 "2018-04-06T17:14:05Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The OP left us in the Lurch. > > The Lurch. Subtle! ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/19 "2018-04-06T18:02:06Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I’ve got a hackberry - leaves are quite different. Also, OP would have likely noticed the galls. > > IMO, far from a trash tree, it is a nigh-indestructible native. VERY hard wood! According to Texas A&M Forrest Service it’s a soft wood: [http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/TreeDetails/?id=27](http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/TreeDetails/?id=27) They tend to grow up along fence lines and will warp a chain link fence if you don’t get rid of the saplings. They also are messy and tend to have webworms. They’re messy, too. almost as bad as mimosa. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836/20 "2018-04-06T19:09:01Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > According to Texas A&M Forrest Service it’s a soft wood: > [Texas A&M Forest Service - Trees of Texas - List of Trees](http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/TreeDetails/?id=27) Cool. I’m just going by my personal experience trimming branches w/ lopes and saw. VERY hard. Of course, trees (and men) are likely tougher up north here than down in Texas! 🆒 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-identification-help/811836.md?page=2)