The first tree field guide I purchased for myself (during my undergraduate field work days) was Trees In Canada (1995) by John Laird Farrar. This book was the field guide for trees.
I have since added to my tree guide collection, Trees of Ontario: Including Tall Shrubs (2001) by Linda Kershaw, and Fall Foliage: The Mystery, Science, and Folklore of Autumn Leaves (2005) by Charles W. G. Smith.
I appreciate guidebooks for their keys to identifying trees - by leaves, flowers, twigs (yes, even twigs for tree identification in winter!), illustrations, photos, and maps of ranges.
Tree identification guides have come a long way and evolved since then. The first tree identification app created was Leafsnap, and has grown to become perhaps the most popular. It is a tool to make identification easy for anyone. You snap a photo of your leaf, identify it from the library of images, and share your findings with the database to help map trees in the area. It's a tool that can engage students as well as a tool to help contribute to citizen science.
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