Identifying spring buds
As the flowering buds on trees begin to appear, here’s how you can tell them apart
A plant’s buds act as a shield for the delicate flowers inside. Flowers of different shapes, sizes and forms come with individual and distinct protection. Throughout winter these buds remain closed and dormant, surviving the cold until their time comes to thrive in the spring, making a vibrant emergence from their compact casing. While it’s usually easy to distinguish a species from its distinct flowers, buds can have more subtle differences. This visual guide to the more common tree buds should help you identify them.
Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
Ash trees are identifiable by their two tiny, sooty black buds either side of a larger bud.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ The Art Agency/ Sandra Doyle)
Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
Beech buds are long and thin, with sharp points and spiky cases, and are a coppery-brown colour.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ The Art Agency/ Sandra Doyle)
Cherry (Prunus avium)
Found mainly in oak woods, their egg-shaped buds can be seen displaying dark-orange, blunt points.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ The Art Agency/ Sandra Doyle)
English oak (Quercus robur)
Plentiful in orange-brown clusters, these oak buds consist of around 20 waxy scales for protection.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ The Art Agency/ Sandra Doyle)
Goat willow (Salix caprea)
Beginning small and hairless, in early spring these yellow buds transform into fluffy, white spectacles.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ The Art Agency/ Sandra Doyle)
Hazel (Corylus avellana)
Quite chunky in shape, hazel buds are relatively large, green ovals at the end of hairy shoots.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ The Art Agency/ Sandra Doyle)
Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
Dark-red and sticky to touch. Oval in shape, they are protected by scales.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ The Art Agency/ Sandra Doyle)
Silver birch (Betula pendula)
Small and slightly pointed, silver birch buds are mainly light green. Look for the trees’ distinctive white bark.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ The Art Agency/ Sandra Doyle)
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)
The oval shapes of these plum-coloured buds are smoother than the horse chestnut’s and lack scales.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ The Art Agency/ Sandra Doyle)
White poplar (Populus alba)
White poplars have a spiral design. They grow following the direction of the twig and their scales overlap.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ The Art Agency/ Sandra Doyle)
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