Peter Cairns/2020VISION
Ash leaf (Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Shape: A pinnate leaf is a compound leaf where individual leaflets are arranged in rows along both sides of a central stalk.
Colour: In autumn, Ash leaves fade from a vibrant mid-green to yellow and drop in late October. Ash trees also have distinctive brown key-like seeds that hang in bunches from the branches, giving them their name.
Beech leaf (Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Shape: Beech leaves have wavy edges rather than defined 'teeth'. They have 5 to 9 pairs of parallel side-veins that run straight from the central vein to the edge of the leaf. The leaves are rounded in shape, tapering to a gentle point.
Colour: In autumn, Beech leaves turn from light green to bright orange, before dropping gradually from October.
Elder leaf (Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Shape: Elder has pinnate leaves (individual leaflets arranged in rows along both sides of a central stalk), with 5 to 7 tooth-edged leaflets in opposite pairs on each stalk. The leaves are oval in shape and taper to a fine point.
Colour: In autumn, Elder leaves transition from bright green to yellow, the occasionally red, before dropping between October and November. Look out for the dark glossy blue/black berries to help you identify this tree.
Hawthorn leaf (Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Shape: Hawthorn has small, lobed leaves, similar to an oak, but much smaller and more jagged in appearance. The serrated lobes cut deeply into the leaf, often almost all the way down to the central stalk.
Colour: In autumn, Hawthorn may show green, yellow, orange and red leaves all on the same tree. The leaves drop from November, leaving vibrant red berries on the tree.
Hazel leaf (Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Shape: Hazel has small, downy, heart-shaped leaves, with finely serrated edges. Look out for fallen Hazelnuts (known as cobs) to help you identify this tree.
Colour: Hazel leaves turn from rich green to bright yellow in October, dropping by December. The nuts sit in a leafy, acorn-like shell and ripen from a creamy green to rich brown in September and October.
Horse Chestnut leaf (Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Shape: Horse Chestnut leaves are compound or 'pinnate', with 5 to 7 leaflets. The leaflets radiate out from a single point on of the stalk, (palmate), in the shape of a hand.
Also look out for distinctive spiky shells and glossy brown conkers littering the ground to help you identify Horse Chestnut trees in autumn.
Colour: In autumn, Horse Chestnut leaves turn from rich green to warm yellows, bronze and amber.
The leaves naturally start to fall from September, but may turn brown and drop as early as August if the tree is infested by the Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner Moth (Cameraria ohridella).
Oak leaf (Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Shape: The leaf of the English Oak has has 3 to 6 pairs of uneven, rounded lobes with smooth, blunt edges. English Oak also has a very short stalk, hidden by two small leaves at the base, known as 'ears'. These characteristics help to distinguish the leaves form Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea) - another common species.
Colour: English oak leaves turn from dark green to yellow-brown from October, and drop from November to December. Oak trees can also be identified by their iconic acorns in autumn.
Silver Birch leaf (Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Shape: Silver Birch has a triangular or diamond shape leaf with a broad, flat base that tapers to a slender pointed tip. The edges of the leaf has alternating large and small teeth, with sharp points.
Colour: In autumn, Silver Birch leaves turn from light green to golden yellow, falling from October.
Sweet Chestnut leaf (Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Shape: The oval or lance-shaped leaves of the Sweet Chestnut are very large and sharply toothed.
The incredibly spiky green husks and flat-sided chestnuts (unlike rounder conkers), can help you ID this tree in autumn.
Colour: In autumn, the glossy green leaves turn bright golden-yellow or yellow-orange.
Sycamore leaf (Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Shape: The leaf of the Sycamore tree has 5 distinct tooth-edged lobes on a long stem. This distinguishes it from Field Maple (also an acer), which is has smooth edged leaves with no teeth.
Sycamore trees can also be identified by their distinctive double winged seed pods, which have rounded tips and form a sharp 'V' shape.
Colour: In autumn, Sycamore leaves turn from dark green to pale yellow, brown, or sometimes orange and red. Their autumn colours are also less vibrant than Field Maple.
(Illustration: Corinne Welch - Copyright: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts 2022)
Download our free autumn leaf spotter sheet to help you identify while out & about. This is perfect to take on a family walk to engage little ones or to aid identification on a solo trip.
