Earl L. Core

It got a little late in the year for me to test drive this as much as I would have liked, but it is one of the definitive books on identifying woody plants when the leaves are off. In fact, I found that some copies of literature I had from a "Winter ID Tree Hike" were from the introduction of this book. The drawings & explanations of identifying features are excellent.When most people think of identifying trees, it is most often done by looking at leaves & bark. When the former aren't available, bark is not a great indicator. Too many barks are similar & they can vary greatly depending on age & conditions of & around the tree. This book concentrates on twigs & their components. These can get pretty technical, but by marking the beginning of the book, I was able to quickly refer to it until I was comfortable in my knowledge of them.I used the book to identify some trees I already knew & then moved on to a couple from the "Winter Tree Finder" finally to one that I was unsure about. Time will tell on the last, but I feel more comfortable that I've identified it correctly now. The "Winter Tree Finder" is still preferable only because of it's portability. I believe I'll outgrow it quickly though & this will become my winter preference.… (mer)