Guides to identifying trees usually rely on leaves to distinguish between species. But if you live where it gets cold in winter, the trees around you may look a little barer at this time of year. Many trees shed their leaves to save energy during the chilly season. This can leave trees looking sleepy and dreary — and largely the same as each other. Still, it’s possible to ID many trees, even when their branches are empty. It just requires peering closer and paying a little more attention to other parts of the plant.

You might have to turn over twigs, for instance. Or gently squeeze tree buds. Or run your fingers over chilly bark.

Tree identification is a dying art, scientists note. Simply put, fewer of us know how to do it. Yet the practice is becoming more and more important.

Plant and tree identification help scientists manage forests and protect these ecosystems from climate change. And you don’t need to be a scientist to benefit from tree-ID skills. Learning to pick out different species can help you appreciate the diversity of life right in your own backyard, neighborhood or nearby woods.

“I am still constantly amazed and curious about what’s out there,” says Steven Roberge. He’s a forest ecologist at the University of New Hampshire Extension in Durham. “I’ve been a forester for almost 25 years now, and there’s not a day in the woods where I don’t see or experience something new.”

Finding a field guide at your local library or bookstore will help you ID the exact trees in your area. Each species has its own unique tells. But there are a few general strategies to examining any tree that can help you recognize what you’re looking at.

Branches

Winter may strip away a tree’s striking leaves — but that can also better reveal the plant’s intricate network of woody arms. And those branches and twigs can offer clues to their host’s identity.

Trees usually grow new arms in two distinct patterns. You can sometimes see this by looking at how smaller twigs (the newest growth) break off from larger branches (older arms that grow out of the trunk). Many tree species alternate growing new twigs on each side of the older arm. Others grow new twigs in pairs, on opposite sides of the original branch.

Tree twigs and buds can grow in opposite (left) or alternate (right) patterns. Left: Pascal Deloche /GODONG/Stone/Getty Images Right: Leonid Eremeychuk/500px/500px Plus/Getty Images

If you find an opposite-branching pattern, you’re in luck. You can now rule out most tree species. Opposite branching often means it’s a maple, ash or dogwood (the acronym MAD can you help remember this trio). These trees can be found in many places across North America. Many other common trees in the United States — such as oaks, birch and locusts — sprout branches in an alternating pattern.

But pay close attention. Branches can fall off and make the sprouting pattern less clear. Sometimes, it’s easier to determine a tree’s branching pattern by looking at the tips of twigs, the newest part of a branch. There you’ll find tree buds growing alternately or oppositely, too.

Buds

Buds are tiny, scaly nubs. Baby leaves spend the winter inside them. Come spring, new twigs can grow from buds, too. Because they are so distinct from one tree species to the next, buds are an important part of winter tree identification.

“Buds can be all shapes, sizes and colors,” notes Julia Alards-Tomalin. She’s a plant specialist at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby, Canada. “They can be hairy. They can be smooth. They can be sticky. Or they can be smelly.”

Buds on oak trees, for example, don’t grow alone. If the tip of a twig bears four or more stubby buds, it might be some type of oak. On birches, meanwhile, the buds are usually accompanied by catkins — dangling seed sacks that are soft to the touch. Hawthorn trees guard their buds notoriously well. Spiky thorns grow up and down their branches, in between the buds. And ash trees often grow tiny brown buds the same shape and color — though not the same taste — as candy: Hershey’s Kisses.

If you can’t see the budded tips of any twigs high in a tree, try looking down. Twigs with buds often get snapped off by squirrels, beetles and the wind. One might be waiting for an ID right at your feet.

Bark

Bark is like a tree’s armor. It keeps the plant warm, hydrated and protected from pests.

“When I look at a tree, I look at the bark,” says Roberge. “I’m looking at the color. I’m looking at the texture and how it feels. Is the bark flaky? Is it papery? Does it curl?”

Birch trees (left) are known for their bright white bark. Black cherry trees (right) have darker, grooved trunks. They almost look like trees made of burnt potato chips.Left: Danita Delimont/Gallo Images ROOTS RF collection/Getty Images Right: Chhe/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

While many North American trees have gray trunks, there are a handful of species that stick out in the crowd. Beech trees, for instance, are wrapped in smooth and silvery bark. Birch trees have white bark that peels and curls, almost like paper. London plane trees, popular on city sidewalks, have trunks with bark that seems to be falling off to reveal soft, white wood beneath. And if you spot a tree that looks like it has thousands of burnt potato chips glued to its trunk, you might be fortunate enough to have found a black cherry.

Learn how to spot identifying clues to a tree’s identity from a twig.

Getting started

Ready to head outside and do some tree inventory? Don’t forget your supplies!

Start with a field guide or ID app that can help you match the branch, bud or bark you spy to an exact species. Try visiting your local library and finding a guide for your region. For North American tree IDers, Alards-Tomalin  recommends Trees of the Northern United States and Canada.

Plant-identification apps such as iNaturalist can also show you what trees live in your area. And magnifying glasses can help you zoom in on buds and bark to spy details.

If you live in a busy area, someone might have already identified your local trees. Some U.S. city governments, for instance, post street tree maps online. These archives, like this one for Washington, D.C., may catalog just about every tree within a city’s limits. Try Googling your city’s name plus “tree street map” to find one near you.

Bringing a magnifying glass and field guide on your tree-ID expeditions can help you narrow in on an identification.Young777/Vetta/Getty

Even if you have to wait until leaves come back in the spring to conclusively ID a tree, making a stab at winter identifications is good way to get familiar with the trees on your block. And if you can’t get outside, you can still practice indoors with online plant-ID games. Whatever you choose, it’s bound to make you feel more in tune with the greenery living nearby.

“When you take the time to really, really look at something like a bud or a leaf, it’s really good for your mental health,” says Alards-Tomalin. Research has shown that connecting with nature can soothe anxiety, boost focus and more.

Getting to know the trees, plants and shrubs on your street isn’t that different from getting to know your neighbors, their dogs or the mail carrier. “When you start to recognize the life forms around you,” Alards-Tomalin says, “you just feel more connected to the place you call home.”