Jan. 18--On a winter walk in the woods or the neighborhood, look at the trees. Can you tell them apart?
Identifying trees in the summer, when they have leaves, can be daunting enough, but bare trees in winter are even more challenging.
Fortunately, your phone may be able to help, says Carissa Dougherty, head of knowledge management at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle.
Choosing a smartphone or tablet app from the many available can be difficult. Fortunately, Dougherty has some recommendations, based on a comparison she conducted with other Arboretum staff members.
"You have to ask not just whether the app includes the tree you're looking at but whether it can help you identify it," she says. "The interface matters."
Although no app is perfect, here are some paid apps Dougherty likes for homeowners and gardeners just getting to know their trees.
The other important identification tool is close observation. Small differences will be the essential clues.
Trees 2 Pro ($5.99 iTunes, $9.99 Android): This app uses filters so you can base your search on just what you are able to observe right now. For example, in winter when the leaves are gone, you can base your search on bark. The criteria are sometimes too general, though, to narrow down the choices easily. You'll have to dig a bit to reach the ID tool ("Species Guide").
Arbor Day Tree Identification Guide ($4.99, iTunes only): This tool is organized as a dichotomous key -- a classic species identification technique based on a series of choices. It's effective during the growing season, but may not work as well in winter; when you're looking at a tree with no leaves, a question about leaf shape can be a dead end. The information also is available free at www.arborday.org/trees/whattree.
Audubon Trees ($4.99 iTunes, $3.99 Android): With many more trees in its database than the others, this app also uses filters (go to "Explore Trees" and "Advanced Search").
Fifty Trees of the Midwest ($3.99, iTunes only): Though it includes just 50 species, this app is very well-organized and illustrated, with accessible definitions of scientific terms. "It would be a great way for a beginner to learn how to use a key," Dougherty says.
Dougherty has some other tips for shopping for apps for gardening, nature or any other topic:
Search blogs. Bloggers often do app reviews. If you find bloggers similar to yourself -- a beginner gardener, for example, or a mom who wants to enrich nature walks with her kids, or a horticulture professional -- those reviews may be most useful to you.
Read reviews. Look at those from a version or two back, not just the current version. "They can tell you the story of how well the developer responds to problems," she says.
Choose an appropriate app. For professionals, it might well be worth $14.99 to download the Tree and Shrub Finder based on Michael Dirr's authoritative "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants," including 1,670 species and 7,800 cultivars. But for a home gardener, that's probably overkill.
Check the web. A simple web search may turn up what you need. "There's a lot of information online that you can get on your phone," Dougherty says. "You may not even need an app."
Beth Botts is a staff writer at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle (www.mortonarb.org). For tree and plant advice, contact the arboretum's Plant Clinic (630-719-2424 or plantclinic@mortonarb.org).
