Friday 24 April 2015

Identify Leaves In New York

Identifying leaves in New York can be a fun activity.


New York leaves are known for their beautiful fall colors of bright reds and yellows during the fall season. The leaves range in size, color, and shape. The leaves can be identified even during the winter by analyzing the fruit and flowers that appear. Leaves that are on trees can also be identified by the bark on the tree it grows on. Does this Spark an idea?


Instructions


1. Analyze the length and shape of the leaves. New York leaves range in size while the shape is either narrow or round. Maple trees have broad shaped leaves that grow up to five inches long. Poplar trees have heart-shaped or round leaves that grow up to 12 cm long. Willow trees have narrow leaves that are on thin branches and grow up to 15 cm long.


2. Examine the texture of the leaves. Many New York leaves are smooth yet few are rough. For example, oak trees have leathery smooth textured leaves while some elm trees have course oval leaves.


3. Look at the fruit on the plant. If New York plants do not have leaves you can identify them still by looking at the plant's fruit. Some plants will have samaras such pussy willows. Other plants such as pin and bur oaks will have acorns.


4. Take notice to the color and shape of the flower on the plant. Flowers on a plant in New York vary in shape and color. Many flowers are elongated, cyndrical droopy catkins that come in a variety of colors including yellow and red. Some plants have four to five petaled flowers that are green, yellow, or white, such as maple, fringetree and downy serviceberry.


5. Analyze the bark of the tree. Another way of identifying leaves in New York is by looking at the bark on trees. New York trees have gray to reddish-brown bark along with a variety of textures. For example, Willow tree bark is dark brown to black with a smooth texture while poplar trees have smooth bark that becomes rough by age with deep grooves. The bark is dark gray. Red oaks have deeply ridged gray colored bark.

Tags: trees have, leaves York, York leaves, bark dark, bark tree, color shape, flowers that