Plant leaf identification terms are a method that has been used previously. But, not many people do not know how to identify fruit trees by leaf because they are not seasoned farmers.
It has existed for a long time, and the experience of identifying this tree species has been handed down in the industry for a long time.
This article will help you answer “How to identify fruit trees?” without waiting until they bear fruit.
Let’s observe the characteristics of fruit tree leaves provided below to have the proper care method for a successful crop quickly.
6 Steps To Identify Fruit Tree By Leaf By Observing
Determining which plants are fruit trees early will be easy for you to care for and provide nutrition for them from a young age.
“How to identify a tree by its leaf?” also, find out the fruit types through the following six steps:
Step 1: Observe The Shape Of The Leaves
The first step in observing a plant is to look at the shape of the leaves and evaluate them.
Fruit trees often have leaf shapes, such as elongated oval or oblong, which we often see in apple or peach tree leaves.
Some leaf types that appear equally are lobed on the leaves of a fig tree or as long and narrow as mango tree leaves, cherry leaves, or avocado leaves.
Step 2: Observe The Margin Of The Leaf
Following the leaf shape determines whether the leaf margin surrounding the leaf has the distinguishing features of a fruit tree.
If the plants in your garden have margin characteristics such as smoothness, spines, and toothed edges, then you have a fruit tree variety.
A smooth margin is usually present on guava or pear tree leaves, and cherry tree or tomato leaves will have serrated edge margin spines.
Step 3: Check The Shine On The Leaves
Remember the shine of your leaves because entire trees have both a luster like the leaves of an orange tree leaves, or true lemon tree leaves; and a certain dullness like the leaves of an apple tree.
An unusual growth pattern in leaf shine should also be considered.
Step 4: Observe The Color Of The Leaves.
The dark color of the leaves is another consideration. We cannot determine if this is a fruit tree by color.
But if you are sure your tree is a fruit tree, the color helps identify the species of the plant citrus tree family.
For example, large, dark-green leaves resemble mandarin trees, bright green often occurs in nectarines, and light green resembles the leaves of mulberry trees.
Step 5: Observe Some Unusual Identifying Characteristics
If some plant species have distinctive characteristics, do not rush to ignore them. You can take a picture for careful observation to find out what kind of tree it is.
There are quite a few fruit trees with unusual plant leaf characteristic terms in the world as the leaves of pear trees or nectarine trees.
For example, the fig tree leaves often have raised nodules resembling acne. However, fig leaves are edible and usually served with boiled pork, fish salad, etc.
Step 6: Compare What You See With The Field Guidebook.
We are not professional farmers, so we need quality references to identify the foliage.
You can refer to the book “National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees” to compare the images of leaves in your garden with the fruit trees in this book.
5 Most Popular Fruit Trees By Leaf
“How to find out what tree I have?” or “how can I identify a tree by its leaves?” are common questions that gardening enthusiasts often ask.
Here are the world’s top 5 best-known fruit trees with different leaf shapes. You can learn more about plants and how to classify fruit trees based on leaves.
Banana
Banana trees are usually quite large fruit trees grown in your garden. The leaf blades are oval and mature in layers.
Ornamental banana simple leaves are dark green, leaning outwards like propellers, looking beautiful. The plant has the best-known fruit with a natural and fake leaf stem that grows on the ground.
Apple
The apple tree is a tropical fruit tree belonging to the famous family Rhamnaceae. The apple tree leaves are alternate, and the blade is ovate, about 2-6.5cm long and 1.5-4cm wide.
The upper surface of the leaves is dark green, the veins are visible, and the surface is glossy, with serration shapes and toothed edges.
Grape
Grape (Vitis vinifera) belongs to the family Ampelidae, is native to the dry temperate regions of Armenia – Iran, and is a perennial plant.
Grapefruit tree leaves consist of a leaf blade, a leaf stem, and a pair of accompanying leaves; the accompanying leaves cover a burning part and quickly fade.
Grape leaves are heart-shaped and surrounded by many serrated lobes.
Depending on the variety, the lobed leaves are shallow or deep, and the hair density on the leaves is high or low.
The leaf blade has a system of veins, the sets of conductive vessels connecting the leaf to the branch.
Strawberry
Strawberry trees are herbaceous plants, living many years if well cared for. Strawberry leaves vary in shape, depending on the variety of dark green, primarily hairy, and serrated margins.
The strawberry plant has many leaves surrounding the patterns on the stems.
Most strawberry varieties have long stalks; the petioles are usually white when the leaves are young and turn earthy red when the leaves are old.
Citrus
Oranges, tangerines, and true lemon trees are the three most common citrus fruits. Most of them are similar in structure, so it will be difficult to tell them apart until they are adults.
Their leaves are green, staggered to each other, and citrus blossoms. Citrus leaves (especially the orange tree image) usually have dark green leaves, often covered with thorns.
The smell of crushed leaves of the citrus leaves family is very refreshing. Nearly all plants in this family, from lemon trees to wild herbs, have highly fragrant essential oils.
Conclusion
Through this article, we hope readers will know enough about the tree in question, “How to identify fruit tree by leaf?” and knowledge in basic plant leaf identification.
It would be best to remember that fruit trees bring many economic benefits, so tree identification by leaf needs to be applied to farming for native species.
Hope you will have a good crop thanks to our article.
If you are not an agricultural expert, seek advice from real farmers about alternate patterns regardless of frost-free regions, coldest regions, mild climates, warm climates, cold weather, or dry periods.
