Hi, How did you get on?

Here are the answers

for most of the answers I have included a link to the relevant page of our tree archive

1) Acer pseudoplatanus – Sycamore – the black spots of the tar spot fungus give this away as sycamore – 

2) Ginkgo biloba – The distinctive leaves of the ginkgo tree 

3) Ficus carica – You should have got this one, a fig leaf 

4) Castanea sativa – Sweet chestnut 

5) Fagus sylvatica – Beech, this has smooth edges to the leaves 

6) Carpinus betulus – Hornbeam, about the same size as beech leaves but with serrated edges 

7) Liriodendron tulipifera – Tulip tree – the leaves look as if the ends have been snipped off 

8) Taxodium distichum – the swamp cypress, one of the few deciduous conifers (the dawn redwood and larches are others) 

9) Ulmus glabra – elm. Note the asymmetrical base to the leaf characteristic of an elm 

10) Acer platanoides – Norway maple. Another maple with more sharply pointed leaves than sycamore and much brighter colours

11) Tilia henryana – A tricky one! The hair-like projections on the leaf teeth give this away as Henry’s lime 

12) Tilia x europaea Common lime 

13) Betula pendula – Silver birch: see the web page for the different leaf shape of Betula pubescens

14) Acer palmatum – Japanese maple, one of the brilliantly coloured maples in the Botanic gardens 

15) Corylus avellana – Common hazel 

16) Quercus robur – One of many oaks in the Botanic Gardens, this is the pedunculate oak 

17) Nyssa sylvatica – Tupelo, Another of the brilliant colours in the botanic gardens, the leaves are variable in shape 

18) Prunus species – One of many ornamental cherries prized for both spring flowers and autumn colours 

19) Quercus rubra – Another oak, the American red oak with large, sharply toothed leaves and brighter Autumn colours 

20) Acer saccharinum – Silver maple, the silver backs to the leaves help to distinguish it from Norway maple

How did you get on?

These are just 20 out of several hundred tree species in Belfast Botanic Gardens – there are over 100 described in our tree archive.

Why not have a walk in the Botanic Gardens to see how many of the leaves you can find and identify