Ontario Trees and Shrubs

An excellent resource. The drawings of leaves and twigs are stylized to highlight the distinctive features of each. The drawings are presented in contrasting pairs, with their differences highlighted.

Books to get you started if you're just learning to identify trees & shrubs

Trees in Canada
John Laird Farrar

Excellent book! THE definitive and authoritative guide to trees in Canada.

The Tree Identification Book
George W.D. Symonds & Stephen V. Chelminski

A unique photographic-only key to trees.

The Shrub Identification Book
George W.D. Symonds & A.W. Merwin

A unique photographic-only key to shrubs.

Trees of Ontario
Published by Lone Pine

Ok. A good beginning book. Inconsistent (different info is presented for different species).

Other valuable resources

Winter Botany
William Trelease
Published by Dover

A good aid to identifying trees & shrubs in winter.

Manual of the Trees of North America (2 vols)
Charles Sprague Sargent
Published by Dover
Originally published 1905, 2nd revised edition 1965.
ISBN 0-486-20277-1 (vol.1) & 0-486-20278-X (vol.2)
   The greatest dendrologist America has ever produced was without doubt Charles Sprague Sargent, Professor of Arboriculture at Harvard and Director of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston until his death in 1927 His monumental "Manual of the Trees of North America," incorporating the results of 44 years of original research, is still unsurpassed as the most comprehensive and reliable volume on the subject. Almost every other book on American trees is selective, but this one assures you of identify�ing any native tree; it includes 185 genera and 717 species of trees (and many shrubs) found in the United States, Canada, and Alaska. 783 sharp, clear line drawings illustrate leaves, flowers, and fruit.
   First, a 6-page synoptic key breaks trees down into 66 different families; then, an unusually useful 11-page analytical key to genera helps the beginner locate any tree readily by its leaf characteristics Within the text over 100 further keys aid in identification The body of the work is a species by species description of leaves, flowers, fruit, winterbuds, bark, wood, growth habits, etc., extraordinary in its fullness and wealth of exact, specific detail Distinguishing features of this book are its extremely precise local; ,IS and distributions; flower and leaf descriptions that indi�cate immaturity variations; and a strong discussion of varieties and local variants.
   Additional useful features are a glossary of technical terms; a system of letter keys classifying trees by regions; and a detailed index of both technical and common names (index, glossary, and introductory keys are printed in both volumes) Students and teachers of botany and forestry, naturallsts, conservationists, and all nature lovers will find this set an unmatched lifetime reference source "Still the best work," Carl Rogers in "The Tree Book." Total of 934 pages.

The Forest Trees of Ontario And The More Commonly Planted Foreign Trees - A Guide To Their Identification With Illustrations
J.H. White. 4th edition revised by R.C. Hosie.
Published by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Originally published 1925, revised 1968
ISBN 0-7743-4913-1

Pretty good reference. Unfortunately out of print.

Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to Know in Ontario
Sheila McKay & Paul Catling

Excellent! Unfortunately out of print. Includes wildflowers as well.

Trees of the Eastern and Central United States and Canada
William M. Harlow
Published by Dover

These Dover reprints are almost always excellent. This one certainly is.

What Wood Is That?

Contains actual samples of various woods.

Manual of Landscape Woody Plants
Michael A. Dirr

THE definitive reference to ALL woody plants used in landscaping. Useful for identifying non-native species. There's also a companion volume with photos of most of the plants in this book.

Other Tree & Shrub books

Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada
Jean Lauriault
Published by National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa 1989

Not very useful. Doesn't contain anything that other books don't cover better.

Fifty Trees of Canada East of the Rockies
J.L. van Camp
Irwin Publishing, Toronto 1952
ISBN 0-7725-1099-7

A nice overview.

Eastern Trees
George A. Petrides & Janet Wehr - (new edition)
Peterson Field Guide series

This one is nowhere near as useful as the Peterson Trees & Shrubs book.

Eastern Forests
John C. Kricher & Gordon Morrison
Peterson Field Guide series

Forest ecology of the east.

The Audubon Society Field Guide to North America Trees - Eastern Region

I don't find this book very useful, compared to other tree books.

Familiar Trees of North America - Eastern Region
Audubon Society Pocket Series, Ann H. Whitman, editor
Published by Alfred A. Knopf 1986
ISBN 0-394-74851-4

A great book for flipping through and obtaining an overview of various species of trees.

Eastern Forests
Ann Sutton & Myron Sutton
Audubon Society Nature Guides

An Illustrated Flora of the Northeastern United States and Canada
Nathaniel Lord Britton & Hon. Addison Brown (3 vols)
Published by Dover

Definitive set of books on NE North America's plants. Includes wildflowers, ferns, grasses. Excellent but scientific. Not for beginners.

Trees of North America
C. Frank Brockman
Golden Guide

A great overview book for getting started, but includes many southern species.

A Pocket Guide to Trees
Rutherford Platt
1952

Great book, but out of print.

The Illustrated Book of Trees
William Carey Grimm
2nd edition 2000
ISBN 0-8117-2811-0

The Illustrated Book of Wildflowers and Shrubs
William Carey Grimm