Telling bark apart by pattern
How ridges, plates, peeling sheets and smooth grey skin separate the common trees at a glance.
This page shows how to separate common woodland trees by the pattern of their bark alone. Bark is often the first thing visible on a trunk, and it stays visible in winter when the leaves are gone. Four patterns cover most cases.
The four patterns
- Ridges
- Long, raised bands running up the trunk, separated by deep grooves. Oak has ridges that stand well clear of the grooves.
- Plates
- Flat, rough blocks separated by fissures, the cracks between them. Ash shows a fine diamond network of fissures on older trunks.
- Peeling sheets
- Thin, papery layers that curl or lift from the trunk and leave a different colour beneath. Silver birch peels in white sheets.
- Smooth grey skin
- Unbroken, tight bark with pale horizontal marks called lenticels. Beech keeps this skin for most of its life.
How age changes the pattern
Young stems of most trees are smooth. Fissures and plates form as the trunk thickens and the outer layer splits. A smooth grey stem no thicker than a wrist is usually a young tree or a young branch, so judge the pattern on the thicker trunk, where the bark has had time to develop.
Sycamore starts smooth and grey-brown, then breaks into thin scaly plates. The plates flake off in patches and leave cream and pale grey areas beneath. The flakes are the feature to look for.
Checking a trunk step by step
- Choose a trunk at chest height that is at least as thick as your arm.
- Look for the dominant pattern across the whole trunk, not one patch.
- Note the colour of the bark and of any exposed layer beneath it.
- Compare the base with the upper stem, since the pattern often changes along the trunk.
- If the bark does not settle the name, check the twigs and buds. See reading buds on a bare twig.
Bark as one clue among several
| Tree | Pattern | Colour | Key sign |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak | Deep ridges | Grey-brown | Ridges stand clear of deep grooves |
| Ash | Fine diamond fissures | Grey | Plates form a diamond network on older trunks |
| Silver birch | Peeling sheets | White with black marks | Papery layers lift off the trunk |
| Beech | Smooth grey skin | Pale grey | Unbroken skin with pale lenticels |
| Sycamore | Scaly plates | Grey-brown with cream patches | Flakes come away in patches |
| Hornbeam | Fluted ridges | Grey | Twisting ridges, smooth grey between them |
Bark alone can mislead on young trees and on trunks that are damaged or heavily covered in moss or lichen. Compare the bark with leaves, buds and seeds before settling a name.
For single-tree profiles, see silver birch, common ash and sycamore. Terms such as lenticel and fissure are set out in the glossary. Each note carries its publication date, as explained in about this field guide.