Identify by feature
Tree with lobed leaves: which one is it?
A tree with deeply lobed leaves, the lobes set along the midrib, is almost always an oak – usually English oak or sessile oak, in avenues and parks also red oak – or, if the leaf is small and the twigs are thorny, a hawthorn.
10 species with this feature
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English oak Quercus robur
Broadleaf tree
Alternate, 7–14 cm, with 4–7 pairs of rounded lobes. Leaf stalk very short (under 1 cm); the leaf base has two small ear lobes.
Native
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Sessile oak Quercus petraea
Broadleaf tree
Alternate, 7–14 cm, regularly lobed with 5–8 pairs of shallow lobes. Leaf stalk 1–2.5 cm; leaf base wedge-shaped, without ear lobes.
Native
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Red oak Quercus rubra
Broadleaf tree
Alternate, 12–22 cm, with 7–11 pointed lobes ending in fine bristle tips. Autumn colour red to red-brown.
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Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna
Broadleaf tree
Alternate, small (2–5 cm), deeply cut into 3–7 lobes.
Native
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Midland hawthorn Crataegus laevigata
Broadleaf tree
Alternate, 2–5 cm, obovate with 3–5 shallow, rounded and finely toothed lobes; glossy dark green.
Native
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Pin oak Quercus palustris
Broadleaf tree
Alternate, 8–15 cm, glossy, cut almost to the midrib into 5–7 pointed lobes with bristle tips; tufts of brown hairs in the vein axils underneath. Scarlet autumn colour; the dead leaves often hang on for a long time.
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Turkey oak Quercus cerris
Broadleaf tree
Alternate, 6–12 cm, oblong with 4–8 pairs of pointed, irregular lobes; upper side somewhat rough, underside greyish-hairy. Long, thread-like stipules surround the buds.
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Swedish whitebeam Sorbus intermedia
Broadleaf tree
Alternate, 7–12 cm, oval; lower half shallowly lobed, upper part toothed. Underside greyish-yellow felted.
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Wild service tree Sorbus torminalis
Broadleaf tree
Alternate, 6–12 cm, with 3–5 pairs of sharp, toothed lobes; the lowest pair is the most deeply cut and spreads outwards. Glossy dark green; autumn colour red to purple.
Native
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Tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera
Broadleaf tree
Alternate, 10–20 cm, with 4 (sometimes 6) lobes and a squarely cut-off or notched tip. Long leaf stalk. Autumn colour golden yellow.
Tip: Rounded lobes point to a native oak; pointed lobes ending in a fine bristle to red oak or pin oak. If the lobes spread from one point like a hand, see palmate leaves instead.