Spring
Watch for swelling buds, fresh leaf shapes, blossom and the first catkins. Flowers can be easier to spot before the canopy fills in.
Look for · buds & blossom
A pocket guide for everyday walks
Look up.
There's a whole world
overhead.
The trees lining your usual route have names, habits and small ways of telling you who they are. Start with a leaf, a patch of bark or the shape of a crown.
PLATE 001 / URBAN CANOPY
A tree is more than its leaves.
Read the whole shape.
Read the whole shape.
01 / The index
Meet the neighbours.
A small starting collection of trees common in temperate European towns and cities. It is not exhaustive; use more than one clue before settling on an identification.
08 species in the indexOpen a card for field marks ↗
02 / The field key
A few clues.
A shorter list.
Start with what you can actually see. Choose the closest match for the leaf, bark and setting. The results are suggestions, not a definitive identification.
Your field key / Ready when you are
What did you notice?
Pick one or more clues on the left, then compare the suggestions. A close look at the leaf arrangement and the tree's overall shape can help narrow things down further.
03 / A year outdoors
The same tree, four stories.
A tree changes its clues with the weather. When leaves are gone, look at the buds, twigs and the ground beneath the crown.
Summer
Compare leaf edges, their arrangement on a twig and the texture of the upper and lower surfaces. Notice the silhouette of the crown.
Look for · leaves & shade
Autumn
Seeds and fruit become useful clues: acorns, winged samaras, berries and woody cones. Fallen leaves are worth comparing to the tree above.
Look for · fruit & colour
Winter
Study the branching pattern, twig colour, bud shape and bark. Opposite or alternate buds can be a surprisingly useful clue.
Look for · buds & bark
04 / Your notebook
Keep what
you notice.
A small record makes the next walk more interesting. Save a tree, note where you saw it and write down the detail you want to remember.
Notes stay in this browser on this device.
My saved trees0 / 8
Save a tree from its field card to keep it here.
No observations yet. Your first one can start here.
A note on the project
Curiosity is a good place to start.
Sidewalk Botany is an independent pocket reference for noticing the living details of ordinary streets. The first edition focuses on a handful of trees often planted across temperate European towns. Tree appearance varies with age, season and growing conditions, so use this guide as a starting point rather than a substitute for a regional flora.