Trees can be identified in winter by observing their needles, bark, branching patterns, and buds. Distinctive bark, such as the smooth gray bark of a beech or the peeling white bark of a paper birch, ...

Trees with smoother bark are better at repelling attacks by mountain pine beetles, which have difficulty gripping the slippery surface, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder.

I know - I know, nothing sounds more boring than tree bark. But, what in the landscape can you see and enjoy outside this time of year? The snow and evergreens are beautiful together, the stark ...

Autumn’s fiery-colored leaves have fallen, so now let’s look for more subtle beauty in trees and shrubs. Like a developing photographic image, the textures and colors of bark come into view in the ...

While on a childhood hike through a neighborhood woodlot with my dad, my earliest memory of beech trees is noticing that the smooth ...

It is time to protect the trunks of smooth-barked trees like young maples from deer rubs if deer live in the neighborhood. Deer rub their antlers on trees and often use the trunks of smooth-barked ...

The smooth bark on a sycamore tree exfoliates to expose a mottled patchwork pattern of gray, brown and creamy white layers. In the lush green of summer, the bark of woody plants is barely noticeable.

With bright colors and interesting shapes, unusual tree and shrub bark can add visual interest to winter landscapes. Many types of bark become more distinctive and sought after during winter months.

Clockwise from top left: (1) Two lodgepole pines growing side-by-side with notably different bark textures, (2) a rough-barked limber pine that has been attacked by bark beetles, (3) a limber pine ...

Once leaves drop from trees, splitting, peeling, bleached or oozing bark may become more noticeable. The cause can range from normal bark development to environmental causes or disease. If tree bark ...