6 Trees You Can Easily Identify By Smell

[@trexwithashotgun5333]

I'm glad that I can watch a man sniff twigs for 16 minutes and be completely entertained.

[@kleineroteHex]

😉😊

[@candicebauer2567]

😂

[@candicebauer2567]

That was meant for the previous reply about being entertained

[@candicebauer2567]

I truly enjoy your videos and have learned much from them. Thanks!

[@angelad.8944]

lol so true

[@jazzmuncher7375]

I get the biggest smile on my face whenever I start one of these vids and see you standing out in nature ready to drop some knowledge on us, always a treat that helps open my eyes to unending beauty of this world. keep it up Adam, you're doing great work :~)

[@msdawntreader]

Same here!!!

[@Wildernut]

Scratch and sniff foraging booklet on the horizon? Nice video.

[@nikkih5175]

I have to say I don’t subscribe to many channels but yours is one of few. I’m gonna say this as a compliment but you NERD SO HARD on your content and I appreciate that because I share the same enthusiasm and often leave people bewildered by it. It’s refreshing to find a like mind. Thank you for the effort and enthusiasm you put into your content. I’m soaking it up from central missouri.

[@tomvanderpaardt94]

I'll be smelling twigs on my walk in the woods today. Very inspirational video as always. Thanks.

[@elfmitch57]

What a wonderful instructor you are, you have a gift of being thorough and accessible, thank you.

[@shrutster]

this is literally the best thing I've watched lately. can't wait to sniff twigs

[@Skitdora2010]

You know, Staghorn Sumac, it smells like citrus when you peel the bark in the spring. The red fuzzy berries can be used as a spice, and make a pink lemonade like drink.

[@anyascelticcreations]

Yes! That is the one I was waiting for, too.

[@boomer3150]

@@anyascelticcreations Yes, and Sycamores have a distinct odor. So do Cottonwood buds, bruised Silver Maple twigs and bruised Boxelder twigs.

[@cannibal_redneck7109]

I live in Central PA and I'm so glad I found this channel!! I've been looking for a good source of outdoorsy information for PA and now there's a whole channel of it! Thank you!

[@jimkeegan6503]

Adam, I love your channel! I've learned so much from your expertise. I always imagine you saying "greetings, Earthlings." in your intro. lol

[@TgWags69]

Wintergreen proper is actually a low growing ground plant with smooth green leaves and red berries. It was originally difficult to extract due to it needing a fermentation process to release the Wintergreen flavor as well as the small limited volume of plants. This is why they eventually switched to birch trees to produce "Wintergreen" . We used to enjoy picking Wintergreen leaves while hunting up in the mountains near Franklin PA. You would chew them and pack then in your cheek like a tobacco chaw and let them soak. After a breif period they would begin to slowly release the Wintergreen and be nice and refreshing. Regarding the FDA and Sassafras...What a travesty. One of the most retarded things that they ever did. As you mentioned the concentrations that rhey were dealing with were enormous. They used a concentrated syrup similar to maple syrup where they had to boil the sap down like fifty to a hundred gallons to one then noticed a slight increase in carcinogenic behavior....needless to say my one or two glasses of Sassafras tea I enjoy per year is not going to hurt me...i would be much more concerned with the pesticides sprayed on EVERTHING around me!

[@damien1065]

Not too often you learn something from a KZbin comment! xD I love adding wintergreen leaves and birch twigs in my tea cup, it makes a very strong brew. I’m jealous of your sassafras findings, I’ve yet to see any in my area of upstate New York. Maybe I’m just not looking in the right areas. One of my friends said she has seen a couple in her time in the woods. Also, I hate the nanny state who placate to the lowest common denominator. Our culture is so sensitive, like our aversion to wild mushrooms and food. Like you said, the FDA does some retarded shit. They want to besmirch wild medicine and strengthen the pharmaceutical industry. Same reason cannabis had such a hard time gaining acceptance. It’s also the reason they want us deathly afraid of Covid, so they can make a trillion dollars on vaccines, but I digress.

[@anyascelticcreations]

I used to pick and eat wintergreen for the early part of my life, too. Until moved out of its range. It grows in Michigan and the northern half of Wisconsin too. I used to like the tender red berries the best. The leaves had a little bitterness to them as well as wintergreen. But the berries were just sweet and wintergreen. 😋

[@PopArt]

This was great - thank you! I’d love to see more like this. The more details the better - it’s fun getting to know the personality of each species.

[@michelleblackburn255]

Great informative video! In the Sierra Nevadas of California the Ponderosa Pine has bark that smells like vanilla & it is eatable. It smells lovely!

[@McLoganator]

I absolutely love the smell of Ponderosa bark!

[@michellebeckstrom6110]

Are you fortunate enough to live in the Sierra Nevadas? Unique, beautiful area!

[@damien1065]

This New York boy has to head out west sometime. There’s a few mushrooms out there on my bucket list. Nature has a broad spectrum and I’m only familiar with one color of it.

[@donaldestwanick9776]

You may have solved a ridle for me. Once apon a time I used to be a truck driver and one winter I was out in Utah and Collorodo. The aroma of the smoke from peoples chimnies was magnifacent. I almost stoped driving to knock on somebodies door to find out what they where burning. But alass I had "promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep" :)

[@michelleblackburn255]

Mcloganator , I’m so glad You have experienced that!

[@mudpuppy541]

I really enjoyed your videos. You have educated me on many plants in a way that I can understand. You have a pleasant voice and a great big smile! Thank you.

[@Stoned_Silly]

Man your videos are so informative! Nothing unnecessary and all concise and informative!

[@UpNorthFreyja]

I'm glad to see someone talking about smell as a key to identification. I've sometimes seen things about the medicinal/food properties of the elderberry, but rarely does someone mention the smell - which is very distinctive.

[@didisinclair3605]

So great to use multiple senses to identify plants!

[@scottkers.4225]

Another great video Adam, thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@leslienakagawa8747]

ILove identifying trees! Thank you for giving me another way to do it. You’re awesome😻

[@kylelumsden9346]

so happy i found this channel ive been wanting to get into botany, specifically in northeast america, and this is perfect....

[@consmellybecause3873]

When the time is right, I make a black birtch beer. It is somewhat labersom but totally worth it(12 gallons of sap= 1 gallon of beer). It is like drinking sunshine. Thanks for this video Adam! I learned to help identify 2 trees I didnt know about. I will be looking. Southern Maine. Peace!

[@wmluna381]

Someone told me that Birch sap makes the "champagne of syrups", so it sounds like it also makes the other "champagne of beers". ☺️

[@anthonyburdine1061]

Thank you Adam for another great video !! 😊

[@troyclayton]

I love these types of identifiers. I'll always remember seeing my first Abies concolor (not knowing what it was) and taking a sample back to the landscaping shop I worked at. A new guy saw what I had, pulled off a needle, and chewed on the end. "Definitely Abies concolor", he declared. Concolor spruce needles taste like a piney tangerine. Thanks for the video!

[@gigistrus490]

Always professional, informative....a real pleasure.

[@Aldoleapold]

Great vid. Was waiting on the spice bush to appear. Of note, some folks as allergic to tree of heaven and while just scratching and sniffing might be okay, those with the allergy might be cautious. Take care!

[@vee3272]

AP...Thx 4 sharing ur time and expertise with us!🌻

[@JoeBlack-jf4kw]

First person I've seen show identity by green limb. Hell yeah!! Rock O!!!

[@skylovecraft2491]

Please never stop making these vids!! I'm obsessed with forests and mushrooms and you have aided in that obsession of mine. You've taught me so much. I forage a couple times a week. I drink various foraged mushrooms in teas daily and i feel so much healthier as a result. Thanks Adam!

[@_theoriginalb4handles_Genflag]

Glad to hear you mention the bunk studies on safrole from the 60's. I ran across that info when I was around 12 and looking into how to make traditional root beer and I hardly ever hear anyone mention it.

[@mindfulmaximalist9962]

You make winter a little better. Thank You

[@robertfulmer8475]

This guy should be labeled a national treasure

[@CorwynGC]

What a great idea for a video, identifying trees by smell. Seriously.

[@Tdtsnowflake]

CorwynGC never really understood or appreciated the smell of trees...until I brought home some birch polypore mushroom and made tea....few weeks later while walking in nature I passed a birch tree and the air I took in was miraculous.was so cool to be able to identify that smell and appreciate nature for giving me opportunity to have such a joyful aroma.

[@kathleensonger4451]

..You're Smile, Makes Me Smile.. 😃 ☺ ..thank you♡.

[@hhiikkii]

I live in Southern Quebec in Canada I really love your videos and it has been helping me a lot! Thank you very much.

[@stacieislearning391]

Hi Adam! I love your videos! Thank you for being such a great teacher! Love and blessings brother! ♥️

[@jonahansen]

3:00 - *Sassafras Albidum* Smells like "Fruit Loops." Safrole for root beer! 5:30 - *Betula Lenta* Black Birch Methyl Salicylate smells like Wintergreen 7:10 - *Betula Alleghaniensis* Yellow Birch Also smells like wintergreen 8:25 - *Aesculus Glabra* Ohio Buckeye Disagreeable like Skunk Cabbage - Fetid Buckeye 10:30 - *Ailanthus Altissima* Tree of Heaven Burnt peanut butter/popcorn - Stink Tree 12:40 - *Lindera Benzoin* Spicebush Smells like PineSol

[@robertquay9990]

Just found this channel and am delighted. On the subject of smelly trees I'd recommend mention of the Katsura tree. A Japanese import that smells like cotton candy from 30 feet away, but not if you get really close to a stand of them. I'm also an 18th century tour guide on a colonial era farm and Stinging Nettle is a part of my every intro tour.

[@DeeDee-yz9ku]

I will be in Clearfield this weekend. I will be checking out the camp's woods. Thanks for all the information.

[@nicholasfrancesca9795]

TOTALLY fun and informative to watch! We are from Western PA. and we learn a lot from watching you. Thank you Adam for your videos!

[@HelenaMikas]

Fascinating to hear of this means of identification ,:)Terrific ...👍

[@liannahuang1434]

Thank you Adam! I always love your videos and learn so much.

[@athenakaterina8545]

thank you for making your videos! theyre all so awesome!

[@joshuagibson2520]

Skunk smell is great. From actual skunk, Marijuanas, etc. What a lovely smell. In the right dosage of course.

[@kleineroteHex]

You are just full of great and useful information! Thanks!!!

[@quinntheeskimooutdoors6234]

Thanks for showing us and take care.

[@czmike1233]

Adam, love all your stuff!

[@mangeybum1443]

Love your channel! Thanks for the knowledge.

[@lewisward4359]

Spicebush can get 20-30ft tall in the lower Hudson Valley. Here in the hills of the Finger Lakes it's smallish and often dies out within 10-15 years

[@bushpushersdaughter]

How incredibly interesting! Thank you Adam.

[@bomaite1]

I got the buckeye right away because I have one in my front yard. The dead twigs are also extremely light weight and almost crumble in your hand. Most other trees have twigs that remain brittle for a while after they fall, but dead buckeye twigs don't have any snap to them, and you can hardly pick a branch up without it falling apart.

[@Rob_Brock]

I truly appreciate what you are doing with you videos. Please continue. You are doing an excellent job of teaching us.

[@laurakinley8618]

you have a very organized mind

[@mikebel74]

Great video. I knew a few of them, but learned some new ones. Thanks for the post.

[@juliet9010]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful information!!!

[@deminybs]

good show!! jolly good show indeed ⛄🎄

[@kenycharles8600]

Thank you for this presentation.

[@glennforister84]

Hi Adam. Love your videos. Could you possibly make trips to other parts of our country (A lot to ask I know) to make videos. Specifically the midwest. Where live you mostly have to focus on that area. Would be cool to see you explore and make videos in other parts of North America. Peace ✌

[@angelad.8944]

I actually was able to get a hold of three little Spicebush seedlings this spring. I have them in my veggie garden for winter protection up here in Canada but they will be fine. I'm a USDA 4. I do have to choose their forever home in the spring though since they don't like their roots disturbed. Great video as always, thanks so much.

[@willymags123]

You make learning fun. ❤ are any of the other trees edible? I would really love to learn about what trees are edible and what parts. I hope u do or got a video on that.

[@damien1065]

I make tea with spice bush, yellow and black birch twigs. Spicebush is my favorite, probably because birch is so common.

[@consmellybecause3873]

Making an infused oil or tincture out of mature black birch bark can increase healing by 3x the rate.

[@soybasedjeremy3653]

Well sassafras used to be used as the root beer flavoring.

[@markmedlinjr]

Happy Friday!

[@jamesgaul3544]

I guessed correctly the first & the last. I always enjoy your videos.

[@wildforager]

Thanks for the info. I am living in PNW area and still you contents give me helpful information. Thanks a lot.

[@sapelesteve]

Terrific video Adam! Hope that you had a nice Turkey Day & that you & your family enjoy the Holidays!

[@richardphillips8475]

The spice bush I reside always cold and spicewood is also very good to adding to your pot and cooking meat. It is a very good meat tenderizer. When preparing a tough meet like an older groundhog break up or crush several small limbs and added to your pot when boiling or even pre-boiling that tough meat. To savor the flavor pre boil whatever meat then cool or chill so the fat rises for easy removal. Then return your pot back to the stove for making stew and add whatever vegetables. One key ingredient for stews is always chopped potatoes.

[@wesfree]

Good report, Adam, Thanks! You will not be surprised to know that the ideogram for pleasant-sounding "tree of heaven" in Chinese characters is essentially "tree that smells foul"! Happy Thanksgiving!

[@jonathanwiggins5366]

I don't know why, but I love these videos.

[@maverick1740]

Happy Thanksgiving Adam! I love your videos. You helped me be confident in identifying so many natural foods this year; My favorite was a maitake I found in Harrison Hills (PA). It lasted for weeks! Keep doing what you're doing, it's awesome work.

[@goodun2974]

I'd really like to see Adam do a video on *identifying dead trees* ; standing deadwood that is already degraded and being broken down, and stumps and fallen logs that are rotting on the forest floor. If it is possible to know your dead trees then it should be easier to identify the saprobes that are growing from them, or identify an area that might support saprobe growth at a different time of the year and a more appropriate season for a given fungi type.

[@katehenry2718]

I never thought to "scratch n sniff" branches, but I will now, starting with the trees I do know )) Suggestion: vertical branch backed by vertical lines of the jacket make them pretty much invisible. Hold the branches diagonally with this jacket will make them more visible. GOOD closeups!! Try not to shake the samples. They become a whir of "something indistinguishable in your hand". THANKS )))))

[@anyascelticcreations]

What a fun video! I got some of these right. I was proud of myself. Lol.

[@damien1065]

Love your work Adam! My only suggestion would be to include distribution maps

[@dorothylanasa6074]

Thanks for such a great video!

[@deed5811]

Bay laurel wood smells like its flowers. I learned this when everything above ground on my 16 year old bay laurel died in the 2021 Texas winter storm. Even 8 months later when I cut wood down it smells like the bay flowers.

[@FindInNature]

I guess I'll start to smell the trees i find too :) . I'll try to figure out if there are more trees that have specific smells that allows them to be identified by smell. Thanks for the tip.

[@janwells2199]

Sycamore. Very distinctive. (London Plane Tree)

[@organicintelligence3137]

Excellent resource of incredible information! Tysm🌳🌱☘️

[@skusebutuoy4789]

always learn from Adam.

[@orangebanana7129]

I really enjoy your channel sir - thank you!

[@elsmitro]

Black walnut is another really good one for our area, I thought I'd see it here.

[@wmluna381]

I know the leaves and husk smelly like lemony furniture polish, is it the same for the buds/twigs?

[@elsmitro]

@@wmluna381 yes, they smell exactly like the hulls, but much more faint

[@maureenmeyerhoff285]

Ailanthus altissima is the species n the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

[@devonchristman7948]

I love watching your videos because I am also in SWPA, so I know these plants are in my area and makes me want to go exploring. Would you ever think about doing a foraging class (once the pandemic ends)?

[@lisahall4955]

We were waiting for the sweet gum and walnut, 2 fragrant trees.

[@brianrajala7671]

Try Balm of Gilliad, an common tree in the north central states. In the spring it is very pungent, the scent dominates the air when the buds are forming.

[@MrVegasTube]

Enjoyed this video.

[@monicareid8858]

Cool! Cottonwood is a another one

[@DeborahRosen99]

"Smells like the spray of a skunk." ::sniffs again:: And here i thought the Scratch 'n' Sniff was for kids! lol Love your videos, I learn a lot from them and you're a very good teacher. I've been able to identify a number of species in my area (western MA) that share geographical distribution with your area thanks to your videos. (And Tree of Heaven is very, very invasive out here.)

[@stevenkristoph6993]

Impressive Adam... I stumbled upon your videos when searching the name of a saprophytic fungus on a twig that I found on my property. Turned out to be Exidia resisa...not brave enough to eat it despite your recommendation You are a very good educator...botanical names...yea baby...yea!!!!!

[@leemason4024]

Looking forward to a nice hot cup of Pine-Sol, burnt popcorn, stinking buckeye tea with a scone this morning!

[@TheDaikashido]

Awesome! woodland scratch & sniff

[@0nman]

I have been your subscriber for a while now and was excitingly happy and surprised you are in Pittsburgh,where I am right now...I immediately sent email to join your website...waiting for future foraging class and walk....

[@donna1384]

Tree-of-heaven is an invasive tree species found in much of the United States. The spotted lanternfly, a non-native, invasive, and destructive insect new to the United States, prefers tree-of-heaven as a food source.

[@larrygriffith2235]

Adam I enjoy your videos. I guess I have smelled and tasted all the trees except for the buckeye. I was always told the nuts are poisonous. My Dad told me when times were so hard during the depression that some people ate possum seasoned with spice bush. Turkeys really love the spice bush red berries in the fall.

[@Erewhon2024]

Black walnut (Juglans nigra) twigs and even freshly cut lumber also has a distinctive odor, but might not be easy to describe. "Woodsy" is a bit too generic, but once you have experienced it, you learn to recognize it.

[@TwoFamilyHomestead]

Great informative video !

[@Andrey-wp7rw]

Hey man. Nice videos, happy Thanksgiving

[@theforestgardener4011]

Cool video, include black walnut in part 2!

[@patmike3406]

My favourite tree by smell is Balsam Poplar, Populus balsamifera. In spring, I can identify easily it by smell alone within 50 feet . And I also really love the smell of any of the conifers.

[@u2buserusingu2b95]

I can easily identify sassafras in the wild as a bush, but I never realized it grew into such a large tree. I can hardly wait to check that out!

[@damien1065]

Neither did I, I thought it was a small tree/shrub

[@u2buserusingu2b95]

Yeah, shrub would probably be a better decribe it, not that many branches and about waist-high. I'll often pull up a small root to enjoy the scent as I hike. It tastes great mixed with black tea.

[@MG-Raiden]

I was listening to “mushroom music” by Louie zong and I said I wanted to be a mycologist, someone recommended I watch these vids, don’t regret it.

[@soundshrimp7624]

Thanks for all the wonderful info! You've really been a great resource for me as I begin identifying plants and foraging (one of many resources, I might add). Any chance we could learn about inocybe mushrooms one day? I'm having trouble just learning about all the cap and gill mushrooms out there, even with several mushroom groups.

[@jeanneamato8278]

This was fun!