Top 5 Fall Tree Leaf Guides Reviewed

Here are the best fall and autumn color tree leaf guides in print. You should consider these for purchase before viewing leaves this season. They will enhance your understanding of fall color and make great guides for your next trip.
I've selected them for clarity, usability, broad coverage and good reviews from users. All of these books are of high quality and a good bet for most leaf viewers, tree hobbyists and outdoor enthusiasts. Just pick the one you think offers you most for the value.

1. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region

By Elbert L. Little
This book serves as both a fall leaf guide and tree identification book. If you need both, I recommend this book as it is one of the best. The Autumn leaves section gives excellent color photos as does the fruit and nut section. This photo rich guidebook describes 364 species and is organized by shape of the leaf or needle, by the fruit, by the flower or cone, and by autumn coloration. It is a light and compact book that can be easily carried on leaf viewing hikes.

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2. Fall Color Finder: A Pocket Guide to Autumn Leaves

By C. Ritchie Bell and Anne H. Lindsey
Two experienced botanists who lead annual fall color programs in North Carolina have compiled one of the best resources on fall tree color available. This small pocket guide contains 60 color photos and basic info for identifying many common trees of fall. The book also helps you identify specific trees from drawings of leaves, and maps of the ranges where you can find each species. A great book for leaf-viewing tourists, teachers, and amateur botanists.

3. Fall Color & Woodland Harvests: A Guide to the Colorful Fall Leaves, Fruits

By C. Ritchie Bell and Anne H. Lindsey
The book is a full-blown soft-bound field guide that more than adequately describes specific trees and shrubs, with their leaves and fruits. There are 240 full-color photographs of fall trees, shrubs, leaves and fruits of the eastern hardwood forests. The largest section of the book is devoted to the fall color of 100 individual species of trees. Fall Color has been given great reviews and should be considered a first book to purchase.

4. Autumn Leaves: A Guide to the Fall Colors of the Northwoods

By Ronald M. Lanner
This book gives an initial physical, chemical, and biological report on why leaves change, photosynthesis and what causes the various color changes of trees. A full 100 pages cover common deciduous trees of northeastern North America with excellent photos of each tree in various habitats of fall. The conifers are not forgotten either. A sixty-page section explains the northeastern North American evergreen and it's part to play in the color of autumn.

5. Fall Colors Across North America

By Ann Zwinger, Art Wolfe, Anthony E. Cook
This book is more a collection of fall photos than a field guide to fall color. If you are especially interested in the art of autumn and are ready to set the tone for the viewing season, this is the book. The book is a portfolio of pictures taken on four North American trips by photographer Anthony E. Cook. Naturalist Ann Zwinger adds the essay describing fall colors and why they so strongly affect people.