Trees are best identified by their leaves. Above all, the size is an important identification feature. Tree species with strikingly large foliage are described below.
Table of Contents
Banana Tree (Musa)
- Is mostly a very frost-resistant variety “Musa basjoos”
- Growth: upright, spreading
- Growth width: up to two meters
- Growth height: up to eight meters
- Flowers: only in mild regions, green-yellow-reddish
- Fruit: edible
- Leaf: Oblong, oblong-elliptical leaf blade, green, leaf length up to three meters – width up to one meter
- Location: semi-shade, sun
- Hardy: at least down to minus ten degrees Celsius (Musa Basjoo)
- Special features: suitable as a solitary and container tree, fast-growing, actually ranks among perennials
Bergahorn (Acer pseudoplatanus)
- Growth: broad crown, sprawling growth
- Growth width: 1.50 to two meters
- Growth height: 2.50 to 3 meters
- Flowers: simple, yellow-green, in panicles, from May to June
- Leaves: Long-stalked, lobed, dark green, yellow in autumn, up to 20 centimeters in size
- Location: sun to semi-shade
- Hardiness: minus 34.5 to minus 28.9 degrees Celsius (zone 4)
- Special features: bee-friendly, wind-tolerant
Blauglockenbaum (Paulownia tomentosa)
- Growth: wide, loose, stiff shoot growth, fast growing
- Growth width: eight to ten meters
- Growth height: eight to 15 meters
- Flowers: simple, in panicles, violet-blue, from April to May
- Fruits: nut-like, not edible
- Very large, heart-shaped, hairy, opposite leaves, light to medium green
- Location: sun
- Winter hardiness: minus 17.8 to minus 12.3 degrees Celsius (Zone 7b)
- Special features: easy to care for, urban and industrial climate, deciduous, winter protection recommended, also available as Paulownia imperialis
Caution: These trees have plenty of slightly poisonous plant parts. These include the fruits and seeds, while the leaves are edible and taste similar to spinach.
Essigbaum/Hirschkolben-Sumach (Rhus typhina)
- Growth: broadly upright, mostly multi-stemmed
- Growth width: four to six meters
- Growth height: four to six meters
- Flowers: simple, greenish, in panicles, from June to July
- Leaves: Shiny, green, orange-red in autumn, alternate, imparipinnate, up to 50 centimeters long, individual leaves up to 12 centimeters long
- Fruit: red, bulb-like infructescence
- Location: sun
- Hardiness: minus 23.4 to minus 17.8 degrees Celsius (zone 6)
- Special features: deciduous, good for urban areas, solitary tree
Feigenbaum (Ficus carica)
- One of the smaller leaf species among the large-leaved specimens
- Growth: sparse, growing as a small shrub-like tree
- Growth width: three to four meters
- Growth height: three to four meters
- Flowers: inconspicuous, from March to August
- Leaves: Green, deeply slit, usually with 3 to 5 deep lobes, rarely divided, up to 20 centimeters long, yellow in autumn
- Fruit: edible, green to violet, harvest time between August and December
- Location: sun
- Hardiness: minus 12.3 to minus 6.7 degrees Celsius (zone 8)
- Special features: suitable as a container plant, deciduous, very wind-tolerant
Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
- Growth: spreading, dense crown
- Growth width: twelve to 20 meters
- Growth height: up to 30 meters
- Flowers: White, mottled with yellow and red, in panicles, from May to June
- Leaves: Palmate pinnate, serrate leaf margin, dark green, bright yellow in autumn
- Fruit: spherical, brown, prickly pericarp
- Location: sun to semi-shade
- Hardiness: minus 34.5 to minus 28.9 degrees Celsius (zone 4)
- Special features: can become over 300 years old, deciduous, ideal for bees , offers plenty of chestnuts for handicrafts
Indianerbanane (Asimina triloba)
- Growth: slow, upright, narrow
- Growth width: two to 2.50 meters
- Growth height: two to four meters
- Flowers: simple, brown to purple-red, bell-shaped, from mid-May to late May
- Leaf: up to 30 centimeters or more long, oblong-sized, thin leaves
- Fruit: edible, green to yellow-green, harvest time between late September and early October
- Location: sun to semi-shade
- Hardiness: minus 23.4 to minus 17.8 degrees Celsius (zone 6)
- Special features: suitable as a container plant, yellow autumn colour, deciduous, very bee-friendly
Platane (Platanus hispanica)
- Growth: wide, sprawling, fast-growing
- Growth width: 15 to 20 meters
- Growth height: 25 to 30 meters
- Flowers: inconspicuous, yellowish-green, from April to May
- Leaves: three to five lobes, mostly straight leaf base and smooth leaf margin, up to 25 centimeters wide, slightly shiny rich green – yellow, ocher autumn colour,
- Fruits: edible plantains
- Location: sun to shade
- Hardiness: minus 23.4 to minus 17.8 degrees Celsius (zone 6)
- Specialities: deciduous
Rot-Eiche (Quercus rubra)
- Habit: round treetop, high-arched, stalked with age, fast-growing
- Growth width: twelve to 18 meters
- Growth height: 20 to 25 meters, up to 35 meters under ideal conditions
- Flowering: inconspicuous in May
- Leaves: Leaf blade length up to 23 centimetres, first leaf shoots yellow, later green, bright red to orange autumn colour, ovate to elongated, lobed in bays, pointed at the front
- Fruits: Acorns from the age of two
- Location: sun
- Hardiness: minus 28.8 to minus 23.4 degrees Celsius (zone 5)
- Special features: can live up to 400 years, trunk up to two meters in diameter possible, young trees often shoots up to 2.5 meters in length, flowers after 25 years at the earliest, deciduous, more resistant to pests than other oak species, sensitive to wind
Rote Maulbeere ‚Red Mulberry ‘(Morus rubra‚ Red Mulberry’)
- Growth: slightly spreading, dense crown
- Growth width: two to three meters
- Growth height: three to 3.5 meters
- Flower: simple, white,
- Leaves: green, yellow, yellow-orange autumn colour, large leaves of up to 30 centimeters
- Fruits: edible, sweet-aromatic berries, red-black
- Location: Full sun to semi-shade
- Hardiness: minus 23.4 to minus 17.8 degrees Celsius (zone 6)
- Special features: Italian cultivation variety, high water requirement when cultivated in tubs, deciduous
Note: The berries of the Gelso Rosso are considered by berry lovers to be the tastiest, if not the most aromatic berry variety.
Trompetenbaum (Catalpa bignonioides)
- Growth: wide, rounded
- Growth width: six to ten meters
- Growth height: ten to 15 meters
- Flowers: simple, in panicles, white, from June to July
- Leaves: Green, heart-shaped, leaves up to 20 centimeters in size
- Fruit: bean-like
- Location: sun to semi-shade
- Hardiness: minus 23.4 to minus 17.8 degrees Celsius (zone 6)
- Special features: deciduous, very rich flowering, quite undemanding
Weinrebe (Vitis vinifera)
- Growth: luxuriant, climbing, mostly medium-growing
- Growth width: up to 1.5 meters
- Growth height: four to eight meters
- Flowers: End of May to end of June, in panicles, whitish, slightly fragrant
- Leaves: Depending on the variety, green, yellowish-green, red to plum-colored, between 15 and 20 centimeters in diameter, stalks up to ten centimeters long
- Fruits: grapes, tastes from fruity sweet to bitter
- Location: Sun, some varieties tolerate partial shade
- Hardiness: mostly between zones seven and eight to a maximum of minus 17.8 degrees Celsius
- Special features: deciduous, climbing aid recommended and usually necessary, suitable as a container plant, frost affects fruit development and can lead to frostbite – therefore protection against the cold is always recommended in harsher regions
Note: Since grapevines often reach a trunk circumference of up to 1.5 meters, many mistake them for trees, which is why they should not be missing from this list. Grapevines are usually classified as climbing shrubs.
