Some twigs are stout while others are thin, some may be hairy while others are not, and some have large buds while others have small buds. Twigs offer valuable clues about the identitdy of a tree, expecially in the winter. Below are but a few of the many types of twigs. Twigs are often shiny or somewhat waxy. Buds are small, rounded and covered with soft, brown hairs, nearly encircled by leafscar.
Twigs have conspicuous corky wings that protrude one-half inch.
Pin oak twigs are slender and red-brown, hairless, with multiple terminal buds. European beech twigs are slender, zigzag, light brown in color. The terminal bud is small and light brown in color. Catalpa twigs are stout, green, and later reddish-brown in color. The lateral buds are small and covered with overlapping, red-brown scales.