I dont know this tree

[Tengu]

In habit it is tall and sprightly, like a birch and has grey bark, like a beech.

(But the bark is rough, unlike a beech.)

 

[William_Montgomery]

An elm, maybe.

 

[Pattree]

Hard to say from pic.
Could it be a Rowan relative like Sorbus aria? S. a. lutescens?

 

[Chris]

Japanese elm?

 

[Megatramp]

Try asking it out for coffee, see where it goes from there.

 

[British Red]

Hard to say from pic.
Could it be a Rowan relative like Sorbus aria? S. a. lutescens?

I.agree looks like Whitebeam

 

[Nice65]

I.agree looks like Whitebeam

With you guys on the Sorbus, Whitebeam is a striking white underside and I cant see that here. Theres a bud, might help someone.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I agree Whitebeam, I have one in the garden.

 

[Kadushu]

Sounds very much like elm. Their leaves are like sandpaper.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I agree Whitebeam, I have one in the garden.

I disagree on both whitebeam and more general sorbus.

Elm of some sort could be possible, the picture quality makes it hard to tell, but the green fruit do not look like elm, or hornbeam.

Tengu, its a bad photo (not one leaf shown flat and deep shadows, and you don't show but a hint of the fruit) and you could have helped with additional details, like where in the country you found it, and what sort of place it was growing.

That said, I am going to say I think its an Alder. Those fruit look classic alder, and what can be seen of the leaf shape and order of budding off the twig could be right too.

Why it isn't a whitebeam:
The leaves in Tengu's photo are longer relative to their width than Whitebeam (no sign of the white underside), and more important, look at how the whitebeam leaves sprout from their twigs, three or four all come out together. Now look at Tengu's picture, the leaves very clearly come off alternating about every 20mm.

 

[slowworm]

Better pictures would help, especially of the seed pod. If it's not a small cone then its not alder. It may not be native, it looks a bit like the non native beech, Nothofagus.

 

[Stew]

I’m more in agreement with Chris in erring towards an alder but it’s too hard to tell from this picture.

I’ve dug my Philips tree book out - it’s been some years since it’s been out and I had to dig back three rows of books. There is nothing definite that jumps out.

Please post a picture of a flat mature leaf. Is the tip rounded or pointed? I can see that the veins are alternate.

 

[Stew]

Red alder is my current top pick.