Abstract: Objected with 12 species of trees or shrubs commonly used in southern landscape greening,which planted in Famous Botanical Garden of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University,the growth traits,leaf morphological characteristics,and photosynthetic capacity of different trees were determined and analyzed in summer season,2023.The results showed that:the tree height of Triadica sebifera,Ormosia hosiei,Ficus microcarpa and Bauhinia purpurea were significantly higher than those of other tree species (P＜0.05).Among the 12 tree species,the crown width of F.microcarpa was the largest,reaching (8.2±0.4) m.In terms of leaf photosynthetic capacity,the SPAD value of Lagerstroemia indica was the highest (59.54±4.18),as where that of Prunus campanulata was the lowest (30.23±3.20).The F_v/F_m of Bauhinia purpurea was the highest,(0.83±0.001),oppositely that of Osmanthus fragrans was significantly lower than that of other species (P＜0.05).Through cluster analysis,it was found that the light energy conversion efficiency of O.fragrans was poor,and it could be classified into one category.Among the other 11 plants,the distance was far between F.microcarpa and other species.There were significant differences in leaf traits among the tested different woody species.The leaf width and specific leaf area were (9.89±0.46) cm and (177.24±10.34) cm²·g^-1,respectively,which were significantly higher than those of other woody species (P＜0.05).The highest water content of F.microcarpa 'Golden Leaves' was (68.79±0.91)%.The correlation analysis showed that the SPAD value of leaves was negatively correlated with the width and specific leaf area (P＜0.05).F_v/F_m was positively correlated with leaf width,height,specific leaf area and leaf water content (P＜0.05).In conclusion,L.indica,F.microcarpa and B.purpurea can be preferred as landscaping tree species in the selection as the urban greening depending on the perspective of leaf photosynthetic capacity.