Portal:Trees

The Trees Portal

In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are usable as lumber or plants above a specified height. In wider definitions, the taller palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos are also trees.

Trees are not a monophyletic taxonomic group but consist of a wide variety of plant species that have independently evolved a trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. The majority of tree species are angiosperms or hardwoods; of the rest, many are gymnosperms or softwoods. Trees tend to be long-lived, some trees reaching several thousand years old. Trees evolved around 370 million years ago, and it is estimated that there are around three trillion mature trees in the world currently.

A tree typically has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground by the trunk, which typically contains woody tissue for strength, and vascular tissue to carry materials from one part of the tree to another. For most trees the trunk is surrounded by a layer of bark which serves as a protective barrier. Below the ground, the roots branch and spread out widely; they serve to anchor the tree and extract moisture and nutrients from the soil. Above ground, the branches divide into smaller branches and shoots. The shoots typically bear leaves, which capture light energy and convert it into sugars by photosynthesis, providing the food for the tree's growth and development.

Trees usually reproduce using seeds. Flowering plants have their seeds inside fruits, while conifers carry their seeds in cones, and tree ferns produce spores instead.

Trees play a significant role in reducing erosion and moderating the climate. They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store large quantities of carbon in their tissues. Trees and forests provide a habitat for many species of animals and plants. Tropical rainforests are among the most biodiverse habitats in the world. Trees provide shade and shelter, timber for construction, fuel for cooking and heating, and fruit for food as well as having many other uses. In much of the world, forests are shrinking as trees are cleared to increase the amount of land available for agriculture. Because of their longevity and usefulness, trees have always been revered, with sacred groves in various cultures, and they play a role in many of the world's mythologies. (Full article...)

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Betula pubescens (syn. Betula alba), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia, growing further north than any other broadleaf tree. It is closely related to, and often confused with, the silver birch (B. pendula), but grows in wetter places with heavier soils and poorer drainage; smaller trees can also be confused with the dwarf birch (B. nana).

Six varieties are recognised and it hybridises with the silver and dwarf birches. A number of cultivars have been developed, but many are no longer in cultivation. The larva of the autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata) feeds on the foliage and in some years, large areas of birch forest can be defoliated by this insect. Many fungi are associated with the tree and certain pathogenic fungi are the causal agents of birch dieback disease. (Full article...)

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... that the Easter egg tree (pictured) in Saalfeld, Thuringia, was decorated with 10,000 Easter eggs in 2012?
... that the Living Willow Theatre, an open air theatre constructed of living willow trees, is located near the village of Llanwrthwl and occasionally holds outdoor performances of Shakespeare?
... that Wollemi Stringybark, a tree that grows to 45 metres (148 ft) high northwest of Sydney, remains officially undescribed?
... that Linton Park in Kent, England, has an avenue of Giant Sequoia trees planted in 1864?
... that the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve contains a "stone tree"?
... that the scarlet honey myrtle, an ornamental garden shrub, is from the same genus as the punk tree?
... that the towers of architect Terunobu Fujimori's Lamune Onsen have pine trees planted on the apex of their roofs?

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The Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three varieties: coast Douglas-fir (P. menziesii var. menziesii), Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (P. menziesii var. glauca) and Mexican Douglas-fir (P. menziesii var. lindleyana).

Despite its common names, it is not a true fir (genus Abies), spruce (genus Picea), or pine (genus Pinus). It is also not a hemlock; the genus name Pseudotsuga means "false hemlock". (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various tree-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 2Dormant buds of ash, Fraxinus excelsior (from Tree)
Image 3People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 4Priest River winding through Whitetail Butte with lots of forestry to the east—these lot patterns have existed since the mid-19th century. The white patches reflect areas with younger, smaller trees, where winter snow cover shows up brightly to the astronauts. Dark green-brown squares are parcels (from Forest)
Image 5Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 6Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 7Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 8Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 9Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 10Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 11Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 12Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 13Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago, Cycas circinalis (from Tree)
Image 14Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 15World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 16Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 17A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 18Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 19Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 20Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 214000 years old Cypress of Abarqu is the oldest tree in Iran and the second oldest tree in the world. (from List of trees of Iran)
Image 22The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 23Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 24Since the 13th century, the Niepołomice Forest in Poland has had special use and protection. In this view from space, different coloration can indicate different functions. (from Forest)
Image 25An avenue of London planes (Platanus × hispanica) in a garden in Belgium. (from Tree)
Image 26Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 27Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 28Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 29Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 30Casentinesi Forests, Italy (from Forest)
Image 31Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 32Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 33Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 34Even, dense old-growth stand of beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) prepared to be regenerated by their saplings in the understory, in the Brussels part of the Sonian Forest. (from Forest)
Image 35Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 36Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 37Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 38Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 39Yellow cassia, an ornamental tree with yellow flowers (from Tree)
Image 40Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 41Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 42Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 43A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 44European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 45Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 46Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 47Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 48The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 49Redwood tree in northern California redwood forest, where many redwood trees are managed for preservation and longevity, rather than being harvested for wood production (from Forest)
Image 50Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 51Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir, Abies alba (from Tree)
Image 52The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 53Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of pedunculate oak, Quercus robur (from Tree)
Image 54Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 55Diagram of secondary growth in a eudicot or coniferous tree showing idealised vertical and horizontal sections. A new layer of wood is added in each growing season, thickening the stem, existing branches and roots. (from Tree)
Image 56Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)