Portal:Trees

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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 reaching several thousand years old. Trees have been in existence for 370 million years. It is estimated that there are around three trillion mature trees in the world.

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 it 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. Flowers and fruit may be present, but some trees, such as conifers, instead have pollen cones and seed cones. Palms, bananas, and bamboos also produce seeds, but 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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Cabbage tree on farmland, South Island, New Zealand

Cordyline australis, commonly known as the cabbage tree, or by its Māori name of tī or tī kōuka, is a widely branched monocot tree endemic to New Zealand.

It grows up to 20 metres (66 feet) tall with a stout trunk and sword-like leaves, which are clustered at the tips of the branches and can be up to 1 metre (3 feet 3 inches) long. With its tall, straight trunk and dense, rounded heads, it is a characteristic feature of the New Zealand landscape. Its fruit is a favourite food source for the kererū and other native birds. It is common over a wide latitudinal range from the far north of the North Island at 34° 25′S to the south of the South Island at 46° 30′S. Absent from much of Fiordland, it was probably introduced by Māori to the Chatham Islands at 44° 00′S and to Stewart Island / Rakiura at 46° 50′S. It grows in a broad range of habitats, including forest margins, river banks and open places, and is abundant near swamps. The largest known tree with a single trunk is growing at Pākawau, Golden Bay / Mohua. It is estimated to be 400 or 500 years old, and stands 17 metres (56 feet) tall with a circumference of 9 metres (30 feet) at the base. (Full article...)

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... that fossil leaves almost identical to those of the Australian rainforest tree Orites excelsus (pictured) have been found in New Zealand?
... that more than 8000 trees were planted in Backmuir Wood to celebrate the 2000 millennium?
... that the name of the newly defined genus of macadamia-like trees, Lasjia, is derived from the initials of Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson?
... that at St Athan, a wild fig tree grew out of the cement of the East Orchard chapel walls?
... that in the churchyard of St Mary and St Peter's Church in Wilmington, East Sussex, there is a 1,600-year-old, 23-foot (7 m) wide yew tree?
... that Christopher Werner made a lifelike South Carolina Palmetto tree out of iron, copper, and brass?
... that seed from an endangered Chrysophyllum imperiale tree planted in Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney in 1868 by Prince Alfred has been sent to its native Brazil to aid in recovering the species there?

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Korean fir (Abies koreana) cones and foliage

Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus Abies (/ˈeɪbiˌiz/) in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related to Cedrus (cedar)The genus name is derived from the Latin "to rise" in reference to the height of its species. The common English name originates with the Old Norse, fyri, or the Old Danish, fyr.

They are large trees, reaching heights of 10–80 metres (33–262 feet) tall with trunk diameters of 0.5–4 m (1 ft 8 in – 13 ft 1 in) when mature. Firs can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by the way in which their needle-like leaves are attached singly to the branches with a base resembling a suction cup, and by their cones, which, like those of true cedars, stand upright on the branches like candles and disintegrate at maturity. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 2Even, 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 3World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 4Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 5The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 6Redwood 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 7Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 8Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 9Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 10Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 11Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 12Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 13Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 14Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)
Image 15A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 16The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 17Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur) (from Tree)
Image 18Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 19Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 20Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 21Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)
Image 22Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 234000 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 24Diagram 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 25European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 26Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 27Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 28Since 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 29Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 30Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 31Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 32People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 33Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 34Priest 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 35Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 36Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 37Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 38Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 39Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 40Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 41Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 42Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 43A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 44Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 45Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 46Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 47Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 48A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 49The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 50Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 51Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 52Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 53Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 54Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)