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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Zombia antillarum at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, Florida, United States

Zombia antillarum, commonly known as the zombie palm, is a species of palm tree and the only member of the genus Zombia. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola (both the Dominican Republic and Haiti) in the Greater Antilles. Usually found in dry, hilly areas of northern and southern Haiti and the northwest of the Dominican Republic, Z. antillarum is a relatively short fan palm with clustered stems and a very distinctive appearance caused by its persistent spiny leaf sheaths. Threatened by habitat destruction in Haiti, Z. antillarum is a popular ornamental species due to its distinctive appearance, low maintenance requirements and salt tolerance. (Full article...)

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... that the Top 10 New Species of the past year include a 40 foot (12 m) tall tree (pictured), a crustacean that looks like a skeleton, a protist that acts like a sponge, and a fungus named after the King of the Netherlands?
... that the Pass Christian Light was deactivated in part because neighboring property owners refused to trim their trees?
... that Cossinia trifoliata trees endemic to New Caledonia have become vulnerable to extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's 1998 assessment?
... that the Hanlon Expressway is named after Felix Hanlon, who helped cut the first tree to inaugurate Guelph, Ontario?
... that British architect Richard Feilden was killed by a falling tree whilst creating a woodland memorial for his recently deceased father?
... that according to tradition the Church of the Holy Archangels, Rogoz was built from two huge elm trees?
... that the oak tree under which Goethe allegedly wrote Faust's Walpurgis Night scene stood inside Buchenwald concentration camp and was sketched by French Volontaires de la Liberté member and camp inmate Léon Delarbre?

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Eucalyptus fraxinoides on Brown Mountain

Eucalyptus fraxinoides, commonly known as the white ash or white mountain ash, is a medium-sized to tall tree of mountain country and is endemic to south eastern Australia. It has rough, compacted greyish bark on the lower trunk, smooth white bark with scribbles above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between seven and eleven, white flowers and barrel-shaped or urn-shaped fruit. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 2Diagram 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 3Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 4Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 5Since 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 6Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 7Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 8Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 9Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)
Image 10Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 11Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 12Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 13Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 14Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 15Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 16Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 17Priest 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 18Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)
Image 19Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur) (from Tree)
Image 20Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 21Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 22Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 23Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 244000 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 25Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 26A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 27Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 28Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 29Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 30Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 31European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 32The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 33Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (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 35People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 36Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 37A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 38Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 39Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 40Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 41The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 42World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 43Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 44Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 45Redwood 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 46Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 47Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 48Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 49Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 50Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 51Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 52Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 53A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 54The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)