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 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. 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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Betula pendula, commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into Siberia, China, and southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. It has been introduced into North America, where it is known as the European white birch or weeping birch and is considered invasive in some states in the United States and parts of Canada. The tree can also be found in more temperate regions of Australia.

The silver birch is a medium-sized deciduous tree that owes its common name to the white peeling bark on the trunk. The twigs are slender and often pendulous and the leaves are roughly triangular with doubly serrate margins and turn yellow and brown in autumn before they fall. The flowers are catkins and the light, winged seeds get widely scattered by the wind. The silver birch is a hardy tree, a pioneer species, and one of the first trees to appear on bare or fire-swept land. Many species of birds and animals are found in birch woodland, the tree supports a wide range of insects and the light shade it casts allows shrubby and other plants to grow beneath its canopy. It is planted decoratively in parks and gardens and is used for forest products such as joinery timber, firewood, tanning, racecourse jumps, and brooms. Various parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine and the bark contains triterpenes, which have been shown to have medicinal properties. (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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Vachellia erioloba camel thorn

Vachellia erioloba, the camel thorn, also known as the giraffe thorn, mokala tree, or Kameeldoring in Afrikaans, still more commonly known as Acacia erioloba, is a tree of southern Africa in the family Fabaceae. Its preferred habitat is the deep dry sandy soils in parts of South Africa, Botswana, the western areas of Zimbabwe and Namibia. It is also native to Angola, south-west Mozambique, Zambia and Eswatini. The tree was first described by Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer and Johann Franz Drège in 1836. The camel thorn is a protected tree in South Africa.

The tree can grow up to 20 metres high. It is slow-growing, very hardy to drought and fairly frost-resistant. The light-grey colored thorns reflect sunlight, and the bipinnate leaves close when it is hot. The wood is dark reddish-brown in colour and extremely dense and strong. It is good for fires, which leads to widespread clearing of dead trees and the felling of healthy trees. It produces ear-shaped pods, favoured by many herbivores including cattle. The seeds can be roasted and used as a substitute for coffee beans. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
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 3Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 4Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 5Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 6The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 7A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 8Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 9Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 10Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 11Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 12Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 13Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 14Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 15Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 16Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 17Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 18Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 19Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 20Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 21Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 22Redwood 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 23Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 24Priest 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 25Since 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 26World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 27Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 28Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 29Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 30Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 31Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 32Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 334000 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 34Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 35Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 36People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 37Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 38European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 39Diagram 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 40A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 41A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 42Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)
Image 43Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 44The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 45Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 46The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 47Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 48Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 49Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 50Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur) (from Tree)
Image 51Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 52Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 53Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 54Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)