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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Large specimen growing in a park in Germany

Ailanthus altissima /eɪˈlænθəs ælˈtɪsɪmə/ ay-LAN-thəss al-TIH-sim-ə, commonly known as tree of heaven, Ailanthus, varnish tree, copal tree, stinking sumac, Chinese sumac, paradise tree, or in Chinese as chouchun (Chinese: 臭椿; pinyin: chòuchūn), is a deciduous tree in the family Simaroubaceae. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus Ailanthus, it is found in temperate climates rather than the tropics.

The tree grows rapidly, and is capable of reaching heights of 15 metres (50 ft) in 25 years. While the species rarely lives more than 50 years, some specimens exceed 100 years of age. Its suckering ability allows this tree to clone itself indefinitely. It is considered a noxious weed and vigorous invasive species, and one of the worst invasive plant species in Europe and North America. In 21st-century North America, the invasiveness of the species has been compounded by its role in the life cycle of the also destructive and invasive spotted lanternfly. (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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Foliage and acorns of Quercus robur

An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere; it includes some 500 species, both deciduous and evergreen. Fossil oaks date back to the Middle Eocene. Molecular phylogeny shows that the genus is divided into Old World and New World clades, but many oak species hybridise freely, making the genus's history difficult to resolve.

Ecologically, oaks are keystone species in habitats from Mediterranean semi-desert to subtropical rainforest. They live in association with many kinds of fungi including truffles. Oaks support more than 950 species of caterpillar, many kinds of gall wasp which form distinctive galls, roundish woody lumps such as the oak apple, and a large number of pests and diseases. Oak leaves and acorns contain enough tannin to be toxic to cattle, but pigs are able to digest them safely. Oak timber is strong and hard, and has found many uses in construction and furniture-making. The bark was traditionally used for tanning leather. Wine barrels are made of oak; these are used for aging alcoholic beverages such as sherry and whisky, giving them a range of flavours, colours, and aromas. The spongy bark of the cork oak is used to make traditional wine bottle corks. Almost a third of oak species are threatened with extinction due to climate change, invasive pests, and habitat loss. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 2Priest 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 3Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 4Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 5Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur) (from Tree)
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 7Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 84000 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 9A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 10Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 11People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 12European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 13Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 14Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 15A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 16Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 17Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 18Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 19Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 20Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 21Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 22A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 23Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)
Image 24Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 25Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 26Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 27Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)
Image 28World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 29Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 30Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 31Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 32Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 33Even, 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 34Redwood 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 35Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 36Diagram 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 37Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 38Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 39Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 40The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 41Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 42Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 43Since 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 44Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 45The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 46Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 47Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 48Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 49Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 50Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 51Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 52Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 53Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 54Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)