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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The Webster Sycamore (alternatively known as the Webster Springs Sycamore and the Big Sycamore Tree) was an American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Long recognized for its size, the Webster Sycamore was the largest living American sycamore tree in West Virginia until its felling in 2010. The tree stood approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east of Webster Springs in Webster County, in a moist flood plain along the banks of the Back Fork Elk River, a tributary stream of the Elk River.

The Webster Sycamore reached a tree height measurement of 112 feet (34 m), a tree crown measurement of 90 feet (27 m), and a circumference of 25.75 feet (7.85 m) at breast height. In 1955, the American Forests Association declared the tree the largest of its species in the United States. It only held the title for three weeks, before the association identified a larger American sycamore in Maryland. Despite losing its national title, the sycamore remained the largest American sycamore in West Virginia. Following a 1963 survey of large trees in West Virginia, the Webster Sycamore was named the second-largest tree after a white oak (Quercus alba) in Randolph County. (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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The stone pine, botanical name Pinus pinea, also known as the Italian stone pine, Mediterranean stone pine, umbrella pine and parasol pine, is a tree from the pine family (Pinaceae). The tree is native to the Mediterranean region, occurring in Southern Europe and the Levant. The species was introduced into North Africa millennia ago, and is also naturalized in the Canary Islands, South Africa and New South Wales.

Stone pines have been used and cultivated for their edible pine nuts since prehistoric times. They are widespread in horticultural cultivation as ornamental trees, planted in gardens and parks around the world. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 2Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur) (from Tree)
Image 3Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 4Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 5A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 6Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 7Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 8European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 9Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 10Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 114000 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 12Even, 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 13Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 14Redwood 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 15Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 16Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 17Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 18The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 19Since 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 20Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 21Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)
Image 22Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)
Image 23The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 24Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 25Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 26The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 27Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 28Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 29Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 30Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 31A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 32Priest 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 33World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 34Diagram 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 35Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 36Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 37Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 38Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 39Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 40A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 41Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 42Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 43Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 44Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 45People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 46Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 47Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 48Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 49Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 50Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 51Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 52Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 53Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 54Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)