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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Native habitat in Collier-Seminole State Park, Florida

Roystonea regia, commonly known as the royal palm, Cuban royal palm, or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and parts of Central America. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted throughout the tropics and subtropics as an ornamental tree. Although it is sometimes called R. elata, the conserved name R. regia is now the correct name for the species. The royal palm reaches heights from 15–24 m (50–80 ft) tall. Populations in Cuba and Florida were long seen as separate species, but are now considered a single species.

Widely planted as an ornamental, R. regia is also used for thatch, construction timber, and in some forms of traditional medicine, although there is currently no valid scientific evidence to support the efficacy or use of any palm species for medicinal purposes. The fruit is eaten by birds and bats (which disperse the seeds) and fed to livestock. Its flowers are visited by birds and bats, and it serves as a roosting site and food source for a variety of animals. Roystonea regia is the national tree of Cuba, and has a religious role both in Santería and Christianity, where it is used in Palm Sunday observances. (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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Pinus sylvestris, the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orange-red bark. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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