Portal:Trees

The Trees Portal

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, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only plants that are usable as lumber, or only plants above a specified height. Wider definitions include taller palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos.

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 trees reaching several thousand years old. Trees evolved around 400 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. Flowering plants have their seeds inside fruits, while conifers carry their seeds in cones, and 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 pubescens (syn. Betula alba), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia, growing further north than any other broadleaf tree. It is closely related to, and often confused with, the silver birch (B. pendula), but grows in wetter places with heavier soils and poorer drainage; smaller trees can also be confused with the dwarf birch (B. nana).

Six varieties are recognised and it hybridises with the silver and dwarf birches. A number of cultivars have been developed, but many are no longer in cultivation. The larva of the autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata) feeds on the foliage and in some years, large areas of birch forest can be defoliated by this insect. Many fungi are associated with the tree and certain pathogenic fungi are the causal agents of birch dieback disease. (Full article...)

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... that the Paget Marsh Nature Reserve in Bermuda has been called the "best surviving example of native Bermuda juniper, palmetto (pictured), and mangrove forests", yet at one point the island lost 99% of its juniper trees?
... that a canopy walkway connects seven tree tops in Ghana's Kakum National Park?
... that the ivory curl tree can grow 30 m (100 ft) tall in its natural rainforest habitat?
... that the trumpet tree, a fast-growing tree native to the American tropics, is considered one of the hundred worst invasive alien species in the world?
... that the installation of an artificial Christmas tree in Brussels prompted an online petition against it with 25,000 signatures?
... that a white oak tree with a trunk circumference of over 7.9 metres (26 ft) grew near Wolf Run until it was cut down in 1852?
... that the blue nuthatch (pictured) protects its corneas from falling debris when prospecting on trees by contracting the bare skin around its eyes, an adaptation apparently unique to the species?

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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 1Even, 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 2Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 3Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 4Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 5Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 6An avenue of London planes (Platanus × hispanica) in a garden in Belgium. (from Tree)
Image 7Priest 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 8Yellow cassia, an ornamental tree with yellow flowers (from Tree)
Image 9Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago, Cycas circinalis (from Tree)
Image 10People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 11Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 12Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 13Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 14Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 15Casentinesi Forests, Italy (from Forest)
Image 16Diagram 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 17Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir, Abies alba (from Tree)
Image 18Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 19A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 20A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 21Since 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 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 23Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 24Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 25Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 26Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 27Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 28Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 29Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 30The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 31Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 32European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 33Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 34Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 35Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 36Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 37Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 38The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 39Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 40Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 41Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 42World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 43Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 44Dormant buds of ash, Fraxinus excelsior (from Tree)
Image 45Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 46The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 47Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 48Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 49Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 50Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of pedunculate oak, Quercus robur (from Tree)
Image 514000 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 52Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 53Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 54Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 55A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 56Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)