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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Sabinaria magnifica is a species of palm tree and the only member of the genus Sabinaria. Native to the Darién Gap on the border between Colombia and Panama, it grows from 1 to 6 metres (3 ft 3 in to 19 ft 8 in) tall with large, deeply-divided leaf blades. It has been described as "striking", "spectacular" and "beautiful" by taxonomists.

Although known by local mule drivers, it was first collected in April 2013 by Saúl Hoyos, and described scientifically by Colombian palm experts Gloria Galeano and Rodrigo Bernal who named the genus Sabinaria after their daughter. Despite being locally abundant, the limited range occupied by the species makes it vulnerable to habitat destruction. (Full article...)

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... that veneration of the Amla tree (pictured), in particular on Amalaka Ekadashi, is due to the belief that the god Vishnu resides in and near the tree?
... that the future of the tropical tree Milicia regia for timber production is threatened by a gall fly, Phytolyma lata?
... that the churchyard of All Saints Church, Ulcombe in England contains a yew tree claimed to be more than 2,000 years old?
... that seeds of the extinct tree Eucommia eocenica have been found with latex covered fossils?
... that the fruits of the Lecythis ampla tree resemble little wooden pots with lids?
... that fossilized seeds of the extinct tree Eucommia montana are found from British Columbia to Colorado?
... that the Australian tree Agathis atropurpurea is known as the black kauri or the blue kauri because of the colour of its bark?

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An adult specimen in a park in Florianópolis, Brazil.

Paubrasilia echinata is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. It is a Brazilian timber tree commonly known as Pernambuco wood or brazilwood (Portuguese: pau-de-pernambuco, pau-brasil; Tupi: ybyrapytanga) and is the national tree of Brazil. This plant has a dense, orange-red heartwood that takes a high shine, and it is the premier wood used for making bows for stringed instruments. The wood also yields a historically important red dye called brazilin, which oxidizes to brazilein.

The name pau-brasil was applied to certain species of the genus Caesalpinia in the medieval period, and was given its original scientific name Caesalpinia echinata in 1785 by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. More recent taxonomic studies have suggested that it merits recognition as a separate genus, and it was thus renamed Paubrasilia echinata in 2016. The Latin specific epithet of echinata refers to hedgehog, from echinus, and describes the thorns which cover all parts of the tree (including the fruits). (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 2Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 3Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 4Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 5Since 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 6Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 7Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 8Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 9A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 10European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 11Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 12Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 13Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 14Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 15Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 16Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 17Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 18The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 19The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 20Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 214000 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 22Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 23Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 24Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)
Image 25A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 26Even, 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 27Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 28Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur) (from Tree)
Image 29Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 30Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 31Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 32Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 33Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 34Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 35Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 36Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 37Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 38Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 39Priest 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 40A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 41Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 42Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 43Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 44People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 45Redwood 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 46Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 47Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 48Diagram 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 49Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 50Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 51The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 52Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 53Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 54Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)