Portal:Trees

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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, 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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Durio graveolens 'Suluy Z' at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami

Durio graveolens, sometimes called the red-fleshed durian, orange-fleshed durian, or yellow durian, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae. It is one of six species of durian named by Italian naturalist Odoardo Beccari. The specific epithet graveolens ('strong smelling' or 'rank') is due to the odor. Although most species of Durio (most notably Durio dulcis) have a strong scent, the red-fleshed type of D. graveolens has a mild scent. It is native to Southeast Asia.

D. graveolens is an edible durian, perhaps the most popular 'wild' species of durian, and it is sold commercially regionally. However, its congener Durio zibethinus is the typical species eaten and dominates sales worldwide. (Full article...)

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... that a fellow artist said of Allen Butler Talcott that "no one was his peer in the knowledge of trees and how to paint them" (painting of oak pictured)?
... that sex scenes in the controversial 1967 film I Am Curious (Yellow) were shot inside the Rumskulla oak, an oak tree that is more than 1,000 years old?
... that the red nose-like structure of the cherrynose cicada contains muscles that help it suck xylem out of trees?
... that extracts from leaves of the mahogany tree suren toon are used as antibacterial poultices?
... that The Greening of Detroit has planted over 81,000 trees in the Michigan city since the organization's inception in 1989?
... that the vinhática tree, Plathymenia reticulata (pictured), provides the preferred timber for making dugout canoes in Brazil, because it is resistant to rotting?

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Fab Tree Hab, a "Local Biota Living Graft Structure"

The Fab Tree Hab is a hypothetical ecological home design developed at MIT in the early 2000s by Mitchell Joachim, Javier Arbona and Lara Greden. With the idea of easing the burden humanity places on the environment with conventional housing by growing "living, breathing" tree homes.

It would be built by allowing native trees to grow over a computer-designed (CNC) removable plywood scaffold. Once the plants are interconnected and stable, the plywood would be removed and reused. MIT is experimenting with trees that grow quickly and develop an interwoven root structure that's soft enough to "train" over the scaffold, but then hardens into a more durable structure. The inside walls would be conventional clay and plaster. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 2Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 3Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 4The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 5Diagram 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 6Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 74000 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 8Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 9Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur) (from Tree)
Image 10Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 11Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
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 13Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)
Image 14Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 15Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 16Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 17Redwood 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 18Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 19Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 20Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 21The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 22World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 23Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 24Priest 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 25Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 26Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 27Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 28The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 29Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 30Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 31Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 32A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 33Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 34Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 35A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 36Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 37Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 38European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 39Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 40Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 41A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 42Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 43Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)
Image 44Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 45Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 46Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (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 48Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 49Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 50Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 51Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (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 54Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)