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, 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 trees 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. 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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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 the Easter egg tree (pictured) in Saalfeld, Thuringia, was decorated with 10,000 Easter eggs in 2012?
... that the most popular species for Christmas trees in Denmark and most of Europe is the Nordmann fir?
... that seed of the African teak tree is largely dispersed by fruit bats?
... that Trichia decipiens live on deadwood of conifers and leaf trees all year around?
... that Aecidium mori causes mulberry rust disease on the mulberry flowering plant, which decreases the quantity of leaves on the trees?
... that the satinleaf tree is endangered in its native Florida, but an invasive weed in Hawaii?
... that the Brown Treecreeper spirals up and down tree trunks while foraging?

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The Bodhi Tree of Bodh Gaya is believed to be the *Ficus religiosa* under which Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment. It is worshipped by Buddhists. The sacred fig is also venerated in Hinduism and Jainism.

Trees are significant in many of the world's mythologies, and have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages. Human beings, observing the growth and death of trees, and the annual death and revival of their foliage, have often seen them as powerful symbols of growth, death and rebirth. Evergreen trees, which largely stay green throughout these cycles, are sometimes considered symbols of the eternal, immortality or fertility. The image of the Tree of life or world tree occurs in many mythologies.

Examples include the banyan and the sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil of Judaism and Christianity. In folk religion and folklore, trees are often said to be the homes of tree spirits. Germanic mythology as well as Celtic polytheism both appear to have involved cultic practice in sacred groves, especially grove of oak. The term druid itself possibly derives from the Celtic word for oak. The Egyptian Book of the Dead mentions sycamores as part of the scenery where the soul of the deceased finds blissful repose. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 2Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 34000 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 4A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 5World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 6Dormant buds of ash, Fraxinus excelsior (from Tree)
Image 7Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 8Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 9Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 10Even, 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 11The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 12Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 13Diagram 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 14Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 15Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 16Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 17Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 18Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 19Redwood 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 20Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 21Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 22Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 23Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 24A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 25Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 26Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 27An avenue of London planes (Platanus × hispanica) in a garden in Belgium. (from Tree)
Image 28Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago, Cycas circinalis (from Tree)
Image 29Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 30Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 31Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 32European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 33Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 34Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 35Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 36Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 37Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir, Abies alba (from Tree)
Image 38Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 39The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 40Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 41Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 42People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 43Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 44Since 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 45Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 46Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 47The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 48Casentinesi Forests, Italy (from Forest)
Image 49Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 50Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 51Yellow cassia, an ornamental tree with yellow flowers (from Tree)
Image 52Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of pedunculate oak, Quercus robur (from Tree)
Image 53Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 54Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 55Priest 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 56Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)