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. But 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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The Webster Sycamore (alternatively known as the Webster Springs Sycamore and the Big Sycamore Tree) was an American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Long recognized for its size, the Webster Sycamore was the largest living American sycamore tree in West Virginia until its felling in 2010. The tree stood approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east of Webster Springs in Webster County, in a moist flood plain along the banks of the Back Fork Elk River, a tributary stream of the Elk River.

The Webster Sycamore reached a tree height measurement of 112 feet (34 m), a tree crown measurement of 90 feet (27 m), and a circumference of 25.75 feet (7.85 m) at breast height. In 1955, the American Forests Association declared the tree the largest of its species in the United States. It only held the title for three weeks, before the association identified a larger American sycamore in Maryland. Despite losing its national title, the sycamore remained the largest American sycamore in West Virginia. Following a 1963 survey of large trees in West Virginia, the Webster Sycamore was named the second-largest tree after a white oak (Quercus alba) in Randolph County. (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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Crataegus laevigata, known as the Midland hawthorn, English hawthorn, woodland hawthorn, or mayflower, is a species of hawthorn native to western and central Europe, from Great Britain (where it is typically found in ancient woodland and old hedgerows) and Spain, east to Romania and Ukraine. The species name is sometimes spelt C. levigata, but the original orthography is C. lævigata. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 2Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
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 4Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 5Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 6Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 7Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 8Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 9Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 10Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir, Abies alba (from Tree)
Image 11Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 12Priest 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 13People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 14Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 15Since 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 16Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 17Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 18Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 19A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 20Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 21Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 22Yellow cassia, an ornamental tree with yellow flowers (from Tree)
Image 23Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 24Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 25The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
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 27Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 28Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 29Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 30Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 31Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 32Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 33Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 34Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 35Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 36Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 37Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 38The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 39Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of pedunculate oak, Quercus robur (from Tree)
Image 40World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 41Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 42Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 43European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 44Dormant buds of ash, Fraxinus excelsior (from Tree)
Image 45An avenue of London planes (Platanus × hispanica) in a garden in Belgium. (from Tree)
Image 46Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 47A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 48A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 49Casentinesi Forests, Italy (from Forest)
Image 50Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago, Cycas circinalis (from Tree)
Image 51Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 52Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 53Diagram 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 54Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 55Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 56This picture shows how a small banyan tree sprouting on a palm tree grows into a giant tree over time. (from Tree)
Image 57Redwood 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)