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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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The Mingo Oak (also known as the Mingo White Oak) was a white oak (Quercus alba) in the U.S. state of West Virginia. First recognized for its age and size in 1931, the Mingo Oak was the oldest and largest living white oak tree in the world until its death in 1938.

The Mingo Oak stood in Mingo County, West Virginia, in a cove at the base of Trace Mountain near the headwaters of the Trace Fork of Pigeon Creek, a tributary stream of Tug Fork. The tree reached a height of over 200 feet (61 m), and its trunk was 145 feet (44 m) in height. Its crown measured 130 feet (40 m) in diameter and 60 feet (18 m) in height. The tree's trunk measured 9 feet 10 inches (3.00 m) in diameter and the circumference of its base measured 30 feet 9 inches (9.37 m). Assessments of its potential board lumber ranged from 15,000 feet (4,600 m) to 40,000 feet (12,000 m). Following the tree's felling in 1938, it was estimated to weigh approximately 5,400 long tons (5,500 t). (Full article...)

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... that President Bill Clinton said he would personally pay the bill to keep the National Christmas Tree (pictured) lit during the government shutdown resulting from disagreements on the 1996 federal budget?
... that global precedence is the tendency to see the forest, and not the trees?
... that the mistletoe species Amyema congener of eastern Australia can grow on non-native peach, plum and pear trees?
... that foliage from the Australian rainforest tree Grevillea baileyana was used in the floral arrangements handed to medal winners at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney?
... that most of the habitat of the vulnerable tree Eucalyptus benthamii has disappeared under Warragamba Dam or been cleared?
... that the inspiration for the Paustian House in Copenhagen came to architect Jørn Utzon while he was walking through a forest of beech trees?
... that Washington was the second largest tree of its kind until its collapse in 2005?

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Populus fremontii in fall color

Populus section Aigeiros is a section of three species in the genus Populus, the poplars. Like some other species in the genus Populus, they are commonly known as cottonwoods. The species are native to North America, Europe, and western Asia. In the past, as many as six species were recognized, but recent trends have been to accept just three species, treating the others as subspecies of P. deltoides.

They are large, deciduous trees that are 15–30 m (50–100 ft) tall and diameters of 4 m (13 ft), distinguished by thick, deeply fissured bark and triangular-based to diamond-shaped leaves that are green on both sides (without the whitish wax on the undersides) and without any obvious balsam scent in spring. An important feature of the leaves is the petiole, which is flattened sideways so that the leaves have a particular type of movement in the wind. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 24000 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 3Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 4Priest 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 5Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 6Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 7People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 8Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 9Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 10A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 11Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 12Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 13Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 14The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 15Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 16Since 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 17A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 18Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 19Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 20Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur) (from Tree)
Image 21Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)
Image 22A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 23Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 24The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 25Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 26Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 27Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 28Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 29Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 30Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 31Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 32Even, 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 33Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 34Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 35World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 36Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 37Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 38Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 39Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 40Redwood 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 41Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 42European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 43Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 44Diagram 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 45Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 46Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 47Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 48Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 49Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 50Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 51Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 52Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)
Image 53Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 54Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)