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. 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. The earliest 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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Florida strangler fig in Deering Park, Florida

Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig (or simply strangler fig), golden fig, or higuerón, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama. The specific epithet aurea was applied by English botanist Thomas Nuttall who described the species in 1846.

Ficus aurea is a strangler fig. In figs of this group, seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree with the seedling living as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground. After that, it enlarges and strangles its host, eventually becoming a free-standing tree in its own right. Individuals may reach 30 m (100 ft) in height. The tree provides habitat, food and shelter for a host of tropical lifeforms including epiphytes in cloud forests and birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. F. aurea is used in traditional medicine, for live fencing, as an ornamental and as a bonsai. (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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Lebanon cedar in Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve in Barouk, Lebanon

Cedrus is a small genus in the pine family, Pinaceae (subfamily Abietoideae), consisting of 1-3 species of coniferous trees known in English as cedars. They are native to the mountains of the western Himalayas and the Mediterranean region at high altitudes. The trees grow tall with a cylindrical trunk and a wide leafy crown. The cones are erect; the leaves grow in tufts of 15–45 needle leaves, which can be bright green or blue-green with a waxy coat. When the cones are mature, they disintegrate to release the seeds, which are winged. Both pollen and seeds are wind-dispersed.

Cedars are often grown as bonsai. Cedar wood and cedarwood oil are naturally repellent to moths, and have an attractive, long-persistent scent. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 2Since 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 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 4Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 5Forest area, by region, 1990–2025. (from Forest)
Image 6Land-use change in cropland and forest land by region and subregion, 2001–2023. In many areas forests are being cleared for farmland. (from Forest)
Image 7Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 8Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago, Cycas circinalis (from Tree)
Image 9A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (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 11Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir, Abies alba (from Tree)
Image 12Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 13An avenue of London planes (Platanus × hispanica) in a garden in Belgium (from Tree)
Image 14Priest 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 15Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 16Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 17Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 18The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 19Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 20Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 21Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 22Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 23Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 24Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 25Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 26Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 27Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 28Yellow cassia, an ornamental tree with yellow flowers (from Tree)
Image 29The heavily traversed Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York form the southernmost part of the Eastern forest-boreal transition ecoregion, constituting part of the world's taiga biome. (from Forest)
Image 30Large, ancient Tree in village Dil Sher Brohi, Sindh (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 31Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 32Dormant buds of ash, Fraxinus excelsior (from Tree)
Image 33Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2023) (from Forest)
Image 34Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 35European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 36A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 37Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 38Diagram 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 39Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of pedunculate oak, Quercus robur (from Tree)
Image 40Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 41People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 42Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 43Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 44Proportion of forest in legally established protected areas, by region, 2025 (from Forest)
Image 45Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 46Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 47Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 48Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 49Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 50Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)