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 have been in existence for 370 million years. It is estimated that there are around three trillion mature trees in the world.

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 it 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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Acer pseudoplatanus in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, Kassel, Germany

Acer pseudoplatanus, known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of maple native to Central Europe and Western Asia. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved tree, tolerant of wind and coastal exposure.

Although native to an area ranging from France eastward to Ukraine, northern Turkey and the Caucasus, and southward to the mountains of Italy and northern Iberia, the sycamore establishes itself easily from seed and was introduced to the British Isles by 1500. It is now naturalised there and in other parts of Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, where it may become an invasive species. (Full article...)

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... that the Paget Marsh Nature Reserve in Bermuda has been called the "best surviving example of native cedar, palmetto (pictured), and mangrove forests", yet at one point the island lost 99% of its cedar trees?
... that a canopy walkway connects seven tree tops in Ghana's Kakum National Park?
... that the ivory curl tree can grow 30 m (100 ft) tall in its natural rainforest habitat?
... that the trumpet tree, a fast-growing tree native to the American tropics, is considered one of the hundred worst invasive alien species in the world?
... that the installation of an artificial Christmas tree in Brussels prompted an online petition against it with 25,000 signatures?
... that a white oak tree with a trunk circumference of over 26 feet (7.9 m) grew near Wolf Run until it was cut down in 1852?
... that the blue nuthatch (pictured) protects its corneas from falling debris when prospecting on trees by contracting the bare skin around its eyes – an adaptation apparently unique to the species?

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Subalpine larch (Larix lyallii) in Wenatchee National Forest, Washington, U.S.

The Laricoideae are a subfamily of the Pinaceae, a Pinophyta division family. They take their name from the genus Larix (larches), which contains inside most of the species of the group and is one of only two deciduous genera of the pines complex (together with Pseudolarix, which however belongs to a different subfamily, the Abietoideae). Ecologically important trees, the Laricoideae form pure or mixed forest associations often dominant in the ecosystems in which they are present, thanks also to their biological adaptations to natural disturbances, to reproductive strategies put in place and high average longevity of the individuals. Currently are assigned to this subfamily three genera (Larix, Pseudotsuga and Cathaya) and its members can be found only in Northern Hemisphere. The various species live for the most part in temperate or cold climates and are the more northerly conifers; some constitute an important source of timber and non-timber forest products. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 2Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 3A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 4Even, 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 5Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 6Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 7Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 8Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 9Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 10World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 11Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 12Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 13Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 14The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 15Diagram 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 16Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 17Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 18Since 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 19Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 20Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)
Image 21A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 22Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 23Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 24Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 25Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 26Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 27The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 28Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 29Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 30Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 31Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 32Priest 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 33Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 34Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 35Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 36People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
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 39Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 40Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 41A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 42Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 43Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 44Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 45Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 46Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 474000 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 48Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 49Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 50Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 51Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur) (from Tree)
Image 52Redwood 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 53Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)
Image 54The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)