Portal:Trees

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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. 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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Durio graveolens 'Suluy Z' at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami

Durio graveolens, sometimes called the red-fleshed durian, orange-fleshed durian, or yellow durian, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae. It is one of six species of durian named by Italian naturalist Odoardo Beccari. The specific epithet graveolens ('strong smelling' or 'rank') is due to the odor. Although most species of Durio (most notably Durio dulcis) have a strong scent, the red-fleshed type of D. graveolens has a mild scent. It is native to Southeast Asia.

D. graveolens is an edible durian, perhaps the most popular 'wild' species of durian, and it is sold commercially regionally. However, its congener Durio zibethinus is the typical species eaten and dominates sales worldwide. (Full article...)

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... that a fellow artist said of Allen Butler Talcott that "no one was his peer in the knowledge of trees and how to paint them" (painting of oak pictured)?
... that sex scenes in the controversial 1967 film I Am Curious (Yellow) were shot inside the Rumskulla oak, an oak tree that is more than 1,000 years old?
... that the red nose-like structure of the cherrynose cicada contains muscles that help it suck xylem out of trees?
... that extracts from leaves of the mahogany tree suren toon are used as antibacterial poultices?
... that The Greening of Detroit has planted over 81,000 trees in the Michigan city since the organization's inception in 1989?
... that the vinhática tree, Plathymenia reticulata (pictured), provides the preferred timber for making dugout canoes in Brazil, because it is resistant to rotting?

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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 1People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 2Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 3Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 4A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 5Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 6An avenue of London planes (Platanus × hispanica) in a garden in Belgium. (from Tree)
Image 7Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 8Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 94000 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 10Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 11Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 12Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 13Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 14Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 15The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 16Redwood 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 17Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 18The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 19Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 20Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 21Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 22Since 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 23Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 24Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 25Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 26A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 27Yellow cassia, an ornamental tree with yellow flowers (from Tree)
Image 28Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago, Cycas circinalis (from Tree)
Image 29Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 30Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 31Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 32Casentinesi Forests, Italy (from Forest)
Image 33Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 34Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 35Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 36Priest 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 37Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 38European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 39Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 40Dormant buds of ash, Fraxinus excelsior (from Tree)
Image 41The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 42Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 43Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 44Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 45Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 46Diagram 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 47Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir, Abies alba (from Tree)
Image 48Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 49Even, 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 50Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 51Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 52A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 53Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of pedunculate oak, Quercus robur (from Tree)
Image 54Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 55World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 56Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)