Fort Towson

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Recognized content - show another

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Banksia aquilonia, commonly known as the northern banksia and jingana, is a tree in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to north Queensland on Australia's northeastern coastline. With an average height of 8 m (26 ft), it has narrow glossy green leaves up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long and 6 to 10 cm (2.4 to 3.9 in) high pale yellow flower spikes, known as inflorescences, appearing in autumn. As the spikes age, their flowers fall off and they develop up to 50 follicles, each of which contains two seeds.

Alex George described the plant in his 1981 monograph of the genus Banksia as a variety of Banksia integrifolia, but later reclassified it as a separate species. Genetic studies show it to be related to Banksia plagiocarpa, Banksia oblongifolia and Banksia robur. The species is found in wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest margins on sandy soils. Banksia aquilonia regenerates after bushfire by regrowing from epicormic buds under its bark. It is rarely cultivated. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

Did you know? - show different entries

... 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?

Start a new article

Selected article - show another

A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas.

The custom was developed in Central Europe, particularly Germany and Livonia (now Estonia and Latvia), where Protestant Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, apples, wafers, tinsel, [and] sweetmeats". Moravian Christians began to illuminate Christmas trees with candles, which were often replaced by Christmas lights after the advent of electrification. Today, there is a wide variety of traditional and modern ornaments, such as garlands, baubles, tinsel, and candy canes. An angel or star might be placed at the top of the tree to represent the Angel Gabriel or the Star of Bethlehem, respectively, from the Nativity. Edible items such as gingerbread, chocolate, and other sweets are also popular and are tied to or hung from the tree's branches with ribbons. The Christmas tree has been historically regarded as a custom of the Lutheran Churches and only in 1982 did the Catholic Church erect the Vatican Christmas Tree. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images

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

Image 1A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 2Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 3Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 4Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 5Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 6Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 7Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 8Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 9Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 10Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 11The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 12Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 13Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 14Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur) (from Tree)
Image 15A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 16People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 17Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 18Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 19Since 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 20Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 21World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 22Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 23A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 24Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 25Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)
Image 264000 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 27Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)
Image 28Priest 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 29Redwood 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 30Diagram 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 31Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 32Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 33Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 34Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer) (from Tree)
Image 35Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 36Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 37Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 38The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 39Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 40Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 41The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 42Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 43Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 44Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 45Even, 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 46Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 47Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 48Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 49Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 50Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 51Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 52Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 53European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 54Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)