Plants

Plants are extremely complex and diverse, and there are millions of different plant species— some that
haven’t even been fully discovered and studied yet! In order to continue the study and organization of
plants, botanists (scientists who study plants) must find a way to categorize the many different species.
While all plants are made up of similar parts that are essential in maintaining their survival (i.e. having
roots, stem, leaves, etc.), they often look different. These differences in characteristics are used to group
plants into species, which provides a way of classifying and therefore organizing plants.
While there are many ways to structure plant classification, one way is to group them into vascular and
non-vascular plants, seed bearing and spore bearing, and angiosperms and gymnosperms. Plants can
also be classified as grasses, herbaceous plants, woody shrubs, and trees.
http://mpalalive.org/classroom/lesson/plant-classification-us
Plants are one of six big groups (kingdoms) of living things. They are autotrophic eukaryotes, which
means they have complex cells, and make their own food. Usually they cannot move (not counting
growth).
Plants include familiar types such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae.
The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant (living) species of
plants. Fungi and non-green algae are not classified as plants.
Most plants grow in the ground, with stems in the air and roots below the surface. Some float on water.
The root part absorbs water and some nutrients the plant needs to live and grow. These climb the stem
and reach the leaves. The evaporation of water from pores in the leaves pulls water through the plant.
This is called transpiration.
A plant needs sunlight, carbon dioxide, minerals and water to make food by photosynthesis. A green in
plants called chlorophyll traps the energy from the Sun needed to make food. Chlorophyll is mostly
found in leaves, inside plastids, which are inside the leaf cells. The leaf can be thought of as a food
factory. Leaves of plants vary in shape and size, but they are always the plant organ best suited to
capture solar energy. Once the food is made in the leaf, it is transported to the other parts of the plant
such as stems and roots.[5][6]
The word "plant" can also mean the action of putting something in the ground. For example, farmers
plant seeds in the field.
Photosynthesis is a process that is taken place by the leaves on the plant. The leaves are the only parts
of a plant that can do this process (as they adapted). This is also known as how the plant gets its
food.You can make the process quicker by adding more CO2, light and chlorophyll.
Plants are all unique regarding physical appearance, structure, and physiological behavior. Aside from
that, they also vary in their habitats, tolerance, and nutrient requirement.
In general, botanists group plants into two major groups: non-vascular and vascular. The former being
composed of early plants while the latter consists of plants which had developed a vascular system.
However, this kind of grouping seems to be very general and covers a wide variety of scope. The more
commonly used plant classification is the more specific one: by classifying them into different phyla.
Types of Plants
Non-vascular Plants
The first classification of plants is the non-vascular plants; As their name implies, nonvascular plants lack
vascular tissues that can help them transport water and nutrients. Nonvascular plants are considered to
be the earliest living plants in the planet. However, fossils have not been found because these types of
plants fossilized poorly. The most common non-vascular plants include the members of the Phylum
Bryophyta and is described below.
Bryophytes
The Phylum Bryophyta, are the most diverse group with more than 10,000 plant species. This phylum
include the mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.
Among all plant phyla, the members of the Phylum Bryophyta are considered as the simplest. Regarding
physical appearance, mosses are small and inconspicuous. Bryophytes lack vascular tissue and wood
that can render them structural support. They also lack true leaves, stem, and roots that can help them
transport water and nutrients. Because of this, they are limited to a narrow range of habitats.
Despite lacking some essential plant organs, bryophytes play an important role in minimizing erosion
along bodies of water, carrying out water and nutrient cycling in forests, and regulating temperature in
permafrost.
Regarding habitats and physical structures, bryophytes are related to lichens (symbiotic relationship
between a fungus and algae). For instance, both of them utilize the moisture in the environment to
transport minerals and nutrients.
Because of that, bryophytes live in moist places and somehow have adapted several methods that can
help them thrive in dry periods.
Bryophytes reproduce through spores.
At present, the classification of some species of bryophytes remains arbitrary and is up for further
studies.
Bryophyte Examples
Mosses
Liverworts
Hornworts
Vascular Plants
Also the next classification of plants is also known as the tracheophytes, vascular plants have been
allowed by evolution to possess vascular tissues (xylem and phloem) that aid them to transport water
and minerals. All other plants like the members of the Phylum Pteridophyta, Gymnosperms, and
Angiosperms are classified as vascular plants.
Pteridophytes
The next phylum in this list is the Phylum Pteridophyta which is composed of almost 12,000 (with over
two-thirds are tropical) species of true ferns and fern allies.
 Pteridophytes are seedless plants; being such, they are incapable of passing on their genetic
material to their offspring using cones, fruits, or seeds. Instead, this classification of plants
produces spores that are located on the underside of their leaves known as sporophylls.
 Pteridophytes can catapult their spores even at long distances because of the spring-like
structures of these sporangia-containing spores.
 Regarding physical appearance, pteridophytes are extremely diverse, and no single

characteristic can describe them. Leaves of ferns are called fronds, which typically are coiled
until they unroll at maturity. They also have horizontal stems called rhizomes and have simple
leaves roots. Unlike bryophytes, they are already vascular plants and capable of transporting
fluids.
 Through time, pteridophytes have already adapted to a wide range of habitat: they can be
aquatic, terrestrial, and even cold-resistant, but most of them still prefer to thrive in tropical
regions. See the life cycle of Pteridophytes in detail here.
Pteridophyte Examples
Salvinia Natans
Horsetail
Fern
Gymnosperms
Gymnosperms, as compared with other plant phyla, include the tallest, the thickest, and the oldest living
plants. They are widely distributed in the planet but dominate the temperate and arctic regions.
 Members of this phylum include pines, hemlocks, firs, and spruces, which all are characterized
by having wood, and green needle-like or scale-like foliage.
 The name “gymnosperm” literally means “naked seed“, which is exhibited by the members by
having cones (or strobilus, plural: strobili) instead of seeds to reproduce.
 Gymnosperms are considered to be heterosporous. This means that they produce two distinct
types of cones for the male and female. Usually, male cones are smaller as compared to the
large cone of the female.
 In relation to what was alluded above, gymnosperms are good sources of wood and paper.
Aside from that, they provide food and habitat for animals, and in return, these animals become
important in the dispersal of their propagules.
Gymnosperm Examples
Giant Sequioa Tree
Sago Palm
Maidenhair Tree
Angiosperms
Angiosperms, also referred to as the flowering plants, are the most diverse plant phylum with at least
260,000 living plant species.
 Angiosperms display a vast diversity of plants as they include trees, herbs, shrubs, bulbs,
epiphytes (parasitic plants), and plants living in both marine and freshwater habitats.
 The largest families in this phylum are the Orchidaceae (family of orchids), Asteraceae (family of
daisies), and Fabaceae (family of legumes).
 Despite their diversity, this phylum is united by several distinguishing characteristics:
1. ovules/seeds that are enclosed within the carpel/fruit.
2. double fertilization, which is the process that leads to the formation of the nutritive
tissue called the endosperm.
3. male reproductive tissue composed of two pairs of pollen sacs, and many more. Refer
to life cycle of angiosperms in detail here.
 The oldest known angiosperms were a group of plants known as the magnoliids, which are
composed of small inconspicuous flowering plants. Scientists think that this group gave rise to
the monocots and eudicots.
 Because of their many types, angiosperms offer a wide variety of uses for animals, especially
humans. Most angiosperms are good sources of food, medicine, clothing fibers, and wood.
Check out 25 most beautiful purple flowers and their classifications.
Angiosperm Examples
Water Lily
Cosmos Flower
Sunflower
https://www.bioexplorer.net/types-of-plants.html/
Guava is the common name for any of the various tropical shrubs and small trees comprising the New
World genus Psidium of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), characterized by tough, dark, opposite leaves
and an edible fruit. The term guava also is used for the fruit, which is a true berry.
The name guava particularly is associated with the commercially important common or apple guava,
Psidium guajava, which is grown for its sweet, juicy fruit. The cattley guava, Psidium littorale (syn. P.
cattleianum) is another well-known species, with two notable varieties: the red-fruited strawberry
guava, and the yellow-fruited lemon guava.
There are about 100 species of guava, with the plants native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America
and northern South America, but now cultivated in the parts of the United States and other tropical
areas. The name is drawn from the Arawak via Spanish guayaba.
The guava fruit, which is so important for the reproduction of the plants, also serves as a nutritious and
flavorful food for people as well as for various birds and mammals (who also act as dispersal agents for
the seeds). In folk medicine, guava leaves have been used for treating ailments ranging from cancer to
inflammation and diabetes. The plant itself is used for ornamental purposes.
Description
Family Myrtaceae and subfamily Myrtoideae
Guava is in the Myrtaceae or myrtle family, a taxon of dicotyledon plants that includes such well-known
representatives as myrtle, cloves, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus. All species of the family are woody,
with essential oils, and have flower parts in multiples of four or five. The flowers have a base number of
five petals, though in several genera the petals are minute or absent. The stamens are usually very
conspicuous, brightly colored and numerous. The leaves are evergreen, alternate to mostly opposite,
simple, and usually with an entire (not toothed) margin. One notable character of the family is that the
phloem is located on both sides of the xylem, not just outside as in most other plants.
Within the myrtle family, guavas are placed in the subfamily Myrtoideae. This subfamily is characterized
by fleshy fruits and opposite, entire leaves. Most genera in this subfamily have one of three easily
recognized types of embryos. The genera of Myrtoideae can be very difficult to distinguish in the
absence of mature fruits.
Guava
Green guavas (Psidium guajava)
Members of the genus Psidium, the guavas, are typical Myrtoideae, with tough dark leaves that are
opposite, simple, elliptic to ovate, and 5-15 centimeters long. The flowers are white, with five petals and
numerous stamens. Members of the genera Accara and Feijoa (= Acca, pineapple guava) were formerly
included in this genus as well.
The guava fruit is a true berry. In botany, a berry is a fleshy or pulpy indehiscent fruit in which the entire
ovary wall ripens into a relatively soft pericarp, the seeds are embedded in the common flesh of the
ovary, and typically there is more than one seed. Other examples of botanical berries include the
tomato, grape, avocado, and persimmon.
The guava fruit is edible, round to pear-shaped, from 3 to 10 centimeters (cm) in diameter (up to 12 cm
in some selected cultivars). It has a thin delicate rind, pale green to yellow at maturity in some species,
pink to red in others, a creamy white or orange-salmon flesh with many small hard seeds, and a strong,
characteristic aroma. The aroma generally is reminiscent of refreshing fruit like apples, passionfruit or
strawberries, with an inoffensive acidity and a fragrance reminiscent of rose petals.
Guavas are cultivated in many tropical and subtropical countries for their edible fruit. Several species are
grown commercially. Apple guava (P. guajava) and its cultivars are those most commonly traded
internationally. Cattley guava or Peruvian guava (Psidium littorale; the old name P. cattleianum is still
used very often) is a small tree (2-6 meters tall), bearing small red or yellow fruit, which are somewhat
sour but sometimes eaten or made into jam. The red-fruited strawberry guava is Psidium littorale var.
cattleianum. The yellow-fruited Psidium littorale var. littorale is known as lemon Guava, and in Hawaiʻi
as waiawī. It is native to Brazil and adjacent regions of tropical South America.
Mature trees of most guava species are fairly cold-hardy and can survive as low as 5°C for short periods
of time, but younger plants will not survive. They are known to survive in Northern Pakistan where they
can get down to 5°C or lower during the night. Guavas are also of interest to home growers in
temperate areas, being one of the very few tropical fruits that can be grown to fruiting size in pots
indoors.
Indonesian guavas
The fruit is relished by many mammals and birds. The spread of introduced guavas owes much to this
fact, as animals will eat the fruit and disperse the seeds in their droppings. Psidium species are used as
food plants by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, mainly moths like the Ello Sphinx (Erinnyis ello),
Eupseudosoma aberrans, Snowy Eupseudosoma (E. involutum) and Hypercompe icasia. Mites like
Pronematus pruni and Tydeus munsteri are known to parasitize Apple Guava (P. guabaya) and perhaps
other species. The bacterium Erwinia psidii causes rot diseases of the Apple Guav
a. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Guava
Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, guava fruits can range in size
from as small as an apricot to as large as a grapefruit. Various cultivars have white, pink, or red flesh,
and a few also feature red (instead of green or yellow) skin.
When cultivated from seed, guavas are notable for an extremely slow growth rate for several months,
before a very rapid acceleration in growth rate takes over. From seed, common guavas may bloom and
set fruit in as few as two years or as many as eight. Cuttings, grafting, and air layering are more
commonly used as a propagation method in commercial groves. Highly adaptable, guavas can be easily
grown as container plants in temperate regions, though their ability to bloom and set fruit is somewhat
less predictable. In some tropical locations, guavas can become invasive. It has become a major problem
in the Galápagos Islands.
The plant is used in many different shampoo products for its scent. It is also becoming a popular bonsai
species and is currently quite popular in India and Eastern Asia
Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, guava fruits can range in size
from as small as an apricot to as large as a grapefruit. Various cultivars have white, pink, or red flesh,
and a few also feature red (instead of green or yellow) skin.
When cultivated from seed, guavas are notable for an extremely slow growth rate for several months,
before a very rapid acceleration in growth rate takes over. From seed, common guavas may bloom and
set fruit in as few as two years or as many as eight. Cuttings, grafting, and air layering are more
commonly used as a propagation method in commercial groves. Highly adaptable, guavas can be easily
grown as container plants in temperate regions, though their ability to bloom and set fruit is somewhat
less predictable. In some tropical locations, guavas can become invasive. It has become a major problem
in the Galápagos Islands.
The plant is used in many different shampoo products for its scent. It is also becoming a popular bonsai
species and is currently quite popular in India and Eastern Asia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psidium_guajava
Guava fruit trees (Psidium guajava) are not a common sight in North America and need a decidedly
tropical habitat. In the United States, they are found in Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Florida and a few
sheltered areas in California and Texas. The trees are very frost tender and will succumb to a freeze
when young, although adult trees may survive short periods of cold.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/guava/growing-guava-fruit-trees.htm
Guava, (Psidium guajava), small tropical tree or shrub of the family Myrtaceae, cultivated for its edible
fruits. Guava trees are native to tropical America and are grown in tropical and subtropical areas
worldwide. Guava fruits are processed into jams, jellies, and preserves and are common pastry fillings.
Fresh guavas are rich in vitamins A, B, and C; they are commonly eaten raw and may be sliced and
served with sugar and cream as a dessert.
The cattley, or strawberry, guava (Psidium cattleianum) is considerably more frost-resistant than the
common guava. It occurs in two forms: one has fruits with a bright yellow skin, and the other has fruits
with a purplish red skin. The plant is a large shrub with thick glossy green oval leaves and white flowers.
The fruits are round, up to 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter, and contain many hard seeds. The soft pulp has a
strawberry-like flavour. This species is frequently planted in gardens throughout southern California and
other subtropical regions but is not commercially important
https://www.britannica.com/plant/guava
A small tree to 33 ft (10 in) high, with spreading branches, the guava is easy to recognize because of its
smooth, thin, copper-colored bark that flakes off, showing the greenish layer beneath; and also because
of the attractive, "bony" aspect of its trunk which may in time attain a diameter of 10 in (25 cm). Young
twigs are quadrangular and downy. The leaves, aromatic when crushed, are evergreen, opposite, short-
petioled, oval or oblong-elliptic, somewhat irregular in outline; 2 3/4 to 6 in (7-15 cm) long, I 'A to 2 in
(3-5 cm) wide, leathery, with conspicuous parallel veins, and more or less downy on the underside.
Faintly fragrant, the white flowers, borne singly or in small clusters in the leaf axils, are 1 in (2.5 cm)
wide, with 4 or 5 white petals which are quickly shed, and a prominent tuft of perhaps 250 white
stamens tipped with pale-yellow anthers.
The fruit, exuding a strong, sweet, musky odor when ripe, may be round, ovoid, or pear-shaped, 2 to 4 in
(5-10 cm) long, with 4 or 5 protruding floral remnants (sepals) at the apex; and thin, light-yellow skin,
frequently blushed with pink. Next to the skin is a layer of somewhat granular flesh, 1/8 to 1/2 in (3-12.5
mm) thick, white, yellowish, light- or dark-pink, or near-red, juicy, acid, subacid, or sweet and flavorful.
The central pulp, concolorous or slightly darker in tone, is juicy and normally filled with very hard,
yellowish seeds, 1/8 in (3 min) long, though some rare types have soft, chewable seeds. Actual seed
counts have ranged from 112 to 535 but some guavas are seedless or nearly so.
When immature and until a very short time before ripening, the fruit is green, hard, gummy within and
very astringent.
Origin and Distribution
The guava has been cultivated and distributed by man, by birds, and sundry 4-footed animals for so long
that its place of origin is uncertain, but it is believed to be an area extending from southern Mexico into
or through Central America. It is common throughout all warm areas of tropical America and in the West
Indies (since 1526), the Bahamas, Bermuda and southern Florida where it was reportedly introduced in
1847 and was common over more than half the State by 1886. Early Spanish and Portuguese colonizers
were quick to carry it from the New World to the East Indies and Guam. It was soon adopted as a crop in
Asia and in warm parts of Africa. Egyptians have grown it for a long time and it may have traveled from
Egypt to Palestine. It is occasionally seen in Algeria and on the Mediterranean coast of France. In India,
guava cultivation has been estimated at 125,327 acres (50,720 ha) yielding 27,319 tons annually.
Apparently it did not arrive in Hawaii until the early 1800's. Now it occurs throughout the Pacific islands.
Generally, it is a home fruit tree or planted in small groves, except in India where it is a major
commercial resource. A guava research and improvement program was launched by the government of
Colombia in 1961. In 1968, it was estimated that there were about 10 million wild trees (around
Santander, Boyacá, Antioquia, Palmira, Buga, Cali and Cartago) bearing, 88 lbs (40 kg) each per year and
that only 10% of the fruit was being utilized in processing. Bogotà absorbs 40% of the production and
preserved products are exported to markets in Venezuela and Panama.
Brazil's modern guava industry is based on seeds of an Australian selection grown in the botanical
garden of the Sao Paulo Railway Company at Tatu. Plantations were developed by Japanese farmers at
Itaquera and this has become the leading guava-producing area in Brazil. The guava is one of the leading
fruits of Mexico where the annual crop from 36,447 acres (14,750 ha) of seedling trees totals 192,850
tons (175,500 MT). Only in recent years has there been a research program designed to evaluate and
select superior types for vegetative propagation and large-scale cultivation.
In Florida, the first commercial guava planting was established around 1912 in Palma Sola. Others
appeared at Punta Gorda and Opalocka. A 40-acre (16 ha) guava grove was planted by Miami Fruit
Industries at Indian-town in 1946. There have been more than two dozen guava jelly manufacturers
throughout the state. A Sarasota concern was processing 250 bushels of guavas per day and a Pinellas
County processor was operating a 150-bushel capacity plant in 1946. There has always been a steady
market for guava products in Florida and the demand has increased in recent years with the influx of
Caribbean and Latin American people.
The guava succumbs to frost in California except in a few favorable locations. Even if summers are too
cool–a mean of 60º F (15.56º C)–in the coastal southern part of the state, the tree will die back and it
cannot stand the intense daytime heat of interior valleys.
In many parts of the world, the guava runs wild and forms extensive thickets–called "guayabales" in
Spanish–and it overruns pastures, fields and roadsides so vigorously in Hawaii, Malaysia, New Caledonia,
Fiji, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba and southern Florida that it is classed as a noxious weed
subject to eradication. Nevertheless, wild guavas have constituted the bulk of the commercial supply. In
1972, Hawaii processed, for domestic use and export, more than 2,500 tons (2,274 MT) of guavas, over
90% from wild trees. During the period of high demand in World War II, the wild guava crop in Cuba was
said to be 10,000 tons (9,000 MT), and over 6,500 tons (6,000 MT) of guava products were exported.
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/guava.html
Guava leaves are oblong to oval in shape and average 7-15 centimeters long and 3-5 centimeters wide.
The leaves grow in an opposite arrangement, which means two leaves grow at the same point on either
side of the stem, and have short petioles, or stalks that join the leaf to the stem. The surface of the deep
green Guava leaf is wide and leathery with faint white veins and some light brown patches. Guava leaves
are aromatic when crushed and have a scent similar to that of the guava fruit. Guava leaves grow on a
smSeasons/Availability
Guava leaves are available year-round.
Guava leaves, botanically classified as Psidium guajava, are members of the Myrtaceae, or myrtle family
along with eucalyptus, allspice, and clove. Guava leaves have been used in traditional Eastern medicine
since ancient times and have recently gained in notoriety as an alternative natural medicine.
Guava leaves have many anti-inflammatory properties and also contain vitamin C, vitamin B,
antioxidants, and tannins.
Guava leaves are most popularly consumed in tea, as capsules, ground into pastes, and extracted as
essential oils. Young leaves are traditionally preferred for medicinal benefits and can be found in health
stores in various forms. They can also be found dried and ready for use in specialty tea stores. When
dried, the leaves can be crushed and boiled to make the medicinal tea.
Guava leaves have traditionally been used in Eastern medicine as a diarrheal remedy and to reduce
symptoms of food poisoning. They have also been used in China and India as a method to reduce
symptoms of coughs and aid in digestion. In addition to oral remedies, Guava leaves are also being used
in Brazil and Mexico externally to reduce symptoms of skin and body wounds.
The guava tree is believed to be native to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean and then spread
to tropical and sub-tropical regions of the Americas, Australia, and Asia. Today guava trees are being
produced in India, Nigeria, Philippines, Southeast Asia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, and Mexico
and the leaves can be found in specialty markets and online stores across the world.all tree with wide-
spreading branches and copper-colored flaking bark that reveals a green base.
https://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Guava_Leaves_8500.php
Guava leaves are just as medicinally useful as the nutritional powerhouse fruit they grow with. The
leaves of the guava tree are full of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, antibacterials, and even
tannins that can have significant health benefits, from treating stomach troubles to chronic diseases like
cancer.
Just like the popular tropical fruit can be made into beverages, jams, and other foods, its leaves can too.
They can be brewed to make a tea, for example, which releases beneficial substances like vitamin C and
flavonoids like quercetin. Scientific studies have documented the healthful qualities of the superfruit’s
leaves
Ferns, like all tracheophytes, have vascular systems to bring water up to their leaves.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Ferns are a diverse group of plants that are unranked at the division level in some taxonomies. Formerly,
the group was designated as division Pteridophtya, but their phylogenetic relationships remain
unresolved. Although they have a worldwide distribution, ferns are more common in tropical and
subtropical regions. They range in size and complexity from small floating aquatic plants less than 2 cm
(0.8 inch) long to tall tree ferns 20 metres (65 feet) high. Tropical tree ferns possess erect columnar
trunks and large compound (divided) leaves more than 5 metres (about 16 feet) long. As a group, ferns
are either terrestrial or epiphytic (growing upon another plant). Fern stems never become woody
(composed of secondary tissue containing lignin), because all tissues of the plant body originate at the
stem apex.
Shield fern (Dryopteris dilatata)
Shield fern (Dryopteris dilatata)
Ingmar Holmasen
Fruit. Grapes. Grapes on the vine. White grape. Riesling. Wine. Wine grape. White wine. Vineyard.
Cluster of Riesling grapes on the vine.
BRITANNICA QUIZ
Scientific Names of Edible Plants
Solanum lycopersicum
Class Polypodiopsida
Ferns of the class Polypodiopsida typically possess a rhizome (horizontal stem) that grows partially
underground; the deeply divided fronds (leaves) and the roots grow out of the rhizome. Fronds are
characteristically coiled in the bud (fiddleheads) and uncurl in a type of leaf development called circinate
vernation. Fern leaves are either whole or variously divided. The leaf types are differentiated into rachis
(axis of a compound leaf), pinnae (primary divisions), and pinnules (ultimate segments of a pinna). Fern
leaves often have prominent epidermal hairs and large chaffy scales. Venation of fern leaves is usually
open dichotomous (forking into two equal parts).
The life cycle of the fern. (1) Clusters (sori) of sporangia (spore cases) grow on the undersurface of
mature fern leaves. (2) Released from its spore case, the haploid spore is carried to the ground, where it
germinates into a tiny, usually heart-shaped, gametophyte (gamete-producing structure), anchored to
the ground by rhizoids (rootlike projections). (3) Under moist conditions, mature sperm are released
from the antheridia and swim to the egg-producing archegonia that have formed on the gametophyte's
lower surface. (4) When fertilization occurs, a zygote forms and develops into an embryo within the
archegonium. (5) The embryo eventually grows larger than the gametophyte and becomes a
sporophyte.
The life cycle of the fern. (1) Clusters (sori) of sporangia (spore cases) grow on the undersurface of
mature fern leaves. (2) Released from its spore case, the haploid spore is carried to the ground, where it
germinates into a tiny, usually heart-shaped, gametophyte (gamete-producing structure), anchored to
the ground by rhizoids (rootlike projections). (3) Under moist conditions, mature sperm are released
from the antheridia and swim to the egg-producing archegonia that have formed on the gametophyte's
lower surface. (4) When fertilization occurs, a zygote forms and develops into an embryo within the
archegonium. (5) The embryo eventually grows larger than the gametophyte and becomes a
sporophyte.
© Merriam-Webster Inc.
Each frond is a potential sporophyll (spore-bearing leaf) and as such can bear structures that are
associated with reproduction. When growth conditions are favourable, a series of brown patches appear
on the undersurface of the sporophylls. Each one of the patches (called a sorus) is composed of many
sporangia, or spore cases, which are joined by a stalk to the sporophyll. The spore case is flattened, with
a layer of sterile, or nonfertile, cells surrounding the spore mother cells. Each spore mother cell divides
by reduction division (meiosis) to produce haploid spores, which are shed in a way characteristic to the
ferns.
Each fern spore has the potential to grow into a green heart-shaped independent gametophyte plant
(prothallus) capable of photosynthesis. In contrast to bryophytes, in which the sporophyte is
nutritionally dependent on the gametophyte during its entire existence, the fern sporophyte is
dependent on the gametophyte for nutrition only during the early phase of its development; thereafter,
the fern sporophyte is free-living. In some ferns the sexes are separate, meaning a gametophyte will
bear only male or female sex organs. Other species have gametophytes bearing both sex organs.
Features important in the identification of ferns include such aspects of the mature sporophyte plant as
differences in the stem, frond, sporophyll, sporangium, and position of the sporangium and the absence
or presence, as well as the shape, of the indusium (a membranous outgrowth of the leaf) covering the
sporangia.
Class Psilotopsida
Psilotopsida (whisk ferns) is a class represented by two living genera (Psilotum and Tmesipteris) and
several species that are restricted to the subtropics. This unusual group of small herbaceous plants is
characterized by a leafless and rootless body possessing a stem that exhibits a primitive dichotomous
type of branching: it forks into equal halves. The photosynthetic function is assumed by the stem, and
the underground rhizome anchors the plant. The vascular tissue is organized into a poorly developed
central cylinder in the stem.
Whisk fern (Psilotum nudum)
Whisk fern (Psilotum nudum)
Walter Dawn
The family Ophioglossaceae, comprising four genera and some 80 species, is sometimes placed in the
class Psilotopsida, though the taxonomy of the group is contentious.
Class Equisetopsida
Equisetopsida (also called horsetails and scouring rushes) is a class represented by a single living genus
(Equisetum). It has a worldwide distribution but occurs in greater variety in the Northern Hemisphere.
Like the lycopods, this group was a diverse and prominent group of vascular plants during the
Carboniferous Period, when some genera attained great size in the coal-forming swamp forests. Known
as sphenophytes, these plants are differentiated into stem, leaf (microphylls), and root. Green aerial
stems have longitudinal ridges and furrows extending the length of the internodes, and stems are
jointed (articulated). Surface cells are characteristically filled with silica. Branches, when they occur, are
borne in whorls at the node, as are the scale leaves. Sporangia are borne in terminal strobili.
Equisetopsida had its origin in the Devonian Period (419.2 million to 358.9 million years ago).
giant horsetail of Europe
giant horsetail of Europe
Giant horsetail of Europe (Equisetum telmateia).
Rror
Class Marattiopsida
Known as giant ferns, the class Marrattiopsida comprises a single extant family with four genera and
some 150 species of large tropical and subtropical ferns with stout erect stems. The leaves (fronds) may
be very large, some reaching 4.5 metres (15 feet) or more in length. The Marattiaceae generally are
considered to be one of the most primitive families of ferns still living.
Seed plants
Plant Classifications: Gymnosperms and Angiosperms
Plant Classifications: Gymnosperms and Angiosperms
Gymnosperms dominated the plant world until they were replaced by the more advanced flowering
plants known as angiosperms.
Gymnosperms and angiosperms (flowering plants) share with ferns a dominant, independent
sporophyte generation; the presence of vascular tissue; differentiation of the plant body into root, stem,
and leaf derived from a bipolar embryo (having stem and root-growing apices); and similar
photosynthetic pigments. Unlike ferns, however, the seed plants have stems that branch laterally and
vascular tissue that is arranged in strands (bundles) around the pith (eustele). Among seed plants, as in
ferns, the stem tissues that arise directly from the shoot apex are called primary tissues. Primary tissues
contribute to the longitudinal growth of the stem, or primary growth. Secondary growth, resulting in an
increase in the width of the axis, is produced by meristematic tissue between the primary xylem and
phloem called vascular cambium. This meristem consists of a narrow zone of cells that form new
secondary xylem (wood) and secondary phloem (secondary vascular tissues).
Two types of seed-bearing plants(Left) The Lawson cypress is an evergreen gymnosperm, or “naked
seed” plant. It produces seeds in cones and bears needlelike leaves year-round. (Right) The English elm
is a broad-leaved and deciduous angiosperm, or flowering plant. It produces seeds in fruits and drops its
leaves in the autumn.
Two types of seed-bearing plants(Left) The Lawson cypress is an evergreen gymnosperm, or “naked
seed” plant. It produces seeds in cones and bears needlelike leaves year-round. (Right) The English elm
is a broad-leaved and deciduous angiosperm, or flowering plant. It produces seeds in fruits and drops its
leaves in the autumn.
Major evolutionary advancements of these plants are demonstrated by the generally more complex
plant body and by reproduction via seeds. Seeds represent an important evolutionary innovation within
the plant kingdom. Each seed has an embryonic plant (sporophyte), food-storage tissue, and hardened
protective covering (seed coat). The seed thus contains and protects the embryonic plant and, as the
primary dispersal unit of the seed plants, represents a significant improvement over the spore, with its
limited capacity for survival.
The outer layers and internal structures of a rice grain.
The outer layers and internal structures of a rice grain.

In comparing ferns and seed plants and their life histories, certain significant differences are seen. The
gametophyte in seed plants has been reduced in size, usually consisting of a few to a dozen cells. Thus, it
is no longer itself a plant body, as in the bryophytes and ferns. The gametophyte is not free-living but is
embedded in the sporophyte and thus less vulnerable to environmental stress than the gametophytes of
bryophytes and ferns. Finally, the spores of seed plants are male and female, as are the sporangia that
contain them. The spores are not dispersed as in the bryophytes and ferns but develop into
gametophytes within the sporangia. In the most advanced seed plants, the male gametes (sperm) are
carried to the egg by a later extension of the pollen grain called the pollen tube. The advantage of this
system is that the nonflagellated sperm are no longer dependent on water to reach the egg.
Another terrestrial adaptation of the seed plants not found in ferns is pollen dispersed by wind or
animals. Pollen is a unit of genetic material as well as part of the seed-formation process. The dispersal
of pollen by wind or animals, in addition to dispersal of seeds, promotes genetic recombination and
distribution of the species over a wide geographic area.
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Gymnosperms
The term gymnosperm (“naked seeds”) represents four extant divisions of vascular plants whose ovules
(seeds) are exposed on the surface of cone scales. The cone-bearing gymnosperms are among the
largest and oldest living organisms in the world. They dominated the landscape about 200 million years
ago. Today gymnosperms are of great economic value as major sources of lumber products, pulpwood,
turpentine, and resins.
conifer heights
conifer heights
The heights of selected conifers and a highlight of the needle-and-cone configuration of the Douglas fir
(Pseudotsuga).

Conifer stems are composed of a woody axis containing primitive water- and mineral-conducting cells
called tracheids. Tracheids are interconnected by passages called bordered pits. Leaves are often
needlelike or scalelike and typically contain canals filled with resin. The leaves of pine are borne in
bundles (fascicles), and the number of leaves per fascicle is an important distinguishing feature. Most
gymnosperms are evergreen, but some, such as larch and bald cypress, are deciduous (the leaves fall
after one growing season). The leaves of many gymnosperms have a thick cuticle and stomata below the
leaf surface.
Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) showing (top) form and (bottom) leaves and cone.
Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) showing (top) form and (bottom) leaves and cone.
G.E. Hyde—NHPA/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
The tree or shrub is the sporophyte generation. In conifers, the male and female sporangia are produced
on separate structures called cones or strobili. Individual trees are typically monoecious (male and
female cones are borne on the same tree). A cone is a modified shoot with a single axis, on which is
borne a spirally arranged series of pollen- or ovule-bearing scales or bracts. The male cone, or
microstrobilus, is usually smaller than the female cone (megastrobilus) and is essentially an aggregation
of many small structures (microsporophylls) that encase the pollen in microsporangia.
The extant cycads (division Cycadophyta) are a group of ancient seed plants that are survivors of a
complex that has existed since the Mesozoic Era (251.9 million to 66 million years ago). They are
presently distributed in the tropics and subtropics of both hemispheres. Cycads are palmlike in general
appearance, with an unbranched columnar trunk and a crown of large pinnately compound (divided)
leaves. The sexes are always separate, resulting in male and female plants (i.e., cycads are dioecious).
Most species produce conspicuous cones (strobili) on both male and female plants, and the seeds are
very large.
Cycad (Cycas revoluta).
Cycad (Cycas revoluta).
Knut Norstog
The ginkgophytes (division Ginkgophyta), although abundant, diverse, and widely distributed in the past,
are represented now by a sole surviving species, Ginkgo biloba (maidenhair tree). The species was
formerly restricted to southeastern China, but it is now likely extinct in the wild. The plant is commonly
cultivated worldwide, however, and is particularly resistant to disease and air pollution. The ginkgo is
multibranched, with stems that are differentiated into long shoots and dwarf (spur) shoots. A cluster of
fan-shaped deciduous leaves with open dichotomous venation occurs at the end of each lateral spur
shoot. Sexes are separate, and distinct cones are not produced. Female trees produce plumlike seeds
with a fleshy outer layer and are noted for their foul smell when mature.
Leaves and fruit of the female ginkgo, or maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba).
Leaves and fruit of the female ginkgo, or maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba).
John Kohout—Root Resources/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
The gnetophytes (division Gnetophyta) comprise a group of three unusual genera. Ephedra occurs as a
shrub in dry regions in tropical and temperate North and South America and in Asia, from the
Mediterranean Sea to China. Species of Gnetum occur as woody shrubs, vines, or broad-leaved trees
and grow in moist tropical forests of South America, Africa, and Asia. Welwitschia, restricted to extreme
deserts (less than 25 mm [1 inch] of rain per year) in a narrow belt about 1,000 km (600 miles) long in
southwestern Africa, is an unusual plant composed of an enormous underground stem and a pair of long
strap-shaped leaves that lie along the ground. The three genera differ from all other gymnosperms in
possessing vessel elements (as compared with tracheids) in the xylem and in specializations in
reproductive morphology. The gnetophytes have figured prominently in the theories about
gymnospermous origins of the angiosperms.
Angiosperms
Approximately 130 million years ago, flowering plants (angiosperms) evolved from gymnosperms,
although the identity of the specific gymnospermous ancestral group remains unresolved. The primary
distinction between gymnosperms and angiosperms is that angiosperms reproduce by means of flowers.
Flowers are modified shoots bearing a series of leaflike modified appendages and containing ovules
(immature seeds) surrounded and protected by the female reproductive structure, the carpel or pistil.
Along with other features, angiospermy, the enclosed condition of the seed, gave the flowering plants a
competitive advantage and enabled them to come to dominate the extant flora. Flowering plants have
also fully exploited the use of insects and other animals as agents of pollination (the transfer of pollen
from male to female floral structures). In addition, the water-conducting cells and food-conducting
tissue are more complex and efficient in flowering plants than in other land plants. Finally, flowering
plants possess a specialized type of nutritive tissue in the seed, endosperm. Endosperm is the chief
storage tissue in the seeds of grasses; hence, it is the primary source of nutrition in corn (maize), rice,
wheat, and other cereals that have been utilized as major food sources by humans and other animals.
Classification of angiosperms
Many of the flowering plants are commonly represented by two basic groups, the monocotyledons and
the dicotyledons, distinguished by the number of embryonic seed leaves (cotyledons), number of flower
parts, arrangement of vascular tissue in the stem, leaf venation, and manner of leaf attachment to the
stem. However, one of the major changes in the understanding of the evolution of the angiosperms was
the realization that the basic distinction among flowering plants is not between monocotyledon groups
(monocots) and dicotyledon groups (dicots). Rather, plants thought of as being “typical dicots” have
evolved from within another group that includes the more-basal dicots and the monocots together. This
group of typical dicots is now known as the eudicots, and molecular-based evidence supports their
having a single evolutionary lineage (monophyletic). Other angiosperm groups, such as the Magnoliids,
do not fit the traditional paradigm of monocot and dicot and are considered to have more-ancient
lineages.
seed germination
seed germination
Germination of a monocot and a eudicot. (Top) In a corn seed (monocot), nutrients are stored in the
cotyledon and endosperm tissue. The radicle and hypocotyl (region between the cotyledon and radicle)
give rise to the roots. The epicotyl (region above the cotyledon) gives rise to the stem and leaves and is
covered by a protective sheath (coleoptile). (Bottom) In a bean seed (eudicot), all nutrients are stored in
the enlarged cotyledons. The radicle gives rise to the roots, the hypocotyl to the lower stem, and the
epicotyl to the leaves and upper stem.
The plant body of angiosperms consists of a central axis of two parts, the shoot and the root. Shoots
have two kinds of organs, the stem and the leaves, while roots have one type of organ, the root itself.
Systems of classification are often based upon the longevity of the portions of plant aboveground.
Woody plants are trees and shrubs whose shoots are durable and survive over a period of years. They
are further classified into deciduous and evergreen plants. Deciduous plants drop their leaves at the end
of every growing season, whereas evergreens keep their leaves for up to several years. Herbaceous
plants have soft, flexible aerial portions and commonly die back each year.
A typical dicotyledonous plant. (A dicotyledonous plant, or dicot, is any flowering plant that has a pair of
leaves, or cotyledons, in the embryo of the seed.)
A typical dicotyledonous plant. (A dicotyledonous plant, or dicot, is any flowering plant that has a pair of
leaves, or cotyledons, in the embryo of the seed.)
Another system of classification, based on the duration of the life history, is particularly applicable to
angiosperms of the temperate region. Annuals are plants that complete the entire life history
(germinate from seeds, mature, flower, and produce seed) in one growing season. Examples of annuals
are corn, wheat, and peas. Biennials complete their life history in two seasons, blooming during the
second season. Beets, celery, cabbage, carrots, and turnips are biennials, but their flowers are rarely
seen because they are harvested during the first season. Annuals and biennials are both generally
herbaceous plants. Perennials are plants that live from year to year. Trees and shrubs are perennials,
but some herbaceous plants are also perennials.
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Stems
A number of modifications of the stem occur in angiosperms, and many of these modifications provide a
means for herbs to become dormant and survive for a period of years. Rhizomes are horizontally
growing underground stems that serve as organs of asexual reproduction and food storage. Similar to
rhizomes, tubers are thickened underground stem portions that primarily serve as food storage (for
example, potato). Corms are short upright underground stems surrounded by a few thin scale leaves (as
in Crocus and Gladiolus). Bulbs have a greatly reduced stem with thick fleshy scale leaves surrounding it
(as in the onion). Runners and stolons are surface stems characteristic of such plants as strawberries;
new plants may form on the runner or stolon as it spreads along the ground. Many of the most prolific
weeds have runners or stolons by which they propagate asexually.
Plant Physiology: Mass Flow
Plant Physiology: Mass Flow
Water and nutrients such as sugars and starches are moved through plants via a vascular system of
xylem and phloem.
In herbaceous dicotyledonous stems, the vascular conducting tissue (xylem and phloem) is organized
into discrete strands or vascular bundles, each containing both xylem and phloem. The cells between
the vascular bundles are thin-walled and often store starch. The peripheral region of cells in the stem is
called the cortex; cells of the central portion make up the pith. The outermost cells of the stem compose
the epidermis. No bark is formed on the herbaceous stem. In contrast, woody dicot stems develop an
outer layer of dead thick-walled cells called cork cells, which together with the underlying phloem
compose the bark of the tree. The major portion of the woody stem’s diameter is a cylinder of xylem
(wood) that originates from a region of cell division called the vascular cambium. The water-conducting
cells that make up the xylem are nonliving. The accumulated xylem often forms annual rings composed
of two zones: a relatively wide zone of spring wood (made up of large cells, characteristic of rapid
growth) and a narrower zone of summer wood (smaller cells). Such rings may be absent in tropical trees
that grow all year round. Xylem rays, radiating like spokes of a wagon wheel, are formed in the xylem
and connect with the peripheral phloem. Stems of monocotyledons are composed of numerous vascular
bundles that are arranged in a seemingly scattered manner within the ground tissue. Monocot vascular
bundles lack a vascular cambium, and monocot stems thus do not become woody in a manner similar to
dicots.
Internal transport system in a tree. (A) Enlarged xylem vessel. (B) Enlarged mature sieve element.
Internal transport system in a tree. (A) Enlarged xylem vessel. (B) Enlarged mature sieve element.
Leaves and roots
Leaves are the other plant organ that, along with stems, constitutes the shoot of the vascular plant
body. Their principal function is to act as the primary site of photosynthesis in the plant. Leaves of dicots
possess a network of interconnecting veins and minor veins between the larger veins of the leaf (a
pattern called net venation). Leaves of monocots possess major veins that extend parallel to the long
axis of the leaf (parallel venation). Leaves are classified on the basis of leaf arrangement and whether
they are simple or compound. A leaf may be deeply lobed but still simple; a compound leaf is composed
of two or more distinctly separate leaflets.
Common leaf morphologies.
Common leaf morphologies.
Structurally, leaves are composed of an outermost layer of cells called the epidermis. Epidermal cells
secrete a waxy substance (cutin) that forms a cuticle impermeable to water. The pores (stomata) in the
epidermis that allow for gas exchange are formed between specialized epidermal cells called guard cells.
Vascular bundles (veins) are embedded in the mesophyll, the tissue that includes all of the cells between
the upper and lower epidermis. The cells of the mesophyll contain the photosynthetic pigments.
Structures of a leafThe epidermis is often covered with a waxy protective cuticle that helps prevent
water loss from inside the leaf. Oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water enter and exit the leaf through pores
(stomata) scattered mostly along the lower epidermis. The stomata are opened and closed by the
contraction and expansion of surrounding guard cells. The vascular, or conducting, tissues are known as
xylem and phloem; water and minerals travel up to the leaves from the roots through the xylem, and
sugars made by photosynthesis are transported to other parts of the plant through the phloem.
Photosynthesis occurs within the chloroplast-containing mesophyll layer.
Structures of a leafThe epidermis is often covered with a waxy protective cuticle that helps prevent
water loss from inside the leaf. Oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water enter and exit the leaf through pores
(stomata) scattered mostly along the lower epidermis. The stomata are opened and closed by the
contraction and expansion of surrounding guard cells. The vascular, or conducting, tissues are known as
xylem and phloem; water and minerals travel up to the leaves from the roots through the xylem, and
sugars made by photosynthesis are transported to other parts of the plant through the phloem.
Photosynthesis occurs within the chloroplast-containing mesophyll layer.
The root system begins its development from the embryonic root (radicle), which grows out of the seed
after the seed has absorbed water. This is the primary root of a new plant. The tip of the root is covered
by a mass of loose cells called the root cap. Just beneath the root cap is the region of cell division of the
root. Epidermal outgrowths just above the root tip are root hairs that are active in water and mineral
absorption. Two types of root systems are commonly distinguished, fibrous roots and taproots. Fibrous
root systems are composed of large numbers of roots nearly equal in size; root systems of this type are
found, for example, in the grasses. A taproot system is one in which the primary root remains the
largest, and a number of smaller secondary roots are formed from it; taproots are found in such plants
as carrots and dandelions. Roots that arise other than by branching from the primary roots are called
adventitious roots. The prop roots of corn, for example, are adventitious.
Two types of root system: (left) the fibrous roots of grass and (right) the fleshy taproot of a sugar beet.
Two types of root system: (left) the fibrous roots of grass and (right) the fleshy taproot of a sugar beet.
Flowers
As noted above, a primary distinction between the gymnosperms and the angiosperms is that the latter
have flowers. Flowers represent modified shoots that have become differentiated for reproduction. The
flower bears whorls of floral organs attached to a receptacle, the expanded end of a flower stalk on
which the flower parts are borne. Sepals (collectively called the calyx) are modified leaves that encase
the developing flower. They are sterile floral parts and may be either green or leaflike or composed of
petal-like tissue. Petals (collectively called the corolla) are also sterile floral parts that usually function as
visually conspicuous elements serving to attract specific pollinators to the flower. The calyx and the
corolla together are referred to as the perianth. Flowers that lack one or both of the above perianth
parts are called incomplete. Stamens (collectively called the androecium) are the male parts of the
flower. Stamens are composed of saclike anthers (microsporangia) and filaments, which are stalks that
support the anthers. Anthers are usually compartmentalized and contain the pollen grains
(microgametophytes). The pistil, or female part of the flower, is composed of one or a number of carpels
(collectively called the gynoecium) that fuse to form an essentially enclosed chamber. The three regions
of the pistil (from the base up) are the ovary, which contains the ovules; the style, a stalked structure
atop the ovary that elevates the stigma; and the stigma, a sticky knob whose surface receives the pollen
during pollination.
Diagram of a typical flowering plant (angiosperm).
Diagram of a typical flowering plant (angiosperm).
Flowers may contain both male and female parts (a condition called perfect) or parts related to just one
sex (imperfect), or they may have no sexual parts (sterile). Female and male flowers may be located on
separate plants (dioecious) or on the same plant (monoecious). Flowers can also be borne singly or in
aggregations called inflorescences.
Primitive flowers are radially symmetrical (actinomorphic) and are characterized by numerous spirally
arranged floral parts. Floral parts are free (unfused) and are borne on an elongated floral axis. Sepals,
petals, and stamens are attached below the ovary. Advanced flowers are bilaterally symmetrical and are
characterized by a reduction in the number of floral parts. Floral parts are fused (often forming a long
floral tube). Sepals, petals, and stamens are attached to the floral tube above the ovary.
plant: flowers attract pollinators
plant: flowers attract pollinators
Flowers attract pollinators such as bees.

Pollination is the transfer of pollen to the stigma of the same or another flower. Agents of pollination
encompass a vast and diverse array of animals, including insects, birds, bats, honey possums, and slugs.
Flowers exhibit various adaptations to pollinators, such as showy corollas, the production of nectar (a
sugary liquid), and even visual cues visible only to insects that can perceive ultraviolet wavelengths of
light. Flowers pollinated by wind generally are small and lack petals. The stigma is the pollen receptor
site and must be chemically compatible with any pollen that lands on it for the pollen grain to
germinate. This ensures that only genetically compatible sperm are transferred to the egg.
Fruits and seeds
In flowering plants, ovules are enclosed and protected in an ovary. As the ovule develops into a seed,
the ovary matures into a fruit. The formation of fruits is a characteristic feature of the flowering plants.
Fruits are extremely variable. In some fruits, the ovary wall (pericarp) is thick and fleshy; in others, it is
thin and dry.
Angiosperms have evolved many adaptations for seed dispersal involving such agents as wind, water,
and animals. Adaptations to wind dispersal include wings or plumules attached to the seed or as part of
the fruit or simply very minute seeds that are easily windborne. Adaptations to water dispersal are
seeds that float or fruits that float and carry the seeds with them. Some seeds are a source of food to
animals, which bury the seeds in the ground, where they later germinate. Other plants produce a fleshy
fruit that is eaten along with the seeds inside it by animals, which pass the seeds through their digestive
tracts unharmed. Another adaptation for animal dispersal is the development of barbed fruits or seeds
that stick to the coats or skins of wandering animals. Some plants, such as witch hazels or jewelweed,
can project their seeds through the air some distance from the parent plant.
Seeds have many adaptations that enable them to survive long periods of harsh conditions. Seeds can
remain viable in a dormant condition for a few days or, in some species, for hundreds of years. (For
further information on seeds and fruits, see Reproductive system, plant.)
William C. Dickison
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https://www.britannica.com/plant/plant/Stems
Popular classifications
Trees have been grouped in various ways, some of which more or less parallel their scientific
classification: softwoods are conifers, and hardwoods are dicotyledons. Hardwoods are also known as
broadleaf trees. The designations softwood, hardwood, and broadleaf, however, are often imprecise.
The wood of some hardwoods—for example, certain willows and poplars and the softest of all
woods, balsa—is softer than that of some softwoods—e.g., the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris). Similarly,
some broadleaf trees (tree heaths, Erica arborea, and some tamarisks) have narrower leaves than do
those of certain conifers (Podocarpus).
Broad-leaved evergreen podocarp forest on the North Island of New Zealand containing light-barked
matai (Podocarpus spicatus) and totara (P. totara). Temperate broad-leaved forests, sometimes called
temperate rainforests, are dominated by evergreen vegetation. These forests grow in regions where
year-round rainfall is high and steady and frost is rare. The main areas of its occurrence are in South
America; eastern Australia; southern China, Korea, and Japan; small areas of southeastern North
America and southern Africa; and all of New Zealand.Gerald Cubitt/Bruce Coleman Ltd.
A popular and convenient grouping of trees is evergreen and deciduous. This is most useful at the local
rather than the worldwide level; whether a particular species retains its foliage throughout the year and
thus qualifies as evergreen may depend on climate. At the limits of their occurrence in the Northern or
Southern Hemisphere, and at high elevations, species that under more-favourable circumstances retain
their foliage may become leafless for a period. Many tropical and subtropical species that in uniformly
humid climates are never without foliage are deciduous in regions in which dry and wet seasons
alternate. In northern North America, the term evergreen is often used as a synonym for conifer and
thus excludes foliage-retaining angiosperms. But five coniferous genera—
Larix (larch), Metasequoia (dawn redwood), Pseudolarix (golden larch), Taxodium (swamp cypress),
and Glyptostrobus—are composed of or include deciduous species.
Deciduous forest in fall coloration, Wasatch Mountains, Utah.Dorothea W. Woodruff/Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc.
Other tree groups are popularly recognized: tree ferns, palms, and, among desert plants, the tree forms
of agaves, aloes, cactuses, euphorbias, and yuccas. Sometimes the layperson includes as trees plants
that botanists cannot accept as such—e.g., the banana. Such confusion arises from the fact that what
appears to be the trunk of the “banana tree” is actually leafstalks rolled tightly around each other. The
banana plant is entirely herbaceous, has no true trunk, and thus is not considered a tree by botanists.
Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), tallest of the yuccas, occasionally reaching 35 feet.Bucky Reeves—The
National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers
The Importance Of Trees
Forests are of immense importance in soil stabilization and erosion control, especially in mountainous
and hilly regions; they also protect and conserve water supplies and prevent floods. Small groups of
trees and even single trees have a similar role locally in preventing washouts and in holding stream
banks. As mentioned above, trees contribute significantly to nutrient recycling, carbon
dioxide absorption, and oxygen generation.
Eswatini: Highveld regionSawmill at the foot of a man-made forest of pine and eucalyptus trees in the
Highveld of western Eswatini.© John Moss/Photo Researchers
Economic importance
Of all the products that come from trees, those that are wood-based are by far of the greatest
importance (see wood). Carbonized and fossilized wood (coal) supplies fuel for energy needs; other
fossilized products of trees include amber, which is formed from the gum of pines, and kauri gum. From
earliest times wood has been employed for such items as homes, rafts, canoes, fuel, and weapons.
Interactive map showing the geographic distribution of the world's forests, differentiated by categories
of wood. Click on individual legend headings and examples to view articles on particular forest types and
trees. Click on the names of continents for discussions of their plant life.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Primitive peoples were dependent on trees for many materials in addition to wood. Fruits and nuts of
many kinds were important foods for both humans and animals. Leaves of palms and other trees were
used for thatching roofs. Cloth and woven fabrics made from bark, leaves, and other tree parts were
used for clothing. Utensils were fashioned from calabashes, coconuts, and other fruits. Medicines,
including quinine, were obtained from trees, as were dyes, tanning materials, and spices.
Modern civilizations are no less dependent on trees. Although substitutes now are commonly used for
some tree products, the demand for trees remains strong, as in the manufacture of newsprint and other
papers, as well as cardboard and similar packagings. The plywood industry converts immense numbers
of trees into building materials.
Many tree products other than wood and its derivatives are important. Edible fruits produced by trees
include apples, cherries, peaches, pears, walnuts, chestnuts, pecans, and others in temperate
climates; avocados, figs, persimmons, and citrus fruits in warm-temperate and subtropical
regions; breadfruit, jackfruit, mangoes, and mangosteens in tropical regions; and the important fruit of
desert regions—the date. The coconut (Cocos nucifera), the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), and
the olive (Olea europaea) are important sources of oils and fats used as food and for other purposes.
From trees come such spices as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg; substances used in beverages, such
as cocoa, coffee, and kola nuts; and chicle, the basis of chewing gum. Nonedible tree products exploited
commercially include rosin, turpentine, tanbark, creosote, cork, and kapok fibre.
Citrus orchards outside Kāzerūn, Iran.J.P. Vuillomenet—Rapho/Photo Researchers
The history of wood use includes incidences of waste, sometimes bordering on elimination of a species
from a particular region. Great forests of cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani), for example, were virtually
eliminated during early historic times in lumbering operations for such purposes as the construction of
King Solomon’s great temple and palace. Forests that covered much of the Mediterranean region and
the Middle East were extravagantly exploited by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans. Today
the once vast tropical forests of the Amazon basin are in imminent danger of being deforested primarily
for farmland.
Cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani), known throughout ancient art and literature as symbols of power and
longevity.S. Wilhelm/Bruce Coleman Inc.
SIMILAR TOPICS
 Liana
Trees of special interest
Besides their utility to people, many trees are noteworthy for their habits and habitats, their size, or
their longevity. The amazing diversity of tree form and function is a direct result of the complex and
elegant organization of the tree body and the response of that body to environmental and biological
stimuli. Structural features unique to woody plants are capitalized upon by trees to allow them to grow
in a myriad of remarkable forms, sizes, and habitats. Mangroves, for example, colonize tidal
shores and brackish waters in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world, and in so doing they not
only stabilize shorelines but also create new land by trapping debris, silt, and mud among their
interlacing roots. Mangroves are actually an unrelated, heterogeneous group of species with
similar adaptations to this particular environment. Mangroves spread out into the water by sending
from their branches roots that reach into the mud and develop into sturdy supporting props. A
distinctive feature of mangroves is their large fruits, the seeds of which germinate and grow into sturdy
seedlings before they leave the parent plant. When the seedlings fall, they either become fixed in the
mud or float away, to be washed up at some site at which the opportunity to become established may
occur.


Mangrove (Rhizophora), showing viviparous (germinating on parent) seedlingsRudolf Schmid
A thicket of tangled mangrove roots and stems spreading over a tidal estuary.(bottom right) G.R.
Roberts
READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC
taiga: Trees
Scotch pine is the most widely distributed pine species in the world, growing from northern Scotland to
the Russian Pacific shore. The relatively…
Mangroves are not the only trees that spread by dropping prop roots from their branches. The habit is
well developed in several tropical figs (Ficus), including one popular in small sizes as a houseplant—
the rubber plant (F. elastica). Most noteworthy of the group is the banyan tree (F. benghalensis) of
India; its numerous prop roots develop into secondary trunks that support the widespreading head of
massive, constantly extending branches. One specimen in Calcutta covers an area more than 250 metres
(about 275 yards) wide. The wonderboom (F. salicifolia) of Africa grows in a similar manner; a specimen
at Pretoria has a spread of 50 metres (55 yards). Because of their unusual growth habits, some tropical
ficuses are called strangler figs. Often they begin life high in a palm or some other tree in which a
monkey, bat, or bird that has fed on the fruits deposits seeds that have passed through its alimentary
tract. The seeds germinate, and the roots grow into organic matter collected in crotches or crevices of
the host tree. Under humid conditions the seedlings grow rapidly, sending roots down along the trunk of
the host tree. Upon reaching the ground the roots branch and establish themselves. Above the ground
the roots thicken until they have formed an interlacing cylinder around the trunk of the host, often
leading to the death of the host tree.

Banyan (Ficus benghalensis)Gerald Cubitt

The strangler fig (genus Ficus) remains standing long after the host tree has died and
decomposed.Copyright Adrian Warren/Ardea London
The ombu (Phytolacca dioica) is a remarkable South American relative of the pokeweed (P. americana).
A tree capable of attaining heights of 20 metres (65 feet) and a spread of 30 metres (100 feet), it has a
wide trunk; the branches contain as much as 80 percent water and very little wood tissue. From its base
radiates a circle of rootlike outgrowths wide enough for a person to sit on.
The traveler’s tree of Madagascar (Ravenala madagascariensis) has a palmlike trunk up to 9 metres (30
feet) tall topped by a huge symmetrical fan of long-stalked paddle-shaped leaves often much shredded
by wind. The vernacular name alludes to the leaves’ having hollow bases from which, it has been
reported, travelers could obtain potable water.
The talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) of tropical Sri Lanka and India may live as long as 75 years
before it flowers and fruits just one time and then dies. The huge panicle (many-branched cluster) of
creamy white blooms rises up to 5 metres (16 feet) from the centre of the cluster of fan-shaped leaves
topping the trunk, which may be 24 metres (about 80 feet) tall and 90 to 120 cm (3 to 4 feet) in
diameter. Another palm of special interest is the double coconut (Lodoicea maldivica), a native of two
tiny islands of the Seychelles group in the Indian Ocean; it has fruits that require about 10 years to
mature, weigh up to 30 kg (66 pounds), and have the appearance of a pair of coconuts joined together.
Long before their source was known, these fruits were washed up by the sea in India, and magical
properties were ascribed to them.
Talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) in bloom.W.H. Hodge
The tallest trees are Pacific Coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), specimens of which exceed 110
metres (about 350 feet) in height in Redwoods National Park and Humboldt Redwood State Park in
California, U.S. The species is confined to a narrow coastal belt extending from southern Oregon to
central California. The next tallest trees are the Australian mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans),
specimens of which in Victoria, Australia, exceed 90 metres (300 feet), the greatest heights known for
nonconiferous trees. A close relative of the redwood, the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum),
develops the greatest total bulk of wood, but not the biggest girth, among trees. This tree, which attains
heights in excess of 90 metres and may have a trunk diameter of about 7.5 metres (25 feet) some
distance above its flaring base, is restricted to a strip about 420 km (260 miles) long and less than 24 km
(15 miles) wide in the Sierra Nevadas, in California.
Records for tree girth (measured a metre or so above the ground) are held by the baobab (Adansonia
digitata) of Africa and the Mexican swamp cypress (Taxodium mucronatum). The baobab attains a
maximum height of about 23 metres (75 feet); its barrel-shaped trunk attains a diameter of more than 5
metres (16 feet), but a few individuals range from 7.7 to 15.9 metres (25 to 53 feet). The most-famous
specimen of Mexican swamp cypress is “El Gigante,” located at Tule, Oaxaca. The trunk of this massive
tree is buttressed and not circular; if the bays and promontories of the buttresses are followed, the
basal circumference is nearly 46 metres (151 feet).
Baobab (Adansonia digitata) trees in a wooded grassland area of Senegal in West Africa.K.
Scholz/Shostal Associates
Thomas H. EverettLillian M. Weber

Tree Structure And Growth
tree: height and widthLearn why there are limits on a tree's height but not its width; included is a
discussion of the growth ring.Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz
In the section Ecological and evolutionary classification, it is pointed out that land plants are descended
from aquatic plants. The early aquatic plants required few modifications for structural support or water
and nutrient absorption, since the surrounding water fulfilled their needs. The water, far denser than
the air, buoyed the plant body; the thin integument permitted a free exchange of nutrients across the
entire relatively small body surface and a passive mechanism for spreading their gametes. Once
primitive plants began to invade the land, however, modifications for support, nutrient and water
absorption, turgidity, and reproduction were required to compensate for the absence of an
aqueous environment. Because organic soils were not widely developed, the earliest terrestrial plants
probably first colonized bare rock near large water sources, such as oceans and lakes. Generations of
these plants recycling nutrients (e.g., nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen) and energy into the stratum
contributed to the development of a rich organic soil suitable for large shrubs and herbs. With the
proliferation of these low-lying plants, competition for available space, nutrients, and sunlight
intensified. Aerial habitats and those farther afield from the large sources of water represented the only
uninhabited environments left to be exploited. This required the physiological and morphological
complexity found among the vascular plants.
BRITANNICA DEMYSTIFIED
Why Do Leaves Fall in Autumn?
Having leaves is harder than you think.
General features of the tree body
As vascular plants, trees are organized into three major organs: the roots, the stems, and the leaves.
The leaves are the principal photosynthetic organs of most higher vascular plants. They are attached by
a continuous vascular system to the rest of the plant so that free exchange of nutrients, water, and end
products of photosynthesis (oxygen and carbohydrates in particular) can be carried to its various parts.
Growth regions of a tree(A) Longitudinal section of a young tree showing how the annual growth rings
are produced in successive conical layers. (B) Shoot apex, the extreme tip of which is the apical
meristem, or primary meristem, a region of new cell division that contributes to primary growth, or
increase in length, and which is the ultimate source of all the cells in the aboveground parts of the tree.
(C) Segment of a tree trunk showing the location of the cambium layer, a secondary meristem that
contributes to secondary growth, or increase in thickness. (D) Root tip, the apex of which is also an
apical meristem and the ultimate source of all the cells of the root system.From (A) W.W. Robbins and
T.E. Weier, Botany, an Introduction to Plant Science,; © 1950 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (B,D) Biological
Science, an Inquiry into Life,; 2nd ed. (1968); Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc., New York; by permission
of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study; (C) E.W. Sinnott, Botany: Principles and Problems, 4th ed.,
copyright 1946; used with permission of McGraw-Hill Book Co.
The stem is divided into nodes (points where leaves are or were attached) and internodes (the length of
the stem between nodes). The leaves and stem together are called the shoot. Shoots can be separated
into long shoots and short shoots on the basis of the distance between buds (internode length). The
stem provides support, water and food conduction, and storage.
Roots provide structural anchorage to keep trees from toppling over. They also have a massive system
for harvesting the enormous quantities of water and the mineral resources of the soil required by trees.
In some cases, roots supplement the nutrition of the tree through symbiotic associations, such as with
nitrogen-fixing microorganisms and fungal symbionts called mycorrhizae, which are known to increase
phosphorous uptake. Tree roots also serve as storage depots, especially in seasonal climates.
As is true of other higher vascular plants, all the branches and the central stem of trees (the trunk or
bole) terminate in growing points called shoot apical meristems. These are centres of potentially
indefinite growth and development, annually producing the leaves as well as a bud in the axis of most
leaves that has the potential to grow out as a branch. These shoot apical growing centres form the
primary plant body, and all the tissues directly formed by them are called the primary tissues. As in the
stems, the growing points of the roots are at their tips (root apical meristems); however, they produce
only more root tissue, not whole organs (leaves and stems). The root meristem also produces the root
cap that covers the outside of the root tip.
The shoot apical meristems do not appear different between long and short shoots, but the lower part
of the meristem does not produce as many cells in short shoots. In some cases, it may be totally
inactive. Shoot meristems in some species may interconvert and change the type of shoot they produce.
For example, in the longleaf pine, the seedlings enter a grass stage, which may last as long as 15 years.
Here the terminal bud on the main axis exists as a short shoot and produces numerous needle-bearing
dwarf shoots in which there is little or no internode elongation. Consequently, the seedling resembles a
clump of grass. This is probably an adaptation to fire, water stress, and perhaps grazing. The root
volume, however, continues to grow, increasing the chance of seedling survival once the shoot begins to
grow out (i.e., the internodes start to expand). This process is called flushing.
The outermost layer of cells surrounding the roots and stems of the primary body of a vascular
plant (including the leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds) is called the epidermis. The closely knit cells afford
some protection against physical shock, and, when invested with cutin and covered with a cuticle, they
also provide some protection from desiccation. Stomata (pores) are interspersed throughout the
epidermal cells of the leaves (and to some extent on the stems) and regulate the movement of gases
and water vapour into and out of the plant body.
A transverse slice of tree trunk, depicting major features visible to the unaided eye in transverse, radial,
and tangential sections.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Immediately adjacent is a cylinder of ground tissue; in the stem the outer region is called the cortex and
the inner region the pith, although among many of the monocotyledons (an advanced class of
angiosperms, including the palms and lilies) the ground tissue is amorphous and no regions can be
discerned. The roots of woody dicots and conifers develop only a cortex (the pith is absent), the
innermost layer of which comprises thick-walled wall cells called endodermal cells.
The final tissue system of the primary plant body is the vascular tissue, a continuous system of
conducting and supporting tissues that extends throughout the plant body. The vascular system consists
of two conducting tissues, xylem and phloem; the former conducts water and the latter the products
of photosynthesis. In the stems and roots the vascular tissues are arranged concentrically, on the order
of a series of cylinders. Each column, or cylinder, of primary vascular tissue develops the primary
xylem toward the inner aspect of the column and the primary phloem toward the outer aspect. The
multiple vascular cylinders are arranged throughout the cortex, either in an uninterrupted ring between
the cortex and pith or separated from each other by ground tissues. In some monocotyledons the
vascular cylinders are scattered throughout the stem. Regardless of their arrangement, however, the
multiple vascular columns form strands from the leaves to the roots, moving water and nutrients where
they are most needed.
Cells of the (left) phloem and (right) xylem.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
All plants, including trees, start life as seedlings whose bodies are composed wholly of primary tissues.
In this respect, young trees are structurally analogous to the herbaceous plants. It is the conversion of a
seedling from an herbaceous plant to a woody plant that marks the initiation of tree-specific structures.
In dicotyledonous and coniferous (i.e., woody) trees and shrubs, the defining structure that permits this
conversion is a layer of meristematic cells, called the vascular cambium, that organizes between the
primary xylem and primary phloem of the vascular cylinders. The cambium forms the wood and the
inner bark of the tree and is responsible for thickening the plant, whereas the apical meristems are
responsible for forming and elongating the primary plant body. A vascular cambium forms in conifers
and dicotyledons and to a lesser extent in some monocotyledons and cycads. Tree ferns do not develop
a vascular cambium; hence, no secondary thickening of the trunk takes place in the usual sense.
The formation of the vascular cambium is initiated when cells between the columns of vascular tissue
connect the cambia inside the columns of vascular tissue to form a complete cylinder around the stem.
The cells formed toward the inside are called secondary xylem, or wood, and those formed toward the
outside of the cambium are called secondary phloem. The bark and the wood together constitute the
secondary plant body of the tree. The woody vascular tissue provides both longitudinal and transverse
movement for carbohydrates and water.
The vascular cambium consists of two types of cells, which together give rise to the secondary xylem and
phloem: fusiform initials and ray initials. The fusiform initials are long cells that give rise to the axial
(longitudinal) system of vascular tissue. The cells of the axial system are arranged parallel with the long
axis of the tree trunk. The ray initials form the radial system of the bark and wood. These initials are
more squat in shape and produce cells oriented perpendicular to the axial cells.
The anatomy and organization of wood
Wood is characterized by the presence of axial and radial structures derived from the fusiform and ray
initials, respectively. In conifers the cells of the axial system are most frequently tracheids, which are
designed to form tissues for strength and water conduction; in hardwoods the axial system is composed
primarily of fibres and vessel elements. Having two cell types permits a division of labour; the fibres
serve a largely mechanical function, and the vessel elements are wide, hollow cells specialized for water
conduction. Wood grain is determined by the orientation of the cells of the axial system and is thus a
measure of the longitudinal alignment of the tracheids (in a softwood) or fibres and of their
predominance.
Types of cells present in hardwoods and softwoods.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

BRITANNICA QUIZ
Trees of the World
Which of these has the softest wood?
The radial system functions primarily in the transport of carbohydrates from the inner bark to the wood;
there are some food-storage cells in this system as well, and water movement through the rays is
possible. Ray cells interrupt the interconnections of the tracheids or fibres; hence, wood is split more
easily along the wood rays.
In many species, only the youngest wood carries water and nutrients throughout the plant; this is
called sapwood. As the tree ages, the older inner portions of the sapwood are infiltrated by oils,
gums, resins, tannins, and other chemical compounds. When the cells die, the sapwood has been
converted to heartwood, often darker in colour than the sapwood. Heartwood, although dead, typically
persists for the life of the tree and affords structural strength unless diseased and can serve as a
reservoir of water for the sapwood.
In normal or good growing conditions, the proportion of secondary xylem cells formed is much greater
than that of the secondary phloem, as much as 10–20 to 1, but in extremely stressful years or situations
the phloem is less affected, and the ratio may drop below 1. In most cases, the phloem operates in food
transport for only a single year, while the xylem of most species may function in sap conduction for
several years before it loses functionality and becomes heartwood. The tree annually produces more
wood than it needs for conduction and support under most conditions; i.e., there is a wide margin of
safety in xylem production. In contrast, there is a much smaller margin of safety in phloem production;
hence, it has higher priority of allocation of the energy resources of the tree. Under extremely stressful
conditions, annual xylem production may be zero even while some phloem continues to be formed.
Branching is a significant characteristic in trees. Most conifers form a well-defined dominant trunk with
smaller lateral branches (excurrent branching). Many angiosperms show for some part of their
development a well-defined central axis, which then divides continually to form a crown of branches of
similar dimensions (deliquescent branching). This can be found in many oaks, the honey locust (Gleditsia
triacanthos), the silver linden (Tilia tomentosa), and the American elm (Ulmus americana).
The palms illustrate the third major tree form, columnar, in which the central axis develops without
branching until the apex of the bole.
Growth ring formation
Trees growing in areas with pronounced seasonal differences generally experience an “awakening” of
the cambium at the beginning of the growing season to form the growth ring of wood and bark. Growth
ring formation probably evolved late in the Paleozoic Era in response to seasonal changes in water
availability. While tree height is closely associated with the quality of the site on which the tree is
growing (i.e., the climate, soil, topography, and biota), radial growth is tied more to the weather
conditions of the current year. For this reason, the width of growth rings has been used to provide
information on past climates as well as to date events of the past. Dendroclimatology
and dendrochronology are names given to these fields of study. Historically, growth rings (also called
growth increments) were called annual rings. Modern understanding of seasonal wood formation now
recognizes that many trees, particularly in the tropics and subtropics, form rings not on an annual basis
but rather in response to various cyclic environmental conditions. Growth rings are visible because of
the differences in cell types, characteristics, and arrangement between these cycles. Within a growth
ring, those cells responsible for the conduction of water rapidly become devoid of cell contents because
they must be empty and dead at functional maturity. The hollow centre of a cell is called the lumen.
growth of Douglas fir treeAnnual growth rings of a tree trunk(A) A Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is
born. (B) Growth is rapid, forming relatively broad, even rings. (C) “Reaction wood” is formed to help
support the tree after something fell against it. (D) Growth is straight but crowded by other trees. (E)
Competing trees are removed, and growth is again rapid. (F) Fire scars the tree. (G) Narrow rings are
caused, probably by a prolonged dry spell. (H) Narrow rings may have been caused by an
insect.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Hardwoods may be divided into ring-porous and diffuse-porous trees. In ring-porous trees the vessels
laid down at the beginning of the growing season are much larger than subsequent vessels laid down at
the end of the season (or ring). Diffuse-porous trees form vessels of roughly the same radial diameter
throughout the growing season. Larger vessel size permits more-rapid water conduction, because the
rate of conduction varies with the fourth power of the radius of the vessel lumen. Most ring-porous
trees are found in the north temperate areas of the world. In a number of species the vessels become
occluded by cellular ingrowths from surrounding living cells. The occlusions, called tyloses, may occur in
the first year after vessel formation. The protoplast of an adjacent living cell proliferates through thin
areas in the cell walls known as pits. Red oak (Quercus rubra) does not have tyloses, whereas white
oak (Q. alba) does; this is why white oak is used to make whiskey barrels, while red oak cannot be
utilized for this purpose.
Types of wood based on xylem structure as seen in scanning electron micrographs(Top) Nonporous
wood of red pine (Pinus resinosa). (Middle) Ring-porous wood of red oak (Quercus rubra). (Bottom)
Diffuse-porous wood of aspen (Populus grandidentata).From H.A. Core, W.A. Cote, and A.C. Day, “Wood
Structure and Identification,” 2nd ed. (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1979); by permission of the
publisher.
The width of the annual increment depends on soil quality, the date of initiation and cessation of radial
growth for the year, the rate of cell division, and the rate and magnitude of cell expansion. Radial
diameters of cells in the axial system are generally larger in spring, because water stress is low and
hormone production high.
The thickest-walled cells generally mark the end of the growth ring. This often results in a sharp
disjunction between growth rings, as the next cell formed will be a large-diameter, thin-walled cell that
marks initiation of the next year’s earlywood. (The terms spring wood and summer wood are no longer
commonly used because it is now known that in many locations most of the so-called summer wood is
actually formed in the spring.) In preformer species (trees that contain all of next year’s needles in their
winter buds), cambial activity begins about the same time as shoot growth but generally continues for
some time after shoot growth ceases for the year. In neoformers (trees that do not preform all of next
year’s leaves in their winter buds), leaf formation may continue for some time after diameter growth
ceases.
Under adverse conditions, variations are observed: incomplete (discontinuous) rings, missing rings (no
wood formed in a given year), false rings, eccentric rings (overproduction on one side), and fluted rings
(overproduction at various sites around the circumference of the ring). In a given tree in a given year,
any combination of these variations may be seen from crown to base.
The normal condition, especially in trees of temperate regions, is the development of a single ring during
each growing season. Other rings formed during the season are called false rings. The false-ring
phenomenon is clearly evinced in conifers when the normal growing season is interrupted by factors
such as drought in the spring. As conditions worsen, the radial diameters of the secondary tissue cells
decrease and the walls may thicken, and the wood may take on the appearance of latewood. Once the
drought conditions have passed, the radial diameters of the cells of the secondary tissues will increase,
creating the appearance of a new annual ring. This, however, is a false ring, because there is a gradient
of increasing cell-wall thickness and decreasing cell diameter at the start of the false ring and another
gradient of decreasing cell-wall thickness and increasing cell diameter at the end of the false ring.
False rings are a challenge to dendroclimatology, but they also offer the opportunity to trace weather
patterns over long periods of time. Information on past climates is encoded not only in the number of
cells in an annual ring but also in the thickness and composition of the cell walls and in the lumen
diameters. Complications in reading this information arise because the growth increment produced by a
given tree in a given year may be of unequal width at different points around the bole and at different
heights in the tree. Classic growth rings are found in conifers and ring-porous hardwoods, where the
delineation of growth rings is clear. In diffuse-porous temperate hardwoods and ring-bearing tropical
trees, variations in the cells in response to developmental, seasonal, and chronological time may
obscure the limits of the tree rings.
Tree bark
Most tree species have bark that is unique in structure and appearance; in fact, many trees can be
identified by the characteristics of their bark alone. In some species the bark looks similar throughout
the life of the plant, while in others there are dramatic changes with age.
Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata)Grant Heilman/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
The term tree bark refers to the tissues outside the vascular cambium. The inner bark is composed of
secondary phloem, which in general remains functional in transport for only one year. A second type of
lateral (nonapical) meristem, called the cork cambium, develops in some of the cells of the older phloem
and forms cork cells. The cork cells push the old secondary phloem cells toward the outer margins of
the stem, where they are crushed, are torn, and eventually slough off. All tissues outside the cork
cambium constitute the outer bark, including the nonfunctional phloem and cork cells. The cork may
develop during the first year in many trees and form exfoliating bark, while in others, such as beeches,
dogwoods, and maples, the bark may not exfoliate for several years. In cases of delayed formation, the
outer covering of the stem, the periderm or the epidermis, must enlarge and grow to keep pace with the
increase in stem diameter.
Bark minimizes water loss from the stems, deters insect and fungal attack, and can be a very effective
protector against fire damage, as is demonstrated by the high fire resistance of redwood and
giant sequoia trees, which have a massive bark.
The cork cambium provides an effective barrier against many kinds of invaders; however, in being
so resilient, it also cuts off the outer secondary phloem and tissues from the rest of the wood,
effectively killing it. Thus, the outer bark is made up entirely of dead tissue.
The pattern of cork development is the main determinant of bark appearance. In some barks the cork
cambium and cork tissues are laid down in a discontinuous and overlapping manner, resulting in a scaly
type of bark (pines and pear trees); in other barks the pattern is continuous and in sheets (paper birch
and cherry). Barks show various patterns intermediate between these extremes.
The cork cambium primarily produces a single cell type, the cork cells; however, the walls may be thick
or thin. Birch bark peels because it has alternating layers of thick- and thin-walled cork cells. Birch bark
also has numerous pores on the bark, called lenticels, and these are also associated with cork formation
because they provide openings for gas exchange. In most cases, they form at the location of stomates.
Bark varies from the smooth, copper-coloured covering of the gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba) to the
thick, soft, spongy bark of the punk, or cajeput, tree (Melaleuca leucadendron). Other types of bark
include the commercial cork of the cork oak (Quercus suber) and the rugged, fissured outer coat of many
other oaks; the flaking, patchy-coloured barks of sycamores (Platanus) and the lacebark pine (Pinus
bungeana); and the rough shinglelike outer covering of shagbark hickory (Carya ovata).
Flower buds
Tree buds may be vegetative or reproductive. Vegetative buds continue to produce height growth units
unless or until they are induced to form flowers. When a shoot apical meristem is induced to form a
reproductive bud, its existence terminates when the pollen or seeds are shed. Exactly what induces the
formation of a reproductive bud varies with species, but changes in the number of daylight hours are
common signals in many plants. Changes in the levels of hormones and carbohydrates are among the
factors that signal the physiological factors that directly result in flowering.
Tree roots
Roots provide anchorage and absorption of sufficient water and nutrients to support the remainder of
the plant. Trees have a greater variety of roots than do other vascular plants. The feeder, or fine, roots
are similar to those of herbaceous vascular plants until, as they mature, they begin to undergo
secondary growth. Stress roots form in some species when a plant suffers from water or nutrient stress.
Adventitious roots may form in external tissue as well as on existing roots. Roots may grow down,
sideways, or even up along tree trunks. These directions are determined by a transducing system that
converts physical signals into physiological signals that control the morphological and anatomical
development of the roots. The main locus of gravity perception is thought to reside in the root cap.
Roots of several forms may be present in a single individual. For example, mangroves can have feeder
roots for absorption, stilt roots for support, and pneumatophores for aeration.
Buttress roots are aerial extensions of lateral surface roots and form only in certain species. Buttress
roots stabilize the tree, especially in shallow saturated soils, thereby resisting toppling. They are
common in certain tropical trees of wet lowland environments but, with few exceptions, such as bald
cypress swamps, are largely absent in temperate trees. A diverse number of tree families and species
develop buttress roots, suggesting that they are induced by the environment and are of some adaptive
advantage.
Lombi tree (Dalbergia glandulosa), Ituri Forest, Congo (Kinshasa), supported by buttress roots that
absorb nutrients from the shallow rainforest topsoil.© Alan Watson/Forest Light
Buttress roots are characterized by thin (about 8–10 cm [3–4 inches] thick) planklike extensions from
the tree trunk. They may be as much as 3 metres (10 feet) tall and extend 3 metres laterally from the
base of the tree. The radial diameter of the individual vessel elements and the amount of vessel area per
unit cross-sectional area of xylem are reduced in buttress roots. The amount of cell-wall area is
correspondingly increased, although the individual cell walls are somewhat thinner.
Buttresses tend to be more prevalent on the windward side of the tree and thus function in tension
resistance. Height growth is diminished whenever buttressing is developed, suggesting that
the carbon resources of the tree are reallocated as a response to environmental conditions. There may
be secondary effects of buttress roots, such as retardation of water flow around the tree base, thereby
preventing nutrients and nutrient-rich litter from washing away. It is unlikely that buttresses provide
aeration, as they have different anatomy from pneumatophores and as some species have both
buttresses and pneumatophores—e.g., Pterocarpus officinalis and bald cypress, Taxodium distichum.
Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), showing emergent roots, or knees.Rudolf Schmid
Pneumatophores are specialized root structures that grow out from the water surface and facilitate the
aeration necessary for root respiration in hydrophytic trees such as many mangrove species
(e.g., Avicennia germinans and Laguncularia raecemosa), bald cypresses, and cotton (tupelo) gum
(Nyssa aquatica). Red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) have stilt roots that function in both support and
aeration.
Pneumatophores of the black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) encrusted with salt and a young seedling
projecting above the surface of the water.Thomas Eisner
Hydrophytic trees have various modifications that facilitate their survival and growth in the aqueous
environment. Some species produce a high frequency of lenticels on the bark that facilitate gas
exchange. Others exhibit greater permeation of oxygen through the bark and into the cambium at lower
oxygen concentrations. Hydrophytic trees often have more intercellular spaces in their tissues to
promote aeration of their roots. Some trees produce adventitious water roots near the waterline after
flooding conditions develop. The new roots produced have altered structure (surface sealing layers,
more loosely packed cells in cortex, and poorly developed endodermis). Such roots are said to show
acclimation. Hydrophytic species are often adapted to anaerobic metabolism and can endure the often
toxic by-products of this process (e.g., ethyl alcohol and lactic acid). Some trees in the Amazon survive
several months of total inundation each year.
Root hairs form some distance back from the root tip and mature at about the point where the first
primary xylem cells mature. A type of transfer cell and supplied with many protoplasmic connections to
the adjacent root cells, root hairs increase the absorbing area of the roots at minimal carbon cost and
can penetrate finer pores in the soil. Phosphorus uptake is directly correlated with length and frequency
of root hairs. The roots of some species form associations with certain fungi called mycorrhizae. These
fungal root associations also facilitate phosphorus uptake. Root hairs are less abundant on southern
pines than on associated hardwoods in the southeastern United States, and this is thought to give the
hardwoods a competitive edge in some cases.
Tree height growth
The two primary determinants of height growth are the number of height growth units (the node plus
its subtending internode) produced during each growing season and elongation of the internodes. This
process is sensitive to environmental factors such as water availability, soil quality, and climatic
variation, as well as to the time of year when height growth units are initiated and when they elongate.
This is correlated with variation in growth hormone production by expanding buds and leaves.
tulip treeA discussion of the distinctive features of tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera).Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc.
Most north temperate trees form their leaves during the development of the terminal buds of the
previous year to some degree (preformers). In these species the number of height growth units for the
year is determined to a great extent during the previous year. For example, those of the grand fir (Abies
grandis) in the area of Vancouver are preformed in October, so that at spring bud break those height
growth units elongate and develop; a new bud is then initiated in July. Thus, the environmental
conditions between July and October affect the number and properties of the height growth units that
grow out in the current year. Since the leaves are the source of carbohydrates required for, and used
in, wood and bark formation, the climate of the previous year also affects the diameter growth of the
current year. Examples of preformers are most pines, fir, hickory, spruce, Douglas fir, beech, and oak.
Some trees are neoformers, because they form most or all of their leaves in the current year of growth.
Examples of this are birch, chestnut, poplar, willow, larch, tulip tree, and some tropical pines. Seedlings
will often be neoformers and then become preformers as adults.
The monopodial form of tree growth is maintained by the dominance of the apical buds over the lateral
buds. The healthy apical bud produces a sufficient hormonal influence over the lateral buds to keep
them suppressed; however, some species abort the terminal bud either annually, as in
the basswood (Tilia americana), or occasionally, as in the American birch (Fagus grandifolia). In these
cases, the new terminal growth originates from a lateral branch, causing sympodial growth.
Besides terminal buds and axillary buds formed in the axils of leaves, buds may form outside the
apical meristem. This is called adventitious growth. When a bole of a tree that has been shaded for a
number of years is suddenly exposed to light, new buds, called epicormic buds, may be initiated.
Epicormic buds may be adventitious in origin or formed from dormant axillary trace buds. In many cases,
buds may grow out that were formed by or outside the shoot meristem but became dormant until
induced by environmental factors. Rather unique adventitious buds may develop on roots and grow out
as shoots. These are called root suckers; the process is called suckering.
There is also variation in the number of bud flushes per year in temperate as well as tropical trees. Trees
like the preformer eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) have a single flush per year followed by formation
of a dormant terminal bud. Other species have several flushes per year, but each flush is followed by
formation of a terminal bud.
Finally, there are species that have a terminal bud but then extend height growth unit formation
throughout the growing season until setting a terminal bud with some of the following year’s leaves at
the end of the growing season (mixed model). Some species, such as lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta),
are polycyclic; they have several flushes from a single bud during the growing season.
Height growth is terminated at the end of the growing season by factors such as the length of day.
Occasionally, mild fall weather may induce buds that normally would not flush until the following spring.
These are often termed lammas shoots.
Obviously, there is a limit to the height of trees. One observation is that the tallest and most massive
trees are found in moist habitats, such as the Pacific Northwest of the United States and tropical
rainforests. This suggests that the process of lifting water to the tops of trees may be a major limitation
to the development of tree height. The physics of the process would be necessarily complex. If, for
example, a vacuum pump was attached to a tall vertical pipe, the pump could pull water up to only a
height of approximately 9 metres (30 feet). How then do trees, some of which may be more than 90
metres tall, get water to their tops?
Douglas fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the Pacific coniferous forest on the western slope of the
Cascade Range, near Mount Baker in northwestern Washington.© Pat O'Hara
The current consensus is that sap is pulled up from the roots by the leaves. The Dixon cohesion theory of
water ascent in trees, named after Irish botanist H.H. Dixon, suggests that water molecules in the trees
adhere to each other along columns under tension. The stomata of the leaves, which in most plants are
open during the day and closed at night, transpire water from the leaf into the air. As each water
molecule leaves, the chain of water molecules is pulled up by one molecule. It therefore can be said that
water is pulled up by forces acting in the leaf and is not pushed up to any extent from below.
Plants: Osmosis and TranspirationPlants use osmosis to absorb water through their roots and
transpiration to let moisture evaporate through their leaves.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Tree trunks often shrink in diameter during sunny summer days because of the large amount of water
lost from the leaves by transpiration. The trunks will then swell during the night as water is restored to
the tree from the soil. Most of the shrinking and swelling takes place in the bark, but some occurs in the
wood. The ascent of the water, or sap as it is often called, is a purely physical process requiring the
water molecules in each column of water in the tree to cohere. Although the water columns periodically
break, there is ample evidence that in many cases they can be restored. Furthermore, as long as there is
a sufficient number of water columns left, the tree will still be able to obtain sufficient water to maintain
the turgidity of its leaves. As the tree grows taller, however, the problem of maintaining adequate flow
of water to the top is thought to become more difficult, because the frequency of column breakage
increases as the columns get longer. (The term sap is used for the fluid moving up the tree because it
includes not only water but also minerals and a number of dissolved substances such as sugars and
amino acids.)
Another factor that is thought to limit tree height is the increased mechanical strength required as a tree
becomes larger. Even the largest known trees remain well below the height–diameter ratio that would
cause toppling with minimal wind sway. As trees grow taller, they must grow increasingly thicker in
order to keep from toppling over. In some trees, especially in moist unstable sites, large buttressed
roots spread out and stabilize the tree.
At some point, however, there is a limit to the possible adaptations that can permit increased tree
height. Size makes for complexity as morphological and physiological adaptations are stressed to the
limit. The phyletic lines of many animal groups, for instance, show examples of extinct ancestors that
grew increasingly large until they died off. Similarly in tree heights, a single factor is seldom limiting, but,
rather, a combination of factors interact to destabilize the tree. It is clear that large size in animal
species has certain reproductive and adaptive advantages. It is not so clear what advantage large size
has for trees other than ensuring access to solar radiation; because large size increases the food-and-
water storage capacity of a tree, it may therefore impart ability to resist stress.
tree survivalLearn about the various methods trees employ to cope with extreme temperatures, water
availability, and seasonal changes.© MinuteEarth (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Many tropical trees exhibit intermittent height growth despite ever-moist and otherwise favourable
growth conditions. In temperate trees there is a period of true dormancy in the fall. Chilling is required
to overcome this true dormancy. After the chilling requirement is met (artificially, about one month at
approximately 0 to 5 °C [32 to 41 °F]), the buds enter winter dormancy (quiescence). This type of
dormancy is simply due to low temperature, and the buds can be induced to flush merely by taking
them into a greenhouse. After bud set (i.e., bud formation) in July, the buds may be considered to be in
summer dormancy, because they will normally not grow out until the following year. This scenario
implies that hormones are the inhibiting factors. These buds may be induced to flush by defoliation or
unusual weather patterns.
True dormancy is extremely difficult to break, but in some cases increasing both the length of day and
the temperature with or without hormonal treatments can induce some degree of flushing. As the
chilling process proceeds, the window of inducing conditions enlarges. It should be noted that these
buds are dormant only in the sense that no internodal elongation takes place. Other types of biological
activity, such as cell division and formation of primordia, may take place, depending on the species.
Thus, bud dormancy is a dynamic interaction between growth promoters and growth inhibitors. In some
cases, active buds may be induced into dormancy by application of hormone inhibitors and then
reactivated by other hormones.
Some pine trees, especially in the tropics, exhibit a type of growth called foxtailing. This is primarily a
plantation phenomenon wherein, after planting, the trees elongate continuously without producing any
lateral branches. Several metres of branch-free bole may be produced, and then the tree may grow in a
more normal pattern and may revert to foxtailing at various times. This is an ultimate expression of free
growth. Species that exhibit this phenomenon include Pinus caribaea, P. canariensis, P. insularis, P.
tropicalis, P. merkusii, P. palustris, P. echinata, P. elliottii, and P. taeda. The last four
species constitute the southern yellow pines of the southeastern United States. The Monterey pine of
California (P. radiata) also may foxtail in subtropical environments.
There are both genetic and environmental components involved in foxtailing; for example, a selected
strain of Caribbean pine that was certified not to foxtail in Australia reportedly exhibited 80 percent
foxtailing when grown in Puerto Rico. Foxtailing decreases with altitude, stand density, and soil quality.
The cause is thought to be due to hormone imbalances induced by exotic environments. Some species
or individuals are better able than others to adjust to this without foxtailing.
The advantages of foxtailing that have been reported are greater height growth, better stem form (i.e.,
straight with minimum taper), and greater dry matter production of more merchantable material. (Dry
matter is the weight [mass] of plant material formed after it has been dried in an oven until it has
reached constant weight.) Disadvantages have been reported to be lower stem stability resulting in
greater wind damage, low seed production, lack of latewood, and more compression wood (see
below Adaptations). Both decreases and increases in volume production have been reported.
Tree Lines
As one proceeds poleward or as elevation increases, the height of the trees gradually decreases while
the spacing between them increases until a point is finally reached where the trees give way to tundra.
This is called the tree line.
Arctic tree lines form a ring around the Arctic Ocean and extend southward to Labrador and westward
around the Bering Sea from Alaska to Siberia. In oceanic regions Arctic tree lines are characterized by
birches, while in the interior Arctic larches and spruce are more common. Firs are present in some Arctic
tree lines. Antarctic tree lines are more abrupt, as very little tundra vegetation exists in these areas.
The shape of trees also changes with altitude. Broad-leaved trees are more common at lower altitudes,
as at the base of a mountain. These tree forms gradually give way to pines and sometimes birches as the
altitude increases. Spruce and fir tend to dominate forests at the highest elevations. Local conditions
determine whether Alpine timberlines arise gradually or abruptly as the altitude increases. Abrupt
timberlines give way to Alpine meadows and then boulder fields, followed by bare rock with life-forms
limited to lichens.
The transition to the treeless condition is more commonly gradual. Initially in a closed, tightly
spaced forest (forest line), the spacing between trees widens rapidly as tree height decreases
(the kampf zone). This zone gives way to a region of low twisted and stunted trees called
the krummholz. Together, the kampf zone and the krummholz constitute the transition zone. The end of
the krummholz marks the tree line.
The same woody species may at higher elevations grow as prostrate shrubs, especially in sheltered
nooks and crannies. The zones are uneven because these kinds of local shelter conditions may extend
the limits of each zone. Forests may extend along ridges where squirrels and other nut gatherers have
stored seed, so each situation may have endemic differences from any assumed model of tree line.
The increase in spacing after forest line is correlated with a decline in the quality of the habitat as the
temperature decreases, the wind increases, and the soil becomes increasingly impoverished. As the
energy content of the ecosystem decreases, the diversity of organisms in the ecosystem diminishes.
Trees that are more widely spaced have a greater chance of survival because a greater percentage of
the stem is covered with foliage, and this foliage receives more light and heat. In addition, there is less
competition in the roots for the available nutrients in the soil. The isolated condition, however, makes
the trees more susceptible to wind damage, snow blast, and ice damage.
Tree form has a genetic component, because some species are able to exist in an erect form where
other species cannot. An example of this is limber pine (Pinus flexilis) and bristlecone pine (P. aristata),
both of which are found in the Colorado Rocky Mountains in the United States. These species form erect
trees where Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanni) and Alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) can exist only as
prostrate forms. One reason lies in the pines’ greater resistance to winter desiccation damage at high
elevation owing to the thick coating of wax and cuticle on the surface of their needles. These species
differences can result in double timberlines, where one tree species or group of species forms a tree line
at a different elevation from another species or group of species.
Bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata), among the oldest known trees.Lola B. Graham—The National Audubon
Society Collection/Photo Researchers
Low temperature is the main arbiter of timberlines. This is dramatically apparent in the higher
timberlines that can be observed on the sunnier slopes of a mountain. Low temperature is also the
reason for the increase in tree line in interior mountains with warmer summers, such as the Rocky
Mountains (about 3,000–3,350 metres, or 10,000–11,000 feet), as opposed to coastal mountains, such
as the White Mountains of New Hampshire, U.S. (approximately 1,400 metres, or 4,600 feet), where the
summers are cooler and cloudier.
Another manifestation of the heat balance effect is the increase in altitudinal tree lines as latitude
decreases in the Northern Hemisphere from the subarctic to the subtropical. In general, tree form is
possible wherever the mean temperature for the month of July is equal to or greater than 10 °C (50 °F).
A somewhat better fit can be obtained by using the point where the daily maximum temperature is
greater than or equal to 11.1 °C (52 °F) during the growing season.
The low temperatures in the Alpine environment stem from the decrease in temperature with elevation:
warm air rises; as it does so, it expands and cools. The expansion requires work (in the form of heat) to
be expended in the process, and temperature drops. In general, there is a 1 °C drop in temperature for
every 100-metre rise in elevation (or, roughly, 2.5 °F for every 500 feet). However, the temperature drop
varies somewhat with conditions on individual mountains (e.g., wet versus dry mountain ranges). Larger
mountain massifs also show a smaller drop in temperature with increase in altitude. This is because
the air mass impinging on the large massif must rise over the entire structure, and the air mass does not
cool as much as when only a portion of it rises over a smaller or more isolated mountain. As a
consequence, timberlines are higher on a larger mountain range for a given latitude, location,
and climate. Nevertheless, other factors, such as radiation, moisture, cloudiness, wind, snow and snow
blast, ice, and physiography, affect tree lines to various degrees.
Trees that grow at high elevations are adapted to this environment. The high-elevation environment is
characterized by higher light intensity (when clear) and proportion of ultraviolet radiation,
lower absolute humidity (which favours water loss) and carbon dioxide content, frequent high winds,
and greater daily temperature fluctuations, radiation of heat out into space (especially at night), and
precipitation (although some alpine areas are subject to drought at times). Any or all of these factors
can interact to bring about unique formations. For example, cold air drainages at the crest of valleys can
cause a local depression of timberline. The reason low temperatures affect timberline is that they slow
biological processes, which decreases the production of dry matter, a condition that is exacerbated by
the shortened growing season. As a result, fewer of the cells, tissues, and storage molecules that are
needed for annual growth and reproduction are formed. If the growing season is shortened too much,
the optimum amount of supportive tissue may not be formed.
The covering layers of the tree surface also are important in resisting environmental stresses. The biotic
stress and inadequate energy production and allocation that occur when temperature is sufficiently low
may impair the optimum development of these superficial layers and increase the vulnerability of the
tree.
Seed production requires energy reserves that may not normally be available each year. The interval
between good seed years increases with elevation and latitude. It is another important aspect of
survival in the cold at high elevation, although species at high elevation compensate for this somewhat
by relying more heavily on asexual reproduction. Thus, the tree line may be considered to be
an equilibrium space between the forces of regeneration upward and mortality downward.
Cloudiness can lower tree lines because it decreases the photosynthesis-to-respiration ratio, causing
a carbon deficit. For example, the tree line is lower on the warmer, cloudier western coast of Scotland
than it is on the colder, clearer eastern coast because on the west the cloudy weather
limits photosynthesis, while the warmer temperatures promote respiration.
The factors that limit tree growth at high elevation and extreme latitude indirectly promote longevity, as
in the case of the Great Basin bristlecone pine (P. longaeva). The factors involved are smaller tree size,
slower growth rate (possibly mediated by lower night temperatures), larger allocation of carbon to roots
as opposed to tops (stems and leaves), cold hardiness, efficient use of water, more reliance on asexual
reproduction, and fewer pathogens in the environment.
Some long-lived trees, such as the Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), have been found in lava beds,
suggesting that reduced competition and the presence of fewer pathogens in this environment might be
factors in the long life spans. This harsh environment probably also reduces the developmental rate,
which is correlated with increased life span in some species.
The major difference between subarctic and subalpine timberline environments is that the subalpine
environment has greater light intensity and more ultraviolet light, less variation in the length of the day,
lower carbon dioxide, and more daily temperature variation. The subalpine also has higher precipitation,
especially snow, but the soil is generally drier because of better soil drainage and the
mountainous topography. The factors that are common to both are the short growing season, low
temperatures, and high winds. Mountains located in arid areas may show additional complexity along
elevational gradients owing to marked changes in both water availability and temperature. In the
southwestern United States, small piñon pines may grow at the base of mountains, and, as elevation
increases, temperature decreases along with water stress. Tree height increases as the larger ponderosa
pines dominate; these in turn may give way to Douglas fir. At higher altitudes, spruce and fir
predominate, and they decrease in height with altitude, forming tree lines at the upper limits.
Adaptations
The environmental factors affecting trees are climate, soils, topography, and biota. Each species of tree
adapts to these factors in an integrated way—that is, by evolving specific subpopulations adapted to the
constraints of their particular environments. As discussed above, the major factor is the decrease in
temperature with increasing elevation or extremes in latitude. Each subpopulation adapts to this by
modifying the optimum temperature at which the all-important process of photosynthesis takes place.
Many tree species that survive in unfavourable habitats actually grow better in more-favourable
habitats if competition is eliminated. Such trees have a low threshold for competition but are very
tolerant of extremes. For example, the black spruce (Picea mariana) is found in bogs and mountaintops
in the northeastern United States but cannot compete well with other trees, such as red spruce (P.
rubens), on better sites. Consequently, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the northeastern
United States, red spruce is found at the base of the mountains and black spruce at the top, with some
development of subspecies populations (hybridization) at intermediate elevations.
Competition within a species (and in some cases genus) is often most intense because the individuals
compete for the same environmental resources. Since trees are unable to move in search of resources,
competition for available space and resources can be important. Competition aboveground centres on
light, space, and symbionts (largely pollinators), while that below ground is over water, space, nutrients,
and symbionts (microorganisms such as mycorrhizae and nitrogen-fixers).
https://www.britannica.com/plant/tree
Tree
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
For other uses, see Tree (disambiguation).
Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) tree
European larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, supporting branches and leaves
in most species. 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 taxonomic
group but include a variety of plant species that have independently evolved a trunk and branches as a
way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. 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 just over 3 trillion mature trees in the world.[1]
A tree typically has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground by the trunk. This trunk
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 parts 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.
Contents
1 Definition
2 Overview
3 Distribution
4 Parts and function
4.1 Roots
4.2 Trunk
4.3 Buds and growth
4.4 Leaves
4.5 Reproduction
4.6 Seeds
5 Evolutionary history
6 Tree ecology
7 Uses
7.1 Food
7.2 Fuel
7.3 Timber
7.4 Art
7.4.1 Bonsai
7.4.2 Tree shaping
7.5 Bark
7.6 Ornamental trees
7.7 Other uses
8 Care
9 Mythology
10 Superlative trees
11 See also
12 Notes
13 References
14 Further reading
Definition
Diagram 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.
Although "tree" is a term of common parlance, there is no universally recognised precise definition of
what a tree is, either botanically or in common language.[2] In its broadest sense, a tree is any plant
with the general form of an elongated stem, or trunk, which supports the photosynthetic leaves or
branches at some distance above the ground.[3] Trees are also typically defined by height,[4] with
smaller plants from 0.5 to 10 m (1.6 to 32.8 ft) being called shrubs,[5] so the minimum height of a tree is
only loosely defined.[4] Large herbaceous plants such as papaya and bananas are trees in this broad
sense.[2][6]
A commonly applied narrower definition is that a tree has a woody trunk formed by secondary growth,
meaning that the trunk thickens each year by growing outwards, in addition to the primary upwards
growth from the growing tip.[4][7] Under such a definition, herbaceous plants such as palms, bananas
and papayas are not considered trees regardless of their height, growth form or stem girth. Certain
monocots may be considered trees under a slightly looser definition;[8] while the Joshua tree, bamboos
and palms do not have secondary growth and never produce true wood with growth rings,[9][10] they
may produce "pseudo-wood" by lignifying cells formed by primary growth.[11] Tree species in the genus
Dracaena, despite also being monocots, do have secondary growth caused by meristem in their trunk,
but it is different from the thickening meristem found in dicotyledonous trees.[citation needed]
Aside from structural definitions, trees are commonly defined by use; for instance, as those plants which
yield lumber.[12]
Overview
The tree growth habit is an evolutionary adaptation found in different groups of plants: by growing
taller, trees are able to compete better for sunlight.[13] Trees tend to be tall and long-lived,[14] some
reaching several thousand years old.[15] Several trees are among the oldest organisms now living.[16]
Trees have modified structures such as thicker stems composed of specialised cells that add structural
strength and durability, allowing them to grow taller than many other plants and to spread out their
foliage. They differ from shrubs, which have a similar growth form, by usually growing larger and having
a single main stem;[5] but there is no consistent distinction between a tree and a shrub,[17] made more
confusing by the fact that trees may be reduced in size under harsher environmental conditions such as
on mountains and subarctic areas. The tree form has evolved separately in unrelated classes of plants in
response to similar environmental challenges, making it a classic example of parallel evolution. With an
estimated 60,000-100,000 species, the number of trees worldwide might total twenty-five per cent of all
living plant species.[18][19] The greatest number of these grow in tropical regions and many of these
areas have not yet been fully surveyed by botanists, making tree diversity and ranges poorly known.[20]
Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under
the broadest definition.
The majority of tree species are angiosperms. There are about 1000 species of gymnosperm trees,[21]
including conifers, cycads, ginkgophytes and gnetales; they produce seeds which are not enclosed in
fruits, but in open structures such as pine cones, and many have tough waxy leaves, such as pine
needles.[22] Most angiosperm trees are eudicots, the "true dicotyledons", so named because the seeds
contain two cotyledons or seed leaves. There are also some trees among the old lineages of flowering
plants called basal angiosperms or paleodicots; these include Amborella, Magnolia, nutmeg and
avocado,[23] while trees such as bamboo, palms and bananas are monocots.
Wood gives structural strength to the trunk of most types of tree; this supports the plant as it grows
larger. The vascular system of trees allows water, nutrients and other chemicals to be distributed
around the plant, and without it trees would not be able to grow as large as they do. Trees, as relatively
tall plants, need to draw water up the stem through the xylem from the roots by the suction produced
as water evaporates from the leaves. If insufficient water is available the leaves will die.[24] The three
main parts of trees include the root, stem, and leaves; they are integral parts of the vascular system
which interconnects all the living cells. In trees and other plants that develop wood, the vascular
cambium allows the expansion of vascular tissue that produces woody growth. Because this growth
ruptures the epidermis of the stem, woody plants also have a cork cambium that develops among the
phloem. The cork cambium gives rise to thickened cork cells to protect the surface of the plant and
reduce water loss. Both the production of wood and the production of cork are forms of secondary
growth.[25]
Trees are either evergreen, having foliage that persists and remains green throughout the year,[26] or
deciduous, shedding their leaves at the end of the growing season and then having a dormant period
without foliage.[27] Most conifers are evergreens, but larches (Larix and Pseudolarix) are deciduous,
dropping their needles each autumn, and some species of cypress (Glyptostrobus, Metasequoia and
Taxodium) shed small leafy shoots annually in a process known as cladoptosis.[5] The crown is the
spreading top of a tree including the branches and leaves,[28] while the uppermost layer in a forest,
formed by the crowns of the trees, is known as the canopy.[29] A sapling is a young tree.[30]
Many tall palms are herbaceous[31] monocots; these do not undergo secondary growth and never
produce wood.[9][10] In many tall palms, the terminal bud on the main stem is the only one to develop,
so they have unbranched trunks with large spirally arranged leaves. Some of the tree ferns, order
Cyatheales, have tall straight trunks, growing up to 20 metres (66 ft), but these are composed not of
wood but of rhizomes which grow vertically and are covered by numerous adventitious roots.[32]
Distribution
Further information: Forest
The Daintree Rainforest
The number of trees in the world, according to a 2015 estimate, is 3.04 trillion, of which 1.39 trillion
(46%) are in the tropics or sub-tropics, 0.61 trillion (20%) in the temperate zones, and 0.74 trillion (24%)
in the coniferous boreal forests. The estimate is about eight times higher than previous estimates, and is
based on tree densities measured on over 400,000 plots. It remains subject to a wide margin of error,
not least because the samples are mainly from Europe and North America. The estimate suggests that
about 15 billion trees are cut down annually and about 5 billion are planted. In the 12,000 years since
the start of human agriculture, the number of trees worldwide has decreased by 46%.[1][33][34][35]
In suitable environments, such as the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, or the mixed podocarp and
broadleaf forest of Ulva Island, New Zealand, forest is the more-or-less stable climatic climax community
at the end of a plant succession, where open areas such as grassland are colonised by taller plants,
which in turn give way to trees that eventually form a forest canopy.[36][37]
Conifers in the Swabian alps
In cool temperate regions, conifers often predominate; a widely distributed climax community in the far
north of the northern hemisphere is moist taiga or northern coniferous forest (also called boreal
forest).[38][39] Taiga is the world's largest land biome, forming 29% of the world's forest cover.[40] The
long cold winter of the far north is unsuitable for plant growth and trees must grow rapidly in the short
summer season when the temperature rises and the days are long. Light is very limited under their
dense cover and there may be little plant life on the forest floor, although fungi may abound.[41] Similar
woodland is found on mountains where the altitude causes the average temperature to be lower thus
reducing the length of the growing season.[42]
Where rainfall is relatively evenly spread across the seasons in temperate regions, temperate broadleaf
and mixed forest typified by species like oak, beech, birch and maple is found.[43] Temperate forest is
also found in the southern hemisphere, as for example in the Eastern Australia temperate forest,
characterised by Eucalyptus forest and open acacia woodland.[44]
In tropical regions with a monsoon or monsoon-like climate, where a drier part of the year alternates
with a wet period as in the Amazon rainforest, different species of broad-leaved trees dominate the
forest, some of them being deciduous.[45] In tropical regions with a drier savanna climate and
insufficient rainfall to support dense forests, the canopy is not closed, and plenty of sunshine reaches
the ground which is covered with grass and scrub. Acacia and baobab are well adapted to living in such
areas.[46]
Parts and function

A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion
Roots
Main article: Root
The roots of a tree serve to anchor it to the ground and gather water and nutrients to transfer to all
parts of the tree. They are also used for reproduction, defence, survival, energy storage and many other
purposes. The radicle or embryonic root is the first part of a seedling to emerge from the seed during
the process of germination. This develops into a taproot which goes straight downwards. Within a few
weeks lateral roots branch out of the side of this and grow horizontally through the upper layers of the
soil. In most trees, the taproot eventually withers away and the wide-spreading laterals remain. Near
the tip of the finer roots are single cell root hairs. These are in immediate contact with the soil particles
and can absorb water and nutrients such as potassium in solution. The roots require oxygen to respire
and only a few species such as mangroves and the pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens) can live in
permanently waterlogged soil.[47]
In the soil, the roots encounter the hyphae of fungi. Many of these are known as mycorrhiza and form a
mutualistic relationship with the tree roots. Some are specific to a single tree species, which will not
flourish in the absence of its mycorrhizal associate. Others are generalists and associate with many
species. The tree acquires minerals such as phosphorus from the fungus, while the fungus obtains the
carbohydrate products of photosynthesis from the tree.[48] The hyphae of the fungus can link different
trees and a network is formed, transferring nutrients and signals from one place to another.[49] The
fungus promotes growth of the roots and helps protect the trees against predators and pathogens. It
can also limit damage done to a tree by pollution as the fungus accumulate heavy metals within its
tissues.[50] Fossil evidence shows that roots have been associated with mycorrhizal fungi since the early
Paleozoic, four hundred million years ago, when the first vascular plants colonised dry land.[51]
Buttress roots of the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra)
Some trees such as the alders (Alnus species) have a symbiotic relationship with Frankia species, a
filamentous bacterium that can fix nitrogen from the air, converting it into ammonia. They have
actinorhizal root nodules on their roots in which the bacteria live. This process enables the tree to live in
low nitrogen habitats where they would otherwise be unable to thrive.[52] The plant hormones called
cytokinins initiate root nodule formation, in a process closely related to mycorrhizal association.[53]
It has been demonstrated that some trees are interconnected through their root system, forming a
colony. The interconnections are made by the inosculation process, a kind of natural grafting or welding
of vegetal tissues. The tests to demonstrate this networking are performed by injecting chemicals,
sometimes radioactive, into a tree, and then checking for its presence in neighbouring trees.[54]
The roots are, generally, an underground part of the tree, but some tree species have evolved roots that
are aerial. The common purposes for aerial roots may be of two kinds, to contribute to the mechanical
stability of the tree, and to obtain oxygen from air. An instance of mechanical stability enhancement is
the red mangrove that develops prop roots that loop out of the trunk and branches and descend
vertically into the mud.[55] A similar structure is developed by the Indian banyan.[56] Many large trees
have buttress roots which flare out from the lower part of the trunk. These brace the tree rather like
angle brackets and provide stability, reducing sway in high winds. They are particularly prevalent in
tropical rainforests where the soil is poor and the roots are close to the surface.[57]
Some tree species have developed root extensions that pop out of soil, in order to get oxygen, when it is
not available in the soil because of excess water. These root extensions are called pneumatophores, and
are present, among others, in black mangrove and pond cypress.[55]
Trunk
Northern beech (Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn
Main article: Trunk (botany)
The main purpose of the trunk is to raise the leaves above the ground, enabling the tree to overtop
other plants and outcompete them for light.[58] It also transports water and nutrients from the roots to
the aerial parts of the tree, and distributes the food produced by the leaves to all other parts, including
the roots.[59]
In the case of angiosperms and gymnosperms, the outermost layer of the trunk is the bark, mostly
composed of dead cells of phellem (cork).[60] It provides a thick, waterproof covering to the living inner
tissue. It protects the trunk against the elements, disease, animal attack and fire. It is perforated by a
large number of fine breathing pores called lenticels, through which oxygen diffuses. Bark is continually
replaced by a living layer of cells called the cork cambium or phellogen.[60] The London plane (Platanus
× acerifolia) periodically sheds its bark in large flakes. Similarly, the bark of the silver birch (Betula
pendula) peels off in strips. As the tree's girth expands, newer layers of bark are larger in circumference,
and the older layers develop fissures in many species. In some trees such as the pine (Pinus species) the
bark exudes sticky resin which deters attackers whereas in rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) it is a milky
latex that oozes out. The quinine bark tree (Cinchona officinalis) contains bitter substances to make the
bark unpalatable.[59] Large tree-like plants with lignified trunks in the Pteridophyta, Arecales,
Cycadophyta and Poales such as the tree ferns, palms, cycads and bamboos have different structures
and outer coverings.[61]
A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood
Although the bark functions as a protective barrier, it is itself attacked by boring insects such as beetles.
These lay their eggs in crevices and the larvae chew their way through the cellulose tissues leaving a
gallery of tunnels. This may allow fungal spores to gain admittance and attack the tree. Dutch elm
disease is caused by a fungus (Ophiostoma species) carried from one elm tree to another by various
beetles. The tree reacts to the growth of the fungus by blocking off the xylem tissue carrying sap
upwards and the branch above, and eventually the whole tree, is deprived of nourishment and dies. In
Britain in the 1990s, 25 million elm trees were killed by this disease.[62]
The innermost layer of bark is known as the phloem and this is involved in the transport of the sap
containing the sugars made by photosynthesis to other parts of the tree. It is a soft spongy layer of living
cells, some of which are arranged end to end to form tubes. These are supported by parenchyma cells
which provide padding and include fibres for strengthening the tissue.[63] Inside the phloem is a layer of
undifferentiated cells one cell thick called the vascular cambium layer. The cells are continually dividing,
creating phloem cells on the outside and wood cells known as xylem on the inside.[64]
The newly created xylem is the sapwood. It is composed of water-conducting cells and associated cells
which are often living, and is usually pale in colour. It transports water and minerals from the roots to
the upper parts of the tree. The oldest, inner part of the sapwood is progressively converted into
heartwood as new sapwood is formed at the cambium. The conductive cells of the heartwood are
blocked in some species. Heartwood is usually darker in colour than the sapwood. It is the dense central
core of the trunk giving it rigidity. Three quarters of the dry mass of the xylem is cellulose, a
polysaccharide, and most of the remainder is lignin, a complex polymer. A transverse section through a
tree trunk or a horizontal core will show concentric circles or lighter or darker wood – tree rings.[65]
These rings are the annual growth rings[66][67] There may also be rays running at right angles to growth
rings. These are vascular rays which are thin sheets of living tissue permeating the wood.[65] Many
older trees may become hollow but may still stand upright for many years.[68]
Buds and growth
Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak (Quercus robur)
Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir (Abies alba)
Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago (Cycas circinalis)
Main article: Bud
Dormant Magnolia bud
Trees do not usually grow continuously throughout the year but mostly have spurts of active expansion
followed by periods of rest. This pattern of growth is related to climatic conditions; growth normally
ceases when conditions are either too cold or too dry. In readiness for the inactive period, trees form
buds to protect the meristem, the zone of active growth. Before the period of dormancy, the last few
leaves produced at the tip of a twig form scales. These are thick, small and closely wrapped and enclose
the growing point in a waterproof sheath. Inside this bud there is a rudimentary stalk and neatly folded
miniature leaves, ready to expand when the next growing season arrives. Buds also form in the axils of
the leaves ready to produce new side shoots. A few trees, such as the eucalyptus, have "naked buds"
with no protective scales and some conifers, such as the Lawson's cypress, have no buds but instead
have little pockets of meristem concealed among the scale-like leaves.[69]
When growing conditions improve, such as the arrival of warmer weather and the longer days
associated with spring in temperate regions, growth starts again. The expanding shoot pushes its way
out, shedding the scales in the process. These leave behind scars on the surface of the twig. The whole
year's growth may take place in just a few weeks. The new stem is unlignified at first and may be green
and downy. The Arecaceae (palms) have their leaves spirally arranged on an unbranched trunk.[69] In
some tree species in temperate climates, a second spurt of growth, a Lammas growth may occur which
is believed to be a strategy to compensate for loss of early foliage to insect predators.[70]
Primary growth is the elongation of the stems and roots. Secondary growth consists of a progressive
thickening and strengthening of the tissues as the outer layer of the epidermis is converted into bark
and the cambium layer creates new phloem and xylem cells. The bark is inelastic.[71] Eventually the
growth of a tree slows down and stops and it gets no taller. If damage occurs the tree may in time
become hollow.[72]
Leaves
Main article: Leaf
Leaves are structures specialised for photosynthesis and are arranged on the tree in such a way as to
maximise their exposure to light without shading each other.[73] They are an important investment by
the tree and may be thorny or contain phytoliths, lignins, tannins or poisons to discourage herbivory.
Trees have evolved leaves in a wide range of shapes and sizes, in response to environmental pressures
including climate and predation. They can be broad or needle-like, simple or compound, lobed or entire,
smooth or hairy, delicate or tough, deciduous or evergreen. The needles of coniferous trees are compact
but are structurally similar to those of broad-leaved trees. They are adapted for life in environments
where resources are low or water is scarce. Frozen ground may limit water availability and conifers are
often found in colder places at higher altitudes and higher latitudes than broad leaved trees. In conifers
such as fir trees, the branches hang down at an angle to the trunk, enabling them to shed snow. In
contrast, broad leaved trees in temperate regions deal with winter weather by shedding their leaves.
When the days get shorter and the temperature begins to decrease, the leaves no longer make new
chlorophyll and the red and yellow pigments already present in the blades become apparent.[73]
Synthesis in the leaf of a plant hormone called auxin also ceases. This causes the cells at the junction of
the petiole and the twig to weaken until the joint breaks and the leaf floats to the ground. In tropical
and subtropical regions, many trees keep their leaves all year round. Individual leaves may fall
intermittently and be replaced by new growth but most leaves remain intact for some time. Other
tropical species and those in arid regions may shed all their leaves annually, such as at the start of the
dry season.[74] Many deciduous trees flower before the new leaves emerge.[75] A few trees do not
have true leaves but instead have structures with similar external appearance such as Phylloclades –
modified stem structures[76] – as seen in the genus Phyllocladus.[77]
Reproduction
Further information: Plant reproduction, Pollination, and Seed dispersal
Trees can be pollinated either by wind or by animals, mostly insects. Many angiosperm trees are insect
pollinated. Wind pollination may take advantage of increased wind speeds high above the ground.[78]
Trees use a variety of methods of seed dispersal. Some rely on wind, with winged or plumed seeds.
Others rely on animals, for example with edible fruits. Others again eject their seeds (ballistic dispersal),
or use gravity so that seeds fall and sometimes roll.[79]
Seeds
Main article: Seed
Seeds are the primary way that trees reproduce and their seeds vary greatly in size and shape. Some of
the largest seeds come from trees, but the largest tree, Sequoiadendron giganteum, produces one of
the smallest tree seeds.[80] The great diversity in tree fruits and seeds reflects the many different ways
that tree species have evolved to disperse their offspring.
Wind dispersed seed of elm (Ulmus), ash (Fraxinus) and maple (Acer)
For a tree seedling to grow into an adult tree it needs light. If seeds only fell straight to the ground,
competition among the concentrated saplings and the shade of the parent would likely prevent it from
flourishing. Many seeds such as birch are small and have papery wings to aid dispersal by the wind. Ash
trees and maples have larger seeds with blade shaped wings which spiral down to the ground when
released. The kapok tree has cottony threads to catch the breeze.[81]
The seeds of conifers, the largest group of gymnosperms, are enclosed in a cone and most species have
seeds that are light and papery that can be blown considerable distances once free from the cone.[82]
Sometimes the seed remains in the cone for years waiting for a trigger event to liberate it. Fire
stimulates release and germination of seeds of the jack pine, and also enriches the forest floor with
wood ash and removes competing vegetation.[83] Similarly, a number of angiosperms including Acacia
cyclops and Acacia mangium have seeds that germinate better after exposure to high temperatures.[84]
The flame tree Delonix regia does not rely on fire but shoots its seeds through the air when the two
sides of its long pods crack apart explosively on drying.[81] The miniature cone-like catkins of alder trees
produce seeds that contain small droplets of oil that help disperse the seeds on the surface of water.
Mangroves often grow in water and some species have propagules, which are buoyant fruits with seeds
that start germinating before becoming detached from the parent tree.[85][86] These float on the water
and may become lodged on emerging mudbanks and successfully take root.[81]
Other seeds, such as apple pips and plum stones, have fleshy receptacles and smaller fruits like
hawthorns have seeds enclosed in edible tissue; animals including mammals and birds eat the fruits and
either discard the seeds, or swallow them so they pass through the gut to be deposited in the animal's
droppings well away from the parent tree. The germination of some seeds is improved when they are
processed in this way.[87] Nuts may be gathered by animals such as squirrels that cache any not
immediately consumed.[88] Many of these caches are never revisited, the nut-casing softens with rain
and frost, and the seed germinates in the spring.[89] Pine cones may similarly be hoarded by red
squirrels, and grizzly bears may help to disperse the seed by raiding squirrel caches.[90]
The single extant species of Ginkgophyta (Ginkgo biloba) has fleshy seeds produced at the ends of short
branches on female trees,[91] and Gnetum, a tropical and subtropical group of gymnosperms produce
seeds at the tip of a shoot axis.[92]
Evolutionary history
Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree
Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary
Further information: Evolutionary history of plants
The earliest trees were tree ferns, horsetails and lycophytes, which grew in forests in the Carboniferous
period. The first tree may have been Wattieza, fossils of which have been found in New York State in
2007 dating back to the Middle Devonian (about 385 million years ago). Prior to this discovery,
Archaeopteris was the earliest known tree.[93] Both of these reproduced by spores rather than seeds
and are considered to be links between ferns and the gymnosperms which evolved in the Triassic
period. The gymnosperms include conifers, cycads, gnetales and ginkgos and these may have appeared
as a result of a whole genome duplication event which took place about 319 million years ago.[94]
Ginkgophyta was once a widespread diverse group[95] of which the only survivor is the maidenhair tree
Ginkgo biloba. This is considered to be a living fossil because it is virtually unchanged from the fossilised
specimens found in Triassic deposits.[96]
During the Mesozoic (245 to 66 million years ago) the conifers flourished and became adapted to live in
all the major terrestrial habitats. Subsequently, the tree forms of flowering plants evolved during the
Cretaceous period. These began to displace the conifers during the Tertiary era (66 to 2 million years
ago) when forests covered the globe.[97] When the climate cooled 1.5 million years ago and the first of
four ice ages occurred, the forests retreated as the ice advanced. In the interglacials, trees recolonised
the land that had been covered by ice, only to be driven back again in the next ice age.[97]
Tree ecology
Further information: Forest
Trees are an important part of the terrestrial ecosystem,[98] providing essential habitats including many
kinds of forest for communities of organisms. Epiphytic plants such as ferns, some mosses, liverworts,
orchids and some species of parasitic plants (e.g., mistletoe) hang from branches;[99] these along with
arboreal lichens, algae, and fungi provide micro-habitats for themselves and for other organisms,
including animals. Leaves, flowers and fruits are seasonally available. On the ground underneath trees
there is shade, and often there is undergrowth, leaf litter, and decaying wood that provide other
habitat.[100][101] Trees stabilise the soil, prevent rapid run-off of rain water, help prevent
desertification, have a role in climate control and help in the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem
balance.[102]
Many species of tree support their own specialised invertebrates. In their natural habitats, 284 different
species of insect have been found on the English oak (Quercus robur)[103] and 306 species of
invertebrate on the Tasmanian oak (Eucalyptus obliqua).[104] Non-native tree species provide a less
biodiverse community, for example in the United Kingdom the sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), which
originates from southern Europe, has few associated invertebrate species, though its bark supports a
wide range of lichens, bryophytes and other epiphytes.[105]
In ecosystems such as mangrove swamps, trees play a role in developing the habitat, since the roots of
the mangrove trees reduce the speed of flow of tidal currents and trap water-borne sediment, reducing
the water depth and creating suitable conditions for further mangrove colonisation. Thus mangrove
swamps tend to extend seawards in suitable locations.[106] Mangrove swamps also provide an effective
buffer against the more damaging effects of cyclones and tsunamis.[107]
Uses
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of
forests, which are areas that have a high density of trees. Cultivated trees are planted and tended by
humans, usually because they provide food (fruits or nuts), ornamental beauty, or some type of wood
product that benefits people. An area of land planted with fruit or nut trees is an orchard.[108] A small
wooded area, usually with no undergrowth, is called a grove[109] and a small wood or thicket of trees
and bushes is called a coppice or copse.[110] A large area of land covered with trees and undergrowth is
called woodland or forest.[111] An area of woodland composed primarily of trees established by
planting or artificial seeding is known as a plantation.[112]
Food
Further information: nut (fruit) and fruit
Trees are the source of many of the world's best known fleshy fruits. Apples, pears, plums, cherries and
citrus are all grown commercially in temperate climates and a wide range of edible fruits are found in
the tropics. Other commercially important fruit include dates, figs and olives. Palm oil is obtained from
the fruits of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). The fruits of the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) are used to
make cocoa and chocolate and the berries of coffee trees, Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora, are
processed to extract the coffee beans. In many rural areas of the world, fruit is gathered from forest
trees for consumption.[113] Many trees bear edible nuts which can loosely be described as being large,
oily kernels found inside a hard shell. These include coconuts (Cocos nucifera), Brazil nuts (Bertholletia
excelsa), pecans (Carya illinoinensis), hazel nuts (Corylus), almonds (Prunus dulcis), walnuts (Juglans
regia), pistachios (Pistacia vera) and many others. They are high in nutritive value and contain high-
quality protein, vitamins and minerals as well as dietary fibre.[114] A variety of nut oils are extracted by
pressing for culinary use; some such as walnut, pistachio and hazelnut oils are prized for their distinctive
flavours, but they tend to spoil quickly.[115]
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup
In temperate climates there is a sudden movement of sap at the end of the winter as trees prepare to
burst into growth. In North America, the sap of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is most often used in
the production of a sweet liquid, maple syrup. About 90% of the sap is water, the remaining 10% being a
mixture of various sugars and certain minerals. The sap is harvested by drilling holes in the trunks of the
trees and collecting the liquid that flows out of the inserted spigots. It is piped to a sugarhouse where it
is heated to concentrate it and improve its flavour. Similarly in northern Europe the spring rise in the sap
of the silver birch (Betula pendula) is tapped and collected, either to be drunk fresh or fermented into
an alcoholic drink. In Alaska, the sap of the sweet birch (Betula lenta) is made into a syrup with a sugar
content of 67%. Sweet birch sap is more dilute than maple sap; a hundred litres are required to make
one litre of birch syrup.[116]
Various parts of trees are used as spices. These include cinnamon, made from the bark of the cinnamon
tree (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and allspice, the dried small fruits of the pimento tree (Pimenta dioica).
Nutmeg is a seed found in the fleshy fruit of the nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans) and cloves are the
unopened flower buds of the clove tree (Syzygium aromaticum).[117]
Many trees have flowers rich in nectar which are attractive to bees. The production of forest honey is an
important industry in rural areas of the developing world where it is undertaken by small-scale
beekeepers using traditional methods.[118] The flowers of the elder (Sambucus) are used to make
elderflower cordial and petals of the plum (Prunus spp.) can be candied.[119] Sassafras oil is a flavouring
obtained from distilling bark from the roots of the sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum).
The leaves of trees are widely gathered as fodder for livestock and some can be eaten by humans but
they tend to be high in tannins which makes them bitter. Leaves of the curry tree (Murraya koenigii) are
eaten, those of kaffir lime (Citrus × hystrix) (in Thai food)[120] and Ailanthus (in Korean dishes such as
bugak) and those of the European bay tree (Laurus nobilis) and the California bay tree (Umbellularia
californica) are used for flavouring food.[117] Camellia sinensis, the source of tea, is a small tree but
seldom reaches its full height, being heavily pruned to make picking the leaves easier.[121]
Wood smoke can be used to preserve food. In the hot smoking process the food is exposed to smoke
and heat in a controlled environment. The food is ready to eat when the process is complete, having
been tenderised and flavoured by the smoke it has absorbed. In the cold process, the temperature is not
allowed to rise above 100 °F (38 °C). The flavour of the food is enhanced but raw food requires further
cooking. If it is to be preserved, meat should be cured before cold smoking.[122]
Fuel
Main article: Wood fuel
Selling firewood at a market
Wood has traditionally been used for fuel, especially in rural areas. In less developed nations it may be
the only fuel available and collecting firewood is often a time consuming task as it becomes necessary to
travel further and further afield in the search for fuel.[123] It is often burned inefficiently on an open
fire. In more developed countries other fuels are available and burning wood is a choice rather than a
necessity. Modern wood-burning stoves are very fuel efficient and new products such as wood pellets
are available to burn.[124]
Charcoal can be made by slow pyrolysis of wood by heating it in the absence of air in a kiln. The carefully
stacked branches, often oak, are burned with a very limited amount of air. The process of converting
them into charcoal takes about fifteen hours. Charcoal is used as a fuel in barbecues and by blacksmiths
and has many industrial and other uses.[125]
Timber
Main articles: Wood and Timber
Roof trusses made from softwood
Timber, "trees that are grown in order to produce wood"[126] is cut into lumber (sawn wood) for use in
construction. Wood has been an important, easily available material for construction since humans
started building shelters. Engineered wood products are available which bind the particles, fibres or
veneers of wood together with adhesives to form composite materials. Plastics have taken over from
wood for some traditional uses.[127]
Wood is used in the construction of buildings, bridges, trackways, piles, poles for power lines, masts for
boats, pit props, railway sleepers, fencing, hurdles, shuttering for concrete, pipes, scaffolding and
pallets. In housebuilding it is used in joinery, for making joists, roof trusses, roofing shingles, thatching,
staircases, doors, window frames, floor boards, parquet flooring, panelling and cladding.[128]
Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918
Wood is used to construct carts, farm implements, boats, dugout canoes and in shipbuilding. It is used
for making furniture, tool handles, boxes, ladders, musical instruments, bows, weapons, matches,
clothes pegs, brooms, shoes, baskets, turnery, carving, toys, pencils, rollers, cogs, wooden screws,
barrels, coffins, skittles, veneers, artificial limbs, oars, skis, wooden spoons, sports equipment and
wooden balls.[128]
Wood is pulped for paper and used in the manufacture of cardboard and made into engineered wood
products for use in construction such as fibreboard, hardboard, chipboard and plywood.[128] The wood
of conifers is known as softwood while that of broad-leaved trees is hardwood.[129]
Art
Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree

Besides inspiring artists down the centuries, trees have been used to create art. Living trees have been
used in bonsai and in tree shaping, and both living and dead specimens have been sculpted into
sometimes fantastic shapes.[130]
Bonsai
Main article: Bonsai
Bonsai (盆栽, lit. The art of growing a miniature tree or trees in a low-sided pot or tray) is the practice of
hòn non bộ originated in China and spread to Japan more than a thousand years ago, there are similar
practices in other cultures like the living miniature landscapes of Vietnam hòn non bộ. The word bonsai
is often used in English as an umbrella term for all miniature trees in containers or pots.[131]
The purposes of bonsai are primarily contemplation (for the viewer) and the pleasant exercise of effort
and ingenuity (for the grower).[132] Bonsai practice focuses on long-term cultivation and shaping of one
or more small trees growing in a container, beginning with a cutting, seedling, or small tree of a species
suitable for bonsai development. Bonsai can be created from nearly any perennial woody-stemmed tree
or shrub species[133] that produces true branches and can be cultivated to remain small through pot
confinement with crown and root pruning. Some species are popular as bonsai material because they
have characteristics, such as small leaves or needles, that make them appropriate for the compact visual
scope of bonsai and a miniature deciduous forest can even be created using such species as Japanese
maple, Japanese zelkova or hornbeam.[134]
Tree shaping
Main article: Tree shaping
People trees, by Pooktre
Tree shaping is the practice of changing living trees and other woody plants into man made shapes for
art and useful structures. There are a few different methods[135] of shaping a tree. There is a gradual
method and there is an instant method. The gradual method slowly guides the growing tip along
predetermined pathways over time whereas the instant method bends and weaves saplings 2 to 3 m
(6.6 to 9.8 ft) long into a shape that becomes more rigid as they thicken up.[136] Most artists use
grafting of living trunks, branches, and roots, for art or functional structures and there are plans to grow
"living houses" with the branches of trees knitting together to give a solid, weatherproof exterior
combined with an interior application of straw and clay to provide a stucco-like inner surface.[136]
Tree shaping has been practised for at least several hundred years, the oldest known examples being
the living root bridges built and maintained by the Khasi people of Meghalaya, India using the roots of
the rubber tree (Ficus elastica).[137][138]
Bark
Recently stripped cork oak (Quercus suber)
Further information: Bark (botany)
Cork is produced from the thick bark of the cork oak (Quercus suber). It is harvested from the living trees
about once every ten years in an environmentally sustainable industry.[139] More than half the world's
cork comes from Portugal and is largely used to make stoppers for wine bottles.[140] Other uses include
floor tiles, bulletin boards, balls, footwear, cigarette tips, packaging, insulation and joints in woodwind
instruments.[140]
The bark of other varieties of oak has traditionally been used in Europe for the tanning of hides though
bark from other species of tree has been used elsewhere. The active ingredient, tannin, is extracted and
after various preliminary treatments, the skins are immersed in a series of vats containing solutions in
increasing concentrations. The tannin causes the hide to become supple, less affected by water and
more resistant to bacterial attack.[141]
At least 120 drugs come from plant sources, many of them from the bark of trees.[142] Quinine
originates from the cinchona tree (Cinchona) and was for a long time the remedy of choice for the
treatment of malaria.[143] Aspirin was synthesised to replace the sodium salicylate derived from the
bark of willow trees (Salix) which had unpleasant side effects.[144] The anti-cancer drug Paclitaxel is
derived from taxol, a substance found in the bark of the Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia).[145] Other tree
based drugs come from the paw-paw (Carica papaya), the cassia (Cassia spp.), the cocoa tree
(Theobroma cacao), the tree of life (Camptotheca acuminata) and the downy birch (Betula
pubescens).[142]
The papery bark of the white birch tree (Betula papyrifera) was used extensively by Native Americans.
Wigwams were covered by it and canoes were constructed from it. Other uses included food containers,
hunting and fishing equipment, musical instruments, toys and sledges.[146] Nowadays, bark chips, a by-
product of the timber industry, are used as a mulch and as a growing medium for epiphytic plants that
need a soil-free compost.[147]
Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden
Ornamental trees
Main article: Ornamental trees
Trees create a visual impact in the same way as do other landscape features and give a sense of maturity
and permanence to park and garden. They are grown for the beauty of their forms, their foliage,
flowers, fruit and bark and their siting is of major importance in creating a landscape. They can be
grouped informally, often surrounded by plantings of bulbs, laid out in stately avenues or used as
specimen trees. As living things, their appearance changes with the season and from year to year.[148]
Trees are often planted in town environments where they are known as street trees or amenity trees.
They can provide shade and cooling through evapotranspiration, absorb greenhouse gases and
pollutants, intercept rainfall, and reduce the risk of flooding. It has been shown that they are beneficial
to humans in creating a sense of well-being and reducing stress. Many towns have initiated tree-planting
programmes.[149] In London for example, there is an initiative to plant 20,000 new street trees and to
have an increase in tree cover of 5% by 2025, equivalent to one tree for every resident.[150]
Other uses
Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis)
Further information: Resin, Latex, and Camphor
Latex is a sticky defensive secretion that protects plants against herbivores. Many trees produce it when
injured but the main source of the latex used to make natural rubber is the Pará rubber tree (Hevea
brasiliensis). Originally used to create bouncy balls and for the waterproofing of cloth, natural rubber is
now mainly used in tyres for which synthetic materials have proved less durable.[151] The latex exuded
by the balatá tree (Manilkara bidentata) is used to make golf balls and is similar to gutta-percha, made
from the latex of the "getah perca" tree Palaquium. This is also used as an insulator, particularly of
undersea cables, and in dentistry, walking sticks and gun butts. It has now largely been replaced by
synthetic materials.[152]
Resin is another plant exudate that may have a defensive purpose. It is a viscous liquid composed mainly
of volatile terpenes and is produced mostly by coniferous trees. It is used in varnishes, for making small
castings and in ten-pin bowling balls. When heated, the terpenes are driven off and the remaining
product is called "rosin" and is used by stringed instrumentalists on their bows. Some resins contain
essential oils and are used in incense and aromatherapy. Fossilised resin is known as amber and was
mostly formed in the Cretaceous (145 to 66 million years ago) or more recently. The resin that oozed out
of trees sometimes trapped insects or spiders and these are still visible in the interior of the amber.[153]
The camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora) produces an essential oil[117] and the eucalyptus tree
(Eucalyptus globulus) is the main source of eucalyptus oil which is used in medicine, as a fragrance and
in industry.[154]
Care
Dead trees pose a safety risk, especially during high winds and severe storms, and removing dead trees
involves a financial burden, whereas the presence of healthy trees can clean the air, increase property
values, and reduce the temperature of the built environment and thereby reduce building cooling costs.
During times of drought, trees can fall into water stress, which may cause a tree to become more
susceptible to disease and insect problems, and ultimately may lead to a tree's death. Irrigating trees
during dry periods can reduce the risk of water stress and death.[155]
Mythology
Main article: Tree worship
Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology
Trees have been venerated since time immemorial. To the ancient Celts, certain trees, especially the
oak, ash and thorn, held special significance[156] as providing fuel, building materials, ornamental
objects and weaponry. Other cultures have similarly revered trees, often linking the lives and fortunes of
individuals to them or using them as oracles. In Greek mythology, dryads were believed to be shy
nymphs who inhabited trees.
The Oubangui people of west Africa plant a tree when a child is born. As the tree flourishes, so does the
child but if the tree fails to thrive, the health of the child is considered at risk. When it flowers it is time
for marriage. Gifts are left at the tree periodically and when the individual dies, their spirit is believed to
live on in the tree.[157]
Trees have their roots in the ground and their trunk and branches extended towards the sky. This
concept is found in many of the world's religions as a tree which links the underworld and the earth and
holds up the heavens. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is a central cosmic tree whose roots and branches
extend to various worlds. Various creatures live on it.[158] In India, Kalpavriksha is a wish-fulfilling tree,
one of the nine jewels that emerged from the primitive ocean. Icons are placed beneath it to be
worshipped, tree nymphs inhabit the branches and it grants favours to the devout who tie threads
round the trunk.[159] Democracy started in North America when the Great Peacemaker formed the
Iroquois Confederacy, inspiring the warriors of the original five American nations to bury their weapons
under the Tree of Peace, an eastern white pine (Pinus strobus).[160] In the creation story in the Bible,
the tree of life and the knowledge of good and evil was planted by God in the Garden of Eden.[161]
Sacred groves exist in China, India, Africa and elsewhere. They are places where the deities live and
where all the living things are either sacred or are companions of the gods. Folklore lays down the
supernatural penalties that will result if desecration takes place for example by the felling of trees.
Because of their protected status, sacred groves may be the only relicts of ancient forest and have a
biodiversity much greater than the surrounding area.[162] Some Ancient Indian tree deities, such as
Puliyidaivalaiyamman, the Tamil deity of the tamarind tree, or Kadambariyamman, associated with the
kadamba tree were seen as manifestations of a goddess who offers her blessings by giving fruits in
abundance.[163]
Superlative trees
The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume
Main article: List of superlative trees
Trees have a theoretical maximum height of 130 m (430 ft),[164] but the tallest known specimen on
earth is believed to be a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) at Redwood National Park, California. It
has been named Hyperion and is 115.85 m (380.1 ft) tall.[165] In 2006, it was reported to be 379.1 ft
(115.5 m) tall.[166] The tallest known broad-leaved tree is a mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) growing
in Tasmania with a height of 99.8 m (327 ft).[167]
The largest tree by volume is believed to be a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) known as the
General Sherman Tree in the Sequoia National Park in Tulare County, California. Only the trunk is used in
the calculation and the volume is estimated to be 1,487 m3 (52,500 cu ft).[168]
The oldest living tree with a verified age is also in California. It is a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus
longaeva) growing in the White Mountains. It has been dated by drilling a core sample and counting the
annual rings. It is estimated to currently be 5,069 years old.[a][169]
A little farther south, at Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico, is the tree with the broadest trunk. It is a
Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) known as Árbol del Tule and its diameter at breast height
is 11.62 m (38.1 ft) giving it a girth of 36.2 m (119 ft). The tree's trunk is far from round and the exact
dimensions may be misleading as the circumference includes much empty space between the large
buttress roots.[170]
SCIENTIFIC NAME
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Plants are extremely complex and diverse, and there are millions of different plant species— some that

Bryophytes reproduce through spores.

 Regarding physical appearance, pteridophytes are extremely diverse, and no single

Giant Sequioa Tree

 Despite their diversity, this phylum is united by several distinguishing characteristics:

1. ovules/seeds that are enclosed within the carpel/fruit.

Family Myrtaceae and subfamily Myrtoideae

Green guavas (Psidium guajava)

Origin and Distribution

Guava leaves are available year-round.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Shield fern (Dryopteris dilatata)

Shield fern (Dryopteris dilatata)

Scientific Names of Edible Plants

Whisk fern (Psilotum nudum)

giant horsetail of Europe

giant horsetail of Europe

Giant horsetail of Europe (Equisetum telmateia).

Plant Classifications: Gymnosperms and Angiosperms

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The outer layers and internal structures of a rice grain.

The outer layers and internal structures of a rice grain.

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G.E. Hyde—NHPA/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Cycad (Cycas revoluta).

Cycad (Cycas revoluta).

John Kohout—Root Resources/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Plant Physiology: Mass Flow

Plant Physiology: Mass Flow

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Leaves and roots

Common leaf morphologies.

Common leaf morphologies.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Diagram of a typical flowering plant (angiosperm).

Diagram of a typical flowering plant (angiosperm).

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

plant: flowers attract pollinators

plant: flowers attract pollinators

Flowers attract pollinators such as bees.

Fruits and seeds

The Importance Of Trees

Citrus orchards outside Kāzerūn, Iran.J.P. Vuillomenet—Rapho/Photo Researchers

Trees of special interest

Mangrove (Rhizophora), showing viviparous (germinating on parent) seedlingsRudolf Schmid

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Talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) in bloom.W.H. Hodge

Thomas H. EverettLillian M. Weber

Why Do Leaves Fall in Autumn?

Having leaves is harder than you think.

General features of the tree body

The anatomy and organization of wood

Types of cells present in hardwoods and softwoods.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Trees of the World

Which of these has the softest wood?