Tree

Images & Videos

Tall giant sequoia trees with reddish bark and thick trunks rise closely together in a dense forest at Sequoia National Park, California.

A single acacia tree with a wide, flat canopy stands in golden grass on the savanna in Zimbabwe, Africa, with shrubs and trees in the background.

A child stands beneath the massive, sprawling branches of the Angel Oak tree covered in green moss on John's Island, South Carolina.

Fan-shaped green leaves of a Ginkgo biloba tree branch against a softly blurred light background.

Monkey puzzle tree

A Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens) tree with dense, blue-green needles stands on a grassy lawn surrounded by other trees and greenery.

Cream-colored magnolia flower in full bloom on a tree branch, surrounded by large, glossy green leaves.

Tall Ponderosa pine trees spaced apart in an open woodland with green underbrush, San Juan National Forest, Colorado.

At a Glance

Douglas fir trees

Tree: Media

plant

Videos

How high can a tree grow?

How high can a tree grow?

Learn why there are limits on a tree's height but not its width; included is a discussion...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Hiroshi Tanaka/Dreamstime.com

Meet the tulip tree: More than just beautiful blooms

Meet the tulip tree: More than just beautiful blooms

A discussion of the distinctive features of tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera).

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Discover how water moves through plants, including osmosis and transpiration

Discover how water moves through plants, including osmosis and transpiration

Learn how plants use osmosis to absorb water through their roots and use transpiration...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

How bacteria recycle forest litter into minerals

How bacteria recycle forest litter into minerals

The decomposition of forest litter and its mineralization.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Understand the processes of production and emission of methane gas in wetlands

Understand the processes of production and emission of methane gas in wetlands

Learn about the emission of methane, a greenhouse gas, by trees in wetland ecosystems.

Video: © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Three animated trees without leaves, covered in snow against a blue sky.

How Trees Survive Winter

Trees have to cope with extreme temperatures, water availability, and other seasonal...

Video: © MinuteEarth (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

See how smut fungus destroys corn smut

See how smut fungus destroys corn smut

Some fungi are important pathogens of plants that cause diseases such as corn smut,...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Learn how the collaboration between accounting and botany helps in producing a better understanding of carbon sequestration by trees

Learn how the collaboration between accounting and botany helps in producing a better understanding of carbon sequestration by trees

Discover how the collaboration between the diverse fields of accounting and botany...

Video: © University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

How are trees pruned?

How are trees pruned?

Learn how fruit trees are pruned.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Images

Tall giant sequoia trees with reddish bark and thick trunks rise closely together in a dense forest at Sequoia National Park, California.

Giant sequoia

A stand of giant sequoia trees (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in Sequoia National...

© lucky-photo/stock.adobe.com

A single acacia tree with a wide, flat canopy stands in golden grass on the savanna in Zimbabwe, Africa, with shrubs and trees in the background.

Acacia tree

An iconic acacia tree (Acacia species) on a savanna in Zimbabwe.

© EcoView/stock.adobe.com

A child stands beneath the massive, sprawling branches of the Angel Oak tree covered in green moss on John's Island, South Carolina.

Southern live oak

Angel Oak is a massive Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) on Johns Island...

© Benjamin/stock.adobe.com

Cycads

Cycads

Modjadji cycads (Encephalartos transvenosus) in Pretoria National Botanical...

JMK

Fan-shaped green leaves of a Ginkgo biloba tree branch against a softly blurred light background.

Ginkgo leaves

The leathery fan-shaped leaves of a ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba), a gymnosperm.

© hiromi8787/stock.adobe.com

Monkey puzzle tree

Monkey puzzle tree

Cones and branches of a monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), native...

© Caroline Mcauliffe—EyeEm/Getty Images

A Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens) tree with dense, blue-green needles stands on a grassy lawn surrounded by other trees and greenery.

Spruce

Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens).

© Leonid S. Shtandel/Shutterstock.com

Cream-colored magnolia flower in full bloom on a tree branch, surrounded by large, glossy green leaves.

Magnolia flower

Magnolia (Magnolia fraseri).

© s_derevianko/stock.adobe.com

Tall Ponderosa pine trees spaced apart in an open woodland with green underbrush, San Juan National Forest, Colorado.

Pine woodland

A stand of ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa) in San Juan National Forest,...

© Dominic Gentilcore/stock.adobe.com

Joshua tree

Joshua tree

A lone Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) in in Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave...

© choness—iStock /Getty Images

A sawmill with stacks of cut logs sits at the edge of dense pine and eucalyptus forest, with scattered white buildings and dirt roads in the hilly Highveld of western Swaziland.

Eswatini: Highveld region

Sawmill at the foot of an artificially established forest of pine and eucalyptus...

© John Moss/Photo Researchers

World map displaying the geographic distribution of forests by wood type, with tropical hardwood forests in light green mainly near the equator, temperate hardwood forests in teal in parts of North America, Europe, and Asia, softwood (coniferous) forests in purple across northern regions, and mixed forests in blue in select temperate zones. Examples of tree species for each category are listed at the bottom of the map.

Geographic distribution of the world's forests by categories of wood

Map showing the geographic distribution of the world's forests, differentiated by...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A woman crouches on the ground weaving large green coconut palm fronds into mats, surrounded by palm leaves, in an outdoor workspace in Chapra, India.

Coconut frond weaving

A woman weaving a large coconut frond (a single leaf) to use as a mat in Chapra,...

© Manjunatha S/Dreamstime.com

Rows of young macadamia nut trees grow in a neatly arranged orchard on rolling green hills at Bangalow, New South Wales, Australia.

Macadamia nuts

An orchard of macadamia nut trees at Bangalow, New South Wales, Australia.

© Pawel Papis/Dreamstime.com

$White latex sap drips from a cut in the bark of a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) into a small black container on a plantation, with green foliage in the background.$

Rubber tree plantation

Latex flows into a container in from a cultivated rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis).

© Chonticha Wat/Dreamstime.com

Mozambique: mangroves on coast

Mozambique: mangroves on coast

Mangroves on the Indian Ocean coast of Mozambique.

© EcoView/Fotolia

Banyan tree

Banyan tree

Banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), with aerial roots, in India.

© styf/Fotolia

Large ombu tree with thick, twisting trunks and spreading branches, standing in a grassy area in Uruguay.

Ombu

Ombu tree (Phytolacca dioica) in Uruguay.

© Joel Blit/Shutterstock.com

Traveler's tree

Traveler's tree

A cluster of traveler's trees (Ravenala madagascariensis).

Nolege

Tall redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) with straight trunks and green foliage, viewed from below in a dense California forest.

Coast redwood

Stand of coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens).

© Sundry Photography/Shutterstock.com

Massive baobab tree with a thick, cylindrical trunk and spreading bare branches, standing in dry soil at Reinala Arboretum, Ifaty, Madagascar.

Baobab

A fony baobab tree (Adansonia rubrostipa), estimated to be more than 1,000...

© David Thyberg/Shutterstock.com

growth regions of a tree

growth regions of a tree

Growth regions of a tree(A) Longitudinal...

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.

Illustration of a tree trunk cross-section with labeled features including outer and inner bark, sapwood, heartwood, pith, and growth rings, plus radial, tangential, and transverse surfaces.

transverse slice of tree trunk

A transverse slice of tree trunk, depicting major features visible to the unaided...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Diagram comparing xylem and phloem cells, showing labeled illustrations of a vessel member, tracheids, and fiber for xylem on the left, and a sieve element, companion cell, sieve plate, sieve areas, and fiber for phloem on the right.

phloem and xylem cells

Cells of the (left) phloem and (right) xylem.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Diagram showing a cross-section of a tree trunk with detailed illustrations of the different cell types found in hardwoods and softwoods, including ray cells, tracheids, parenchyma, vessel members, and fibers, highlighting the cellular composition of wood.

types of cells present in hardwoods and softwoods

Types of cells present in hardwoods and softwoods.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A cross section of a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) tree trunk shows annual growth rings, with labeled points marking key life events such as seedling growth, insect damage, fire, and mature stages. Small illustrations around the trunk depict these events, including a young seedling, growing tree, insect infestation, fire damage, and the tree's mature and dead forms.

growth of Douglas fir tree

Annual growth rings of a tree trunk(A)...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

types of wood based on xylem structure

types of wood based on xylem structure

Types of wood based on xylem structure as...

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.

Close-up of rough, textured pine bark with orange and gray patches, with blurred trees and greenery in the background.

Bark

Bark of a pine tree.

© Fajrul Islam—Moment/Getty Images

Rainbow eucalyptus

Rainbow eucalyptus

Close-up of the colorful bark of a rainbow eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta)...

© Bruce Walters

Grove of paper birch trees with white bark and yellow autumn leaves, with green foliage and undergrowth visible among the trunks.

Paper birch

Grove of paper birch (Betula papyrifera) trees in autumn.

© Kelly Vandellen/Dreamstime.com

roots

roots

Exposed tree roots.

© Thna Wuthi Chea Raka—EyeEm/Getty Images

Bald cypress trees with wide, flared trunks stand in still, shallow water in a Louisiana swamp, their green foliage creating a dense canopy.

Bald cypress swamp

Stately bald cypresses (Taxodium distichum) thriving in a Louisiana swamp.

© Kathryn8—E+/Getty Images

Mangrove pneumatophores

Mangrove pneumatophores

Pneumatophores of the black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) encrusted with...

Thomas Eisner

Wooden boardwalk trail winding through a flooded swamp with tall bald cypress and tupelo trees in Congaree National Park, South Carolina.

Congaree National Park

Swamp with bald cypress and tupelo trees along a boardwalk trail in Congaree National...

© Mark C Stevens—Moment/Getty Images

A tall kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) stands alone on a grassy hill with distant mountains and clouds in the background.

Stately kapok

Kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra).

© Jacinto Yoder/Shutterstock.com

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

A large eucalyptus tree growing along the Werribee River in Australia.

© Veronica Todaro Collection—iStock/Getty Images

Stone pine trees with rounded canopies stand amid low shrubs and flowering yellow bushes in Donana National Park, Huelva province, Andalusia, Spain.

Stone pine

A stand of stone pines (Pinus pinea) in Doñana National Park near Seville,...

© Martin Ruegner—Photographer's Choice RF/Getty Images

Bristlecone pine

Bristlecone pine

Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) growing in Great Basin National...

© Credit: AvatarKnowmad—iStock/Getty Images

Fir and hemlock

Fir and hemlock

Rocky Mountain fir (Abies lasiocarpa, center) among mountain hemlock (Tsuga...

© Walter Siegmund

Tall Coastal Douglas fir tree (Pseudotsuga menziesii) with dense, dark green needles, standing on grassy ground under a blue sky.

Douglas fir

A Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in Oregon.

© R. Sacco—De Agostini/Getty Images

Rainforest

Rainforest

A rainforest near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

© Ninara (CC BY 2.0)

Dense cluster of white pine trees, Pinus strobus, showing long, slender green needles and bushy branches.

White pine

Branches of white pine (Pinus strobus).

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Boojum tree

Boojum tree

Boojum tree, or cirio (Fouquieria columnaris). With the exception of a small...

Tomas Castelazo

Cross section of a tree trunk with visible concentric growth rings and rough bark around the edge, isolated on a white background.

Annual growth rings

Cross-section of a tree trunk showing growth rings.

© Maksim Masalski/Dreamstime.com

Severely defoliated spruce trees stand amid snow in Karkonosze National Park, Poland.

The visible effects of acid rain on spruce trees.

Spruce trees damaged by acid rain in Karkonosze National Park, Poland.

Simon Fraser—Science Photo Library/Photo Researchers, Inc.

Annual rings in the trunk of a tree at its base

Annual rings in the trunk of a tree at its base

Grant Heilman/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Joshua tree

Joshua tree

Western Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) in Joshua Tree National Park, California,...

AdstockRF

New Zealand: tropical forest

New Zealand: tropical forest

Saplings, shrubs, and mid-level plants in a tropical forest in New Zealand.

© Les Cunliffe/Fotolia

Diagram showing a tree trunk cross-section with labeled layers: bark, cork, phloem, cambium, xylem, sapwood, and heartwood. Insets A and B illustrate an enlarged xylem vessel for upward water movement and a mature sieve element for downward sugar transport in angiosperms.

tree vascular system

Figure 7: Internal transport system in a tree. (A) Enlarged xylem vessel. (B) Enlarged...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Diagram showing the process of water movement through a tree, with labeled sections for absorption in the roots, cohesion in the trunk, and transpiration in the leaves. Insets illustrate water uptake by root hairs, upward movement through xylem, and evaporation from leaf stomata.

tree: absorption, cohesion and transpiration of water

Water diffusing into the roots from the surrounding soil rises through the trunk...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Douglas fir trees

Douglas fir trees

Douglas fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the Pacific coniferous forest...

© Pat O'Hara

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