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In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are usable as lumber or plants above a specified height. In wider definitions, the taller palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos are also trees.

Trees are not a monophyletic taxonomic group but consist of a wide variety of plant species that have independently evolved a trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. The majority of tree species are angiosperms or hardwoods; of the rest, many are gymnosperms or softwoods. Trees tend to be long-lived, some reaching several thousand years old. Trees have been in existence for 370 million years. It is estimated that there are around three trillion mature trees in the world.

A tree typically has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground by the trunk, which typically contains woody tissue for strength, and vascular tissue to carry materials from one part of the tree to another. For most trees it is surrounded by a layer of bark which serves as a protective barrier. Below the ground, the roots branch and spread out widely; they serve to anchor the tree and extract moisture and nutrients from the soil. Above ground, the branches divide into smaller branches and shoots. The shoots typically bear leaves, which capture light energy and convert it into sugars by photosynthesis, providing the food for the tree's growth and development.

Trees usually reproduce using seeds. Flowers and fruit may be present, but some trees, such as conifers, instead have pollen cones and seed cones. Palms, bananas, and bamboos also produce seeds, but tree ferns produce spores instead.

Trees play a significant role in reducing erosion and moderating the climate. They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store large quantities of carbon in their tissues. Trees and forests provide a habitat for many species of animals and plants. Tropical rainforests are among the most biodiverse habitats in the world. Trees provide shade and shelter, timber for construction, fuel for cooking and heating, and fruit for food as well as having many other uses. In much of the world, forests are shrinking as trees are cleared to increase the amount of land available for agriculture. Because of their longevity and usefulness, trees have always been revered, with sacred groves in various cultures, and they play a role in many of the world's mythologies. ( Full article...)

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Old Tjikko

Old Tjikko is an approximately 9566 year-old Norway spruce, located on Fulufjället Mountain of Dalarna province in Sweden. Old Tjikko originally gained fame as the "world's oldest tree". Old Tjikko is, however, a clonal tree that has regenerated new trunks, branches and roots over millennia rather than an individual tree of great age. Old Tjikko is recognized as the oldest living Picea abies and the fourth-oldest known clonal tree.

The age of the tree was determined by carbon dating of genetically matched plant material collected from under the tree, as dendrochronology does not work for clonal trees. The trunk itself is estimated to be only a few centuries old, but the plant has survived for much longer due to a process known as layering (when a branch comes in contact with the ground, it sprouts a new root), or vegetative cloning (when the trunk dies but the root system is still alive, it may sprout a new trunk). ( Full article...)

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... that the Easter egg tree (pictured) in Saalfeld, Thuringia, was decorated with 10,000 Easter eggs in 2012?
... that the most popular species for Christmas trees in Denmark and most of Europe is the Nordmann fir?
... that seed of the African teak tree is largely dispersed by fruit bats?
... that Trichia decipiens live on deadwood of conifers and leaf trees all year around?
... that Aecidium mori causes mulberry rust disease on the mulberry flowering plant, which decreases the quantity of leaves on the trees?
... that the satinleaf tree is endangered in its native Florida, but an invasive weed in Hawaii?
... that the Brown Treecreeper spirals up and down tree trunks while foraging?

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Ripe fruit and attached drupe, which contains the edible seed

Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree Anacardium occidentale, in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as 14 metres (46 feet), but the dwarf cultivars, growing up to 6 m (20 ft), prove more profitable, with earlier maturity and greater yields. The cashew nut is edible and is eaten on its own as a snack, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. The nut is often simply called a 'cashew'. Cashew can cause allergies triggered by the proteins found in the nuts.

In 2019, four million tonnes of cashew nuts were produced globally, with Ivory Coast and India the leading producers. As well as the nut and fruit, the plant has several other uses. The shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications including lubricants, waterproofing, paints, and, starting in World War II, arms production.^{[
full citation needed]} The cashew apple is a light reddish to yellow fruit, whose pulp and juice can be processed into a sweet, astringent fruit drink or fermented and distilled into liquor. ( Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Buttress roots of the kapok tree ( Ceiba pentandra) (from Tree)
Image 2Proportion and distribution of global forest area by climatic domain, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 3Redwood tree in northern California redwood forest, where many redwood trees are managed for preservation and longevity, rather than being harvested for wood production (from Forest)
Image 4Olive trees in Pakistan (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 5Proportion of forest in protected areas, by region, 2020 (from Forest)
Image 6European larch ( Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduous (from Tree)
Image 7Buds, leaves, flowers and fruit of oak ( Quercus robur) (from Tree)
Image 8Form, leaves and reproductive structures of queen sago ( Cycas circinalis) (from Tree)
Image 9Sugar maple ( Acer saccharum) tapped to collect sap for maple syrup (from Tree)
Image 10Informal upright style of bonsai on a juniper tree (from Tree)
Image 114000 years old Cypress of Abarqu is the oldest tree in Iran and the second oldest tree in the world. (from List of trees of Iran)
Image 12Even, dense old-growth stand of beech trees ( Fagus sylvatica) prepared to be regenerated by their saplings in the understory, in the Brussels part of the Sonian Forest. (from Forest)
Image 13The Amazon rainforest alongside the Solimões River, a tropical rainforest. These forests are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. (from Forest)
Image 14Wind dispersed seed of elm ( Ulmus), ash ( Fraxinus) and maple ( Acer) (from Tree)
Image 15The General Sherman Tree, thought to be the world's largest by volume (from Tree)
Image 16Cracked thorny skin of a Aesculus tree seed (from Tree)
Image 17Northern beech ( Fagus sylvatica) trunk in autumn (from Tree)
Image 18 Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia (from Forest)
Image 19Neem tree at Sant Nenuram Ashram (from Trees of Pakistan)
Image 20 Malus sylvestris (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 21A young red pine (Pinus resinosa) with spread of roots visible, as a result of soil erosion (from Tree)
Image 22Recently stripped cork oak ( Quercus suber) (from Tree)
Image 23Palms and cycads as they might have appeared in the middle Tertiary (from Tree)
Image 24 Latex collecting from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) (from Tree)
Image 25Latvian Pine Forest in Ķegums Municipality (from Forest)
Image 26World production of selected forest products (from Forest)
Image 27Conifers in the Swabian alps (from Tree)
Image 28The Daintree Rainforest (from Tree)
Image 29Share of land that is covered by forest (from Forest)
Image 30 Lepidodendron, an extinct lycophyte tree (from Tree)
Image 31 Alnus glutinosa (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 32Since the 13th century, the Niepołomice Forest in Poland has had special use and protection. In this view from space, different coloration can indicate different functions. (from Forest)
Image 33Selling firewood at a market (from Tree)
Image 34Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021) (from Forest)
Image 35A section of yew (Taxus baccata) showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood (from Tree)
Image 36 Burned forest on Thasos (from Forest)
Image 37Buds, leaves and reproductive structures of white fir ( Abies alba) (from Tree)
Image 38Broadleaf forest in Bhutan (from Forest)
Image 39 Fraxinus excelsior (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)
Image 40Trees in art: Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918 (from Tree)
Image 41A forest near Vinitsa, North Macedonia (from Forest)
Image 42Dormant Magnolia bud (from Tree)
Image 43Forest in the Scottish Highlands (from Forest)
Image 44Diagram of secondary growth in a eudicot or coniferous tree showing idealised vertical and horizontal sections. A new layer of wood is added in each growing season, thickening the stem, existing branches and roots. (from Tree)
Image 45Tall herbaceous monocotyledonous plants such as banana lack secondary growth, but are trees under the broadest definition. (from Tree)
Image 46 Temperate rainforest in Tasmania's Hellyer Gorge (from Forest)
Image 47 Yggdrasil, the World Ash of Norse mythology (from Tree)
Image 48Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Forest)
Image 49 Alleé of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) in garden (from Tree)
Image 50Common ash ( Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved ( angiosperm) tree (from Tree)
Image 51 Priest River winding through Whitetail Butte with lots of forestry to the east—these lot patterns have existed since the mid-19th century. The white patches reflect areas with younger, smaller trees, where winter snow cover shows up brightly to the astronauts. Dark green-brown squares are parcels (from Forest)
Image 52People trees, by Pooktre (from Tree)
Image 53Roof trusses made from softwood (from Tree)
Image 54Rowan tree in Wicklow, Ireland (from List of trees of Great Britain and Ireland)