i E Y E W I T N E S S

TREE
Discover the fascinating world of trees—from
tiny seeds to mighty forest giants
Eyewitness

TREE
 Rowan
berries and
leaves

Blue
atlas
cedar

Weymouth
pinecone

Acorns

Apples

Magnolia
leaf

Willow
Monterey
cypress

Hazelnuts

Victoria plum
fruit Ginkgo leaf
 Eyewitness

TREE
Maple seeds Ornamental apple
fruit

Written by
DAVID BURNIE

Lodgepole
pinecones

Ash leaf

Fungus feeding on
decaying wood
Hazelnuts

Moss on
decaying wood

Oak wood

in association with
THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Lawson cypress
cones Wellingtonia cone

Western
Pinecone red cedar
leaves

Japanese
maple leaf
Editorial team Janice Lacock, Sarah Phillips, David John Pear
Design team Carole Ash, Rebecca Johns, Joanne Little
Managing editors Linda Esposito, Andrew Macintyre
Managing art editor Jane Thomas
Special photography Peter Chadwick, Philip Dowell, and Kim Taylor
Picture research Sean Hunter
Editorial consultants The staff of the Natural History Museum, London

RELAUNCH EDITION (DK UK)

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First American Edition, 1988
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 Yew leaves

Contents
What is a tree? 6
Hemlock
Broadleaved 8 cones

Coniferous 10
Tropical trees 12
The birth of a tree 14
Falling leaves 46
How trees grow 16
The death of a tree 48
Putting down roots 18
Life among the leaves 50
The tree trunk 20
Wildfires 52
The outer skin 22
Pollution and disease 54
From bud to leaf 24
From tree to timber 56
Simple leaves 26
Working with wood 58
Compound leaves 28
Tree care and
Needles and scales 30
management 60
Windswept 32
Deforestation and
Insect pollinators 34 conservation 62
Animal pollinators 36 Did you know? 64
Fruit and berries 38 Identifying trees 66
Seeds and nuts 40 Find out more 68
Tropical delights 42 Glossary 70
Cones 44 Index 72
 What is a tree?
The earliest plants were smaller than a pinhead. These tiny
cells lived in the oceans of the ancient Earth, and, like today’s
plants, required sunlight to grow. The whole plant kingdom
now has evolved to create plants in water and on the land.
To flourish, plants needed a way to support themselves: some
eventually developed a material called lignin, which made their
stems tough and woody so that they could grow taller. The tall
plants did better than the small ones, which had to survive
Homage in stone in their shade. Eventually, plants with a giant single stem
This is a carved Hindu
tree goddess, C.150 CE. appeared: these were the first trees.
Spreading base connects tree
to a circle of roots (pp. 18–19)
that anchor it in ground
Rugged, cracked
bark (pp. 22–23) Broken branch may allow
at base of tree fungi to penetrate trunk

Trunks (pp. 20–21) are

longest and straightest in
trees grown close together

The tree in mythology

All over the world, trees have featured in ancient myths, Norse
folklore, and rituals. Perhaps because of their size and legend
longevity, many religions have regarded them as sacred In Scandinavian
myths, Yggdrasil
symbols, and certain trees have been worshipped as gods: is a mighty ash
the Druids, for example, tree that links
worshipped the oak. Earth with
heaven and hell.
Many legends
Christian belief call it a source
The cross on which of knowledge:
Christ died was the god Odin
symbolically linked with gained his
the tree of life, which wisdom by
grew in the Garden of drinking from
Eden, and offered the spring at
everlasting life. its roots.

6
 Tree or not?
A tree is a tall plant
with a single woody
stem. The three main
groups of trees are
broadleaves (pp. 8–9),
conifers (pp. 10–11),
and palms (pp.
12–13). Treelike
plants also exist,
such as bamboo
(shown above).

Bark becomes
smoother higher
up the tree

Each spring, twigs,

leaves, and flowers
(pp. 32–37) develop
from buds (pp. 24–25)

Branches stay
at same height
above ground
as tree grows,
becoming thicker
each year

Daphne
transformed
Greek legend has
it that to escape
from the amorous
In summer, deciduous
Apollo, the goddess
trees have a dense canopy
Daphne changed into a laurel tree. of leaves, which is shed in
Today, the laurel has a symbolic winter (pp. 26–31)
use as a token of victory.

7
 Broadleaved
Vast areas of broadleaved forests
have been cleared to make way for
fields. Despite this, broadleaved
trees, such as oaks, still remain in
many places today. Broadleaved trees
Hedge maple are so named because most of them have
broad, flat leaves. They all produce flowers, and
after pollination (pp. 32–37), these flowers develop seeds.
Many such trees are deciduous (p. 46)—that is,
they shed their leaves every autumn.

Broadleaved woodland
Young acorns In natural woodlands, the trees’ leaves
attached to intercept sunlight and use it to provide
long stalks the energy they need to grow (p. 16). The
woodlands produce huge quantities of wood,
leaves, flowers, fruit, and seeds.
This generates food for millions
of animals, from tiny micromoths
(p. 51), to the much larger deer.

Oak in full
summer
foliage
Oak in winter

The winter sleep

Although most common in warm
The oaks climates, broadleaved trees can
There are about 600 oak survive in colder regions by
species. Some oaks, like the shedding their leaves and
Young acorns becoming dormant Lichen
English or pedunculate oak on long stalks until spring. growing
(shown here) are deciduous,
on bark
while others are evergreen.
All oaks are wind-pollinated
(p. 32), and all
produce acorns.

Narrow
growth
rings

Hard wood, Leaf litter, rich in decomposing

resistant to decay fungi and invertebrate animals

8
 Crooked branches
grow at irregular
intervals Different shapes
In windy places, branches
on the wind-facing side are
killed, so a tree becomes
lopsided. A tree growing
close to others grows mainly
upward as it reaches for light,
while a tree in the open forms
a leafy crown.
Irregular shape caused
by strong winds

A beech growing Beeches growing in

in an open site a plantation

Broad, leathery leaves in

clusters at tips of shoots
Growth patterns
Most broadleaved trees have a
trunk that grows and divides into
many spreading branches of a
similar size.

9
 Coniferous
Conifers are found all around
the world, but particularly in
colder regions, such as Scandinavia
and Siberia. They are an ancient
group of plants, and fossils show that
their range was once much wider than it
is today. They generally have narrow, hard
Norway spruce
leaves called either scales or needles,
depending on their shape. Nearly all
of them are evergreen. Conifers
produce cones, not flowers.

Coniferous forest
When conifers are grown close together
in plantations, the shade they cast
makes it a poor place for wildlife. But
in a natural coniferous forest,
Shape variations
smaller plants can access
Although many conifers,
sunlight and grow, providing
like the cypress, have
food for many animals.
an upright, conical
shape, others, like
the Scotch pine, have
a fuller profile.
Scotch pine Cypress

Irregular
branching found
The pines only in old
Most of the 100 trees and
species of pine those growing
are found in cold in exposed
Young seed-bearing Mature seed-bearing places
climates, although
cones of Scotch pine cones
some grow in warm
regions. Pine leaves
are narrow needles,
and their seeds Wide growth rings
develop within
hard cones. Pine
wood is soft, and
contains a resin
to prevent decay. Pine needles in leaf litter Resinous wood

10
Bark at the top
of a mature
Scotch pine
flakes off in
thin, reddish
patches

New female cones

take almost two years
to ripen and shed
their seeds

Hard blue-green
needles carried in
pairs around the
sides of the shoots

Christmas trees
The custom of
decorating conifers
became popular in
the 19th century.
Other evergreen
decorations, however, were
used long before the arrival
of Christianity: in pagan Conifer growth pattern
midwinter festivals, the green Most young conifers have a strong leading shoot, and side
foliage of holly or conifers branches are thrown out regularly. Later, their growth may
heralded the return of spring. become less symmetrical, as this Scotch pine shows.

11
 Tropical trees
Rain is essential to a tropical tree’s growth.
In some parts of the tropics, rain falls all year
round, allowing broadleaved trees to grow at an
extraordinary rate. Area for area, tropical rain forests
support the biggest weight of living matter of any land
habitat. In places with wet and dry seasons,
Palm
trees shed their leaves to survive the water
shortage. Others, like eucalyptuses, have tough
leaves to prevent hot winds drying them out.

Buttress roots
In tropical rain forests, tall trees
often compete for sunlight. Where
the soil is thin, they may topple over,
so some species have
evolved buttress Beneath the canopy
roots that spread In tropical rain forests, the
out and stabilize unbroken canopy
their trunks. formed by the
treetops casts
a deep shade
on the ground.

Pointed leaves throw

Natural drainage off rainwater
Many tropical trees have leaves
with pointed tips, such as this
weeping fig. These work like
gargoyles on old buildings,
throwing off the water in
heavy downpours.

12
 Eucalyptuses
Found mainly in the
parched outback and
subtropical forests
throughout Australia,
eucalyptuses are some
of the fastest-
growing trees
in the world.

Island jungle
This tangle of vegetation
is typical of the northern
Australian rain forest. It is
home to tree-ferns, which
look like palms, but are
unrelated to them.

Tree-fern

Leaves unfold like

fans as they grow

Single,
fibrous Eucalyptus leaves
unbranched contain oil, and
stem attract koalas
The one-tree forest (p. 51)
The banyan spreads by forming pillar
roots, which develop from roots that
Each nut is grow down from the banyan’s branches.
encased in a
waterproof,
One banyan in Kolkata, India, has more
lightweight than a thousand pillar roots!
husk
The palms
Roots Nearly all of the roughly 3,000
emerge
species of palms are found only in
through
husk the tropics. The coconut palm’s
nuts float on seawater until they
reach land; the “milk” in the nut
allows the seed to germinate
on dry beaches.

13
 The birth of a tree
The first few months of a tree’s
life are far more dangerous than 5 Shedding
the case
Fourteen days after
the decades, or even centuries, germination, the
two seed leaves, or
that follow. In a good year, a cotyledons, expand.
Previously folded
single oak tree will produce about inside the seed, they
50,000 acorns, but most of these now shed the case,
and the seed leaves
will be eaten by animals, or fall to can start to provide
the seed with energy.
Mature beech tree, more than 150 places where they cannot grow.
years old, growing in parkland
Those that do develop into
seedlings could be grazed or trampled on Seed case
forced off by
by animals, so only a handful will still be
alive a year later. All seeds have a store
Growing up
Five days after
germination, the
4 seed leaves

developing stem has

of food that provides energy to keep them lifted the seed case
alive, and to fuel growth. Germination— off the ground. The
rootlets start to
the real birth of the tree—begins in the branch out just
below soil level.
spring when the days grow warmer.
Emerging
seed
Seed case leaves

Seed case Three-sided

curling seed attached
back to case Crack
caused by Seed Stem Stem
swelling case
embryo
Rootlets
Soil level

Emerging
Seed case root Rootlets

1 The fall
to earth
The beech tree
2 Germination
begins
During the winter
3 Getting
a grip
The developing
Main
root
Main
root
produces its months, many of embryo needs a
seeds, also called the seeds under a firm foothold in
beechmast or beech tree are eaten the ground. A root
beechnuts, in woody by squirrels, mice, appears from the
cases. The tree finches, and jays. The pointed end of
grows a heavy crop remaining seeds the seed and grows
in “mast years,” germinate in early directly downward.
which occur about spring. The first sign It collects water and
one year in three. of life is a crack minerals from the
Some seeds drop in the seed’s hard soil and anchors
right away; others shell as the embryo the seed.
fall to the ground inside it begins
attached to the case. to expand.

14
6 Reaching
for light
The twentieth day
7 Coming into leaf
A month after germination,
the stubby seed leaves are still
8 The seedling
In summer
Fifty days after germination,
after germination, powering the seedling’s growth, the seedling has
the seedling with but the first true leaves are completed most
a shoot is tipped growing. Below ground, the of the growth that
by its first true leaves. root system has become it will make in
With luck, this shoot much more extensive. its first year. True leaves
will eventually become
the trunk of a mature
tree; but if the seedling
is under the deep
shade of its parent,
the young leaves may
be starved of light, and
the seedling will die.

True leaves with

Developing veins as in adult tree
shoot

Seed leaves will

wither at end
of first year

Stem Stem Stem

Seed
case Seed Seed
case case

Main Main Main

root root root

Rootlets Rootlets Rootlets

15
 How trees grow
Trees grow in two different ways. At
the tip of every twig there is a group of
specialized cells. When these cells divide
A living skin they make the twig grow longer, which
Despite losing its makes trees grow taller. At the same
heartwood, this ash
tree survives, as the time, the cambium (a layer of cells
sapwood transports
water and sap.
that covers the woody part of the tree)
produces a different kind of growth. As
the cells in the cambium divide, the trunk, branches, Hidden strength
The strength of a tree’s expanding
twigs, and roots grow fatter. The girth of most mature roots is tremendous. This tree in
tree trunks increases by around 1 in (2.5 cm) every year. Cambodia is slowly breaking up the
old temple wall on which it grows.

Heartwood is Sapwood is composed

The heaviest trees composed mostly of living cells
Wellingtonias and of dead cells
Californian redwoods
grow on mountainsides Sapwood is
composed of
watered by fog that
living cells
rolls in from the Pacific
Ocean. With few strong
winds, the trees’ growth
is unhindered and they
can grow extremely tall.
Bark

Slow growth Fast growth

This branch from a yew Only about 15 years old,
Ground-huggers tree is 75 years old. Its this branch is from a
Trees cannot grow growth rings are packed maple tree. Its growth
in the harsh Arctic closely together. rings are widely spaced.
tundra, but some
shrubs, like this Area of Area of
dwarf willow, flourish. rapid growth slow growth

Sap stain in partially

seasoned wood Lopsided
growth
Off-center growth
Ancient trees rings like this
Bristlecone pines can be produced
are among the in two different
oldest living things ways. First, if a tree
on Earth, up to grows in an exposed
6,000 years old. place, its wood grows
Found at high faster on the side facing
altitude in the away from the wind. Second,
Rocky Mountains, with large branches, faster growth
their growth is Bark often occurs on the underside to help
extremely slow. support the weight of the branch.

16
The growth cycle New leaves
Sapwood
For a few weeks every year grow every year Heartwood
in temperate-region trees, the
growth produced by the cells Growth ring
at the tips of branches is very Twigs grow produced
longer at every year
rapid. So, too, is the growth of
their tips
leaves as they expand after Medullary
emerging from their buds ray carries
(p. 24). The growth in a tree’s nutrients
girth is less noticeable, but it inward
is just as important. The trunk, Cambium is the
branches, and roots can only region of growth Bark
grow longer at their tips, not
farther back, which means that Trunk and branches
once a branch has grown out grow thicker every year
Sapwood is composed
from the trunk, it will always Roots grow longer of living cells
be at the same height above at their tips and
the ground. And as the trunk produce root hairs
can only get fatter, not longer, Roots grow every year (p. 19)
thicker every year
it cannot lift the branches
upward as the tree ages. Heartwood is
composed mostly
of dead cells

A century
of growth Narrow rings show
This trunk from that growth was
slower here
a giant sequoia
is about 100 years
old. The girth of this
species can increase
by up to 3 in (8 cm)
every year.

Wide rings
show that
growth was
rapid here

Fibrous bark
made up of
dead cells
 Putting down roots
Most of a tree’s roots grow outward, forming
a crisscrossing net that anchors the tree
As a tree grows, badgers dig
new tunnels, creating a denlike
into the ground. The roots of a tree 165 ft
home—or sett—among (50 m) tall are likely to reach no more than
the spreading roots.
8 ft (2.5 m) into the ground, but they may
spread outward to a distance that matches
the tree’s height. Over all this ground, tiny root hairs collect
water and minerals and channel them into rootlets. The
precious water passes from the rootlets into the main
roots, and finally into the trunk.

Waterlogged ground
Most trees are unable
to grow in ground that is
permanently waterlogged
because the soil is soft
and unstable. It is also
very low in oxygen, which
tree roots need. But a
few trees can live in
these conditions, such
as mangroves, which are
tropical trees that grow Mangrove swamp
On some tropical coasts, mangroves form bands
on coastal mudflats. They of vegetation that are many miles long.
have two special kinds
of roots: stilt-roots that
arch from the mangrove’s
trunk and anchor the Coming up for air
The swamp cypress
tree in mud; and breathing
flourishes in the bayou
roots that grow up through country of the southern
the mud and are exposed United States. It has two
to the air at low tide, unusual characteristics—
which enables them its knobbly breathing
to collect oxygen. roots, and the fact that it
is a deciduous conifer.

18
The growth of a root
For trees in temperate parts of the world, the yearly
cycle of growth begins with the roots. In spring, the Root hairs
roots grow millions of tiny hairs, which absorb water
and moisture from the soil. At the tip of each root is
a root cap, a layer of cells that protects the root as it
grows. Most of the tree’s nutrients are absorbed by
young roots; old, tough roots are used for anchorage.
Zone of
growth

Reinforced root cap

is pushed forward
through soil

Underground partners
Many roots, such as those from
the pine tree, are linked
to the living
threads of a
fungus, like
the fly
agaric.

Leaf carriers
Earthworms’ burrows let air
into the soil around tree
roots. They also
drag fallen leaves
underground, so roots
can reach their
nutritious minerals.

Living under roots

Burrowing animals, such as
rabbits, can live under trees,
as the roots prevent the
ground from
collapsing.

19
 The tree trunk
The spiral creeper
Just below the surface of a trunk, Treecreepers are small
mouse-colored birds
invisible sap draws minerals up that feed on tree-
trunk insects.
Bird’s nest in a tree from the ground and carries Uniquely, they
nutrients downward from the climb each
trunk by
leaves (p. 17). The tree guards this pathway for spiraling
food with its tough bark. Even so, insects, fungi, around it.

and parasitic plants sometimes breach this

barrier. Nourished by this food, these animals
form the base of the tree-trunk food chain.
Woodpeckers may
excavate and nest in
a hole in dead wood
The living pantry
A number of mammals,
such as squirrels, take
away tree seeds and bury
them. But they do not find
all their stored seeds, and
many germinate. The acorn
woodpecker of southwestern
America stores acorns in
trees or telephone poles.
Acorns in pine bark Acorn
woodpecker

Green coloration
on bark caused by
a thick layer of
minute single-
celled plants called
algae, which reach
the trunk by wind-
blown spores

Living bark growing

over dead heartwood

Fruiting bodies
of fungus has
infected damp wood
Life on the trunk “Eye” in
This is a mature maple’s trunk. Fungi and insects bark is the
scar left by a
will attack dead wood, but the tree will survive
young branch
if living wood supplies water to the leaves.

20
 Nuthatch and Tree-trunk acrobats
young Small birds, like the nuthatch,
can support their weight while
clinging on to a vertical tree
trunk. Their agility enables
them to collect insects that live
in bark crevices.
Many of these
birds fly from
tree to tree,
working their
way upward
as they quickly
scan the trunk
Cross-section of for food.
nuthatch nest

Safety in a tree
Bark ruined Some birds nest in tree-
by squirrels trunk holes and adapt the
in search entrance size and shape
of sap
by adding mud to it. Tree
hornbills have a unique
method: the female
seals the entrance
with a mixture of mud
Healthy side- and saliva, leaving just
branch with a small hole so that
complete bark her mate can feed her.
covering The mud entrance dries
to become very hard,
Side galleries
excavated by preventing predators
growing larvae from breaking in.
Pine weevil

Eggs laid
at intervals
along main
gallery
Main gallery Bark beetles
excavated
by mother Insect miners Wood borers
beetle
Young bark beetles Adult weevils use
excavate galleries their long snouts
as they eat through to chew and damage
the wood. tree shoots.
Bark beetle
galleries

Passengers and
parasites
Trees often play host to small,
harmless plants, such as mosses,
lichens, and ferns in temperate
regions, while in the tropics
they are joined by flamboyant
orchids and bromeliads. More
threatening is the mistletoe:
its sticky seed is scraped off a
bird’s beak onto the host tree’s
bark and produces a root that
grows into the living wood. The
parasitic mistletoe then extracts
nutritious sap from the tree.

21
 The outer skin Bark from an
ash sapling

A tree’s bark protects the tree from

attack by animals and fungi, from
drying out, and, in some cases, from
forest fires. Bark is made up of two
layers: the inner layer, called the bark
Rubber tapping
Certain trees produce cambium, consists of living cells, but
white latex, which is
collected in the bark
when they die they become the outer
to produce rubber. bark and form a highly effective
barrier against the elements.
Bark How bark ages
cambium Old cracked bark The bark of an
ash sapling starts
New smooth, but develops
bark many cracks as
it matures.

How bark grows

Every year, the bark
cambium produces
a new layer of bark,
Young tree
so the oldest bark is
at the outside of a tree.
Mature tree
Bark from a
60-year-old ash
Oak bark is a
natural cork
Cork tile

Thick and thin

The bark of redwoods,
like the wellingtonia on
the opposite page, can
be 1 ft (30 cm) thick.
By contrast, the Bottle
bark of a mature corks
beech tree (left),
may be as little as half
an inch (1 cm) thick.

Double defense
Old bark, like this
from a poplar, is Stripping cork
tough and contains Cork is the bark of the cork
chemical defenses. oak. The outer bark is
Some trees produce stripped away to leave the
chemicals used in bark cambium, which
modern medicine. regenerates new bark.

22
 Irregular
cracking
The horse chestnut
(below) has bark that
is smooth in a young
tree, but that cracks
and splits into small,
irregular plates as
the tree grows.
The past preserved
This piece of hazel bark is about Maple syrup
4,000 years old. The tree that
Resisting decay
The bark of birch is so The early settlers in the United
produced it grew in a marsh States made syrup from the
durable that the North
nearby, and after it died became sugar maple. Sap was collected
American paper birch
covered by peat. Acids in the by pushing a tube through the
was used by American
peat, and the lack of oxygen, dead bark to the sap-conducting
Indians to make canoes.
prevented it from decaying. layer. The sap was then boiled
until just the syrup remained.

Perfumed bark
Made from trees in
India and Sri Lanka,
cinnamon sticks are
produced by cutting
bark off saplings;
when left to dry, the
bark curls up.

Trapped in time The firefighter

About 50 million years The bark of wellingtonia
ago, these insects is thick and fibrous, and
became stuck in this because it lacks resin it
pine resin; fossilized does not easily catch fire,
resin is called amber. protecting it from forest fires.

Deep crack Breathing through bark

All plants “breathe” through their Flaking bark
stems as well as their leaves. This Many conifers, such as this yew,
cherry wood (below) shows the enlarged have old bark that flakes off in
pores that allow gases to penetrate small pieces as the tree grows;
Ivy
through to the wood beneath. the new, red bark is underneath.

Enlarged pores,
or lenticels,
through which the
tree “breathes.”
 From bud to leaf Leading bud
with scales
In tropical rainforests, the climate is ideal for growth partly folded
all the year round, yet very few trees can grow non- back as it
begins to
stop. At higher latitudes, growth is stalled every year burst

by the cold and darkness of winter. Winter buds

Horse chestnut
buds contain the materials a tree needs for rapid growth
in spring. They can be found on all deciduous
broadleaved trees and on many conifers. In some trees, the buds Paired
lateral
contain all the cells needed for the following season’s growth; in buds

others, they contain just the foundations for the following year, Leaf
scar
and the cells divide rapidly once the buds have burst.

Immature One year

leaves ago
Last year’s
growth extends
from the leading
Bud bud back to the
scales girdle scar.
Immature
The horse chestnut Inside stem
Each of the horse chestnut’s a bud
large sticky buds contain the A bud
material for an entire season’s contains immature
growth. When the days lengthen leaves folded inside
in early spring, the coating on a protective case.
the bud melts, and the protective
scales spring back. The cells within
the bud expand rapidly, and in the
One-year-old
space of two weeks, the shoot side shoot Dormant buds
can grow up to 18 in (45 cm). The formed from begin to grow only
leading buds—the ones at the tip lateral bud if the growing buds
of a shoot—contain tightly packed at tip of twig are damaged
flowers and leaves, while the lateral
buds (the ones on the sides of the Girdle scar shows where
branches) contain only leaves. one season’s growth ended
and the next began

Three-year-old side
shoot formed from
lateral bud at tip
of twig
Two years ago
Girdle The twig made a relatively
scar small increase in length and
did not produce any side shoots.

Three years ago

During this year, the twig did not “Witch’s brooms”
grow very much. The twig produced a Infections may cause uncontrolled
side shoot, which is now three years old. bud growth, often seen in birches.

24
 Buds
arranged
alternately
on stem

Fur-clad scale
surrounding bud

Fur-clad
buds Pear in blossom
Magnolias are easy Pre-packed Buds with
to identify in winter. In deciduous flowers whiskers
magnolias, each winter bud is Some fruit trees With its whiskers,
covered by thick “fur.” The buds flower before the Turkey oak—
open in early spring to reveal they come into like all oaks—has
broad oval leaves and large leaf. Each bud has a a cluster of buds
Single bud at tip
waxy flowers (p. 34). Flower flower cluster that opens at the ends of Buds
of each twig
buds may be 1 in (2.5 cm) long. before the shoot develops. its twigs. arranged
Leading bud alternately,
except at
tip of twig
Axillary bud
Opposite buds produces Alternate buds Whiskers
wind-pollinated Poplar, birch, plane, and beech surrounding bud
The buds of trees,
flowers before buds are arranged alternately
such as ashes, are leaves develop Beech buds
in pairs on opposite on the twigs. Beeches cast reveal leaves
sides of the stem. a long shadow, yet the that open
On an ash branch, buds ensure that each like fans
the male and female leaf intercepts the
flowers are created maximum amount
by the smaller Paired black of sunlight.
axillary buds buds typical
of ash Buds arranged
that lie behind alternately,
the leading rather than
bud. The leading in pairs
bud produces
only leaves.

Beech mast
Wayfaring
(p. 40) and leaves
tree leaves
and flowers
Growth occurs
in any direction Buds farther away
from tip of twig
are arranged
Cluster of buds alternately
at tip of twig

Clustered buds Unprotected

Oaks, such as this buds
English oak, have Some trees have
buds arranged in buds without scales for
clusters at the tip protection. The wayfaring
of each twig. This tree makes up for its
gives oak trees lack of scales with a fine
their characteristic covering of hair on the
spreading appearance. undeveloped leaves.

25
 Simple leaves Veins spread out
across the leaf
blade in a network
Microscopic pores
on surface of leaf
allow gases to enter

Leaves take in energy from sunlight and use Leaf

it to turn carbon dioxide and water into sugars. blade

These sugars can then be used as a fuel, or Midrib

they can form cellulose, the substance that
forms the tree’s cells. Leaves of broadleaved Close-up of a
simple broadleaf
trees are either simple or compound (p. 28). Stalk or
petiole

Jagged teeth
Osier around edge
of leaf
White
willow

Upper surface,
covered in
fine hairs

Lance-leaved willows Toothed oval leaves Young giant

Many willows have long, The shape of the cultivated The oval leaves of some
narrow leaves with silvery cherry leaf is common. magnolias can grow up
hairs on the undersides. to 1 ft (30 cm) long.

Saw-
toothed
chestnuts
The sweet chestnut’s jagged,
tough leaves are a familiar
sight in Europe.
Smooth Underside
dark upper
surface
Heart-shaped Copper beech
leaves Soft undertones descended
Symmetrical heart-shaped White poplar leaves from a natural
leaves are uncommon:
Unequal lobes mutation
have downy undersides.
In summer, unequal
the judas tree (above)
leaves grown by limes often
and katsura have them.
become covered with honeydew
Normal made by sap-sucking insects.
holly

Variegated
leaves
In a variegated leaf,
the green pigment Unusual
chlorophyll is reduced pigments
or absent in parts. Cultivated Other pigments mask Cultivated
Variegated Variegated These leaves rarely Japanese the green chlorophyll, Japanese
holly holly survive in nature. maple in dark-colored leaves. maple

26
 Young leaf emerging from
sheath on growing shoot

Central notch
divides leaf
in two
English oak

Variable shapes
Most deciduous oaks have
Two-pointed lobed or toothed leaves,
leaf which feel leathery.
Evergreen oaks have short, White
Parallel lance-shaped leaves. oak
Odd tree out veins Red oak
The two species of tulip tree—
one North American and the
other Chinese—have large, Vine-leaved
flat-ended leaves unlike any Japanese
other tree. This specimen is Ancient maple
a young leaf with two points;
large mature leaves usually
survivor
The primitive
have four points (p. 37).
ginkgo’s fanlike
leaves have not
changed for
more than Handlike
200 million leaves
years. Maple leaves have
handlike shapes.
However, some species,
such as the snake-bark Japanese
Snake-bark
maples of China, Japan, and maple
maple
North America, have scarcely
lobed leaves. The leaves of
another maple, the box elder,
are compound.

City dwellers
Although plane leaves are hand-
shaped, planes are not related to
maples, as their fruits (p. 41)
show. Plane leaves have a tough,
glossy surface that is washed
clean by rain, helping them to
grow in polluted, city air.

Late into leaf

Catalpas, or Indian
bean trees, have some
of the largest of all
simple deciduous
leaves, reaching up to
1 ft (30 cm) in length.
Mature catalpa
Catalapas are natives
of the subtropics.

27
 Compound leaves
Some of the biggest leaves found on
broadleaved trees are compound, and
can measure up to 3 ft (1 m) from stalk
to tip. They grow from a single bud, and
when autumn comes many of them fall
off in one piece, leaving a large leaf scar
where they were attached to the tree.

Odd-numbered leaflets Pea-family Toothed leaves

Compound leaves with three leaflets leaves The rowan, or mountain ash, with
are rare; some maples and Rounded, paired its feathery leaves, grows from
the American hop tree do have leaflets often mean urban streets to rocky hillsides.
them. The European laburnum that a tree belongs
is grown for its yellow flowers. to the pea family. It
includes the North
American robinia, or Leaflets almost
Laburnum black locust, shown. equal sized
leaf

Leaflets larger
toward end
of leaf

Mature hickory

Slender leaflets
The staghorn sumac’s
Hickories and elegant leaves are
walnuts a familiar sight on
The hickories (such as waste ground in the
this bitternut) and walnuts United States and in gardens in
make up a distinctive family of trees. All have Europe. The forked stems of this
large compound leaves up to 30 in (75 cm) long. shrubby tree are covered in fur.

28
 Leaflets
Horse chestnut leaf arranged
in a circle

Mature ash
tree in leaf

Short-stay leaves
In Europe, the ash is the most common
large tree with compound leaves. In
the autumn, the ash is slow to shed its
foliage. According to folklore, the ash
tree possessed medicinal powers, and it
was believed that a sick child would be Palmate leaves
cured if he or she was passed through The leaves of the horse chestnut
the branches of the ash. family have fingerlike leaflets. The
horse chestnut has seven or nine
leaflets; the North American
buckeyes usually have five.

Hercules club

Doubly divided
The Hercules
club from
North America
has huge leaves
that are twice
compound: each
leaflet is attached to
a side stalk. The
leaves may grow up
to 3 ft (1 m) long and
almost as wide.
Doubly divided
leaves are very
unusual, and only
one tree, the
Leaflets paired Kentucky coffee tree
and of equal size from North America
(though not related
to the true coffee
bush), is common.

29
 Needles and scales
The needles and scales of conifers are quite unlike the leaves
of broadleaved trees. They have parallel veins and a hard or
leathery surface. With a few exceptions, such as larches, they
remain on the tree all year. Including the yews, there are
seven families of conifers; the most important are the
pines, redwoods, and cypresses. The pine family also
includes firs, spruces, cedars, and larches. Conifers
have a variety of leaf shapes.
Ornamental conifers
Specially bred conifers can
have green, yellow, or even
blue foliage. These scales
Blue atlas Needles are from a sawara cypress.
Blue-green needles in pairs
cedar of cultivated blue
atlas cedar

Rosettes
Many conifers are cedars,
and can be identifed
by their evergreen Scotch pine
needles that
grow in
rosettes.

Arolla pine Needles

in fives
Needles in bunches
Pines have long needles, which grow in
bunches of two, three, or five. Each needle
Needles in has a thick outer layer, or cuticle, and
threes a coating of wax to reduce water loss.
Flat, dark
green needles Monterey pine

Underside
For all seasons of silver fir
Firs have tough, flat
leaves to cope with
heavy snow. Their
sloping branches
and smooth,
flexible leaves
Graveyard shed snow easily.
sentinel The leaves have a Many fir leaves
Often planted in built-in “antifreeze” are differently
graveyards, toxic yews and are not damaged colored above Upper side
are a symbol of death. by frost. and below of silver fir

30
 Hard, triangular
New leaves with
needles spiked tips

Old needles Monkey

puzzle

Needles on pegs Unique

Spruces have spiky
needles that grow appearance
from small “pegs” on The monkey puzzle, or the
The coppicing conifer their twigs. Christmas Scales around the stem Chile pine, is actually not a
The Californian redwood produces trees are usually The Japanese cedar (actually a pine, but one of an unusual
sprouts from its stump after felling, just Norway spruces. redwood) has small, scalelike family of conifers found mainly
as in a coppiced broadleaved tree (p. 61). leaves around its stems. in South America and Australia.

Young leaves Soft, flexible

in spring needles are
shed every
autumn

Swamp
cypress
Flattened
scalelike leaves
typical of the
cypress family

Bursting into leaf The deciduous conifer Scented leaves

The swamp cypress (p. 18) is a deciduous Larches can grow in the coldest Thujas are members of the cypress family.
redwood. Their leaves are yellowish in climates. Like cedars, they The western red cedar is a thuja. When its
spring, but become green as they mature. have needles in rosettes. leaves are crushed, they smell of pineapple.

Out of the east

The dawn redwood’s feathery
foliage is also known from
fossils. It was thought
to be extinct until Two types
discovered growing of leaves
A contrast in China in Some
in scale the 1940s. junipers have
Although the spiky leaves
wellingtonia, or giant when young
sequoia, is one of the Soft, flat and scalelike
world’s biggest trees, needles are leaves when
it has some of the shed every adult. The
smallest leaves. Its autumn common juniper,
tiny scales are packed shown here, only
tightly around the stems. has spiky leaves.

31
 Leaves sprouting

Windswept Female “flower”

Tree flowers grow in a huge range

of shapes and sizes. All broadleaved
trees produce true flowers, while
conifers grow simpler structures Male “flower”

that are not flowers in the strict Flowers

sense of the word. Many trees first
Larches
rely on the wind to transfer shed their
pollen in
male reproductive cells, or early spring.
pollen, to the female cells. The female
Exposed to the wind “flowers” that
All coniferous trees are wind- develop into
pollinated. In the Lawson cypress, woody cones
male “flowers” develop at the branchlets’ contain the
tips, so the pollen can catch the wind. seeds (p. 44).

Individual male
Male flower within catkin
Male “flowers” “flowers”
on underside (catkin)
of twig

Sticky stigma
traps pollen
floating in air
Anther
Separate sexes
In the yew, the male (shown) and
female “flowers” grow on different Hazel catkin
trees. They develop on the undersides Catkins form in
of its twigs in small clusters. the autumn, but
Early flowering hazel do not open until
The hazel is one of the first
the following spring.
wind-pollinated trees to come
into flower in the spring. If it is above Female
freezing for just two or three days, the hazel
catkins release their pollen into the air. flowers

Female
flowers
Sexes Male flowers
(catkin)
together
The alder has male
and female flowers
Young
leaf that grow on the
Male
flowers same tree.
(catkin)

Wind-blown pollen
The woodland hornbeam In dry weather, alder catkins
The hornbeam is a tree of deep shed millions of pollen
woodland. Its flowers appear just as grains into the air, each
the leaves are beginning to sprout. 0.03 mm across.

32
 Growing shoot Past clues
Cluster of Palynologists can learn
male “flowers” what trees grew where
from pollen preserved
in peat deposits.

Cluster of
female flowers

Pollen everywhere Pollen with sails

Ornamental plane trees shed Pines produce enormous
huge quantities of pollen in numbers of pollen grains, and if
spring. Male and female flower the male “flowers” are given a sharp
clusters hang from the tree knock, a cloud of yellow pollen appears.
in small groups. Like a sail, two tiny air-filled sacs attached
to the grains carry them through the air.
Cluster of male
Scotch pine “flowers”

Straggly catkins
The catkins of the
English oak open
in late spring.
The female flowers
produce the acorns
and are at the tips
of the shoots.

Catkin divided
into three
branches

Female flowers on
stalks, a feature of
English oak Catkin

New and old growth

Branched catkins The walnut’s catkins sprout from
Hickories shed their pollen the previous year’s shoot. The
in early summer from catkins Stigma of smaller female flowers, whose
that are branched into three. female flower sticky stigmas can be seen
The female flowers, which are at the tips here, develop at the end
of the shoots, are quite hard to see. of the new shoot.

33
 Insect pollinators Attracting
by scent
The bird cherry attracts
Tree flowers pollinated by animals, particularly insects not only by
insects, are the easiest to spot. Insect-pollinated color, but also
by smell.
flowers have sugar-rich nectar that draws bees,
Stigma
beetles, and other insects to them. The tiny pollen (female)

grains have a sticky coating that makes them Anther

(male)
stick to an insect’s body so that they can
be transferred between trees.
Insects transfer pollen
from male anthers to the
Ovule
female ovule via the stigma
(female)

Flower made up
of fleshy scales

After pollination,
flowers droop—this clears
a path for bees toward
unpollinated flowers

Kanzan cherry
The Kanzan Japanese
cherry is one of
the most popular
culivated varieties.
Huge clusters of
flowers weigh down
its branches in
An ancient lineage spring, but this
The first flowers to appear variety never
on Earth belonged to magnolia- produces fruit.
like plants, and their cuplike
blooms have probably changed
little in 200 million years.

A wealth of breeding Double ring of

Japanese flowering petals found only
cherries may have in cultivated
come from four varieties
wild cherry
species.

Anthers and
stigma reduced Double ring
in size of petals

34
Ornamental apple One sex at a time
Like all apples, the As in many flowers, the
delicate flowers of stigma of the sloe, or
this ornamental crab blackthorn, matures
have five petals that before the anthers
sit on a cup known as release their sticky
a receptacle. After the flower pollen to prevent
Ring of five
has been pollinated by visiting petals the flower from
insects, the receptacle swells pollinating itself.
to produce the fruit.

Clusters of flowers
on spiny side-branches

Encrusting
lichen

All mixed up
Pollinated by bees, each flower
head of the horse chestnut
is made up of a mixture
of flower types: some are
entirely male, while others have
both male and female parts.
Only the second type can
produce “conkers.”

Ripe
anthers
covered
in pollen

Mixed orchards
The flowers of most
apple varieties will
only produce fruit
if they receive pollen
from a different variety.
For this reason, farmers
often plant different
varieties together.
 Animal pollinators
The flowers of many trees lure animals
that distribute pollen in return for a meal
of nectar, a sugary liquid produced by the
flower. The flowers attract their pollinators
by their color and scent, and are shaped Each flower
has five petals;
so that the animal the lowest
pair springs
becomes dusted open when
an insect
with pollen. lands on it

Spring-loaded
The flowers of the
Judas tree are
arranged so that
the weight
of a
visiting insect
makes them
spring open.

Tiny
flowers Judas
Maples have tree in
clusters of nectar- flower
rich flowers, and each
one has a ring of pollen-
producing stamens.
Cultivated
hawthorn
with
double
ring of
Wild
petals
hawthorn

Soft landing
Small flowers
packed closely together,
like those of the rowan,
provide insects with a
convenient landing platform.

Blaze of color
Hawthorns produce
heavily scented flowers. One
hawthorn, the Glastonbury thorn, is
unusual in that it flowers twice a year.

36
 Flower beginning
to open with sepals
Bract folding back

Flower bud

Flower

Showy petals at
False petals mouth of flower
In most flowers it is the large petals Tube leading
to nectar
that attract pollinators, but some
flowers have evolved other ways of Circle of
getting noticed. This flower (above) six petals
is from a North American dogwood.
The four structures that look like
petals are special leaves called Named for its shape
Sepals folded
bracts, which help to attract insects. The tulip tree gets its name from
back
its cup-shaped flowers, which, like
Beak forms a
narrow tube for those of the related magnolias, are
drinking nectar large and have a central spire.

Tubular flowers
The flowers of the catalpa, or
Bird pollination Indian bean tree, are shaped
In the Americas, hummingbirds so that a visiting insect has
pollinate many species of to clamber deep inside a tube
plants, including some trees. to reach the nectar. In doing
so, it is dusted with pollen.
Hairs at tip of
tongue form
a brush to
collect pollen

Bat pollination
Bat-pollinated trees include
the baobab and kapok (p. 43),
both of which have big flowers Insect lure
that produce a lot of nectar, Elder flowers have a
especially at night. Bats eat powerful smell that insects,
both pollen and nectar, and especially hover flies, find
in doing so transfer pollen highly attractive. This
from one flower to another flower’s perfume can be
on their tongues and noses. noticed in elder flower wine.

37
 Fruit and
berries
After a tree’s flowers have been pollinated,
the female part of the flower produces
seeds. Trees produce bright, tasty
fruit that attracts animals, like birds.
Forbidden fruit In return for a meal, a bird scatters
The fruit that caused
Adam and Eve’s fall seeds in its droppings, and new trees
into sin is often said
to be an apple; the
may spring up where the seeds fall.
Bible just refers
to it as a fruit. Small seed
surrounded by
a fleshy jacket,
known as an aril

Chemical Poisonous
colors fruit
Red berries, like Yews, like
those of the rowan, are colored by junipers, are
carotenoids; they get their name conifers, but,
because they also color carrots orange. uniquely, they
produce juicy,
Mythic mulberry colored “berries.”
According to Greek legend, the mulberry’s A bird can digest
fruit was stained red by the fleshy aril and the
Ripening the blood of the ill-fated poisonous seed passes
black lover Pyramus. through its body intact.
mulberry

Ripe black
mulberry

Silkmoth caterpillars
feed only on white
mulberry leaves

The tenacious elder

Elderberries are often eaten by
Midwinter food birds. The seeds that fall in
Hawthorn berries are a vital food for birds Mulberries
hanging down their droppings can germinate
in winter. They remain on the tree after most beneath leaves and grow with almost no soil.
other hedgerow berries have disappeared.

38
 Science and the apple
Cultivated Apple breeders, or
fruit “pomologists,” use the
science of genetics to
Gardeners have spent produce apples that
taste good and are
centuries adapting fruit
easy to pick.
to human needs. Wild
apples, for example,
are small and bitter,
and loved by birds, but
not by humans. More
than a thousand
cultivated varieties have The “Worcester
been produced, all much pearmain” is a
larger and sweeter than modern variety
their wild counterparts.
This is done by choosing Fleshy layer
develops around
seeds from promising the base of the
trees, and crossing one pollinated flower
tree with another to get
the best characteristics The “russet” is an old, Seeds Pear
from both. established variety
with a thick, rough skin Single, hard pit
typical of plum fruit

Seed

Boundary of seed
compartment
Nectarine

Family likeness Divided up

From pit to fruit Out of the wild The plums also include The seed compartment of apples
Damsons are easy to grow Most cultivated plums
cherries, peaches, and pears is divided into sections,
from their pits. These descend from two shrubs,
apricots, nectarines, each containing one or two seeds.
are some of the smallest the sloe, or blackthorn,
and almonds.
cultivated plums. and the cherry plum.
The citrus fruits
Citrus fruits, like oranges
Seed and lemons, contain fruit
compartments sugars and
visible at flat citric acid.
end of fruit

Sweet and sour

Oranges originally came
from Asia. The sweet orange, used for
eating, and the Seville orange, used for
marmalade, are two different species.

Staple diet
Thrushes, blackbirds,
and many other
birds rely on
berries to
survive the
The ancient olive winter.
The medlar Botanically speaking,
Like the apple, the seed compartment of the the olive is a fruit. Its
medlar is divided into five sections. Medlars oil has been cultivated
are usually eaten only when they begin to rot. for thousands of years.

39
 Seeds and nuts
Seed catkins
Trees disperse their seeds in different ways: some wrap In late summer,
them up in berries that are tempting to birds (p. 38), while wing-nut trees are
covered in giant
others produce seeds inside tough cases. Some trees, like catkins. These
are long clusters
walnuts, produce well-protected seeds that are carried in flanged cases;
away by mammals, such as squirrels, and, although some the short flanges
probably help
seeds are eaten, a number survive and germinate. Other to dislodge the
seeds once ripe.
trees have seeds inside winged cases and these are
carried by the wind. Some riverside trees use water
to disperse their seeds.

Beech banquet Filberts

Annually, beech trees
produce mast, an oil-
rich seed. In the past,
pigs were fattened up
with these seeds.

Cobs and filberts

Wild hazelnuts are sold
Seeds on threads as “cob nuts.” The larger
Each swelling in a filberts come from a hazel
cucumber tree splits that grow in Europe.
open to reveal a brilliant
red seed suspended
on a silklike thread.

Small nuts
Pistachios come
from a small Asian Horse chestnut
tree now grown around cases are
the Mediterranean usually spiny
and in the southern
United States.

Prickly case protects

developing nuts

Winter warmer Shiny “Conkers”

The best sweet chestnuts grow Horse chestnuts, or “conkers,” are
in warm climates, such as in slightly poisonous to humans. Other
Roasting chestnuts Spain and California, USA. mammals, like sheep, can eat them.

40
 Single wing attached Ash keys
to each seed Seeds are often remain
scattered as on tree
pods split open throughout
the winter

Winged cases
hang in pairs

Winged maple seeds Flying keys

When the maple seed falls inside Poisonous seeds Completely female ash trees produce winged
its case, it spirals to the ground The laburnum tree is often
“keys;” however, male trees have no keys.
like a miniature helicopter. grown in gardens, and has
In trees with both male and female branches,
highly poisonous seeds.
only the female ones bear keys.

First arrival
Long clusters Each birch seed
of seeds is enclosed in a
disintegrate
case with two tiny
during
the winter wings. The fruits
Unripe
are light enough seed-
to be blown head
long distances.
Lime nutlets
Lime trees have small
bunches of yellowish
flowers. After these have Ripe acorns
been pollinated, each of Turkey oak
flower produces a furry
nut containing the seeds.

Healthy
unripe acorn
Edible seeds
Most oaks do not
begin to produce acorns until
they are about 50 years old. To a Acorn cup
botanist, acorns are in fact nuts, but deformed into
they are not commonly called nuts “knopper gall”
Alder “cones” because they are not often eaten. by larva of “Sporting” seeds
Alder seeds develop gall wasp The tulip tree’s seeds
inside the female catkin. grow in a pointed seed-head.
Although unrelated, the Originally green, the cluster
Skin surrounding nut gradually turns brown and
mature woody catkin
looks like a pinecone. opens to look like a shuttlecock.

American
favorite
From North America,
the pecan is produced
by a tree related to
Woody Edible the walnut, and its
shell kernel nuts taste similar.
Hairy irritants
Plane tree seeds
The squirrel’s hidden stores Colored skins grow in ball-shaped clusters, which
Many seeds are eaten by squirrels, On the tree, a walnut is covered stay on the tree all winter. In spring
and others are buried to provide by a green skin that turns black, they burst open, releasing the seeds
the squirrels’ winter stores. collapses, and releases the nut. and millions of tiny golden hairs.

41
 Tropical delights
Edible fruit and nuts from tropical Tamarind pods
trees have been bred by man The Indian tamarind
tree is a member
since ancient times. The date of the pea family
(p. 28). The flesh
palm, for instance, has been around the seeds
cultivated for at least 5,000 years. is a valuable spice.

People have also carried many

species from one place to
Dried nutmeg
another to provide food.
Examples include papaya,
avocado, and cocoa, which
originally grew in South
The coconut palm America, and the mango, The spice trade Nutmeg
is a tree that
spreads by
which came from Asia. Many spices produced from tree
seeds are used to flavor food.
and mace
waterborne seeds The nutmeg tree
Hard shell provides two spices:
protects the Stalk attaches nutmeg, which is
nutritious pot to tree
the tree’s seed, and
kernel mace, which is the
fleshy network that
Seeds and case surrounds the seed.
together weigh up
to 3.5 lb (1.5 kg)

Thick wooden
case surrounds
nuts

Brazil nut
These nuts come from the
Amazonian rain forest. The
trees on which they grow
have never been successfully
cultivated, so all Brazil nuts
must be gathered from wild—
and often very tall—trees.

Lightweight husk
acts as a float

Hole closed
Far from home by plug
Many trees that grow
on tropical coasts
Monkey
disperse their seeds,
pot nuts
like this Barringtonia,
by dropping them
into the sea, where
they are carried off
by currents. Many Monkey pot
eventually sink, The “monkey pot” tree produces its
but some do reach seeds in wooden cups that Indians
land and take root. once used for catching wild monkeys. Plug

42
 Meat
tenderizer
The sweet papaya,
or pawpaw, is
rich in papain.
Once extracted
from the fruit,
it is used to
soften meat. Baobab tree
The shrinking tree
The baobab produces
long, sausage-shaped
pods packed with seeds
The mango rich in vitamin C. The
Sweet-tasting mangoes baobab has a huge
come from trees that swollen trunk that stores
originally grew in water. In a drought, the
southeast Asia. tree shrinks as this water
supply is used up.

Date palms

Fruit from the desert Cocoa and chocolate

Date palms are native to Africa and The Aztecs were the first
the Middle East, and grow in hanging to make chocolate from the
clusters, each with up to 1,500 dates. seeds inside cocoa pods.
Coconut germinating
after a sea-crossing
many months long The world’s biggest seed
Grown only in the Seychelles islands, the
coco-de-mer’s enormous nut weighs up
to 45 lb (20 kg), making it the largest
seed of any plant.

Hard
seed
case

Fibers
surrounding
seeds

Natural fibers
Before artificial
fibers were invented,
the kapok tree’s
fibers were used for
stuffing mattresses
and furniture.

43
 Mature

Cones cone Young

cones

Conifers take a long time Young cones

to produce their seeds,
Crossbill feeding which, as they develop, are Tufted cones
Mature
cone
protected by a hard cone. In trees like pines, The cones of the
Japanese cedar
the cone falls off intact some time after the are ball-shaped
seeds have been shed. In others, such as and each scale
has a feather-
cedars, the cone falls apart on the tree. like tuft. Age
differences
Young Douglas When the larch’s
fir cones leaves fall, greenish
Cones become
hard and brown young cones are
when mature visible near the tips
of the branches.

Mature
cone Smooth Spruce
Spruce cones are
smooth and slightly
The “fake” fir Small cones
flexible, unlike hard
Unlike the cones of true cedars, the
True firs have cones pinecones.
Western red cedar, a species of thuja (p. 31),
that fall apart on the
has clusters of tiny cones among its leaves.
tree. The unrelated
Douglas fir has
cones that fall to
the ground intact.

Young
cones on
branch
A giant’s cones
The wellingtonia, or giant sequoia,
has small round cones that take
two years to ripen.

Disintegrating cone

Scale
with
seeds
On show
Cedar cones
Mature can take three
cones years to grow,
and a number
of years to
Round cones Opening up disintegrate.
Cypress cones are small and Cypress cones have Egg-shaped cones
rounded, and often grow in 6–12 disklike scales The cones of true cedars
clusters. When the cones are that part from each are smooth and egg-shaped.
young, as this Lawson cypress other as it matures, They consist of a spiral stack
shows, they are blue-green like this Monterey of scales, each of which has
and tightly closed. cypress cone. two seeds attached to it.

44
 Shell Mature
surrounding cone
seed kernel

Young cone

Mature cone

Scale
Scotch pine seeds
Native pine
Inside a pinecone The Scotch pine has
It takes up to three years for the female pine “flower” to develop Young green cones small pointed cones.
from a soft, pea-sized cone into the familiar seed-bearing cone. It is one of just three
Pine seeds develop in pairs, with two seeds being attached conifers native to
to each scale in the cone. In the stone pine, whose cone is shown Britain, alongside the
here sliced in half, the seeds are large and have a tough yew and juniper.
shell. These seeds are the pine kernels that are used in cooking.

Scales open in
dry weather Scales close
completely in
wet weather

White tips
Weymouth, or white
pine, have cylindrical
Scales begin cones that look like
to close with spruce cones. The
moist air white marks at the
tips of the scales
is resin that oozes
from the young cone.
A change in weather?
Pinecones can be used to
forecast the weather. Cones Sugar pine seeds
release their seeds in dry have wings up to
weather; when it is damp, Paired cones 4 cm (1.5 in) long
the scales close up to of cluster pine
keep the seeds dry.

Californian giant
Found in the mountains of the western
United States, the sugar pine has some of
Cones in clusters Old cone that the largest cones of any conifer. The cones
Cones develop from female has shed most are usually about 15 in (40 cm) long, but in
“flowers” that grow in groups of its seeds some specimens they can reach lengths
on developing shoots. Many pines of up to 2 ft (65 cm). A single cone
have cones that develop in pairs. can weigh as much as a pound (500 g).

45
Falling leaves
Leaves get their color from the green pigment they contain
called chlorophyll, which harnesses the energy in sunlight.
Plants often have “accessory” pigments as well that absorb
light of different wavelengths, and pass on the energy to the
chlorophyll. Before a deciduous tree sheds its leaves, the
Climatic variation
balance of these pigments changes, and the result is often Cherry leaves turn red
a brilliant burst of color. or yellow, depending on
both tree and climate.

Bred for color

Some trees are grown
especially for their autumn
colors. With the exquisite
Japanese maples, some
plant breeders have
attempted to improve on
nature by accentuating
this feature.
Garden glory
Persian ironwood has some of the richest
autumn colors of all trees. The reds,
American fall oranges, and yellows in its leaves are
Oaks and sugar maples created by two “accessory” pigments,
make up most of the carotenoid and anthocyanin. Carotenoids
colors of a New also provide the color of many other
England autumn. vegetables, fruits, and flowers.

Yellow color produced

by a carotenoid
pigment

Designed
for disposal Colorful
Annually, a deciduous relatives
tree, like a horse The more sugars a
chestnut, invests a lot leaf contains, the brighter its autumnal colors
of energy in producing new leaves and then throwing them are likely to be. The sycamore, a European
away. Unlike the evergreen conifers, deciduous trees do not maple, has fairly bright colors, but they
need resins or a thick coating of wax to defend their leaves. cannot rival the brilliance of American maples.
 Next year’s bud

Leaf stalk

Corky layer

Why leaves fall

During autumn, cork
grows across the leaf
stalk, eventually causing
the death of the leaf.

Pigment
destruction
Working inward from
the leaf’s edge, this
snake-bark maple
shows the destruction
of chlorophyll.

Transatlantic color spectrum

Most European oaks turn a dull brown in
autumn, while in North America the leaves
of some red oaks turn bright crimson.
Area
Area with
without
chlorophyll
chlorophyll
Holding on
Dead leaves are not always shed
immediately; young beeches keep many
of their leaves until the next spring.

Waste removal
As well as reabsorbing
minerals from its leaves,
a tree also deposits waste
products in them before
they fall. This produces brownish
colors, as in this tulip tree leaf.

Internal destruction Changing color

In this hickory leaflet, the chlorophyll is As a leaf dies, the carotenoids turn from yellow
being destroyed inward from the leaf to orange to red, while scarlet anthocyanins
edge, and outward from the leaf’s midrib. are produced from sugars in the leaf.

47
 The death of a tree
From the moment they germinate, trees live side by side with
the organisms that will eventually kill them. Insects create
small wounds in their wood, ivy scrambles up their trunks,
Petrified wood and deadly fungal spores settles on their branches. The tree
Buried in a water-
logged area or battles to survive for several years,
in peat, a tree may
become petrified but as less and less living wood
wood, as minerals
preserve its shape.
remains, it eventually dies.

Deer feed on
sapling bark,
reducing a
tree’s sap

Competing
for light A living carpet
Ivy weakens trees by Once wood rots, it soaks up
reducing the light supply. As ivy water like a sponge, making it
Thick shiny
climbs up, rootlets become attached to leaves reduce a perfect surface for moisture-
the trunk and branches. water loss loving plants to grow on. This
Double trunks dead log is covered by ferns
The left of these
Dust to dust and mosses.
two trunks is
When wood decays, actually the
the minerals that it stem of an
contains find their old ivy plant.
way back into the
soil to be taken up
by living trees.

Adult male
stag beetle

Stag beetle
larva

Feeding
on wood
Rotting away The larva of the stag beetle
Once wood has died, fungi can attack. feeds on decaying wood. Evergreen
This branch shows the result of five Woodlice feed mainly on fronds of
years’ decay on a woodland floor. Woodlice dead plant matter and fungi. polypody fern

48
Toadstools
in dead wood

The hidden life of fungi In at the kill Creeping death Hanging down
Toadstools are produced by certain fungi Many woodland fungi thrive on Honey fungus is deadly to Most toadstools
and only appear when the fungi needs to the remains of a tree’s death. a tree. It spreads by spores produce spores
produce spores. The strands through These toadstools are sprouting and by thick strands that grow on gills that hang
which fungi feed are hidden in the wood. from a decaying stump. between the bark and wood. down from its cap.

Wood
Harmless
guests
Parasites live on
nutrients “stolen”
from their tree host.
Epiphytes, like these
tropical bromeliads,
use a tree as a perch
Underside and do it no harm.
Bracket fungus of bracket
showing
Bracket fungus grows on living and dead wood. Although slow-
spore-
Inside attack
growing, they probably kill more trees than any other fungi. Unlike
producing The larvae of longhorn
most gilled toadstools, the brackets are hard and survive for years. pores beetles damage trees
by chewing through
the living wood.

Moss
 Life among the leaves
Most animals that live on trees are invertebrates,
or animals without backbones. Every tree is home
to many microscopic nematode worms and to
thousands or even millions of insects. To combat
Feasting on leaves this drain on their resources, many trees produce
Insect larvae eat many leaves.
Some, like these beetle larvae, a second flush of leaves in midsummer. This makes
feed on the cells
between leaf veins.
up for the losses that they suffer in spring.

Leaf galls
Button-shaped oak spangle galls
Gall falls from leaf each contain a wasp larva; bean
in late summer; galls on willow leaves are caused
Adult gall wasp larva develops in by the larva of a sawfly.
leaf litter

Oak
apple
Oak gall
marble
gall Bean galls
Spangle galls on willow
on oak leaf leaves
Galls and growths
Galls are created when a tree
reacts to the presence of an
intruder—often the larva of a Leaf insects
wasp. The larva lives and feeds These tropical
within the gall’s protective layer. insects are well
camouflaged to
look like the leaves
they live among.
Treetop predator
The pine marten lives in the
treetops. This mammal feeds at
night on birds, eggs,
insects, and fruit.

The paper nest

In spring, a queen wasp begins nest
building. She chews wood fibers and
mixes them with saliva, shaping it into
Paper layers of paper that she hangs from a
case branch or hole in a tree. After her first
eggs hatch, the young wasps carry on nest
Wasp nest hanging from tree Entrance to nest building, and collecting food for the queen.

50
 Purple Fungus attack
emperor Tar spot fungus has attacked
these maple leaves; a sign the
Pine
tree grew in unpolluted air.
beauty
moth

Oak eggar
moth
White
admiral
Winter quarters
Every autumn,
monarch butterflies Infected patches
migrate southward turn black and
Butterflies and moths to Mexico, where they
expand
The caterpillars of woodland spend the winter
butterflies and moths feed on the crowded together
leaves of trees or ground plants. on pine tree trunks.
Most are harmless, but the pine
beauty moth can be a pest.

Weevil

Acorns attacked
by weevils
Eating seeds
Animals and insects More and more patches of
consume seeds and fungus appear during the
nuts on the tree and summer; over half the leaf
ground. Weevils eat may be covered by the time
seeds by boring it falls in autumn
holes in acorns with
Hazelnuts their long “snouts.”
eaten by voles

Home among
the branches
Chaffinch Leaf-eating mammals
The tangled lower branches The only large mammals to live and
of small trees provide cover feed on trees are in the tropics. Leaves
for the nests of birds, such here are hard to digest, so these
as the chaffinch.
animals spend a long time eating.
Cherry leaf
eaten by Three-toed sloth
caterpillar This South American
animal spends its whole
life hanging upside down.

Koala
Koalas live almost entirely on
Insect eucalyptus leaves (p. 13).
pupa
attached
to oak leaf
Howler
monkey
Cherry leaf South American
mined by Insect onslaught howler monkeys use their tails
micromoth The caterpillars of micromoths feed to climb through the treetops
caterpillar between a leaf’s upper and lower surface. in search of leaves.

51
 A plane drops
water on flames to
extinguish a wildfire

What fuels it?

Wildfires
Many wildfires are set
off by lightning or dry Wildfires pose a serious threat to plants,
weather. They can also
be caused by human
animals, humans, and property. With ground
carelessness, such temperatures reaching more than 1,800ºF
as a dropped match.
Winds can pick up and (1,000°C), wildfires affect most continents,
carry sparks or a small
piece of glowing wood,
especially places with hot and dry seasons,
starting new fires. such as Australia. Despite the dangers,
wildfires benefit some forests. For example,
they help return nutrients to the soil by
burning dead or decaying matter.
Dousing the flames
There are different methods for containing wildfires. These
include the construction of tall lookout posts from which
a person can spot a fire and alert firefighters. Natural or
man-made gaps in the vegetation can break the fire’s path.
Planes can also spray retardants to control the flames.

Fresh start
Some wildfires give a new lease on life to
forests, as they restore nutrients in the
soil by burning waste matter. They also
rid the forest of diseased plants, harmful
insects, and pests. In addition, as thick
canopies and brushy undergrowth get
burned away, sunlight is able to reach
plants on the usually dark forest floor,
helping seedlings to grow.

Survival tactics
Some trees and plant species
have fireproof qualities and can
survive the hottest wildfires. Fully
grown giant sequoias, for example,
Charred trees after a wildfire have fibrous, fire-resistant bark
that can grow up to 20 in (50 cm)
thick, which allows them to
Resin, which
withstand intense fires.
glues shut the
cone, melts Climber on a giant sequoia tree
during a wildfire

Kangaroos are territorial,

which means they like to live
in and protect a particular area

Effect on animals
Every year, wildfires destroy
wildlife and their habitats.
Lodgepole
In Australia, the devastating
pinecones
wildfires in 2009 caused the
death of millions of animals,
Giving life to trees including kangaroos. However,
Wildfires help certain trees continue due to their territorial nature,
their species, often by reducing the surviving kangaroos
competition. In some cases, these returned to their habitat later.
fires help trees germinate. For
example, the intense heat of a
wildfire causes the thick and hard
cones of the lodgepole pine to
open and release its seeds.

53
 Dying tree
Pollution and disease It is hard to know what is causing this
yew tree to die. Drought and severe frost
may be partly to blame, or a disease
caused by a virus. Acid rain makes
Trees need clean air if they are to grow and the tree vulnerable to damage,
and so is at least indirectly
work efficiently. Across many parts of the responsible for its death.
world, fumes from cars, factories, and power
stations pollute the air. These gases reach high
into the atmosphere and mix with water and
other chemicals to form “acid rain” that is
responsible for the decline of many forests.

Discoloration of leaves—this
may be a direct effect of acid
rain, which enables ozone in
A future in doubt the atmosphere to disrupt the
Acid rain may now chemistry of the leaves
threaten the lives
of centuries-old
churchyard yew trees.

Deep green color shows the

leaf is full of chlorophyll, the
substance essential for
harnessing the Sun’s energy

Long shoots
indicate
healthy
growth

Healthy leaves survive

well on each twig and
along the branches

Healthy tree
The damage caused by air
pollution strikes coniferous
and broadleaved trees. It is City dweller
easiest to see in conifers The London plane fares well in
because their scales and polluted urban air. Whereas most
needles stay on the tree city trees become blackened with
for years, and visual signs grime, it sheds its outermost layers,
of sickness can build up. revealing young bark underneath.

54
 Dieback of Tree sickness
leading shoots Certain diseases are
extremely harmful. For
example, chalara dieback
of ash is a disease that
leads to leaf loss and
usually kills the tree.
Similarly, chestnut blight
has killed about 3.8 billion
trees in the past 20 years
in Europe and North
America alone.

The “tinsel effect”—

a sign of sickness
in which the area
behind the tip of each
twig loses its leaves

Chestnut blight lesions on

American chestnut tree bark

Dark-colored moths
After the Industrial Revolution, the
peppered moth evolved to become
darker: this color provided it with
better camouflage against tree
trunks blackened by soot.

A dying forest
Acid rain damage was Pesky pests
first noticed in the early Insect borers, such as bark beetles,
1970s, largely through its tunnel into the shoots, branches,
disastrous effect on the trunks, or roots of woody plants,
wildlife of Scandinavian and can lay eggs on or in the
lakes. Since then it has hit bark. On hatching, the young
coniferous forests throughout beetles chew their way into the
Europe, and is an increasing plant tissue, which carries
problem in North America. essential nutrients.
Coniferous trees affected by acid rain
The acidic mixture
falls on Earth in the
form of acid rain
How acid rain forms
Acid rain is produced largely by two gases—sulphur
oxide and nitrogen oxide—released by factories,
power stations, and cars. When the gases mix Sulphur and nitrogen oxides
combine with moist air to
with water in the atmosphere, they form form an acidic mixture
tiny acid droplets. These fall as acid rain,
which attacks plant leaves and leaches
nutrients from the soil. The most effective
way to prevent acid rain is by reducing the
emission of sulphur and nitrogen oxides.

55
 From tree to timber
Today, machines do almost all the work of turning
trees into timber. Power saws make short work of the
thickest trunks, and then giant, hydraulically operated
jaws handle them on their way to the sawmill. Once at
the mill, a log is loaded onto a sliding cradle and
is sliced into boards. Two simple
methods of cutting are shown
here, but there are many other
methods, all designed to extract
the maximum amount of good
The spring log run quality wood from a log. Nothing
Traditionally, water power was used
to get logs to the sawmill. Breaking is wasted: whatever remains will
up log jams was a skilled business,
but log runs, like the one shown end up as chipboard or pulp.
here, damaged the water and river
banks. Today, they are rarely seen.

Forest sawmill
As settlers moved farther westward
“Through and through” sawing in North America, sawmills were set
This is the simplest way of sawing up to provide timber for their houses,
a log. However, the way the cuts barns, and wagons.
are made through the grain means
that the boards are liable to
warp, so it is rarely used Grain direction varies
in different boards
with expensive timber.

56
 Quarter sawing
This method is wasteful,
but it produces boards that
have a decorative grain
and which retain
their shape well.

Woodworking
Logs are sawn when still full of sap.
Before it can be used, the timber must
first be left to dry, which can take more
than a year. The timber is then sawn
again into workable lengths. This
engraving of a cabinetmaker’s shop
shows the final stages in its journey:
planing, carving, glueing, and joining.

Making veneers
A veneer is a thin layer of
wood. Veneers of expensive
hardwoods are used for
decoration and to cover
cheaper timber. Veneers are
traditionally cut in three ways:
slicing, sawing, and peeling.

Slicing
This is used
with woods such as walnut
and maple to produce Radial boards
decorative grain patterns. all run at right
angles to the
growth rings

These segments
are cut into
smaller-sized
boards
Sawing
Cutting veneers with a circular saw is only
done on woods that are particularly hard.

Peeling
Many veneers are cut by
rotating each log against a
stationary blade to produce
a continuous sheet of wood.
 Working with wood
People who work with wood traditionally divide it into two types:
“hardwood,” which comes from broadleaved trees, and “softwood,”
which comes from conifers. Sometimes these two words can
be misleading. Yew, for example, is a softwood, but it is actually
as hard as oak. Balsa, on the other hand, is a hardwood, even
though it is soft and lightweight. Light pinkish
coloring typical
of freshly cut
cherry wood
Melanesian
carving Planed cherry wood
Planed yew Close grain
produced by
slow growth

Unplaned
yew

Knot

Changing color
Many woods, such as cherry wood, change
color when exposed to the air. Over time,
this wood grows darker, until—as in old
Dense
pieces of furniture—it becomes a deep red.
knots
typical of
yew wood The gunsmith’s wood
The merry maypole Rich-colored walnut is traditionally used
The bowmaker’s wood Dancing around a wooden pole is to make the stocks of guns. This wood
Yew grows very slowly, and this gives the wood an old custom. Various woods have can be worked into a
great weight and strength. Traditionally used to been used to make the pole. comfortable shape,
make longbows, today wood from yew trunks and can also stand
is often used as a decorative veneer. the sharp jolt of a
gun being fired
without splitting.
The versatile larch
Wherever a cheap, tough
wood is needed, larch is often
the ideal choice.
It can be used to
make furniture
and boats; much
of the rest can
be used to
make paper.
Planed
walnut

Growth Rough, unplaned Unpolished

rings in larch is used in walnut
planed building construction
wood

58
 Conspicuous
growth rings
revealed by
planing

Grain “inter-
locked,” or
banded in
alternating
directions, is
a common
feature
of tropical
timbers

Unplaned
hickory Unplaned wood showing
color produced by
prolonged exposure to air

Nature’s shock absorber

Ash wood is ideal for the handles of axes and spades. Tropical treasure
In Europe, it was always the first choice for the handles Mahogany became highly prized after Spanish
of tools, until hickory—an even better sailors brought back Caribbean mahogany for King
shock absorber than ash—started to be Philip II in the 16th century. Since then, the world’s
exported from North America. best hardwood forests have diminished in size.

Planed iroko Natural chemicals

Skilled woodworker protect iroko from
This engraving shows a turner, attack by fungi
a craftsman who makes wooden
objects using a lathe. The craft Unplaned iroko
dates back to the ancient Egyptians,
who made many high-quality chair
legs and stools.

Planed oak

Sap-conducting
pores appear as
tiny streaks in
the grain of oak

Unplaned oak

Withstanding the elements

Some woods are more hardy that others. A
garden bench made of beech would collapse
within a few years, while one made of the
tropical timber iroko could last for decades.

Heart of oak
Once used in buildings, oak is one of the world’s
strongest timbers. To support the dome of St. Paul’s
Cathedral in London, for example, Sir Christopher
Wren ordered oak beams nearly 50 ft (15 m) long.

59
 Tree care and management
Special techniques have been used to
“manage” trees since prehistoric times.
These include coppicing (regularly cutting
trees at ground level), pollarding (lopping
the tops of trees), and the selective felling
of trees. Tree planting probably began with
species such as the date palm and olive
(pp. 39 and 43), which were grown for their
fruit. Today, pruning and grafting help to shape Grafting
By grafting shoots from one tree
a tree, prevent disease, and increase fruit yields. on to the branches or trunk of
another it is possible to introduce
good characteristics, such as
Trunk before healthy fruit or a strong trunk.
branch is pruned

Hole left by wood

rotting after branch
has fallen away,
leaving damp wood
vulnerable to attack
by fungi

“Collar”

Trunk after
branch is pruned

Site of successful pruning,

where stump of pruned
branch has been covered
by new wood and bark

Pruning
This technique is mainly used on fruit trees
or on trees with large, unsafe branches.
When pruning a branch, a tree surgeon Water traps
will first cut through the branch about 18 in Pools of water can be found
(50 cm) from the trunk. Then a cut is made, where branches have broken off,
either a “flush cut” close to the trunk, or a which can lead to wood decay.
cut at the “collar,” which is the point at Likewise, where branches meet,
which the branch begins to widen just water may collect and provoke
before meeting the trunk. The exposed fungal attack. This problem can
wood is then treated with a waterproofing be resolved by cutting a drainage
agent and a fungicide. As the tree grows, channel through the wood, or by
the wood will become covered with a layer permanently inserting a metal
of living wood and protective bark. tube that drains off the water.

60
Coppicing and pollarding
Coppiced trees are regularly cut at ground level
to produce straight stems. Pollarded trees
regularly have their tops cut off, which
create long branches
from shoots too high
to be damaged by
cattle and deer.

Year-old wands,
which will be
harvested

Hazel poles
Split poles from coppiced Willow wands
hazel woods are still Pollarded willows produce
used today to make “wands,” which are flexible,
woven, wooden year-old branches used
fences called hurdles. in basket-making.
Patterned basketry is
made by using wands
from different types of
willow. The bark may either
Coppiced stool be left on the wand or
This hazel stump, or stripped off before weaving.
“stool,” is producing a Trunk of young
new set of shoots after pollarded willow
being coppiced.

Hazel coppice
In days gone by,
coppiced hazel
trees were often
grown beneath
oaks. The hazel
provided a regular
crop of poles,
while the oaks
provided timber.

61
Deforestation and
conservation
Farming and logging have led to the depletion of forests,
which affects the lives of plants, trees, and animals.
Conservation is the process of protecting trees, and
various organizations are now working toward forest
conservation to preserve their wildlife and habitats. Saving trees
The two main ways of protecting forests
Coastal deforestation are reforestation and afforestation.
Deforestation, or clearing an area of trees in a forest, Reforestation is the reestablishment
has wiped out many of the world’s forests. Loss of trees of forest cover by planting trees.
in such great numbers can harm the environment, lead Afforestation is the building of a
to the extinction of many species of plants and animals, new forest or a cluster of trees in an
and increase soil erosion. Since trees are a natural area where there was previously none.
barrier against waves, cutting down trees along coasts Many countries are now involved
can lead to massive soil erosion and flooding as well. in planting forests, including China.
 Log loader at a
conifer log mill

Cutting them down

Trees are cut down—or
logged—for many reasons.
These include clearing
land for cattle, providing
timber to produce paper
or furniture, and to make
space for growing cities.

Useful products
Trees are a source of many “non-timber
forest products,” from food to cosmetic
gels. However, scientists fear that if Clove oil
humans clear forests at the present
rate, there will not be enough trees left
from which people can get essential Aloe vera gel
products, including medicine.

Cloves
Aloe vera leaves
Endangered animals
Animals are under threat due to deforestation.
The silky sifaka lemurs, which live in the forests
Eucalyptus of Madagascar, are one of the top 25 most
oil endangered primates on Earth because their
habitat is at risk. South America's Atlantic
Forest is home to more than 24 critically
Eucalyptus leaves endangered vertebrate species that are
struggling to survive as humans
continue to destroy their home.

Climate change
Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, from Silky sifaka
factories and cars are warming up the atmosphere. lemur
Forests play an important role, as trees absorb
greenhouse gases and help to regulate temperature.

63
 Did you know?
AMAZING FACTS
An ancient yew tree in France Matches
Oak tree
has a girth of over 33 ft (10 m).
In the 18th century, a French barber
used the tree’s hollow trunk as
his workplace.
About 30 million Christmas
trees are sold each year in
the USA alone.
When flood deposits raise the
level of the ground, most trees
die because their root systems are
smothered. But coastal redwood trees
are able to grow a new root system.
Some coastal redwoods have survived
a rise in ground level of up to 30 ft Aspen trees
(9 m). Redwoods can also survive One Canadian aspen tree can be
Acorn and for a long time in a flood. made into a million matchsticks.
oak leaves The chapel-oak at Allouville in
A fully grown birch tree can
A mature oak tree grows about Bellefosse, France, is an
produce a million seeds in
250,000 leaves every year. In amazing ancient oak tree that has
one year.
a good year it also produces about two chapels inside its hollow trunk.
50,000 acorns. The first chapel was established in The talipot palm produces a
1669, and, later, a second chapel was flower spike that is an amazing
The leaves of the African built above it, together with a wooden 33 ft (10 m) high. The palm flowers
raffia palm can be as long entrance stairway. The oak is not as only once before it dies.
as 83 ft (25 m). healthy as it once was, but it is still
The baobab tree has soft,
The titan arum of the Indonesian an impressive sight.
spongy wood that stores
rain forest is the world’s largest The giant lime tree in Heede, water absorbed by the roots.
flower, standing up to 10 ft (3 m) tall Germany, is the biggest tree Elephants sometimes rip the tree
and 5 ft (1.5 m) wide. However, its scent in Germany, and probably the biggest open with their tusks to drink when
is the smell of rotten flesh. lime tree in Europe. Its enormous water is scarce.
The needles on one of the oldest trunk has a girth of 56.7 ft (17.3 m).
People in England have
trees, the bristlecone pine tree, About 4 million trees are less woodland to enjoy than
can live for 20 to 30 years. planted in the USA every day. almost any other European country.
Only about 10 percent of England’s
landscape is covered in trees,
whereas in Europe the average
is about 30 percent.
The ancient Mayans made
chewing gum from the sap
of the spruce tree, sapodilla, which
is native to Central America.
The bark of a giant sequoia tree
can be up to 2 ft (0.7 m) thick.
When exposed to fire, the giant
sequoia’s bark chars to form a heat
shield, protecting the tree.
The Major Oak in Sherwood
Forest Country Park, England,
weighs 25.3 tons (23 metric tons), has
a girth of 33 ft (10 m), and a spread of
92 ft (28 m). It is the biggest oak tree
The Major Oak, Sherwood Forest Country Park, England in Britain.

64
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What information can
Q you get from looking
at tree rings?
Tree rings provide
A information about
the climate in the past.
They can show the effects
of specific events, such
as volcanic eruptions.
Dendrochronology is the
science of dating trees
from their rings.

Do all tree roots grow

Q underground?
Most do, but in the Each ring

The tree line in the Alps

A banyan tree, roots also
grow down from branches.
represents a
period of growth
A slice of tree trunk,
What is the tree line? showing tree rings
Q When is the best time of year

A The height above sea-level at which

trees cannot grow is called the tree
Q to transplant a tree?
In the summer time, a tree is busy
line. The tree line in the Alps in Europe
is between 6,560 ft (2,000 m) and 8,200 ft
A making food and growing. In the
autumn and winter, the tree is resting,
(2,500 m), but in northern Scandinavia, it and if you need to move a tree, this is
can be as low as 820 ft (250 m). the best time to do it.

How much timber do you need

Q to make paper?
It takes approximately 2.2 tons
Q Where does resin come from?

A (2 metric tons) of timber to make

1.1 ton (1 metric ton) of paper.
A Resin is a sticky liquid that is
produced by certain pine trees.
Pillar roots on a banyan tree It is used to make turpentine.

Record Breakers
THE WORLD’S LARGEST TREE
A giant sequoia known as “General
Sherman” is the largest tree in the world.
It stands at 275 ft (83.8 m) and its volume
is 52,513 cubic ft (1,487 cubic m).

THE TALLEST TREE IN THE WORLD

Inside a paper-making factory Hyperion, a coastal redwood in California,
USA, is the tallest tree at 379 ft (115.6 m).
Why are tree fruits often red?
Q Tree fruits are dispersed by
THE WORLD’S OLDEST TREE
A spruce tree in Sweden is estimated to be
A animals. Many berries turn red
when their seeds are ripe, since red
almost 10,000 years, making it the oldest.

is a preferred food color of birds. THE HIGHEST HEDGE IN THE WORLD

Planted in 1745, the highest hedge is
How do mangroves cope with all in Scotland and is 118 ft (36 m) tall.
Q the salty water they absorb?
Black mangrove trees get rid of a BRITAIN’S OLDEST TREE
A lot of the salt through their leaves,
which can be covered in salt crystals.
General Sherman in
The Fortingall Yew in Tayside, Scotland, is
about 3,000 years old, and Britain’s oldest.
California, USA

65
 Identifying trees
The first stage in identifying a tree is to figure out
whether it is a conifer or a broadleaf. This section
outlines the main differences between them and
provides common examples from each group.

CONIFERS
If a tree is bearing cones, it is a conifer. The fruit of most The cones
turn
conifers is a cone with woody scales, although in some, such brown
as the juniper, the scales are fleshy so that the fruit appears
more like a berry. Most conifers are evergreen (keep their
leaves in winter), but a few are deciduous (lose their leaves
in autumn). Conifer leaves are usually small, needle- or
scalelike, and often smell sweet.

The cones
have
upright
The
scales
leaves
are soft
The Italian cypress is an evergreen;
its scalelike leaves are dark green.

The needles
grow in pairs

The stone pine tree is an

evergreen, has long, needlelike
leaves, and a round, brown cone. The leaves
grow in
whorls
The European larch has needlelike
leaves, but is deciduous. The green
leaves turn yellow in autumn.

The fruit turns

red as it expands

The cone has

pointed scales

The common yew bears a The monkey puzzle is an

berrylike “fruit;” its evergreen evergreen with prickly,
leaves are on the sides of the shoot. toothlike leaves all
around the shoot.

66
 BROADLEAVED TREES
All broadleaved trees bear flowers, and produce their seeds inside
fruits, not inside cones. The fruits of broadleaved trees are varied—
rough, smooth, or spiny; edible or inedible; woody or fleshy; many
different colors—depending on the way in which the seeds are
dispersed. Most broadleaved trees have broad, flat leaves. Many are
deciduous, but some are evergreen.

The apple tree is

deciduous. Its pink
flowers are conspicuous
and its fruit is fleshy.

The leaf has

rounded lobes
The sessile oak tree is deciduous. Its
leaves are simple, which means that
they are undivided. The flowers are
The horse chestnut tree is deciduous.
green and inconspicuous. The fruit
Each leaf is made up of five sharply
is an acorn, which is a type of nut. The honey locust tree has divided
toothed leaflets. Its white, pink, or red
flowers are very conspicuous. Its fruit, leaves. It is deciduous. Its yellow-
the “conker,” is a type of nut. green flowers are conspicuous, and
the fruit is a long, brown hanging pod.

PALMS
Palms are broadleaved trees, but they have many special features.
Their trunks hardly ever branch, and they do not have true bark.
The bright
Palm leaves are often shaped like giant fans, and can last for many
red berries years. Palm flowers are often small and green, but the fruit can be
are large large. Most palms need a warm climate and grow in the tropics.
and fleshy

The holly tree is an evergreen with The chusan palm has fan-shaped leaves
simple leaves, many of which are up to 4 ft (120 cm) across. It has yellow
spiny. It has small, white flowers flowers and its fruit is a blue-black
and bright, red berries. berry. It copes well in cold weather.

The coconut palm

is found in the warm
tropics. It needs a
lot of water. It has
giant, featherlike
leaves and its fruit
The silver gum eucalyptus is
is the coconut.
an evergreen with small, blue-
gray leaves and white flowers.

67
 Find out more
There are many ways of finding out
more about trees. You could go on a
visit to an arboretum, and see how
many different trees you can identify.
You could take care of wooded areas
in your region by joining your local
woodland group. Or you could support
a charity that reestablishes woodland
in areas where it has been lost.
Take care of your local woodland
In the autumn, Join a local nature conservancy group and look after
arboretum visitors woods in your area to ensure that they remain healthy
can see spectacular and provide a good habitat for the local wildlife. Old
displays of color trees may need pollarding, or even felling, and young
trees need planting and ongoing care.

Visit an arboretum
An arboretum is a garden that focuses on the
cultivation of trees and shrubs. They are often
grouped according to the climate in which they
naturally grow. It is a great place to experience
trees from many different parts of the world.
Many arboreta were started in the 19th century,
so they now contain large, mature trees.

Explore Eden's biomes

Visit the giant biomes at the Eden Project
in Cornwall, England, to see trees and other
plants from the warm temperate regions of
the world. It is an exciting place to visit, and is
also a place that aims to increase awareness
of the effect people have on their environment.

68
 Support a charity
Find out more about charities, and support them, either
with your time or by fundraising. The Nature Conservancy's
PLACES TO VISIT
Plant a Billion Trees campaign is working to reforest areas all THE UNITED STATES BOTANIC GARDENS,
over the world. MillionTreesNYC helps to engage WASHINGTON, D.C.
communities in New York City in
• Explore the Jungle room and the rest of
tree-planting events.
the extensive gardens.
Newspapers
Cardboard THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL
ARBORETUM, WASHINGTON, D.C.
• This 446-acre arboretum is located right
in Washington, D.C.

NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN,

NEW YORK, NEW YORK
• Visit America's leading urban garden.
Check out the 50 acres of old-growth forest,
which is a remnant of the woodland that
How much wood do you use? used to cover all of New York City.
For many countries, timber is a major
import. Britain, for example, produces only REDWOOD NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS,
one-tenth of the wood it needs. See if you NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
can cut down on how much wood you use. • These four parks are home to the mighty
California Redwood, which is one of the
Pencil tallest and oldest living trees on Earth.
Paper
Native trees CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN,
A good way of increasing your knowledge about trees GLENCOE, ILLINOIS
is to start a collection. By collecting the leaves, making • There is plenty to see at this botanic
bark rubbings, and sketching the fruits and the tree garden, from the Bonsai Collection to the
shapes, you will learn to identify a number Dwarf Conifer Garden, and much more.
of trees. As you do so, work out which trees
are from your country, and which are not. FAIRCHILD TROPICAL BOTANIC GARDEN,
CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA
• This impressive botanic garden has a
wonderful palm collection, or palmetum.
The Montgomery Palmetum is 13 acres
and displays 1000 palms.

THE HOLDEN ARBORETUM,

KIRTLAND, OHIO
• The Holden Aboretum is one of the
USEFUL WEBSITES largest arboreta in the United States.
There are guided tours and a range of
• National Forest Foundation aims to improve people’s special events.
appreciation and knowledge of trees and forests. For
information, go to
www.nationalforests.org
• To find out about the forest conservation efforts of
The Nature Conservancy, visit
www.nature.org
• For details on how to take care of trees, see The visitor’s center at
www.arborday.org/trees/tips/ the Arboretum National
• For details on how to identify trees, visit des Barres, France
www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/
• For information on the Wildlife Conservation Society, go to
www.wcs.org
• To learn about the U.S. Forest Service, which is responsible
for the protection of America's forests and woodlands, see
www.fs.fed.us
• For information on native North American trees, go to
www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_
manual/table_of_contents.htm

69
 Glossary
ANTHER The part of a stamen that GERMINATION The
Catkins
produces pollen. sprouting of a seed
or spore. Some seeds
BARK A “skin” of hard, dead tissue germinate very soon
that protects the living inner parts of after they are shed; others
the tree. The bark stretches as the CHLOROPHYLL survive all winter and
trunk or branch grows. Most trees The green pigment germinate in the spring.
replace their bark from time to time. in plants that traps
the energy of sunlight GIRDLE SCAR The mark on
BLOSSOM The flowers of a tree, and uses it to make a branch showing where one
especially one that produces edible fruit. sugars through season’s growth ended and the
photosynthesis. next season’s began.
BRACT The leaflike structure just
below a flower. COMPOUND GIRTH The circumference or
LEAF A leaf distance around a tree’s trunk.
BRANCH A secondary woody stem composed of two
coming from the trunk of a tree. or more leaflets. GRAFTING Fixing a shoot from one
Compound leaves grow tree onto the cut stem of another one.
BROADLEAVED Bearing broad, from a single bud.
flat leaves. HARDWOOD The wood of any
CONE The round, scaly “fruit” broadleaved tree.
BUD The swelling on a plant carried by a conifer tree. There
made up of overlapping, are two types of cone. The HARDY Plants that survive in difficult
immature leaves or petals. small, soft male cones produce conditions, especially in winter.
Most buds are protected and release pollen, then shrivel
by a layer of and die. The larger female HEARTWOOD The hard wood at the
thick scales. cones become woody as they center of the tree that helps to support
get older. Their scales contain the tree.
CAMBIUM A thin layer ovules that develop into seeds
of cells that covers the when fertilized by pollen. HUMUS Dark brown, organic matter
whole of a tree, just in the soil that improves its fertility.
underneath its bark. When CONIFER A cone-bearing tree with
its cells multiply—usually in small, needle- or scalelike leaves. KERNEL The edible seed within the
Cone shell of a nut or the pit of a fruit.
spring and summer—the tree’s Most conifers are evergreen.
trunk, branches, and roots get
longer and fatter. COPPICING Cutting back a tree at LATERAL BUD The bud on the side of a
ground level so that it grows lots of trunk that develops into flowers or a twig
CANOPY High-level foliage in a forest, straight stems, often used in fences. with either leaves or leaves and flowers.
formed by the crowns of the trees.
CROWN The rounded, top part of LEADING BUD The bud at the tip of a
CATKIN A cluster of bracts and tiny a broadleaf tree. branch that develops into shoots to
flowers, usually male. Catkins release make the branch longer.
millions of pollen grains in spring or DECIDUOUS A tree that loses its
leaves in autumn. LEAF A green, usually flat, blade
early summer.
attached to a tree. Leaves make food
DIOECIOUS Having male and female for the tree by photosynthesis.
CELLULOSE A
flowers on separate plants. Only the
substance that
female plants produce seeds. LEAF SCAR The mark left on a branch
forms a major
by a fallen leaf from the previous
part of the cell DISPERSAL The way in which a growing season.
walls of trees tree spreads its seeds. Birds and
and many other animals disperse seeds by eating LEAFLET A small leaf, or part of
other plants. fruits or berries and passing the seeds a compound leaf.
Cellulose in their droppings. Squirrels and other
strengthens mammals hide nuts as a food store, and LEAF LITTER
the stems, some of them germinate. Some seeds A layer of partly decomposed leaves
roots, and are dispersed by the wind, others and twigs.
leaves. by water.

EVERGREEN A tree that keeps its

leaves in winter.

FRUIT The ripened ovary of a

flowering plant, containing one or
A deciduous tree more seeds.

70
 A conifer tree PARASITE A plant or animal that lives SEED The mature, fertilized ovule
twig with needles in or on another plant or animal. of a plant. Inside the seed case is the
and cones embryo and its food store. Some seeds
PHOTOSYNTHESIS A process that uses are contained in fruits and berries,
the energy from sunlight to turn carbon others in nuts, still others in pods
dioxide and water into sugars. This or cones.
fuels the plant’s growth.
SEPALS The parts of a flower that
PIGMENT The substance that protect the developing flower bud.
gives color to another material.
SIMPLE LEAF A leaf that is not divided
POLLARDING Cutting the top off into leaflets.
a tree to encourage more
bushy growth or to reduce SOFTWOOD The wood of any coniferous
the size of large trees. tree, such as pine and cedar.
POLLEN A sticky or dusty ubstance SPREAD The area occupied by a tree,
LIGNIN The
produced by a flower’s anthers. Pollen including all its branches.
substance found in
contains the plant’s male sex cells.
the cell walls of
woody tissue that STAMEN The male, reproductive part
POLLINATE To transfer pollen from of a flower, consisting of filaments
makes the tree the anthers to the stigma of a flower.
hard and stiff. (stalks) bearing anthers.
Animals, usually insects, pollinate many
flowers, while others are pollinated by STIGMA The upper part of
LOBE A rounded section of a leaf.
the wind. the ovary. Pollen passes
MAST The fruit of forest trees. through the stigma to
PRUNING Cutting branches off a tree enter the ovary.
MONOECIOUS A plant that has both to improve the shape of a fruit tree, or
male and female reproductive organs. to remove large branches that are STYLE The slender
no longer safe. part of the ovary
NATIVE A plant that originates in that bears
a particular place. RECEPTACLE The top of the the stigma.
flower stalk that bears the parts
NATURALIZED A plant that has adapted of the flower. After pollination,
the receptacle may swell to Variegated
successfully to a foreign environment.
form the fruit. leaf
NECTAR A sugary fluid produced by
flowers. Nectar attracts insects such as ROOT The part of the plant TOOTHED
bees and butterflies that pollinate the that anchors it in the soil and A leaf
flower while collecting the nectar. absorbs water and minerals. with sharp
ndentations
NEEDLES The long, narrow, stiff leaves ROOT HAIRS Fine hairs near the tip along its edge.
of coniferous trees. of a root that soak up water and
dissolved minerals. TRUNK The main stem of
NUT A dry fruit containing one seed
a tree. On most conifers, the trunk
encased in a woody wall. A nut does not SEEDLING The young tree that grows straight to the top of the tree.
naturally burst open to disperse the seed. develops from a seed. On most broadleaf trees, the trunk
OVARY The female part of the flower does not reach the top, but divides
SAP Water containing dissolved minerals into branches.
that produces the ovules. that is carried from the roots to the
leaves in tiny pipelines in the sapwood. VARIEGATED A leaf that is green in parts
OVULE The section of the flower that
contains the egg cell. After fertilization, and not in others, where hlorophyll is
SAPLING A young tree that is about 6 ft absent.
the ovule develops into the seed. (1.8 m) tall with a trunk that is 1 to 2 in
(2.5 to 5 cm) thick. WOOD The hard, fibrous substance
PALMATE A leaf with five lobes that
spread out in the shape of a hand. beneath the bark in trees and shrubs.
SAPWOOD The soft wood in a tree, Wood consists mainly of cellulose.
situated just inside the cambium layer.
Sapwood is made up of living cells and
contains tiny pipelines that carry sap.

Leaf litter

71
 dispersal of seeds 38, katsura 26 Turkey 25, 41
C ST
Index cambium 16, 17, 22, 70
40–42, 71
dogwood 37
drip tip 12
Kentucky coffee 29
koala bears 13, 51
olives 39
oranges 39
orchids 21 sap 20, 71
catalpa 27, 37
catkins 32, 33, 40, 70
EF L sapwood 16, 17, 48, 71
sawing 56–57
A cedar 2, 30, 31, 44
blue atlas 2, 30 laburnam 28, 41 PQ scales 10, 30–31
scent 31, 34, 36, 37
acacia 28 Japanese 44 ecosystem 53, 62 larch 4, 30, 31, 32, 44, seasons 12, 30, 46, 47
palm 7, 12, 13, 32, 42, 43,
acid rain 54, 55 Western red 4, 44 elder 37, 38 58, 66 seed cases 14
64, 67
acorn woodpeckers 20 cellulose 26, 70 embryo 14 laurel 7 seedlings 14–15, 53 71
African raffia 64
acorns 2, 8, 14, 20, chalara dieback 55 environment 8, 16, 18 leaf litter 8, 10, 70 seeds 14, 38–43, 71
chusan 67
41, 51 cherry 23, 26, 34, 46, eucalyptus 12, 13, 22, 63, leaves, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, sequoia 6, 17, 31, 44, 53,
coconut 67
Adam and Eve 38 51 67 26–31, 46–47, 50–51, 70, 64, 65,
talipot 64
afforestation 62 cherry plum 39 evergreen 10, 66, 70 71 sloths 51
papaya 43
alder 32, 40, 41 chestnut ferns 21, 48 variegated 26 softwood 58, 71
paper 65
algae 20 blight 55 filberts 40 legends, 6, 7, 11, 38 spices 42
parasites 21, 71
aloe vera 63 horse 23, 24, 29, 35, 40, fir 30 lemons 39 spruce 10, 11, 30, 31, 44
pear 4, 25
amber 23 46, 67 Douglas 44 lemurs 63 Norway 10
Persian ironwood 46
animals 50, 53 sweet 26, 40 fire fighting 52–53 lichens 8, 21 squirrels 20, 41
pests 55
burrowing 19 chlorophyll 26, 46, 47, 54, flowers 32–37 lightning 52, 53 sumac 18, 31
petrified wood 48
destruction 51 70 fly agaric 19 lignin 26, 70 swamps 18, 31
photosynthesis 71
pollination 34–37 chocolate 43 fossils 10, 23, 31 lime 41, 64 sycamore 3, 16, 36, 46, 51
pine martens 50
ants, 53 Christmas conifers, 11, fruit 38–43, 67, 70 logging 63 tamarind 42
pines 4, 10, 30, 31, 33,
apples 2, 3, 32, 35, 31, 64 fungi 3, 19, 20, 48, 49, temperate zone 17, 19, 68
45, 51
51, 55
38, 39, 67
ash, 3, 6, 16, 22,
cinchona 22
cinnamon 23 MN bristlecone 16, 64, 65
lodgepole 3, 53
thuja 31
timber 56, 57, 63, 65
toads, 52
25, 28, 29, 41,
55, 59
climate change 63
cloves 63
coco-de-mer 43
GH mace 42
magnolia 2, 25, 26
Scots, 4, 10, 11, 45
stone, 66
toadstools 49
treecreepers 20
galls 41, 50 mahogany 59 sugar 45
tree-ferns 7, 13
B coconut 13, 42, 43
colour 26, 30, 38, 46, 47,
58
germination 14, 15, 53, 70
giant bamboo 7
mangoes 43
mangroves 18, 65
Weymouth 2, 45
plane 25, 27, 33, 41, 54
tropical zone 12, 13, 18,
42, 43
badgers 18, 19 ginkgo 2, 27 maple 4, 8, 20, 23, 26, 27, plums 2, 39
cones 10, 11, 32, 44–45, trunk 6, 16, 20, 21, 71
banyan 6, 13, 65 Glastonbury thorn 36 28, 36, 40, 46, 47, 57 poisonous fruit 38, 40, 41
66, 70 tulip 27, 37, 41, 47
baobab 37, 43, 64 grafting 60, 70 Japanese 26, 27 pollarding 61, 68, 71
conifers 7, 10–11, 18, turning 59
bark 6, 11, 22–23, 70 Great Green Wall of Norway 20–21 pollen 32, 33, 36, 71
23, 30, 31, 32, 54–55, pollination 8, 32–37, 71
damage 20 66, 70 China 62 snake bark 27, 47
Barringtonia 42 growth 16, 17 sugar 46 pollution 54– 55, 64
bat pollination 37
beech 8, 9, 14, 15, 22,
conkers 35, 40
conservation 62–63
coppicing 61, 70
patterns 9, 11
rings 8, 10, 16, 17, 59, 65
syrup 23
maypoles 58
poplar 25, 26
products, non-timber
forest 63
VWY
25, 40, 65 cork 22, 47 hardwood 58, 70 medlars 39 veneers 57
copper 26 hawthorn 36, 38 medullary rays 17 pruning 60, 71
cultivation 34, 35, 39, walnut 28, 33, 57, 58
mast 25, 40 hazel 2, 3, 23, 31, 61 micromoths 8, 51 quinine 22
60, 61 wasps 50
beetles 21, 48, 50, 55 cycads 7 heartwood 16, 17 minerals 48 wayfaring 25
berries 38–39 Hercules club 29 mistletoe 21, 49 weather 52, 53
bilberry 53
birch 23–25, 41, 64
cypress 10, 18, 30, 31,
32, 44
Italian 66
hickory 28, 33, 47, 59
holly 4, 11, 26, 67
monkey pots 42
monkey puzzle 32, 66
R weeping fig 12
weevils 21, 51
birds 20, 21, 37, 38, Lawson 4, 32, 44 honey locust 67 monkeys 51 rabbits 19 wellingtonia 4, 6, 16, 17,
39, 51 Monterey 2 hop 28 mosses 21, 48 rainforest 12, 13 23, 31, 44
food 39 sawara 30 hornbeam 32 moths 51, 55 redwood 16, 22, 30, 31, wildfires 52–53
nests 51 swamp 18, 31 hornbills 21 mulberry 38 64, 65 willow 2, 14, 26, 50, 61
pollination 37 hummingbirds 37 mythology 6–7, 11, 38 reforestation 62 dwarf 16
seed dispersal 38 needles 10, 11, 30, 31, 71 religion 6, 11 wind pollination 32
bitternut 28
blackthorn 35, 39
D IJK
nuthatches 21
nutmeg 42
resin 10, 23, 65
robinia 28
wing-nut 28, 40
witch's brooms 24
branches 9, 10, 16, damsons 39 nuts 40–43, 51, 71 root caps 19 wood 48, 56–57, 71
root hairs 19 uses 58–59, 69
65, 70 Daphne 7 insects 20, 48, 50–51
rootlets 14, 15, 18, 19 woodlice 48
brazil nuts 42 dates 43 pests 53, 55
breadfruit 42
broadleaves 7–9, 12, 28,
decay, 48, 49, 55
deciduous 6, 8, 46, 70
pollination 34–36
iroko 59
O roots, 6, 12, 14, 17,
18–19, 71
worms 19
yew 10, 16, 23, 30, 32, 38,
breathing 18 54, 58, 64, 65, 66
32, 67 deciduous conifer 18, 66 ivy 48 oak 3, 6, 8, 14, 25, 27, 47,
pillar 13, 65 Yggdrasil 6
bromeliads 21, 49 deer 48 judas 26, 36 50, 51, 59, 64
buckeyes 29 deforestation 62–63 juniper 31 cork 22 stilt 18
buds 24–25, 70 destruction 16 kangaroos 53 English 8, 25, 33 rowan 2, 4, 28, 36, 38
butterflies 51 disease 50, 51, 54–55, 60 kapok 37, 43 sessile 67 rubber 22

Burton/Bruce Coleman Ltd: 48m. Jim Clare/ 65bc; Ronald Toms 68bl. Fritz Prensel/Bruce

Acknowledgments
The author and Dorling Kindersley would like Picture research by: Millie Trowbridge.
Partridge Films Ltd/OSF: 20ml, mr. Eric
Crichton/Bruce Coleman Ltd: 32m; 36m. Corbis:
Robert Estall 64bl; Eric and David Hosking 66cra;
Paul A Souders 67clb; Markow Tatiana 65clb.
Stephen Dalton/NHPA: 21mb. J Deane/Bruce
Coleman Ltd: 13t. Photos Horticultural: 64tr,
65tr. Hans Reinhard/Bruce ColemanLtd: 19m;
21b; 50mr. Silvestris/Frank Lane: 54. Still
Pictures: Paul Harrison 69tl. Kim Taylor/Bruce
Coleman Ltd: 53b; 55. Roger Tidman/Frank
Coleman Ltd: 21t. Mansell Collection: 19b; 41b; Lane: 61m. Rodger Tidman/NHPA: 14. Norman
to thank: the curator and staff, Westonbirt 53t. Mary Evans Picture Library: 6br; 12t; 23t; Tomalin/Brucc Coleman Ltd: 18m. L West/Frank
Arboretum; Simon White of the Botanic Gardens, Picture credits: 37m; 38t; 43mr; 51m, br; 56tl; 57t; 59; 60t; 62t. Lane: 46. Christian Zuber/ Bruce Coleman Ltd:
Bath; Linda Gamlin; George Wiltshire; Forestry The publisher would like to thank the following Fine Art Photographic Library: 8m; 11b. Jeff 42ml. Corbis: Marnie Burkhart 53cla; Warren
Commission; Alice Holt Lodge; and Marika Rae for their kind permission to reproduce their Foott / Bruce Coleman Ltd: 51t. John Freeman: Faidley 52tl; Louie Psihoyos 53tl; Kevin Schafer
for their advice and help in supplying specimens photographs: 56tr. Linda Gamlin: 16tl. David Grewcock/Frank 63br; Scientifica/Visuals Unlimited 55tl.
for photography. Mark Ricks Tree Services of Lane: 48tr. Brian Hawkes/NHPA: 16b. Michael Dreamstime.com: Dtfoxfoto 63t; Henrikhl 55cr;
Bath for supplying and transporting the large Key: a=above, t=top, b=bottom, m=middle, l=left, Holford: 6t; 58t. Eric and David Hosking: 16mr; Skylightpictures 52b; Vasilis Ververidis 52-53t;
specimens. Ken Day for supplying sawn sections r=right. 21 tm. E A James/NHPA: 9mr. J Koivula/Science Peter Wollinga 63cb. Getty Images: Romeo
and prepared timbers. Arthur Chater, Caroline Alamy Images: Roger Fletcher 65c. Heather Source: 23m. Frank Lane: 16ml; 50ml. R P Gacad/AFP 62b. Glowimages: Malcolm Schuyl/
Whiteford, Gary Summons and Chris Owen at Angel: 18b; 61b. Arboretum national des Barres: Lawrence / Frank Lane: 24b. Laura Lushington/ FLPA 62tr.
the Natural History Museum. Ray Owen 69br. BPCC/Aldus Archive: 7b, 12ml, r; 22t; 45t. Sonia Halliday Photographs: 42r.
for artwork. Gabrielle Bamford for typing. BTCV: Dave Donohue 68tr. Chris Beetles Ltd: John Mason/Ardca: 49m. G A Mather/Robert All other images © Dorling Kindersley
Ashwin Khurana for text editing. 10m. G I Bernard/Oxford Scientific Films: 24mr. Harding: 16tr. G J H Moon/Frank Lane: 9ml. M For further information see: www.dkimages.com
Bridgeman Art Library/Bonhams: 6bl. Dr Jeremy Newman/Frank Lane: 48tl. Oxford Scientific
Illustrations by: Coral Mula; Mick Loates and Burgess/Science Photo Library: 32b. Jane Films: David Cayless 68crb; John Gerlach / AA
David More of Linden Artists. Burton/Bruce Coleman Ltd: 24ml. Robert

72