Portal:Trees
Trees
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to 6 m; some authors set a minimum of 10 cm trunk diameter (30 cm girth). Woody plants that do not meet these definitions by having multiple stems and/or small size are called shrubs. Compared with most other plants, trees are long-lived, some reaching several thousand years old and growing to up to 115 m (379 ft) high.
Trees are an important component of the natural landscape because of their prevention of erosion and the provision of a weather-sheltered ecosystem in and under their foliage. They also play an important role in producing oxygen and reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as well as moderating ground temperatures. They are also elements in landscaping and agriculture, both for their aesthetic appeal and their orchard crops (such as apples). Wood from trees is a building material, as well as a primary energy source in many developing countries. Trees also play a role in many of the world's mythologies (see trees in mythology).
Selected article
Krummholz or Krumholtz formation (German: krumm, "crooked, bent, twisted" and Holz, "wood") — also called Knieholz ("knee timber") — is a particular feature of subarctic and subalpine tree line landscapes. Continual exposure to fierce, freezing winds causes vegetation to become stunted and deformed. Under these conditions, trees can only survive where they are sheltered by rock formations or snow cover. As the lower portion of these trees continue to grow, the coverage becomes extremely dense near the ground.
Common trees showing Krumholtz formation include Balsam Fir, Red Spruce, Black Spruce, Subalpine Fir, Subalpine Larch, Engelmann Spruce, Limber Pine, and Lodgepole Pine. Instances of the Krumholtz form of Black Spruce, Picea mariana, are found in the northern Canadian Boreal forests. Krumholtz-form Black Spruce and Balsam Fir are abundant in the Alpine Transition Zone of the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Selected biography
John Krubsack (1858-1941) was a banker and naturalist from Embarrass, Wisconsin. He conceived, planted and shaped living trees to create the first known grown chair. He started his chair in 1903 and harvested 11 years later in 1914.
In addition to banking, Krubsack was a prominent naturalist who farmed, made cheese, and landscaped his property long before these were common practice.[clarification needed] His house was the first in his region to have running water. He also was skilled at piecing together furniture from found branches. He’d scour the local river flats with a yardstick and a saw, looking for just the right shaped piece of blue beech, a hardwood tree with a smooth, wavy bark and a beautiful blue color when varnished. John took his youngest son, Hugo, on these weekend wood-hunting excursions, and it was during one of his trips that the idea first came to him to grow his own chair. Read more...
In the news
Selected picture
Did you know?
- ... that the Easter egg tree (pictured) in Saalfeld, Thuringia, was decorated with 10,000 Easter eggs in 2012?
- ... that the Living Willow Theatre, an open air theatre constructed of living willow trees, is located near the village of Llanwrthwl and occasionally holds outdoor performances of Shakespeare?
- ... that Wollemi Stringybark, a tree that grows to 45 metres (148 ft) high northwest of Sydney, remains officially undescribed?
- ... that Linton Park in Kent, England, has an avenue of Giant Sequoia trees planted in 1864?
- ... that the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve contains a "stone tree"?
- ... that the scarlet honey myrtle, an ornamental garden shrub, is from the same genus as the punk tree?
- ... that the towers of architect Terunobu Fujimori's Lamune Onsen have pine trees planted on the apex of their roofs?
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