A broad-leaved, broad-leaf, or broadleaf tree is any tree within the diverse botanical group of angiosperms that has flat leaves and produces seeds inside of fruits. It is one of two general types of trees, the other being a conifer, a tree with needle-like or scale-like leaves and seeds borne in woody cones. [1] Broad-leaved trees are sometimes known as hardwoods. [2]
Most deciduous trees are broad-leaved [3] but some are coniferous, like larches. [4]
Gymnosperms (seed plants not flowering) | Angiosperms (flowering seed plants) |
---|---|
Coniferous (females bearing ovulate cones that release unenclosed seeds at maturity) | Fruit-bearing (enclosing seeds within) |
Usually evergreen (gradually shedding foliage, green foliage throughout year) | Usually deciduous (seasonally shedding all foliage, no foliage for part of year) |
Known as softwoods (nonporous, wood typically lighter & softer) [5] | Known as hardwoods (wood structure porous & more complex, wood generally harder) [5] |
Needle-like or scale-like leaves | Broad leaves |
Examples: firs, spruces, pines | Examples: hickories, maples, oaks |
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines a forest as, "Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban use." Using this definition, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 found that forests covered 4.06 billion hectares, or approximately 31 percent of the world's land area in 2020.
Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus Larix, of the family Pinaceae. Growing from 20 to 45 metres tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high latitudes, and high in mountains further south. Larches are among the dominant plants in the boreal forests of Siberia and Canada. Although they are conifers, larches are deciduous trees that lose their needles in the autumn.
Juniperus virginiana, also known as eastern redcedar, red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and east of the Great Plains. Further west it is replaced by the related Juniperus scopulorum and to the southwest by Juniperus ashei. It is not to be confused with Thuja occidentalis.
Temperate rainforests are rainforests with coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain.
Arbutus menziesii or Pacific madrone, is a species of broadleaf evergreen tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the western coastal areas of North America, from British Columbia to California. It is nicknamed the "Refrigerator Tree" due to the fact that its bark contains water, and it stays cool in the summer.
Pinus koraiensis is a species of pine known commonly as the Korean pine. It is a relic species of the Tertiary, identified as a rare tree species by United Nations. It is native to eastern Asia: Korea, northeastern China, Mongolia, the temperate rainforests of the Russian Far East, and central Japan. In the north of its range, it grows at moderate elevations, typically 600 to 900 metres, whereas further south, it is a mountain tree, growing at 2,000 to 2,600 m elevation in Japan. Other common names include Chinese pinenut. The ancient woodland of P. koraiensis on the earth is about 50 million hectares, and China has about 30 million hectares, accounting for 60%. It is a second-class national key protected plant in China. P. koraiensis is a tree species with high economic and ecological value. The official name in Chinese is "红松 hóng sōng/red pine", because almost every part of it is related to red.
Larix laricina, commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and also south into the upper northeastern United States from Minnesota to Cranesville Swamp, West Virginia; there is also an isolated population in central Alaska.
The Fraser fir, sometimes spelled" Frasier fir, is an endangered species of fir native to the Appalachian Mountains of the Southeastern United States. They are endemic to only seven montane regions in the Appalachian Mountains.
Fraxinus latifolia, the Oregon ash, is a member of the ash genus Fraxinus, native to western North America.
The western larch is a species of larch native to the mountains of western North America ; in Canada in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, and in the United States in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana. It is the most productive of the three species of larch native to North America.
Larix kaempferi, the Japanese larch or karamatsu in Japanese, is a species of larch native to Japan, in the mountains of Chūbu and Kantō regions in central Honshū.
Holodiscus discolor, commonly known as ocean spray or oceanspray, creambush, or ironwood, is a shrub of western North America.
Calocedrus decurrens, with the common names incense cedar and California incense cedar, is a species of coniferous tree native to western North America. It is the most widely known species in the genus, and is often simply called incense cedar without the regional qualifier.
Celtis laevigata is a medium-sized tree native to North America. Common names include sugarberry, southern hackberry, or in the southern U.S. sugar hackberry or just hackberry.
Rhododendron catawbiense, with common names Catawba rosebay, Catawba rhododendron, mountain rosebay, purple ivy, purple laurel, purple rhododendron, red laurel, rosebay, rosebay laurel, is a species of Rhododendron native to the eastern United States, growing mainly in the southern Appalachian Mountains from Virginia south to northern Alabama.
Rhododendron macrophyllum, the Pacific rhododendron, California rosebay, California rhododendron, coast rhododendron or big leaf rhododendron, is a large-leaved species of Rhododendron native to the Pacific Coast of North America. It is the state flower of Washington.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and guide to forestry:
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are usable as lumber or plants above a specified height. In wider definitions, the taller palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos are also trees.
Larix gmelinii var. olgensis, synonym Larix olgensis, the Olga Bay larch or Olgan larch, is a variety of larch. The variety is named after Olga Bay in the Sea of Japan. The common name in Japanese language is 満洲唐松. The common name in Chinese is 黄花落叶松. This variety occurs in Central Sikhote-Alin, and rarely occurs in North Korea, and Jilin and eastern Heilongjiang provinces of China, between 500 and 1100 metres in elevation.
Phoradendron tomentosum, the leafy mistletoe, hairy mistletoe or Christmas mistletoe, is a plant parasite. It is characterized by its larger leaves and smaller berries than dwarf mistletoe. Leafy mistletoe seldom kill but they do rob their hosts of moisture and some minerals, causing stress during drought and reducing crop productions on fruit and nut trees. Leafy mistletoe has the ability to photosynthesize on its own but it relies on other plants in order to obtain its nutrients. It attaches itself to a tree and then grows haustoria, in order to get the food and water it needs.