Tree Basics
intro | seed | root
| trunk | bark | branch
| leaf
 |
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Courtesy G.
Lumis
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This strong mainstay of the tree begins as a tender stem
from which leaves begin to sprout. The trunk is the body of the tree,
which not only supports the crown, but in addition internally channels sap
and tree food from one part of the tree to another.
A tree grows taller by adding new growth at the tip. In the spring, a new
shoot starts to grow at the very tip of the tree. This is called the
leader. Its length indicates how much a tree has grow over the course of a
year. New shoots grow out sideways from the base of the leader. Each end
of each branch has a similar growth of shoots. By summers' end, buds form
on the new shoots, and from these buds will develop next year's shoots.
The girth of a tree develops in quite a different way. Between the bark
and the wood is a thin soft layer called the cambium. Each year this
cambium produces a new layer of wood. You cannot see these layers as they
are hidden by the bark. However, the age of cut trees may be determined by
counting these layers- called annual growth rings - on the stump.
Next: Bark
