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Taiga

Taiga

Taiga (IPA pronunciation: , from the Russian тайга́) is a biome characterized by coniferous forests. The taiga is the most northerly zone in which trees and species which require them can survive. It is a northern subarctic and humid biogeographic region in which the main plant life is coniferous larches, spruces, pines and firs, which are adapted to the cold climate. Some broadleaf trees also occur, notably birches, aspens, willows and rowans. Bogs and their associated plants are also common in this zone (see muskeg), which covers most of inland Canada and northern Russia. The taigas are one of the world's major sources of oxygen. Taigas are present only in the Northern Hemisphere, as the Southern Hemisphere has very little land at the typical taiga latitudes. The Magellanic subpolar forests of southern Chile are the closest equivalent. In Canada, boreal forest is the term used to refer to the southern part of this biome, while taiga is used to describe the more barren northern areas south of the Arctic tree-line. A considerable number of birds such as Siberian Thrush, White's Thrush and Dark-throated Thrush migrate to this habitat to take advantage of the long summer days and abundant insect food in that season. Some seed-eating birds and large omnivorous birds that can take live prey or carrion will also maintain a presence in this zone in winter. They include Crossbill, Golden Eagle, Raven and Rough-legged Buzzard. Relatively few mammals can cope with the harsh winters. Those that can include Moose, Lynx, Beaver, Snowshoe Hare, Lemming, Caribou and several members of the weasel family such as the Wolverine and Pine Marten. Soil of taiga is very acidic due to the vegetation. When needles that have fallen from conifers decompose, they secrete an acid that helps prevent plants other than conifers from growing there. This is known as allelopathy. This acidic soil also comes when evergreen trees are planted in other biomes, such as temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, slowing the rate at which the area returns to its natural state. The key limiting factor for the Taiga Biome is the very long and low winter temperature limiting plant and animal life, and the exposure to the sun in the summer. Precipitation is about 40-85cm/yr. in fog, snow and rain.

External link


- [http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/ecoregions/habitat_types/habitat/habitat06.cfm Boreal Forests/Taiga (WWF)]
- [http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=artic&lang= Arctic and Taiga (Canadian Geographic)] Category:Terrestrial biomes ja:タイガ

Russian language

Russian (Russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, ) is the most widely spoken language of Europe and the most widespread of the Slavic languages. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages, and is therefore related to Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin, as well as the modern Germanic, Romance, and Celtic languages, including English, French, and Irish, respectively. Written examples are attested from the 10th century onwards. While it preserves much of its ancient synthetic-inflexional structure and a Common Slavonic word base, modern Russian exhibits a large stock of the international vocabulary for politics, science, and technology. A language of great political importance in the 20th century, Russian is one of the official languages of the United Nations. NOTE. Russian is written in a non-Latin script. All examples below are in the Cyrillic alphabet, with transcriptions in IPA.

Classification

Russian is a Slavic language in the Indo-European family. From the point of view of the spoken language, its closest relatives are Belarusian and Ukrainian, the other two national languages in the East Slavic group. In many places in Ukraine and Belarus, these languages are spoken interchangeably. The basic vocabulary, principles of word-formation, and, to some extent, inflexions and literary style of Russian have been influenced by Church Slavonic, a developed and partly adopted form of the South Slavic Old Church Slavonic language used by the Russian Orthodox Church. Many words in modern literary Russian are closer in form to the modern Bulgarian language than to Ukrainian or Belarusian. However, the East Slavic forms have tended to remain in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with slightly different meanings. For details, see Historical Sound Changes and History of the Russian language. Outside the Slavic languages, the vocabulary and literary style of Russian have been greatly influenced by Greek, Latin, French, German, and English.

Geographic distribution

Russian is primarily spoken in Russia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics of the USSR. Until 1917, it was the sole official language of the Russian Empire. During the Soviet period, the policy toward the languages of the various other ethnic groups fluctuated in practice. Though each of the constituent republics had its own official language, the unifying role and superior status was reserved for Russian. Following the break-up of 1991, several of the newly independent states have encouraged their native languages, which has partly reversed the privileged status of Russian, though its role as the language of post-Soviet national intercourse throughout the region has continued. In Latvia, notably, its official recognition and legality in the classroom have been a topic of considerable debate in a country where more than third of the population is Russian-speaking, consisting mostly of post-World War II immigrants from Russia and other parts of the former USSR (Belarus, Ukraine). Similarly, in Estonia, the Soviet-era immigrants and their Russian-speaking descendants constitute about one quarter of the country's current population. A much smaller Russian-speaking minority in Lithuania has largely been assimilated during the decade of independence and currently represent less than 1/10 of the country's overall population. In the twentieth century it was widely taught in the schools of the members of the old Warsaw Pact and in other countries that used to be satellites of the USSR, especially in Poland, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. However, younger generations are usually not fluent in it, because Russian is no longer mandatory in the school system. It was, and still is, widely taught in Asian countries such as Laos, Vietnam and Mongolia due to Soviet influence, and is still used as a lingua franca in Afghanistan by various tribes. Russian is also spoken in Israel by at least 750,000 ethnic Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union (1999 census). The Israeli press and websites regularly publish material in Russian. Sizeable Russian-speaking communities also exist in North America (especially in large urban centers of the US and Canada such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Miami, and Chicago). In the first two of them, Russian-speaking groups total over half a million. In a number of locations they issue their own newspapers, live in their self-sufficient neighborhoods (especially the generation of immigrants who started arriving in the early sixties). It is important to note, however, that only about a quarter of them are ethnic Russians. Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union the overwhelming majority were Russian-speaking Jews. Afterwards the influx from the countries of the former Soviet Union changed the statistics somewhat. According to the United States 2000 Census, Russian was reported as language spoken at home by 1.50% of population, or about 4.2 million, placing it as #10 language in the United States. Significant Russian-speaking groups also exist in Western Europe. These have been fed by several waves of immigrants since the beginning of the twentieth century, each with its own flavour of language. Germany, Britain, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, and Greece have significant Russian-speaking communities totaling 3 million people. Two thirds of them are actually Russian-speaking descendants of Germans, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, or Ukrainians who either repatriated after the USSR collapsed or are just looking for temporary employment. But many are well-off Russian families acquiring property and getting education. Earlier, the descendants of the Russian émigrés tended to lose the tongue of their ancestors by the third generation. Now, when the border is more open, Russian is likely to survive longer, especially when many of the emigrants visit their homelands at least once a year and also have access to Russian websites and TV channels. Recent estimates of the total number of speakers of Russian:

Official status

Russian is the official language of Russia, and an official language of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukraine) and the unrecognized Moldovan Republic of Transnistria. It is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a popular choice for many of the both native and RSL (Russian as a second language) speakers in Russia and many of the former Soviet republics. 97% of the public school students of Russia, 75% in Belarus, 41% in Kazakhstan, 24% in Ukraine, 23% in Kyrgyzstan, 21% in Moldova, 7% in Azerbaijan, 5% in Georgia received their education only or mostly in Russian, although the corresponding percentage of ethnic Russians was 80% in Russia, 11% in Belarus, 27% in Kazakhstan, 17% in Ukraine, 9% in Kyrgyzstan, 6% in Moldova, 2% in Azerbaijan, 1.5% in Georgia.

Dialects

Despite levelling after 1900, especially in matters of vocabulary, a large number of dialects exist in Russia. Some linguists divide the dialects of the Russian language into two primary regional groupings, "Northern" and "Southern", with Moscow lying on the zone of transition between the two. Others divide the language into three groupings, Northern, Central and Southern, with Moscow lying in the Central region. Dialectology within Russia recognizes dozens of smaller-scale variants. The dialects often show distinct and non-standard features of pronunciation and intonation, vocabulary, and grammar. Some of these are relics of ancient usage now completely discarded by the standard language. Also cf. Moscow pronunciation of "-чн-", e.g. "булошная" (buloshnaya - bakery) instead of "булочная" (bulochnaya). The northern dialects typically pronounce unstressed clearly (the phenomenon called okanye оканье); the southern palatalize the final and aspirate the into . It should be noted that some of these features are also present in modern Ukrainian, indicating a linguistic continuum or strong influence one way or the other. Among the first to study Russian dialects was Lomonosov in the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth, Vladimir Dal compiled the first dictionary that included dialectal vocabulary. Detailed mapping of Russian dialects began at the turn of the twentieth century. In modern times, the monumental Dialectological Atlas of the Russian Language (Диалектологический атлас русского языка ), was published in 3 folio volumes 1986-1989, after four decades of preparatory work. The standard language is based on the Moscow dialect.

Derived languages


- Fenia or Fenka, a criminal lingo of ancient origin, with Russian grammar, but with distinct vocabulary.
- Surzhyk is a Ukrainian-Russian pidgin spoken in some rural areas of Ukraine
- Trasianka is a Belarusian-Russian mix (sort of pidgin) used by a large portion of the rural population in Belarus.
- Russenorsk is an extinct pidgin language with Russian vocabulary and Norwegian grammar, used for communication between Russians and Norwegians in Svalbard and Kola Peninsula.
- Runglish: Russian-English pidgin.

Writing system

Alphabet

Runglish publication describing the "Slavonic" language.]] Russian is written using a modified version of the Cyrillic (кириллица) alphabet, consisting of 33 letters. The following table gives their majuscule forms, along with IPA values for each letter's typical sound: Old letters that have been abolished at one time or another but occur in this and related articles include or , і , and or . The yers ъ and ь were originally pronounced as ultra-short or reduced , (conventional transcription, not IPA). For information on an informal approach on transliterating Russian into English, see the article Transliteration of Russian into English.

Orthography

Russian spelling is reasonably phonetic in practice. It is in fact a balance among phonetics, morphology, etymology, and grammar, and, like that of most living languages, has its share of inconsistencies and controversial points. The current spelling follows the major reform of 1918, and the final codification of 1956. An update proposed in the late 1990's has met a hostile reception, and has not been formally adopted. The punctuation, originally based on Byzantine Greek, was in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries reformulated on the French and German models.

Sounds

The phonological system of Russian is inherited from Common Slavonic, but underwent considerable modification in the early historical period, before being largely settled by about 1400. The language possesses five vowels, which are written with different letters depending on whether or not the preceding consonant is palatalized. The consonants typically come in plain vs. palatalized pairs, which are traditionally called hard and soft. (The 'hard' consonants are sometimes said to be velarized, but this is only the case for /l/.) The standard language, based on the Moscow dialect, possesses heavy stress and moderate variation in pitch. Stressed vowels are somewhat drawled, while unstressed vowels (except /u/) tend to be reduced to an unclear schwa. Russian syllable structure can be quite complex with both initial and final consonant clusters of up to 4 consecutive sounds. Using a formula with V standing for the nucleus (vowel) and C for each consonant the stucture can be described as follows: (C)(C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C)(C)

Consonants

Russian is notable for its distinction based on palatalization of most of the consonants. While /k/, /ɡ/, /x/ do have palatalized allophones , only might be considered a phoneme, though it is marginal and generally not considered distinctive. It should be noted that palatalization is a phonological concept, and not all 'soft' consonants are phonetically palatalized. The velar and labial consonants are truly palatalized, which means that the center of the tongue is raised during and after the articulation of the consonant. The coronal stops, however, are phonetically laminal. In addition, in the case of /t/ and /d/, the tongue is raised enough to produce frication, thus making affricate-like. (There is no contrast between frication and no frication, though, as /ts/ is never palatalized.) are postalveolar with a flat tongue (laminal retroflex).

Grammar

Russian has preserved an Indo-European synthetic-inflexional structure, although considerable levelling has taken place. Russian grammar encompasses
- a highly synthetic morphology
- a syntax that, for the literary language, is the conscious fusion of three elements:
  - a polished vernacular foundation;
  - a Church Slavonic inheritance;
  - a Western European style. The spoken language has been influenced by the literary, but continues to preserve characteristic forms. The dialects show various non-standard grammatical features, some of which are archaisms or descendants of old forms since discarded by the literary language.

Vocabulary

Western European See History of Russian language for an account of the successive foreign influences on the Russian language. The total number of words in Russian is difficult to reckon because of the ability to agglutinate and create manifold compounds, diminutives, etc. (see Word Formation under Russian grammar). The number of listed words or entries in some of the major dictionaries published during the last two centuries, and the total vocabulary of Pushkin, are as follows: Philologists have estimated that the language today may contain as many as 350,000 to 500,000 words. (As a historical aside, Dahl was, in the second half of the nineteenth century, still insisting that the proper spelling of the adjective русский, which was at that time applied uniformly to all the Orthodox Eastern Slavic subjects of the Empire, as well as to its one official language, be spelled руский with one s, in accordance with ancient tradition and what he termed the "spirit of the language". He was contradicted by the philologist Grot, who distinctly heard the s lengthened or doubled.)

The language of abuse and invective

Main article: Mat (language) Apparently, the ability to curse effectively has always been recognized as a form of art not only in certain quarters of society, but even by the more conservative-minded literati. For example, as far back as in the nineteenth-century naval yarns of Staniukovich, "artistic invective" (артистическая ругань ) keeps coming out of the sailors' mouths, though it is never spelled out. The ability to agglutinate has produced the so-called "three-decker curse" (трёхэтажный мат ).

Proverbs and sayings

Main article: Russian proverbs, Russian sayings Russian language is replete with many hundreds of proverbs (пословица ) and sayings (поговоркa ). These were already tabulated by the seventeenth century, and collected and studied in the nineteenth and twentieth, with the folk-tales being an especially fertile source.

History and examples

See also: Reforms of Russian orthography The history of Russian language may be divided into the following periods.
- Origins
- The Kievan period (9th-11th centuries)
- Feudal breakup (12th-14th centuries)
- The Moscovite period (15th-17th centuries)
- Empire (18th-19th centuries)
- Soviet period and beyond (20th century) See also:
- Examples of literary language (12-20th century) Judging by the historical records, by approximately 1000 AD the predominant ethnic group over much of modern European Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus was the Eastern branch of the Slavs, speaking a closely related group of dialects. The political unification of this region into Kievan Rus, from which both modern Russia and Ukraine trace their origins, was soon followed by the adoption of Christianity in 988-9 and the establishment of Old Church Slavonic as the liturgical and literary language. Borrowings and calques from Byzantine Greek began to enter the vernacular at this time, and simultaneously the literary language began to be modified in its turn to become more nearly Eastern Slavic. Dialectal differentiation accelerated after the breakup of Kievan Rus' in approximately 1100, and the Mongol conquest of the thirteenth century. After the disestablishment of the "Tartar yoke" in the late fourteenth century, both the political centre and the predominant dialect in European Russia came to be based in Moscow. There is some consensus that Russian and Ukrainian can be considered distinct languages from this period at the latest. The official language remained a kind of Church Slavonic until the close of the seventeenth century, but, despite attempts at standardization, as by Meletius Smotrytsky c. 1620, its purity was by then strongly compromised by an incipient secular literature. The political reforms of Peter the Great were accompanied by a reform of the alphabet, and achieved their goal of secularization and Westernization. Blocks of specialized vocabulary were adopted from the languages of Western Europe. By 1800, a significant portion of the gentry spoke French, less often German, on an everyday basis. The modern literary language is usually considered to date from the time of Alexander Pushkin in the first third of the nineteenth century. The political upheavals of the early twentieth century and the wholesale changes of political ideology gave written Russian its modern appearance after the spelling reform of 1918. Political circumstances and Soviet accomplishments in military, scientific, and technological matters (especially cosmonautics), gave Russian a world-wide if occasionally grudging prestige, especially during the middle third of the twentieth century. Since the collapse of 1990-91, fashion for ways and things Western, economic uncertainties and difficulties within the educational system have made for inevitable rapid change in the language. Russian today is a tongue in great flux.

References

The following serve as references for both this article and the related articles listed below that describe the Russian language:

In English


- B. Comrie, G. Stone, M. Polinsky, The Russian Language in the Twentieth Century, 2nd. ed. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1996
- W.K. Matthews, Russian Historical Grammar, London, University of London, Athlone Press, 1960
- T.R. Carleton, Introduction to the Phonological History of the Slavic Languages, Columbus, Ohio : Slavica Publishers, 1991
- A. Stender-Petersen, Anthology of old Russian literature, New York, Columbia University Press, 1954

In Russian


- Иванов В.В. Историческая грамматика русского языка. "Просвещение", М., 1990.
- Цыганенко Г. П. Этимологический словарь русского языка. Киев, 1970.
- Т. Н. Михельсон, Рассказы русских летописей XV–XVII веков. М., 1978
- Н.М. Шанский, В.В. Иванов, Т.В. Шанская. Краткий этимологический словарь русского языка. М. 1961.
- А. Шицгал, Русский гражданский шрифт, "Исскуство", Москва, 1958, 2-e изд. 1983.
- Л. П. Жуковская, отв. ред. Древнерусский литературный язык и его отношение к старославянскому. М., «Наука», 1987. Many further references are listed in the books above.

See also

Language description


- Russian alphabet
- Russian grammar
- Russian orthography
- Russian phonetics
- History of Russian language

Related languages


- East Slavic languages
- Church Slavonic language
- Great Russian language
- Old Church Slavonic language
- Old Russian language

Other


- List of Russian language topics
- List of English words of Russian origin
- Russian literature
- Russian humour
- Russian proverbs
- Reforms of Russian orthography
- Transliteration of Russian into English
- Volapuk encoding
- Non-native pronunciations of English
- List of commonly confused homonyms in Russian
- Common phrases in different languages
- Runglish

External links


- [http://www.declan-software.com/russian Russian language learning software]
- [http://www.russianlessons.net/ Online Russian language lessons]
- [http://www.dicts.info/dictlist1.php?k1=81 All free Russian dictionaries]
- [http://overstuffed-closet.net/russian The Russian Language Fanlisting]
- [http://www.speakrus.ru/dict/ Free downloadable vocabularies of the Russian language]
- [http://RusWin.net Cyrillic (Russian)]
- [http://www.masterrussian.com MasterRussian.com - vocabulary words and phrases, tips, hand-picked links]
- [http://www.ifstudio-translations.com/ Free Russian translations.]
- [http://tinyurl.com/5lhlp Vasmer's Etymological Dictionary of Russian language]
- [http://www.masterrussian.net/mforum Russian Language Forum. A large community interested in Russian]
- [http://www.gramota.ru "GRAMOTA". An educational/reference site on the Russian language, supported by the Russian government. (In Russian)]
- [http://www.lib.ru "Moshkov's library". A large collection of classical and modern Russian e-texts. (In Russian)]
- [http://www.languagehelpers.com/Russian/TheRussianAlphabet.html Russian alphabet with sound (languagehelpers.com)]
- [http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/russian/language/ Reference Grammar]
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Russian-english/ Russian - English Dictionary]
- [http://www.lorem-ipsum.info/_russian Generator for Russian typographical filler text]
- [http://www.andaman.org/book/reprints/weber/rep-weber.htm G. Weber, "Top Languages"]
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=rus SIL Ethnologue Report for Russian]
- [http://www.linguarus.com Russian for Everybody (Self-Learning)]
- [http://www.applelanguages.com/en/learn/russian.php Russian courses]
- [http://dmoz.org/Science/Social_Sciences/Linguistics/Languages/Natural/Indo-European/Slavic/Russian/ ODP Russian Language category]
- [http://www.language-usa.com/ Russian Translation USA]
- [http://runglish1.narod.ru Runglish]
- [http://www.orlandorussians.com/ Russian Language Groups in America]
- [http://www.russki-mat.net/ Multilingual Russian slang dictionaries]
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Russian-english/ Russian English Dictionary] from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Online Dictionary] - the Rosetta Edition Category:Languages of Belarus Category:Languages of Finland Category:Languages of Russia Category:Languages of Ukraine Category:Languages of Kazakhstan Category:Languages of Georgia Category:Languages of Armenia Category:Languages of Azerbaijan Category:Languages of Turkmenistan Category:Languages of Uzbekistan Category:Languages of Moldova Category:Languages of Tajikistan Category:Languages of Kyrgyzstan Category:Languages of Estonia Category:Languages of Latvia Category:Languages of Lithuania Category:Languages of China Category:Languages of Mongolia Category:Languages of Afghanistan Category:Languages of Bulgaria Category:Russian language Category:East Slavic languages ko:러시아어 ms:Bahasa Russia ja:ロシア語 simple:Russian language th:ภาษารัสเซีย

Conifer

Cordaitales †
Pinales
  Pinaceae - Pine family
  Araucariaceae - Araucaria family
  Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family
  Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family
  Cupressaceae - Cypress family
  Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family
  Taxaceae - Yew family
Vojnovskyales †
Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being trees with just a few being shrubs. Typical examples of conifers include cedars, cypresses, douglas-firs, firs, junipers, kauris, larches, pines, redwoods, spruces, and yews. Species of conifers can be found growing naturally in almost all parts of the world, and are frequently dominant plants in their habitats, as in e.g. the taiga. Conifers are of immense economic value, primarily for timber and paper production; the wood of conifers is known as softwood.

Taxonomy and naming

The division name Pinophyta conforms with the rules of the ICBN, which state (Art 16.1) that the names of higher taxa in plants (above the rank of family) are either based on the name of the type genus, in this case, Pinus (pines), or are descriptive. In the latter case the name for the conifers is Coniferae (Art 16 Ex 2), which is in widespread use as well. Older scientific names (no longer allowed) are Coniferophyta and Coniferales. In an older, broader sense of the name, the conifers were often considered equivalent to the Gymnosperms, although this grouping is polyphyletic as it includes distinct, only distantly related plants like the cycads and ginkgos not in the Pinophyta, but excludes the Magnoliophyta (flowering plants), equally or perhaps more closely related. The division contains just one class of living plants, class Pinopsida. Subdivision of the conifers into two or more orders has been proposed from time to time. The most commonly seen in the past was a split into two orders, Taxales (Taxaceae only) and Pinales (the rest), but recent genetic evidence has shown that this interpretation leaves the Pinales without Taxales as polyphyletic, and the latter order is no longer regarded as distinct. A more accurate division would be to split the division into three orders, Pinales containing only Pinaceae, Araucariales containing Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae, and Cupressales (including Taxales) containing the remaining families, but there has not been any significant support for any division, with the majority of opinion preferring retention of all the families within a single order Pinales, despite their antiquity and diverse morphology. polyphyletic The conifers are now accepted as comprising six to eight families, with a total of 65-70 genera and 600-650 species. The seven most distinct families are linked in the box above right and phylogenetic diagram left. In other interpretations, the Cephalotaxaceae may be better included within the Taxaceae, and some authors additionally recognise Phyllocladaceae as distinct from Podocarpaceae (in which it is included here). A further family Taxodiaceae was widely recognised in the past, but is now normally included within Cupressaceae. The conifers are an ancient group, with a fossil record extending back about 300 million years to the Paleozoic in the late Carboniferous period; even many of the modern genera are recognisable from fossils 60-120 million years old. Other classes and orders, now long extinct, also occur as fossils, particularly from the late Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. Fossil conifers included many diverse forms, the most dramatically distinct from modern conifers being some herbaceous conifers with no woody stems. Major fossil orders of conifers or conifer-like plants include the Cordaitales, Vojnovskyales, Voltziales and perhaps also the Czekanowskiales (possibly more closely related to the Ginkgophyta).

Morphology

All living conifers are woody plants, and most are trees, the majority having monopodial growth form (a single, straight trunk with side branches). The size of mature conifers varies from less than one metre, to over 100 metres. The world's tallest, largest, thickest and oldest living things are all conifers. The tallest is a Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), with a height of 112.34 metres. The largest is a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), with a volume 1486.9 cubic metres. The thickest, or tree with the greatest trunk diameter, is a Montezuma Cypress (Taxodium mucronatum), 11.42 metres in diameter. The oldest is a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva), 4,700 years old.

Foliage

Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pseudotsuga menziesii)]] Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana); scale in mm]] The leaves of many conifers are long, thin and needle-like, but others, including most of the Cupressaceae and some of the Podocarpaceae, have flat, triangular scale-like leaves. Some, notably Agathis in Araucariaceae and Nageia in Podocarpaceae, have broad, flat strap-shaped leaves. In the majority of conifers, the leaves are arranged spirally, exceptions being most of Cupressaceae and one genus in Podocarpaceae, where they are arranged in decussate opposite pairs or whorls of 3 (-4). In many species with spirally arranged leaves, the leaf bases are twisted to present the leaves in a flat plane for maximum light capture (see e.g. photo of Grand Fir Abies grandis). Leaf size varies from 2 mm in many scale-leaved species, up to 400 mm long in the needles of some pines (e.g. Apache Pine Pinus engelmannii). The stomata are in lines or patches on the leaves, and can be closed when it is very dry or cold. The leaves are often dark green in colour which may help absorb a maximum of energy from weak sunshine at high latitudes or under forest canopy shade. Conifers from hotter areas with high sunlight levels (e.g. Turkish Pine Pinus brutia) often have yellower-green leaves, while others (e.g. Blue Spruce Picea pungens) have a very strong glaucous wax bloom to reflect ultraviolet light. In the great majority of genera the leaves are evergreen, usually remaining on the plant for several (2-40) years before falling, but three genera (Larix, Taxodium and Metasequoia) are deciduous, shedding the leaves in autumn and leafless through the winter. The seedlings of many conifers, including most of the Cupressaceae, and Pinus in Pinaceae, have a distinct juvenile foliage period where the leaves are different, often markedly so, from the typical adult leaves.

Reproduction

deciduous See conifer cones for a more detailed discussion. Most conifers are monoecious, but some are subdioecious or dioecious; all are wind-pollinated. Conifer seeds develop inside a protective cone called a strobilus (or, very loosely, "pine cones", which technically occur only on pines, not other conifers!). The cones take from four months to three years to reach maturity, and vary in size from 2 mm to 600 mm long. In Pinaceae, Araucariaceae, Sciadopityaceae and most Cupressaceae, the cones are woody, and when mature the scales usually spread open allowing the seeds to fall out and be dispersed by the wind. In some (e.g. firs), the cones disintegrate to release the seeds, and in others (e.g. the pines that produce pine nuts) the nut-like seeds are dispersed by birds (mainly nutcrackers and jays) which break up the specially adapted softer cones. Ripe cones may remain on the plant for a varied amount of time before falling to the ground; in some fire-adapted pines, the seeds may be stored in closed cones for up to 60-80 years, being released only when a fire kills the parent tree. jay In the families Podocarpaceae, Cephalotaxaceae, Taxaceae, and one Cupressaceae genus (Juniperus), the scales are soft, fleshy, sweet and brightly coloured, and are eaten by fruit-eating birds, which then pass the seeds in their droppings. These fleshy scales are (except in Juniperus) known as arils. In some of these conifers (e.g. most Podocarpaceae), the cone consists of several fused scales, while in others (e.g. Taxaceae), the cone is reduced to just one seed scale or (e.g. Cephalotaxaceae) the several scales of a cone develop into individual arils, giving the appearance of a cluster of berries. The male cones have structures called microsporangia which produce yellowish pollen. Pollen is released and carried by the wind to female cones. Pollen grains from living pinophyte species produce pollen tubes, much like those of angiosperms. When a pollen grain lands near a female gametophyte, it undergoes meiosis and fertilizes the female gametophyte. The resulting zygote develops into an embryo, which along with its surrounding integument, becomes a seed. Eventually the seed may fall to the ground and, if conditions permit, grows into a new plant. In forestry, the terminology of flowering plants has commonly though inaccurately been applied to cone-bearing trees as well. The male cone and unfertilized female cone are called "male flower" and "female flower", respectively. After fertilization, the female cone is term "fruit", which undergoes "ripening" (maturation).

Life cycle

# To fertilize the ovum, the male cone releases pollen that is carried on the wind to the female cone. # A fertilized female gamete (called a zygote) develops into an embryo. # Along with integument cells surrounding the embryo, a seed develops containing the embryo. # Mature seed drops out of cone onto the ground. # Seed germinates and seedling grows into a mature plant. # When mature, the adult plant produces cones.

Other facts

seed Although the total number of species is relatively small, conifers are of immense ecological importance. They are the dominant plants over huge areas of land, most notably the boreal forests of the northern hemisphere, but also in similar cool climates in mountains further south. Many conifers have distinctly scented resin, secreted to protect the tree against insect infestation and fungal infection of wounds. Fossilised resin hardens into amber.

External link


- [http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Conifers&contgroup=Spermatopsida ToLweb: Conifers] Category:Conifers ko:구과식물 ja:球果植物門

Tree

, the tallest tree species on earth]] A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. Though there is no set definition regarding minimum size, the term generally applies to plants at least 6 m (20 ft) high at maturity and, more importantly, having secondary branches supported on a single main stem or trunk (see shrub for comparison). Compared with most other plant forms, trees are long-lived. A few species of trees grow to 100 m tall, and some can live for several thousand years. Trees are important components of the natural landscape and significant elements in landscaping, and in agriculture supplying orchard crops (such as apples). Trees also play an important role in many of the world's mythologies (see Tree (mythology)).

Classifications

Tree (mythology)]] A tree is a plant form and trees occur in many different orders and families of plants. Trees thus show a wide variety of growth form, leaf type and shape, bark characteristics, reproductive structures, etc. The earliest trees were tree ferns and horsetails, which grew in vast forests in the Carboniferous Period; tree ferns still survive, but the only surviving horsetails are not of tree form. Later, in the Triassic Period, conifers, ginkgos, cycads and other gymnosperms appeared, and subsequently flowering plants in the Cretaceous Period. Most species of trees today are flowering plants and conifers. The listing below gives examples of many well-known trees and how they are typically classified. A small group of trees growing together is called a grove or copse, and a landscape covered by a dense growth of trees is called a forest. Several biotopes are defined largely by the trees that inhabit them; examples are rainforest and taiga (see ecozones). A landscape of trees scattered or spaced across grassland (usually grazed or burned over periodically) is called a savanna.

Morphology

The basic parts of a tree are the roots, trunk(s), branches, twigs and leaves. Tree stems consist mainly of support and transport tissues (xylem and phloem). Wood consists of xylem cells, and bark is made of phloem and other tissues external to the vascular cambium. Trees may be broadly grouped into exogenous and endogenous trees according to the way in which their stem diameter increases. Exogenous trees, which comprise the great majority of modern trees (all conifers, and all broadleaf trees), grow by the addition of new wood outwards, immediately under the bark. Endogenous trees, mainly in the monocotyledons (e.g. palms), grow by addition of new material inwards. As an exogenous tree grows, it creates growth rings. In temperate climates, these are commonly visible due to changes in the rate of growth with temperature variation over an annual cycle. These rings can be counted to determine the age of the tree, and used to date cores or even wood taken from trees in the past; this practice is known as the science of dendrochronology. In some tropical regions with constant year-round climate, growth is continuous and distinct rings are not formed, so age determination is impossible. Age determination is also impossible in endogenous trees. dendrochronology, Chile]] The roots of a tree are generally embedded in earth, providing anchorage for the above-ground biomass and absorbing water and nutrients from the soil. Above ground, the trunk gives height to the leaf-bearing branches, aiding in competition with other plant species for sunlight. In many trees, the arrangement of the branches optimizes exposure of the leaves to sunlight. Not all trees have all the plant organs or parts mentioned above. For example, most palm trees are not branched, the saguaro cactus of North America has no functional leaves, tree ferns do not produce bark, etc. Based on their general shape and size, all of these are nonetheless generally regarded as trees. Indeed, sometimes size is the more important consideration. A plant form that is similar to a tree, but generally having smaller, multiple trunks and/or branches that arise near the ground, is called a shrub. However, no sharp differentiation between shrubs and trees is possible. Given their small size, bonsai plants would not technically be 'trees', but one should not confuse reference to the form of a species with the size or shape of individual specimens. A spruce seedling does not fit the definition of a tree, but all spruces are trees. Bamboos by contrast, do show most of the characteristics of trees, yet are rarely called trees.

Champion trees

The world's champion trees can be considered on several factors; height, trunk diameter or girth, total size, and age. It is significant that in each case, the top position is always held by a conifer, though a different species in each case; in most measures, the second to fourth places are also held by conifers. ;Tallest trees The heights of the tallest trees in the world have been the subject of considerable dispute and much (often wild) exaggeration. Modern verified measurement with laser rangefinders combined with tape drop measurements made by tree climbers, carried out by the [http://www.uark.edu/misc/ents/home.htm U.S. Eastern Native Tree Society] has shown that most older measuring methods and measurements are unreliable, often producing exaggerations of 5% to 15% above the real height. Historical claims of trees of 114 m, 117 m, 130 m, and even 150 m, are now largely disregarded as unreliable, fantasy or outright fraud. The following are now accepted as the top five tallest reliably measured species: # Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens: 112.83 m, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California ([http://www.conifers.org/cu/se/index.htm Gymnosperm Database]) # Coast Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii: 100.3 m, Brummit Creek, Coos County, Oregon ([http://www.conifers.org/pi/ps/menziesii2.htm Gymnosperm Database]) # Sitka Spruce Picea sitchensis: 96.7 m, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California ([http://www.conifers.org/pi/pic/sitchensis.htm Gymnosperm Database]) # Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 93.6 m, Redwood Mountain Grove, California ([http://www.conifers.org/cu/se2/index.htm Gymnosperm Database]) # Australian Mountain-ash Eucalyptus regnans: 92.0 m, Styx Valley, Tasmania ([http://www.forestrytas.com.au/forestrytas/tasfor/tasforests_12/tasfor_12_09.pdf Forestry Tasmania] [pdf file]) ;Stoutest trees The girth (circumference) of a tree is – or at least should be – much easier to measure than the height, as it is a simple matter of stretching a tape round the trunk, and pulling it taut to find the circumference. Despite this, U.K. tree author Alan Mitchell made the following comment about measurements of yew trees in the British Isles: :"The aberrations of past measurements of yews are beyond belief. For example, the tree at Tisbury has a well-defined, clean, if irregular bole at least 1.5 m long. It has been found to have a girth which has dilated and shrunk in the following way: 11.28 m (1834 Loudon), 9.3 m (1892 Lowe), 10.67 m (1903 Elwes and Henry), 9.0 m (1924 E. Swanton), 9.45 m (1959 Mitchell) .... Earlier measurements have therefore been omitted". As a general standard, tree girth is taken at 'breast height'; this is defined differently in different situations, with most foresters measuring girth at 1.3 m above ground, while ornamental tree measurers usually measure at 1.5 m above ground; in most cases this makes little difference to the measured girth. On sloping ground, the "above ground" reference point is usually taken as the highest point on the ground touching the trunk, but some use the average between the highest and lowest points of ground. Some of the inflated old measurements may have been taken at ground level. Some past exaggerated measurements also result from measuring the complete next-to-bark measurement, pushing the tape in and out over every crevice and buttress. Modern trends are to cite the tree's diameter rather than the circumference; this is obtained by dividing the measured circumference by π; it assumes the trunk is circular in cross-section (an oval or irregular cross-section would result in a mean diameter slightly greater than the assumed circle). This is cited as dbh (diameter at breast height) in tree literature. A further problem with measuring baobabs Adansonia is that these trees store large amounts of water in the very soft wood in their trunks. This leads to marked variation in their girth over the year, swelling to a maximum at the end of the rainy season, minimum at the end of the dry season. Although baobabs have some of the highest girth measurements of any trees, no accurate measurements are currently available, but probably do not exceed 10-11 m diameter. The stoutest species in diameter, excluding baobabs, are: # Montezuma Cypress Taxodium mucronatum: 11.42 m, Árbol del Tule, Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico (A. F. Mitchell, International Dendrology Society Year Book 1983: 93, 1984). # Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 8.85 m, General Grant tree, Grant Grove, California ([http://www.conifers.org/cu/se2/index.htm Gymnosperm Database]) # Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens: 7.44 m, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California ([http://www.conifers.org/cu/se/index.htm Gymnosperm Database]) ;Largest trees The largest trees in total volume are those which are both tall and of large diameter, and in particular, which hold a large diameter high up the trunk. Measurement is very complex, particularly if branch volume is to be included as well as the trunk volume, so measurements have only been made for a small number of trees, and generally only for the trunk. No attempt has ever been made to include root volume. The top four species measured so far are ([http://www.conifers.org/topics/biggest.htm Gymnosperm Database]): # Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 1489 m³, General Sherman tree # Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens: 1045 m³, Del Norte Titan tree # Western Redcedar Thuja plicata: 500 m³, Quinault Lake Redcedar # Kauri Agathis australis: 400 m³, Tane Mahuta tree (total volume, including branches, 516.7 m³)
However, the Alerce Fitzroya cupressoides, as yet un-measured, may well slot in at third or fourth place, and Montezuma Cypress Taxodium mucronatum is also likely to be high in the list. The largest angiosperm tree is a Australian Mountain-ash, the 'El Grande' tree of about 380 m³ in Tasmania. ;Oldest trees The oldest trees are determined by growth ring counts in cores taken from the edge to the centre of the tree or from entire cross-sections. Accurate determination is only possible for trees which produce growth rings, generally those which occur in seasonal climates; trees in uniform non-seasonal tropical climates grow continuously and do not have distinct growth rings. It is also only possible for trees which are solid to the centre of the tree; many very old trees become hollow as the dead heartwood decays away. For some of these species, age estimates have been made on the basis of extrapolating current growth rates, but the results are usually little better than guesswork or wild speculation. The verified oldest measured ages are ([http://www.conifers.org/topics/oldest.htm Gymnosperm Database]): # Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Pinus longaeva: 4844 years # Alerce Fitzroya cupressoides: 3622 years # Giant Sequoia Sequoia sempervirens: 3266 years # Huon-pine Lagarostrobos franklinii: 2500 years # Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine Pinus aristata: 2435 years Other species suspected of reaching exceptional age include European Yew Taxus baccata (probably over 3000 years) and Western Redcedar Thuja plicata. The oldest verified age for an angiosperm tree is 2293 years for the Sri Maha Bodhi Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa) planted in 288 BC at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka; this is also the oldest human-planted tree with a known planting date.

Major tree genera

Flowering plants (Magnoliophyta; angiosperms)

Dicotyledons (Magnoliopsida; broadleaf or hardwood trees)


- Anacardiaceae (Cashew family)
  - Cashew, Anacardium occidentale
  - Mango, Mangifera indica
  - Pistachio, Pistacia vera
  - Sumac, Rhus species
  - Lacquer tree, Toxicodendron verniciflua
- Annonaceae (Custard apple family)
  - Cherimoya Annona cherimola
  - Custard apple Annona reticulata
  - Pawpaw Asimina triloba
  - Soursop Annona muricata
- Apocynaceae (Dogbane family)
  - Pachypodium Pachypodium species
- Aquifoliaceae (Holly family)
  - Holly, Ilex species
- Araliaceae (Ivy family)
  - Kalopanax, Kalopanax pictus Kalopanax tree (background) in fall]]
- Betulaceae (Birch family)
  - Alder, Alnus species
  - Birch, Betula species
  - Hornbeam, Carpinus species
  - Hazel, Corylus species
- Bignoniaceae (family)
  - Catalpa, Catalpa species
- Cactaceae (Cactus family)
  - Saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea
- Cannabaceae (Cannabis family)
  - Hackberry, Celtis species
- Cornaceae (Dogwood family)
  - Dogwood, Cornus species
- Dipterocarpaceae family
  - Garjan Dipterocarpus species
  - Sal Shorea species
- Ericaceae (Heath family)
  - Arbutus, Arbutus species
- Eucommiaceae (Eucommia family)
  - Eucommia Eucommia ulmoides
- Fabaceae (Pea family)
  - Acacia, Acacia species
  - Honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos
  - Black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia
  - Laburnum, Laburnum species
  - Pau Brasil, Brazilwood, Caesalpinia echinata
- Fagaceae (Beech family )
  - Chestnut, Castanea species
  - Beech, Fagus species
  - Southern beech, Nothofagus species
  - Tanoak, Lithocarpus densiflorus
  - Oak, Quercus species
- Fouquieriaceae (Boojum family)
  - Boojum, Fouquieria columnaris
- Hamamelidaceae (Witch-hazel family)
  - Sweetgum, Liquidambar species
  - Persian Ironwood, Parrotia persica
- Juglandaceae (Walnut family)
  - Walnut, Juglans species
  - Hickory, Carya species
  - Wingnut, Pterocarya species
- Lauraceae (Laurel family)
  - Cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylanicum
  - Bay Laurel Laurus nobilis
  - Avocado Persea americana
- Lecythidaceae (Paradise nut family)
  - Brazil Nut Bertholletia excelsa
- Lythraceae Loosestrife family
  - Crape-myrtle Lagerstroemia species
- Magnoliaceae (Magnolia family)
  - Tulip tree, Liriodendron species
  - Magnolia, Magnolia species
- Malvaceae (Mallow family; including Tiliaceae and Bombacaceae) Bombacaceae
  - Baobab, Adansonia species
  - Silk-cotton tree, Bombax species
  - Bottletrees, Brachychiton species
  - Kapok, Ceiba pentandra
  - Durian, Durio zibethinus
  - Balsa, Ochroma lagopus
  - Cacao (cocoa), Theobroma cacao
  - Linden (Basswood, Lime), Tilia species
- Meliaceae (Mahogany family)
  - Neem, Azadirachta indica
  - Bead tree, Melia azedarach
  - Mahogany, Swietenia mahagoni
- Moraceae (Mulberry family)
  - Fig, Ficus species
  - Mulberry, Morus species
- Myristicaceae (Nutmeg family)
  - Nutmeg, Mysristica fragrans
- Myrtaceae (Myrtle family)
  - Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus species
  - Myrtle, Myrtus species
  - Guava, Psidium guajavaGuava in flower]]
- Nyssaceae (Tupelo family; sometimes included in Cornaceae)
  - Tupelo, Nyssa species
  - Dove tree, Davidia involucrata
- Oleaceae (Olive family)
  - Olive, Olea europaea
  - Ash, Fraxinus species
- Paulowniaceae (Paulownia family)
  - Foxglove Tree, Paulownia species
- Platanaceae (Plane family)
  - Plane, Platanus species
- Rhizophoraceae (Mangrove family)
  - Red Mangrove, Rhizophora mangle
- Rosaceae (Rose family)
  - Rowans, Whitebeams, Service Trees Sorbus species
  - Hawthorn, Crataegus species
  - Pear, Pyrus species
  - Apple, Malus species
  - Almond, Prunus dulcis
  - Peach, Prunus persica
  - Plum, Prunus domestica
  - Cherry, Prunus species
- Rubiaceae (Bedstraw family)
  - Coffee, Coffea species
- Rutaceae (Rue family)
  - Citrus, Citrus species
  - Cork-tree, Phellodendron species
  - Euodia, Tetradium species
- Salicaceae (Willow family)
  - Aspen, Populus species
  - Poplar, Populus species
  - Willow, Salix species Willow
- Sapindaceae (including Aceraceae, Hippocastanaceae) (Soapberry family)
  - Maple, Acer species
  - Buckeye, Horse-chestnut, Aesculus species
  - Mexican Buckeye, Ungnadia speciosa
  - Lychee, Litchi sinensis
  - Golden rain tree, Koelreuteria paniculata
- Sapotaceae (Sapodilla family)
  - Gutta-percha, Palaquium species
  - Tambalacoque, or "dodo tree", Sideroxylon grandiflorum, previously Calvaria major
- Simaroubaceae family
  - Tree of heaven, Ailanthus species
- Theaceae (Camellia family)
  - Gordonia, Gordonia species
  - Stuartia, Stuartia species
- Thymelaeaceae (Thymelaea family)
  - Ramin, Gonystylus species
- Ulmaceae (Elm family)
  - Elm, Ulmus species
  - Zelkova, Zelkova species
- Verbenaceae family
  - Teak, Tectona species

Monocotyledons (Liliopsida)

Monocotyledon
- Agavaceae (Agave family)
  - Cabbage tree, Cordyline australis
  - Dragon tree, Dracaena draco
  - Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
- Arecaceae (Palmae) (Palm family)
  - Areca Nut, Areca catechu
  - Coconut Cocos nucifera
  - Date Palm, Phoenix dactylifera
  - Chusan Palm, Trachycarpus fortunei
- Poaceae (grass family)
  - Bamboos Poaceae subfamily Bambusoideae
- Note that banana 'trees' are not actually trees; they are not woody nor is the stalk perennial.

Conifers (Pinophyta; softwood trees)


- Araucariaceae (Araucaria family)
  - Araucaria, Araucaria species
  - Kauri, Agathis species
- Cupressaceae (Cypress family)
  - Cypress, Cupressus species
  - Cypress, Chamaecyparis species
  - Juniper, Juniperus species
  - Alerce or Patagonian cypress, Fitzroya cupressoides
  - Sugi, Cryptomeria japonica
  - Coast Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens
  - Giant Sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum
  - Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides
  - Bald Cypress, Taxodium distichum
- Pinaceae (Pine family)
  - White pine, Pinus species
  - Pinyon pine, Pinus species
  - Pine, Pinus species
  - Spruce, Picea species
  - Larch, Larix species
  - Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga species
  - Fir, Abies species
  - Cedar, Cedrus species
- Podocarpaceae (Yellowwood family)
  - African Yellowwood, Afrocarpus falcatus
  - Totara, Podocarpus totara
- Sciadopityaceae
  - Kusamaki, Sciadopitys species
- Taxaceae (Yew family)
  - Yew, Taxus species

Ginkgos (Ginkgophyta)


- Ginkgoaceae (Ginkgo family)
  - Ginkgo, Ginkgo biloba

Cycads (Cycadophyta)


- Cycadaceae family
  - Ngathu cycad, Cycas angulata
- Zamiaceae family
  - Wunu cycad, Lepidozamia hopei

Ferns (Pterophyta)


- Cyatheaceae and Dicksoniaceae families
  - Tree ferns, Cyathea, Alsophila, Dicksonia (not a monophyletic group)

Life stages

The life cycles of trees, especially conifers, are divided into the following stages in forestry for survey and documentation purposes: # Seed # Seedling: the above ground part of the embryo that sprout from the seed # Sapling: After the seedling reaches 1m tall, and until it reaches 7cm in stem diameter # Pole: young trees from 7-30cm diameter # Mature tree: over 30cm diameter, reproductive years begin # Old tree: dominate old growth forest; height growth slows greatly, with majority of productivity in seed production # Overmature: dieback and decay become common # Snag: standing dead wood # Log/debris: fallen dead wood Tree diameters are measured at height of between 1.3-1.5m above the highest point on the ground at its base. The 7cm diameter definition is economically based, from the smallest saleable stem size (for paper production, etc), and the 30cm diameter is the smallest base diameter for sawlogs. Each stage may be uniquely perceptive to different pathogens and suitable for especially adapted arboreal animals.

See also


- Arboretum
  - Pinetum
- Arboriculture (the care of trees)
- Bonsai
- Christmas tree
- Dendrology (the study of trees)
  - Dendrochronology
  - Dendroclimatology
- Ecology
  - Tree-line
- Forestry
  - Deforestation
  - Plantation
  - Urban Forestry
  - Woodland management
- Fruit trees
- List of famous trees
- List of garden plants
- Plants
- Prehistoric plants
- Tree climbing
- Trees in mythology
- Trees of the world
  - Trees of Britain and Ireland
  - Trees of Canada
  - List of U.S. state trees
  - Trees of The Caribbean Basin
  - Trees of Iran
  - List of trees of New Zealand
- Wood
  - List of woods

External links


- [http://www.globaltrees.org/default.asp GLOBAL TREES .org] Campaigning to save the world's most threatened trees
- [http://www.fssca.net/romero/ Romero Memorial Tree Project] Plant a tree in El Salvador

Bibliography


- Pakenham, T. (2002). Remarkable Trees of the World. ISBN 0297843001
- Pakenham, T. (1996). Meetings with Remarkable Trees. ISBN 0297832557 Category:Plants
-
- Category:Botany Category: plant morphology ms:Pokok ja:木 simple:Tree th:ต้นไม้

Larch


About 12; see text Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. They are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the far north, and high on mountains further south. Larches are among the dominant plants in the immense boreal forests of Russia and Canada. Canada They are deciduous trees, growing from 15-50 m tall. The shoots are dimorphic, with growth divided into long shoots typically 10-50 cm long and bearing several buds, and short shoots only 1-2 mm long with only a single bud. The leaves are needle-like, 2-5 cm long, slender (under 1 mm wide). They are borne singly, spirally arranged on the long shoots, and in dense clusters of 20-50 needles on the short shoots. The needles turn yellow and fall in the late autumn, leaving the trees leafless through the winter. Larch cones are erect, small, 1-9 cm long, green or purple, ripening brown 5-8 months after pollination; in about half the species the bract scales are long and visible, and in the others, short and hidden between the seed scales. Those native to northern regions have small cones (1-3 cm) with short bracts, with more southerly species tending to have longer cones (3-9 cm), often with exserted bracts, with the longest cones and bracts produced by the southernmost species, in the Himalaya.

Species and classification

There are 10-14 species; those marked '
- ' in the list below are not accepted as distinct species by all authorities. In the past, the cone bract length was often used to divide the larches into two sections (sect. Larix with short bracts, and sect. Multiserialis with long bracts), but genetic evidence does not support this division, pointing instead to a genetic divide between Old World and New World species, with the cone and bract size being merely adaptations to climatic conditions. ;Old World
- Larix decidua (syn. L. europaea) European Larch. Mountains of central Europe.
- Larix gmelinii (syn. L. dahurica) Dahurian Larch. Plains of eastern Siberia.
- Larix griffithii (syn. L. griffithiana) Himalayan Larch. Mountains of eastern Himalaya
- Larix himalaica Langtang Larch
- . Mountains of central Himalaya.
- Larix kaempferi (syn. L. leptolepis) Japanese Larch. Mountains of central Japan. Japan
- Larix kongboensis Tibetan Larch
- . Mountains of southeast Tibet, northeast of L. grffithii.
- Larix mastersiana Masters' Larch. Mountains of western China.
- Larix potaninii Chinese Larch. Mountains of southwestern China (Sichuan, northern Yunnan).
- Larix principis-rupprechtii Prince Rupprecht's Larch
- . Mountains of northern China (Shanxi, Hebei).
- Larix sibirica Siberian Larch. Plains of western Siberia.
- Larix speciosa Yunnan Larch
- . Mountains of southwesternmost China (southwest Yunnan), northeast Myanmar. ;New World
- Larix laricina Tamarack Larch or American Larch. Plains of northern North America.
- Larix lyallii Subalpine Larch. Mountains of northwest USA and southwest Canada, at very high altitude.
- Larix occidentalis Western Larch. Mountains of northwest USA and southwest Canada, at lower altitudes. Most if not all of the species can be hybridised in cultivation; the best known hybrid is Larix x marschlinsii (a.k.a. L. x eurolepis, an illegitimate name), the Dunkeld Larch, which arose more or less simultanously in Switzerland and Scotland when L. decidua and L. kaempferi hybridised when planted together.

Uses

Larch is valued in forestry for its wood, which is tough, waterproof and durable, with top quality knot-free timber being in great demand for building yachts and other small boats. Larch has also been used in herbal medicine; see Bach flower remedies for details. Larch is used as a food plant by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera which feed on Larches.

External links


- [http://www.conifers.org/pi/la/index.htm Gymnosperm Database - Larix] Category:Pinaceae

Pine

:This article deals with the tree; for the e-mail client see Pine (email client)
About 115. Pines are coniferous trees of the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authors accept anything from 105 to 125 species.

Distribution

Pines are native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, they range from the Arctic south to Nicaragua and Hispaniola, with the highest diversity in Mexico and California. In Eurasia, they range from Portugal and Scotland east to the Russian Far East, Japan, and the Philippines, and south to northernmost Africa, the Himalaya and Southeast Asia, with one species (Sumatran Pine) just crossing the Equator in Sumatra. Pines are also extensively planted in many parts of the Southern Hemisphere.

Morphology

Pines are evergreen and resinous. The bark of most pines is thick and scaly, but some species have thin, flaking bark. The branches are produced in regular "pseudowhorls", actually a very tight spiral but appearing like a ring of branches arising from the same point. Many pines are uninodal, producing just one such whorl of branches each year, from buds at the tip of the year's new shoot, but others are multinodal, producing two or more whorls of branches per year. The spiral growth of branches, needles and cone scales are arranged in Fibonacci number ratios. The new spring shoots are sometimes called "candles"; they are light-colored and point upward at first, later darken and spreading outward. These "candles" offer foresters a means to evaluate fertility of the soil and/or vigour of the trees. fertility

Foliage

Pines have four types of leaves. Seedlings begin with # a whorl of 4-20 seed leaves (cotyledons), followed immediately by #juvenile leaves on young plants, 2-6 cm long, single, green or often blue-green, and arranged spirally on the shoot. These are replaced after six months to five years by #scale leaves, similar to bud scales, small, brown and non-photosynthetic, and arranged like the juvenile leaves; and #the adult leaves or needles, green (photosynthetic), bundled in clusters (fascicles) of (1-) 2-5 (-6) needles together, each fascicle produced from a small bud on a dwarf shoot in the axil of a scale leaf. These bud scales often remain on the fascicle as a basal sheath. The needles persist for 1.5-40 years, depending on species. If a shoot is damaged (e.g. eaten by an animal), the needle fascicles just below the damage will generate a bud which can then replace the lost growth.

Cones

bud Pines are mostly monoecious, having the male and female cones on the same tree, though a few species are sub-dioecious with individuals predominantly, but not wholly, single-sex. The male cones are small, typically 1-5 cm long, and only present for a short period (usually in spring, though autumn in a few pines), falling as soon as they have shed their pollen. The female cones take 1.5-3 years (depending on species) to mature after pollination, with actual fertilization delayed one year. At maturity the cones are 3-60 cm long. Each cone has numerous spirally arranged scales, with two seeds on each fertile scale; the scales at the base and tip of the cone are small and sterile, without seeds. The seeds are mostly small and winged, and are anemophilous (wind-dispersed), but some are larger and have only a vestigial wing, and are bird-dispersed (see below). At maturity, the cones usually open to release the seeds, but in some of the bird-dispersed species (e.g. Whitebark Pine), the seeds are only released by the bird breaking the cones open. In others, the fire climax pines (e.g. Monterey Pine, Pond Pine), the seeds are stored in closed ("serotinous") cones for many years until a forest fire kills the parent tree; the cones are also opened by the heat and the stored seeds are then released in huge numbers to re-populate the burnt ground.

Ecology

Pond Pines in Prince George, British Columbia.]] Pines grow well in acid soils, some also on calcareous soils; most require good soil drainage, preferring sandy soils, but a few, e.g. Lodgepole Pine, will tolerate poorly drained wet soils. A few are able to sprout after forest fires, e.g. Canary Island Pine. Some species of pines, e.g. Bishop Pine, need fire to regenerate and their populations slowly decline under fire suppression regimes. Several species are adapted to extreme conditions imposed by elevation and latitude; see e.g. Siberian Dwarf Pine, Mountain Pine, Whitebark Pine and the bristlecone pines. The pinyon pines and a number of others, notably Turkish Pine, are particularly well adapted to growth in hot, dry semi-desert climates. The seeds are commonly eaten by birds and squirrels. Some birds, notably the Spotted Nutcracker, Clark's Nutcracker and Pinyon Jay, are of importance in distributing pine seeds to new areas where they can grow. Pine needles are sometimes eaten by some Lepidoptera species including Autumnal Moth, Bordered White (also known as Pine Looper), The Engrailed, Pine Beauty, Pine Processionary and Scalloped Hazel, and also the Symphytan species Pine Sawfly.

Classification of Pines

Pine Sawfly Pines are divided into three subgenera, based on cone, seed and leaf characters:
- Subgenus Strobus (white or soft pines). Cone scale without a sealing band. Umbo terminal. Seedwings adnate. One fibrovascular bundle per leaf.
- Subgenus Ducampopinus (pinyon, lacebark and bristlecone pines). Cone scale without a sealing band. Umbo dorsal. Seedwings articulate. One fibrovascular bundle per leaf.
- Subgenus Pinus (yellow or hard pines). Cone scale with a sealing band. Umbo dorsal. Seedwings articulate. Two fibrovascular bundles per leaf. For more details, see Pinus classification (under construction).

List of pines by region

Old World

;Europe & Mediterranean region (some extend into Asia):
- P. brutia - Turkish Pine
- P. canariensis - Canary Island Pine
- P. cembra - Swiss Pine
- P. halepensis - Aleppo Pine
- P. heldreichii - Bosnian Pine
- P. mugo - Mountain Pine
- P. nigra - European Black Pine or Austrian Pine
- P. peuce - Macedonian Pine
- P. pinaster - Maritime Pine
- P. pinea - Stone Pine
- P. sylvestris - Scots Pine ;Asia:
- P. amamiana - Yakushima White Pine
- P. armandii - Chinese White Pine
- P. bhutanica - Bhutan White Pine
- P. bungeana - Lacebark Pine
- P. dalatensis - Vietnamese White Pine
- P. densata - Sikang Pine
- P. densiflora - Japanese Red Pine
- P. eremitana - North Vietnam White Pine
- P. fenzeliana - Hainan White Pine
- P. fragilissima - Wulu Pine
- P. gerardiana - Chilgoza Pine
- P. henryi - Henry's Pine
- P. hwangshanensis - Huangshan Pine
- P. kesiya - Khasi Pine
- P. koraiensis - Korean Pine
- P. krempfii - Krempf's Pine
- P. latteri - Tenasserim Pine
- P. luchuensis - Luchu Pine
- P. massoniana - Masson's Pine
- P. merkusii - Sumatran Pine
- P. morrisonicola - Taiwan White Pine
- P. orthophylla - Wuzhi Shan White Pine
- P. parviflora - Japanese White Pine
- P. pumila - Siberian Dwarf Pine
- P. roxburghii - Chir Pine
- P. sibirica - Siberian Pine
- P. squamata - Qiaojia Pine
- P. tabuliformis - Chinese Red Pine
- P. taiwanensis - Taiwan Red Pine
- P. thunbergii - Japanese Black Pine
- P. uyematsui - Uyematsu White Pine
- P. wallichiana - Blue Pine
- P. wangii (syn. P. kwangtungensis) - Guangdong White Pine
- P. yunnanensis - Yunnan Pine

New World

;Canada and USA, except for areas close to the Mexican border:
- P. albicaulis - Whitebark Pine
- P. aristata - Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine
- P. attenuata - Knobcone Pine
- P. balfouriana - Foxtail Pine
- P. banksiana - Jack Pine
- P. clausa - Sand Pine
- P. contorta - Lodgepole Pine
- P. coulteri - Coulter Pine
- P. echinata - Shortleaf Pine
- P. edulis - Colorado Pinyon
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