101 Amazing Facts about Trees

Osage orange tree; wood from this species burns hotter than any other tree we know of.

India is the country with the largest variety of trees in the world.

Evergreen trees are often tall with a triangular shape; their leaves are commonly thinner with some being almost needle-like. Most are softwood, and examples include the Scots pine, golden larch, Douglas fir and giant sequoia.

The next type of tree is the evergreen, quite simply named because their leaves remain green all year round, only dropping old leaves rather than becoming totally bare in winter.

Trees come in two main types. Firstly there are deciduous trees, also known as broadleaf trees. These tend to have larger leaves than other tree types, and they shed their leaves during autumn.

In addition to regulating the quality of our air, trees provide a habitat for many thousands of species across the world from the smallest micro-organisms to large primates - and even humans!

Trees also remove other airborne pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides.

any thousands of acres of trees are cut down every day for reasons including using the wood as fuel, clearing areas for human habitation and for other industries such as paper and matches. We must be careful though - the more trees we cut down, the less carbon dioxide is absorbed.

One of the most important properties of trees (to us as humans) is that they absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. This ensures that the air on our planet remains breathable.

Every growing season a new layer of wood is added which thickens the trunk; this process is known as ‘secondary growth’.