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Meet A Tree Booklet
Merit Students Encyclopedia VOL.18
Macmillan Educational Company
Maxwell Macmillan International Publishing Group


The characteristics of a general plant are:

-stem (trunk is a type of stem)
-roots
-leaves
-flowers (cone-bearing trees, such as pine, spruce,
and fir don't have true flowers)
-seeds/fruit


Trees Herbaceous Plants
-trunk -stem
-hard woody trunk-soft stem
-leaves-leaves
-may have flowers-may have flowers
-roots-roots
-bark-no bark
-seeds and/or
fruit may be present		 -seeds and/or
fruit may be present
-branches-may or may not have
branches

To summarize the difference between trees and herbaceous plants:
-trees are larger than herbaceous plants
-trees have thicker stems
-trees have harder, woody stems & branches
-a tree's leaves are usually larger
-trees have bigger roots

In general there are 2 major differences between trees and other plants: size and structure. Trees are bigger and are woody, not soft stemmed. Shrubs are also woody plants but they tend to be smaller than trees and have more than one stem

The major part of a tree or any plant, -roots, stem and leaves - work together to help it grow. Here is a brief summary of their roles.

ROOTS:

  • anchor the tree
  • take up water and minerals from the soil to feed the tree

    STEM/TRUNK

  • provide support to the tree
  • contains the "plumbing of the tree where water and minerals are carried from the roots up to the rest of the tree and sugars are carried from the leaves to other parts of the tree.
  • is the place where all other plant parts are attached
  • a tree's outer bark is made of hardened, dead cells and serves to protect the tree from damage and disease.

    LEAVES

  • like a mini factory, leaves make food for the tree through a chemical reaction called photosynthesis. Chorophyll -the green color in the leaves- is necessary for the reaction to occur. Carbon dioxide from the air is combined with water from the roots, in the presence of sunlight, to produce sugar (glucose) and oxygen.

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    This page was created in its entirety by the following Kalamalka Secondary School Students;
    Amanda Danby, Cameron Schmidt, and Michael Spann.

    Page 3.3a and 3.3b