How a tree grows. Features and interesting facts

The science of botany is interesting and fascinating. One of the questions that many people take is whether the trees grow and how. Let's find out.

Features

Tree growth is a complex process. The life cycle of these plants consists of several stages:

• The appearance of seeds.
• Seed germination.
• Rooting seedlings.
• Growth and development of a tree.
• Reproduction.
• Aging.

It is known that trees are long-livers of the plant world, individual species can live several hundred years.

Growth conditions

We continue the conversation about how the tree grows. At each stage, for the normal growth of arboreal flora representatives, a number of conditions must be observed:

• For seed germination, the presence of oxygen and water, as well as the optimal ambient temperature, are important.
• When the rooting of seedlings occurs, the plant needs light, normal temperature conditions. From the soil, the tree receives moisture and nutrients.
• For the stage of growth and reproduction, the same conditions are required.
• Over time, every organism ages. In trees, this process can be accelerated by pests and diseases.

Woody plants obtain moisture and nutrients from the soil using their roots. Also in the process of photosynthesis in the leaves cellulose, starch and sugar are formed, which ensure the growth of the plant.

Growth process

The tree grows in width and in height. The increase in diameter occurs due to a special cell layer, cambium, located between the bark and wood. It is here that the formation of new cells takes place, while the cells formed on the outer part of the cambium form the cortex, on the inside - wood.

Often the bark can burst and fall off, as the wood grows at a much higher rate.

For the growth of a tree upwards, special cells located on the branches are responsible. They begin to divide, increase in number, so the branches become longer and new shoots appear. When cells lose their activity, tree growth slows down.

Considering how the tree grows, it is necessary to clarify that this process concerns not only the aboveground part, but also the root system, which under favorable conditions can develop all year round.

Speed

According to the growth rate, the trees are divided into several groups, the characteristics of which are presented in the table.

Most often, a high growth rate is characteristic of trees with a short lifespan.

Places

Consider where the trees grow. These representatives of the world of flora are found in a variety of environmental conditions:

• On the continents and islands. They are not only at the North and South Pole, where permafrost reigns.
• In shallow water, more often in fresh water, less often in saline.
• Dwarf trees are found in the south of the tundra.
• Coniferous plants (larch and spruce), as well as birch trees can be seen in the forest-tundra.
• Taiga is rich in coniferous and deciduous trees. There are pine, fir, spruce, aspen, alder, birch, larch.
• An abundance of species is observed in forests, coniferous, deciduous and mixed.
• A true paradise for woody plants is the subtropics.

We see that the tree distribution area is very wide.

Dimensions

We examined how a tree grows. Now we will highlight the question, which classes, depending on the size, stand out in these plants:

• The first magnitude, their size is more than 20 meters. This spruce, larch, ordinary pine, as well as warty birch, oak, beech, some varieties of maples and poplars.
• The second value, from 10 to 20 meters. This group includes Canadian spruce, yew berry, hornbeam, pear.
• The third size, from 5 to 10 meters: mountain ash, bird cherry, Siberian apple tree.

There are real giants among the trees:

• A giant sequoia, or mahogany, often reaches a height of over 100 meters. The oldest of these flora is more than 3,000 years old!
• Australia's largest eucalyptus is 189 meters high. Interestingly, unlike other trees, it does not discard leaves, but the crown completely.
• The thickest in the world is baobab, the diameter of the barrel of the champion is more than 50 meters.

Interestingly, most giants continue to grow.

Cultivated plants

Woody representatives of the flora are widely used by man, fruit trees grow in gardens, summer cottages, squares. To get a rich harvest of juicy and tasty apples, pears, apricots, people carefully look after the plants: they feed, water, protect from diseases and pests. This extends the life of the tree.

We examined how the tree grows, what factors are responsible for this process. We can conclude that the plant world of the planet is truly amazing and diverse.