Deciduous trees are also known as broadleaf trees because the leaves are generally larger and wider than those of conifers. Although the difference between deciduous and evergreen trees seems very clear, there are some trees that fall into both categories. By knowing the different types of trees, you can plan the right landscape for your home or business. Many landscapers consider trees to be the foundation of their garden design.
You don't have to stick with one type of tree either. Your landscape can be mixed with coniferous and deciduous trees. In 1825, Scottish botanist Robert Brown first distinguished gymnosperms from angiosperms. Angiosperms have seeds that are enclosed inside an ovary, while gymnosperms have no flowers or fruits, and they have unclosed or “naked” seeds that sit on the surface of their scales or leaves.
Angiosperms include around 300,000 species of flowering plants and represent the largest and most diverse group in the plant kingdom. Like plants with vascular seeds, they reproduce by fertilizing a closed egg cell that becomes a seed inside a hollow, closed ovary (on the contrary, the seeds of gymnosperms are usually exposed on the surface of their reproductive structures, such as cones). They also have different male and female organs. Angiosperms occupy almost all of Earth's biomes, but they dominate terrestrial ecosystems.
They represent an incredible diversity of life, ranging from the small 0.08-inch-tall flour plant to the enormous 330-foot-tall mountain ash tree in Australia, and are the main source of food for birds and mammals. This diversity is a big part of the reason why they have colonized more habitats than any other group of terrestrial plants. As you may have already guessed, dicotyledons are so called because they have two leaves with seeds, which are usually rounded and fat. All woody trees that are angiosperms are also dicotyledons.
So what do we mean by a woody tree? Between the outer bark and the inner wood, woody trees have an actively growing layer of cells and tubes, known as the cambium. The tubes, which are called vascular bundles, grow back each year, compressing the tubes from previous years in the center of the trunk and creating a strong and supportive hearth. This is what allows the tree's stem to grow out, increasing the diameter of the trunk and creating annual growth rings. Woody dicotyledons also differ from monocotyledons in that they tend to have taproots that grow deep in the ground, draw groundwater and stabilize the trunk and branches above the ground.
Gymnosperms were the first seed-bearing plants to evolve on Earth, and millions of years ago, during the Mesozoic Era, they were the dominant type of tree. However, in the time since the Cretaceous period, gymnosperms have been slowly displaced by angiosperms, which evolved more recently (if we can consider that hundreds of millions of years ago they are recent). Today, gymnosperms are still successful in many parts of the world, with vast coniferous forests dominating northern regions, such as Russia and Canada. For example, spruce and spruce have shorter needles, while certain types of pine have needles that are 8 to 12 inches long.
There are other types of seed-bearing trees, such as willow catkins, oak acorns, hawthorn berries, and chestnut trees. If you don't yet know the types of trees in your yard, you can call the professionals at Charlestown Landscaping. The other major category of trees are gymnosperms, which predominantly include types of evergreen trees such as pine, juniper, cedar, spruce and spruce. By examining the color, size, and shape of the needles, you'll be able to identify the type of evergreen tree.
If you can't identify the type of tree on your own, there are popular apps today, such as LeafSnap and iNaturalist, that will help you in your search. With a few tips, you can understand the different types of trees and choose the right ones for your garden. While deforestation is a major problem that we face today, we are still surrounded by different types of trees.
