Arbor+Day





All About Trees!

The life of a tree


 * Trees are grouped into two basis categories. **__Deciduous__** trees are also called “broadleaf”. The maple, oak, elm, hickory, aspen and birch are all examples of deciduous trees, The other type of tree is the **__evergreen__**. Cypress, eucalyptus, and pine are examples of the evergreen.
 * Most deciduous trees lose their leaves in the fall and begin a cycle of growth in the spring. Evergreen trees remain green for most of the year and they are continuously losing and growing the needles or leaves.
 * Largest trees are the Giant Sequoia.
 * There are approximately 100,00 known species of trees in the world. There are also estimated to be thousands of undiscovered species in rainforests and other uninhabited parts of the world.
 * Trees are the largest plant.
 * Trees, like all plants, capture the energy of sunlight and through the process of photosynthesis. During photosynthesis plants and trees convert the sun’s energy into chemical energy, which they use for their own growth and life processes.
 * This energy is passed on, supporting a large community of living things. Many animals eat the fruits, seeds, leaves, sap, or even the wood of trees. On the forest floor, the fallen leaves decompose, thus supporting microorganisms, mushrooms, worms, insects, and other plants and animals. A layer of soil is built up and protected by the trees’ roots. Besides food, trees also provide many species of animals with habitat, nesting space, and protection from predators.
 * Trees also help to modify the climate. They provide shade in hot weather and shelter from the wind. In some places, they help to cause more rainfall and condensation of fog. The forest floor holds water from rain and snow, helping to lessen the effects of flooding and drought. Trees can also hold snowfall in place to prevent avalanches and mudslide and slow the spring melt.
 * From the beginning, trees have provided people with food, in the form of fruits and nuts, and wood for fires, tools, and shelters. Trees also shade homes and act as windbreaks to protect homes, and they help prevent soil erosion.
 * Many useful products come from trees, including some medicines, rubber, cork, turpentine, tannic acid which is used for curing leather.

Thanks to idahoforests.org for the following info...... are amazing! They provide beauty, shade, oxygen, clean air and water, fruit, nuts and wood products such as paper, furniture and housing. These benefits are well known. But did you know that literally thousands of products are made from trees? Many are surprising! From the medicine L-Dopa for treating Parkinson's Disease, to film in your camera, forest products are all around us. to make lumber and plywood, there are leftover chips, bark sawdust. The chips and sawdust are made into wood pulp for paper and other products. Not too long ago, those leftovers would have been burned as waste. Bark is used for landscaping, and to generate electricity for paper and lumber mills. Modern forest products operations are very efficient at using every part of a tree. Nothing is wasted. is made of tiny fibers **(cellulose)** and the natural glue that holds them together **(lignin)**. When wood is turned into pulp for paper, heat and chemicals dissolve the lignin and release the cellulose fibers. Byproducts of this process are used in asphalt, paint, chewing gum, detergents and turpentine. is used for paper and much, much more. It is a principle part of melamine dinnerware, toilet seats, tool handles and cellophane. It is also used to produce helmets, toothbrushes and electrical outlets. Other refined cellulose products include rayon fabric, and nitrocellulose which is used to make nail polish, solid rocket fuel and industrial explosives. are used for many different things, ranging from cleaning compounds, deodorants and hair spray, to artificial vanilla flavoring, medicines and cosmetics. Torula yeast, produced from wood sugars separated in the pulping process, is a high-protein product used in baby foods, cereals, imitation bacon, pet foods and baked goods. (chemicals from trees) are so much a part of our civilization that we take them for granted. But they wouldn't exist without wood and wood products. Trees are truly a miracle resource!

**Below are just a few of the thousands of products we get from trees**.

oxygen piano keys rayon - books fishing floats - inks telephone books varnish - atlases and maps price tags - ping pong balls tires - umbrella handles -signs automobile instrument panels space craft reentry shields - newspaper photographic film - newspapers - posters football helmets - toilet seats - guitars road building materials - insulation || ||
 * [[image:http://www.idahoforests.org/img/wood_you08.jpg caption="external image wood_you08.jpg"]]|| dye

cork - vacuum cleaner bags - movies - stadium seats adhesives - decorations - turpentine - camphor - waxes fireworks - crayons - tannin - charcoal - pine oil - pitch musical instruments - perches for birds of prey - toilet paper milk cartons - flooring - bark for landscaping - cardboard grocery bags - furniture - chewing gum - paper towels oil spill control agents - Christmas trees - hockey sticks wildlife habitat - cosmetics - roofs - baby foods - cider - vitamins cooking utensils - photographic film - lacquer - pallets - rubber gloves || ||
 * [[image:http://www.idahoforests.org/img/wood_you10.jpg caption="external image wood_you10.jpg"]] || shatterproof glass - artificial vanilla flavoring

toothpaste - eyeglass frames - syrup - antacids - shampoo - rubber gloves menthol - electrical outlets - medicines - energy for electricity - plates and bowls sausage casings - torula yeast - rulers - wooden blocks - houses - notebook paper - oars plywood - paper plates - computer casings - stain remover - coffee filters - toothpicks movie tickets - carpet and upholstery backsides - imitation bacon - diapers - horse corrals postcards - tax forms - sponges - shade - particle board - shoe polish - luggage - bowling alley lanes postage stamps - colognes - animal bedding - irrigation piping - fruit pie filling - golf balls - game boards suspending agent for drinking soda - pencils - dry wall - baby cribs - baseball bats - lumber - decoys - kites magazines -ice cream thickener - step ladders - birthday cards - broom sticks - cider - ceiling tiles crutches - backyard play sets - axe handle - food labels - 2 x 4's - candy wrappers scenery - party invitations - disinfectants - cd inserts - gummed tape - fruit railroad ties - shelter belts - puzzles - swings - baking cups ||
 * mulch - clean water - golf tees - egg cartons - nail polish - fence posts - toys

benches - bird houses stereo speakers garden stakes stairways - beds tables - barrels window frames bulletin boards linoleum - seesaws fishing boats - billboards disposable medical clothing church pews - totem poles - desks **How many other tree products can you list?** || ||
 * [[image:http://www.idahoforests.org/img/wood_you12.jpg caption="external image wood_you12.jpg"]] || buttons - cutting boards