Broad-leaved tree
{{Short description|Any tree that has wide leaves}}
A broad-leaved, broad-leaf, or broadleaf tree is any tree within the diverse botanical group of angiosperms that has flat leaves and produces seeds inside of fruits. It is one of two general types of trees, the other being a conifer, a tree with needle-like or scale-like leaves and seeds borne in woody cones.[http://oregonstate.edu/trees/dichotomous_key/ Dichotomous Key.] Common Trees of the Pacific Northwest. College of Forestry, Oregon State University. Broad-leaved trees are sometimes known as hardwoods.[https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/docs/bro/bro50.pdf Broadleaved Trees: Unsung Component of British Columbia's Forests.] University of British Columbia.
Most deciduous trees are broad-leavedLee, S. and A. Raflo. [http://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/Treeswater/Part1.html Trees and Water.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921154303/http://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/Treeswater/Part1.html |date=2016-09-21 }} Virginia Water Resources Research Center. Virginia Tech. but some are coniferous, like larches.[https://www.fs.usda.gov/rmrs/why-do-larches-turn-yellow Why do larches turn yellow?] U.S. Department of Agriculture
Tree types
| class="wikitable"
|+Two general types of woody trees !Gymnosperms (seed plants not flowering) !Angiosperms (flowering seed plants) |
| Coniferous (females bearing ovulate cones that release unenclosed seeds at maturity)
|Fruit-bearing (enclosing seeds within) |
| Usually evergreen (gradually shedding foliage, green foliage throughout year)
|Usually deciduous (seasonally shedding all foliage, no foliage for part of year) |
| Known as softwoods (nonporous, wood typically lighter & softer)Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), [https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fpl_gtr190.pdf Wood Handbook—Wood as an Engineering Material] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424171801/https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fpl_gtr190.pdf |date=2021-04-24 }}, General Technical Report series, № FPL‑GTR‑190, Centennial ed. (Madison, Wis.: USDA Forest Service, FPL, 2010‑04), p. 2‑2.
|Known as hardwoods (wood structure porous & more complex, wood generally harder) |
| Usually needle-like or scale-like leaves
|Broad leaves |
| Examples: firs, spruces, pines |
Gallery
File:Chênes Apremont by Rousseau Louvre RF1447 n1.jpg|Chênes Apremont by Théodore Rousseau
File:Maple leaf structure.jpg|Maple leaves by autumn
File:Enterolobium cyclocarpum in Guanacaste.jpg|Fig tree
File:Apples.jpg|Fruit of broad-leaved trees
See also
References
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External links
- [https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/173.pdf Identifying Broadleaf Trees and Shrubs.] CMG Garden Notes. Colorado State University Extension.
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