What are the parts of a tree called?

Here is a list of vocabulary you will need to understand the articles about forests. As you go through the list, make a note of words that are new to you.

There are also three activities for you to do.

Life

• organism: a living thing
• flora: plant life
• fauna: animal life

Parts of a tree

• trunk
• branch
• leaves
• flowers
• crown

Figure 1: Parts of the native lemonwood tree (image source: R. Genet and public domain)

Activity 1

What is your favorite flowering native tree in your country?
Find a picture of your favorite tree and label the different parts.

Forest Layers

Forests have five layers:

• Forest floor: a layer of leaves, twigs, branches, tree trunks, droppings from animals, layer of mosses, fungi, ferns, grasses, and seedlings

• Understorey or Shrub layer: layer of small trees called shrubs

Kawakawa is a shrub found in the understorey layer

• Sub-canopy: young trees, tree ferns, vines

(image source: Wiki Media Commons)

• Canopy: the tops of most of the large tress touch and form a layer

(image source: Wiki Media Commons)

• Emergent layer: these are the tallest trees in the forest. Their crowns stand above the canopy.

(image source: Wiki Media Commons)

See the diagram below:

Figure 2: Forest layers. (image adapted from doc.govt.nz)

Activity 2

What is your favorite forest type in your country?

Create a simple labelled diagram showing the forest layers.

Provide a picture or sketch the main tree species in each layer and paste it onto the diagram.

Types of trees

Hardwoods

These are trees that have flowers and fruit with seeds. The cherry tree is a hardwood.

Conifers

Cedars, firs and pines are conifers. They are also called softwoods. They do not have flowers and they don’t have fruit. They have male and female cones. Pollen from the small male cones fertilise an ovule in the female cone and a seed is produced.

Deciduous

Deciduous trees lose their leaves in the winter, for example the Japanese maple.

Evergreen

Evergreen trees are those that do not lose their leaves. Conifers are evergreen and so are all New Zealand native trees.