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Recognizing the silhouette or bearing of a tree is very easy for practically anyone, although we are not necessarily knowledgeable in botany or gardening. These plant giants represent the most visual part of the great masses of vegetation and it is usual that, both in groups and individually, they take center stage in the landscapes in which they are found.
In this article we are going to focus on how the structure of a tree is formed, to see like this what are the parts of a tree and their functions. Join us if you want to learn more about these large and woody vegetables.
The roots of the tree and their functions
The roots are the part of the tree that grows underground and sometimes on the surface. The functions of tree roots They are varied, but the main ones are two:
- Capture of water and minerals.
- Toast to the tree support and anchor.
Until the plants began to develop strong and deep rootsCapable of providing a firm support point, they could not form large aerial structures, since their weight and the incidence of elements, such as the wind, could make it very easy for them to be torn off. Currently, however, large colossi such as the sequoia or the baobab are firmly supported thanks to the anchoring of their roots, which allows the existence of very different types of trees.
The function of uptake of nutrients from the roots of a tree is done through the absorbent hairs of these, exactly as it happens with other plants. The roots absorb the water and the necessary minerals from the soil, which they transport to the trunk so that it takes care of its distribution.
It should be said that the roots are constantly growingexcept in the coldest times, and that only the newer parts are the ones that work by absorbing nutrients. To maximize their mineral uptake capacity, many trees develop symbiotic relationships with fungi and micro-crusts. Thanks to these, the tree more easily obtains the minerals from the soil, in exchange for providing the fungus with sugars. In fact, the reason many trees do not do well in alkaline soils is because they are not suitable for fungi of this type.
We recommend you expand this information with this other article in which we talk more in depth about the Parts of the root and their functions and with this other post about the Types of roots.
The trunk and branches of the tree
The trunk is probably the most characteristic part of the tree and what makes it easy to identify it as such. The tree trunk has two functions main:
- Support the aerial part of the tree.
- Transport water and nutrients between its different parts.
It is much more than just a woody column, and it also has different parts. The parts of the trunk and their functions are:
- The bark and phloem They are the outer layers of the trunk and branches. It is a protective cover that is responsible for protecting the new wood, and at the same time transporting the enriched sap, both ascending and descending.
- The cambium It is a thin film between the sapwood and the bark, which is responsible for producing the new layers of trunk that are produced in each growing season. It is an essential part of the tree, because without it it cannot continue to develop and dies. In dicotyledonous plants, each year's growth leaves a mark on the sapwood, so-called growth rings.
- Sapwood and xylem it is the part of the young and alive wood. It is filled with conductive vessels that work exclusively upward, carrying the raw sap to the leaves. In this link you will find more information about What is xylem and its function.
- Heartwood It is made up of hard cells of dead wood, which give the tree resistance to pests and a firm support. It is darker than the xylem.
- The marrowFinally, it consists of weakened or dead cells and is located in the exact center of the tree. It is very dark and can be of different textures depending on the specific tree and its age.
All these parts are shared by the branches of the tree, especially the thickest ones, which are spread seeking to cover the largest possible surface of the sun for the leaves.
The leaves of the tree and their functions
We keep talking about the different parts of a tree and their functions and we stop at one of the parts that can vary the most from one species of tree to another and by which it is easier to identify them; the leaves of the trees.
Leaves are the part where the tree makes food from the minerals and water that the roots bring to these, as we remember that trees are autotrophic organisms or that they make their own food or organic matter from inorganic matter. This process is possible thanks to chlorophyll present in the leaves, which gives them their characteristic green color and makes it possible to carry out photosynthesis. Learn more about what chlorophyll is and about the difference between photosynthesis and plant respiration with these other posts by Green Ecologist.
The leaves also allow the water evaporation leftover from the photosynthesis process, which helps establish a negative pressure for the transport of raw sap from the roots.
Some leaves are deciduous, so the tree reabsorbs its nutrients before allowing them to dry in the cold season, while others are perennial and are kept all year round. The leaves usually grow in the upper aerial zone of the tree. What's the name of highest part of a tree? Simply Cup Or, we call it the top if we refer exclusively to the top.
If you want to discover more about these parts of a tree, here you can learn about the different types of leaves and here you can learn more about the parts of a leaf and their functions.
Cones, fruits, seeds and flowers of a tree
Finally, there are the tree flowers, fruits, seeds and cones. These meet a reproductive function in different ways, but their objective is the same: to carry the seeds as far as possible from the parent tree, in order to favor further colonization.
Learn more about some of these parts with these other posts about The parts of the seed and their functions, Parts of the fruit and their functions and What are the parts of a flower and their functions. In addition, we recommend that you learn more about plant reproduction with this article on Plant reproduction.
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