Trees are the tallest, heaviest, and oldest of all living things.
The Californian giant sequoia known as General
Sherman weighs approximately 6,000 tonnes –
30 times as much as the biggest animal, the blue
whale. The oldest living bristlecone pine
tree, which also grows in California, is
nearly 5,000 years old. Yet even these
ancient giants can still produce tiny
seeds that grow into new trees.Trees
LEAVES
Like all green plants, trees
absorb sunlight through their
leaves and use its energy to turn
air and water into sugar. A tree’s
leaves are its food factories.12
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sCOMPOUND
LEAVES
Most trees have
simple leaves of various
shapes, but some have
compound leaves, made
up of many leafets.
These either sprout from
a long stalk (pinnate) or
fan out from a single
point (palmate).Japanese (^) m
aple
Hol
ly
En
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lis
h
oa
k
Arolla^ pin
e needle
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Bl
ue
(^) A
tla
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ee
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NEEDLES AND SCALES
Thin leaves make food efficiently,
but they are easily damaged by hot
sunshine or frost. So many trees that
grow in very hot or cold places have
thicker, tougher needles or scales.
Robina has a pinnate
compound leaf
Horse chestnut
has a palmate
compound leaf
Oak leaves
Acorns are
oak seeds
A monkey puzzle
tree has leathery,
sharp-pointed
scales
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