Plants

PLANTS: Interactive games: from []

[|All about plants]

[|Parts of a plant]

[|Helping plants grow]

Evergree n and Deciduous
 * You can also group trees by how they lose their leaves. Many trees lose their leaves when the weather gets cool. On these || This conifer is an evergreen.

|| Other trees have leaves or needles that fall off a little at a time. These types of trees are always growing new leaves. As the old ones fall off, they are replaced. We call these trees evergreens. ||^  || [|kind story of a tree]
 * [[image:http://www.realtrees4kids.org/images/3-5images/baretree.jpg width="100" height="156"]] || trees, the leaves fall to the ground all at once and grow back again when the weather gets warmer. Many trees with broad leaves do this. We call them deciduous trees.
 * Trees that lose their leaves each fall are deciduous.   ||   ||


 * __Beginners guide to trees__**

With today's hectic lifestyle, spending time learning about our surrounding countryside and what inhabits it is becoming increasingly hard. In this article, I will explain how to identify some of the more common trees in the UK using their size, leaf and other features.

__**English Oak (roble)**__

The English oak is one of the most common trees in the UK countryside, and is one of the few trees most people can identify. Nevertheless, it makes a good starting point. The English Oak is deciduous and native to Britain and parts of Europe. They are known for there long lifetimes, sometimes living over 1000 years.
 * Background**

Oaks are about 35m tall once fully grown, and their leaves grow to around 12cm long and 7cm across. Their distinctive acorns and leaves (see picture below) often make the oak easy to identify. The bark of the oak is pale brown and has deep grooves.
 * Identification**




 * __Common Beech (haya)__**

The Common beech is found all over Europe and Britain. It was long thought to be native to the South of Britain, but recent evidence suggests it did no arrive until 4000BC. It is used for plywood, toys and furniture amongst other things. The typical lifetime of the common beech is not as long as the oak, but still around 100-200 years. It is also deciduous.
 * Background**

The Common Beech leaves are around 10cm long, 6cm across, and have a wavy edge (see picture below). The typical height of the Common beech is around 40-45 metres high. In contrast to the oak, the Common beech has smooth grey bark.
 * Identification**




 * __Ash (fresno)__**

The Common Ash is a deciduous tree native to Europe. It has many uses because of its "elastic" but strong composition, such as bows, baseball bats and tool handles.
 * Background**

The Common Ash's leaves are roughly 10cm long, 3cm across, and have a very fine toothed edge (see picture below). The typical height of the Common Ash is around 40 metres high. The bark is pale grey and smooth, but grooves begin to appear in it with age. In Spring the Common Ash produces small purple flowers, which open to form the winged seeds commonly known as keys.
 * Identification**




 * __Silver Birch (abedul)__**

The Silver Birch is native to Europe and Northern Asia, and is deciduous. Birch is a fast growing tree, so is often used as a nurse crop for slowing growing deciduous trees. It is also the national tree of Finland.
 * Background**

The Silver Birch leaves are around 6cm long and 4cm across. The tree itself is usually around 20m high. The leaves are distinctive as they are triangular with a course, toothed edge. The bark of the Silver Birch is usually white, and develops dark cracks with age.
 * Identification**




 * __Horse Chestnut__**

Like the oak, this is a tree that most people can recognise, mainly because of the children's game conkers. The tree is deciduous and native to Greece and Albania. The wood of the Horse Chestnut tree is also ideal for woodcarving.
 * Background**

There are usually 5-7 toothed leaves on a single stalk. Each leaf is usually around 25 cm long. The bark is often redder than the other trees so far, but can also have more of a grey colour. The bark can often be described as "scaly" as it often has cracks running along it.
 * Identification**




 * __Wych Elm (olmo)__**

The Wych Elm is a deciduous tree native to Europe. The wood is used for furniture, flooring and veneers because of its attractive grain.
 * Background**

The Wych Elm leaves are around 15cm long and 4cm across. They also have a toothed edge, but are distinctive because of the short sharp point at the end of the leaf. The bark is grey to dark brown as the tree ages, and deep grooves appear as it gets older.
 * Identification**



Maple (arce)
 * Deciduous trees in autumn || Deciduous trees in spring || Deciduous trees in winter ||
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Aerial_View_of_Autumn_Forest_Colors.jpg width="201" height="227"]] || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Spring_Forest_Leaves_in_Texas_Hill_Country.jpg width="207" height="211"]] || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Langaa_egeskov_rimfrost.jpg width="191" height="222"]] ||