Lecture: 02

FUNCTIONAL TREE
MORPHOLOGY
 TREES OF PAKISTAN
In Pakistan, more than 430 tree species
are distributed over 82 families and
226 genera. Out of these 22 species
from 5 families and 11 genera belong
to softwood trees of gymnosperms.
For all plant families found in
Pakistan, see Flora of Pakistan.
 Parts of a tree

 Crown
 Stem/ Bole and limbs
 Roots
 CROWN (The Head of a tree) (i)

 Parts:
 Leaves
 Flowers
 Seeds
 Twigs
 Branches
CROWN
(The Head of a tree)
 Types of Leaves :
 Needle shaped:
Common Trees:
Pines, Cedar,
Spruce, Firs etc.
 Broad leaves.
Common Trees:
Sheesham,
Poplar, Mulberry etc.
 CROWN (The Head of a tree) (iv)
 Other Types of Leaves
 Simple vs compound
 Large leathery leaves
vs small scaly leaves
etc.

Scale leaves Leather leaves

 CROWN (The Head of a tree) (v)
 Flowers
 Small, dull colored and
inconspicuous.
 Pollination is generally by wind.
 Seeds (Important regeneration
source of plants)
 Naked in Gymnosperm
 Enclosed in the fruit in
Angiosperms.
 CROWN (The Head of a tree) (vi)
 Parts of Seed:
 Seeds Characters
 Food storage chamber i.e.
 Some seeds
Endosperm/cotyledons
germinate on the tree
 Embryo i.e. Future plant or Baby
but some after
tree falling.
 Testa i.e. protective cover.
 Some undergo
 Plumule (future shoot) dormancy.
 Radicle (future root)
 CROWN (The Head of a tree) (vii)
 Twigs
 Small branches of thumb
thickness or less. Support
the leaves.
 Woody in nature.
 Entire tissue is alive.
 CROWN (The Head of a tree) (viii)
 Function of Twigs:
 Support the leaves, flower and fruit to keep them
well spaced in the atmosphere to perform their
proper role.
 transport water, minerals and synthesized food in
one or other direction.
 Upward movement of water and nutrients
 Synthesized food downward
 CROWN (The Head of a tree) (ix)
 Uses of Twigs:
 Twigs are the important source of plant
propagation
 Cuttings are used for multiplication of many
deciduous trees by vegetative method
 CROWN (The Head of a tree) (x)
 Branches
 Larger twigs
 Woody in nature.
 Thickness is thumb to wrist.
 Central core of branches is generally dead.
 Function: Same as twigs
 Act as food storage.
 They support twigs
 Responsible for giving proper shape to the tree
 STEM AND LIMBS
 Limbs : Tree limbs are similar to branches, but are defined
more specifically as larger, first-order structures which are
typically at least 4 inches thicker (or 3-4 times) than your
standard branch.
 Limbs are larger branches (Size:Over wrist thickness)

 Fuel and timber use

 Function of limbs (same as branches)

 Stem: Tree branches are defined as a woody structure

growing out from the trunk/stem
 Most important and useful part of tree.

 Woody in nature and central core is dead.

 Function

 Stem sports limbs, limbs carry branches and branches

uphold limbs and leaves.
 They also transport water nutrients and food in the tree.
 Anatomy of trees
Wood: Central core of stem
(Dead xylem tissues)
CROSS SECTION OF STEM (i)
 Wood Macroscopic Structure
Annual Rings Outer Bark

Phloem
(inner bark) Pith

Xylem Cambium

Heartwood Earlywood
Knot
Sapwood

Latewood
CROSS SECTION OF STEM (ii)

 Pith
 Heartwood
 Sapwood
 Cambium
 Phloem
 Bark
 2 growth spurts
 Earlywood
 Latewood
 CROSS SECTION OF STEM (ii)
Pith – very center of tree, small area of softer tissue  Pith
Heartwood – most treasured by woodworkers for it’s  Heartwood
even density & grain pattern, already dead, provides  Sapwood
support & structure to tree  Cambium
Sapwood – still living, conduit from roots to leaves for
 Phloem
transporting soluble mineral salts
Cambium – outermost sapwood ring – growth region in  Bark
a living tree, adds a new layer of sapwood each year  2 growth spurts

Phloem – between cambium & bark, brings food (made  Earlywood

in leaves (photosynthesis)) back down to root system  Latewood

NOTE – Most bark & sapwood is ground up & used as

mulch in gardens, sold to paper mills, burned as fuel, or
used as animal bedding.
*** All trees have 2 growth spurts each year.
Earlywood – spring growth, light colored material
between rings
Latewood – More dense cells produced in late summer
& fall, constitute darker rings (part that is counted to
determine a trees age)
CROSS SECTION OF STEM (iv)
 CROSS SECTION OF STEM (iv)
 Heart wood
 Central core of dead xylem is surrounded by
thin layer of living xylem
 This layer transports water & nutrients from
soil to leaves.
CROSS SECTION OF STEM (v)
Function of Heartwood
 Deposition of food & waste products in central
woody cells and in canals.
Formation Annual ring
 Spring & summer woody cells= larger than the cell
 Woody cells of autumn & early winter= Smaller
 Both layers can be easily distinguished.
 Layer of spring/summer cells & a layer of autumn/winter is
called annual ring or annual growth layer.
 Layers are generally visible, indicate the age &
growth of tree (in conifers).
 CROSS SECTION OF STEM (vi)
 Central core dead thick walled xylem cells
and is called wood.
 Trachieds (Woody cells with oblique end
walls) in Gymnosperms and vessels (Large
woody cells with partially or completely open
end walls) Angiosperms.
 CROSS SECTION OF STEM (ix)
 Vessels distributed uniformly throughout the C.S or
concentrated in the form of rings.
 Some ray cells (Living parenchyma) also present in
radial direction.
 Central ray cells collapse and give rise to canals.
 Cambium
 Living xylem is surrounded
by a narrow layer of growth
cells i.e. Cambium.
 Function
 Responsible for lateral
growth
 Produce xylem cells Inside
and phloem outside.
 Cambium is Surrounded by
phloem consisting of sieve
tubes and companion cells.
 Cambium (ii)
 Phloem transport synthesized food. Outer most
layers is called bark consists of dead phloem.
 Protects the inner living layer form extreme
temperature, drought and other factors.
 Bark yields important tree products like tannin
and cork for bottle stoppers and insulation.
 ROOT
 Underground part of the tree.
 Consisting of woody and fibrous parts.
 Woody part provide mechanical support,
transport and storage of food.
 Structure
 Central core dead xylem
 Many conductive tissues; mostly dead
 Conductive tissues of outer periphery; most of are
alive and functional.
 Root Layers
 The central core is surrounded by a single layer of
tightly packed, cemented cells called endodermis.
 Controls the movement of water & solutes. Degree of
control depends on vigor of cells.
 The next layer is called cortex.
 Loosely packed living parenchyma cells. Provide
cushion & lubrication.
 Outer most layer is corky tissue, Waste products are
deposited in it.
 Fibrous Roots
 Thin & Long, consist of few bundles of conductive
tissue
 Two additional structure, i.e. Root cap & Root hair
 Root Cap: is at the tip of forest roots, consist of
loosely packed living cells & provide lubrication.
 Root Hair: single celled appendages, increase the
area, absorb nutrients and water.
 Root surface area is 2-3 times more than leaf area
 Forest roots of legume trees, also infected by nitrogen
fixing bacteria.
THANKS