Tree Is Not a Botanical Category
A tree is a tall woody plant. Botanists have no formal definition for one.
A tree is a tall woody plant with a single main stem. Botanically it is not a category at all: treeness is a growth habit that has evolved independently dozens of times in unrelated families, and palms, bananas and bamboos are not trees in the strict sense despite their size. A magnolia is more closely related to a buttercup than to a pine. *Tree* is Old English *treow*, which also meant wood and timber, and gives *trust* and *true* through the idea of being firm as an oak.
- A woody plant. *An oak tree.*
- A diagram. *A family tree.*
- Wood (archaic). *Treow.*
- True — a relative. *True.*
- Old English — *treow*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | tree | A tree. |
| Plural | trees | Trees. |
| Adjective | treeless | Treeless. |
| Related | true | True. |
| Greek | drys | An oak. |
- An oak tree stood there.Plant.
- Tree is a growth habit.Botany.
- A family tree.Diagram.
Things called trees that are not
- Palms — no true wood, no growth rings, closer to grasses
- Bananas — giant herbs with a stem of rolled leaves
- Bamboos — woody grasses
- Tree ferns — ferns with a fibrous trunk
- Treeness has evolved independently many times over
Old English *treow*, a tree or timber, related to Greek *drys*, an oak, and to English *true*.
Is a palm a tree?
Not in the strict botanical sense. Palms have no true wood or growth rings and are closer to grasses.
Is tree related to true?
Yes. Both come from a root suggesting firmness, as of an oak, giving also trust and truth.