Roots keep the tree from falling over. They also gather water and nutrients from the soil. A root can be thinner than a strand of hair or more than a foot wide. Ninety-nine percent of a tree's roots grow within three feet of the soil surface. The distance the roots spread out from the trunk can equal twice the height of the tree.
Shrubs are woody but short and multistemmed.
Vines can be long and woody, but they lack a crown. If you think a plant is a tree, it probably is. More than 50 tree species are native to Minnesota. These native species took root here after the glaciers retreated from the northern United States about 10,000 years ago. The trees thrived because they fit the growing conditions, such as climate, type of soil, amount of moisture, and access to sunlight.