Creative Theatrical Ideas: Creating Trees for the Stage Creating Trees for the Stage By Brian D. Taylor, Project Editor, Pioneer Drama Service Brian D. Taylor is the project editor for Pioneer Drama Service, a published playwright and a former drama teacher. Working with K-12, college and community theatre groups, he has a wide theatrical background with experience in directing, acting and technical theatre. What’s tall and green and appears in all kinds of plays? If you’ve ever built a set, you know the answer. Trees. Trees appear in practically any show with an exterior set. Some sort of forest? Trees. A park? Trees. A yard or a street? Yep, once again, we use trees to define our set as “outside.” There are easy ways to fill your stage with trees, of course. You can collect fake trees or purchase them from a craft or home décor store. You can have the entire cast bring in their family Christmas trees. Please don’t do this yourself, but I’ve known some designers who’ll even go out and chop down live trees for their stage. But the reality is that most of you will have to build a tree — or several — at some point. Build a tree? Yep.

Just break down the process and it’s quite do-able. Every tree onstage will need a base so that it can be self-standing. Then you’ll have to decide if you’re going the cutout route or three-dimensional, which will also need a canopy. Finally, every tree needs embellishments with paint and texture to add authenticity. There are several methods that can be used and not all of them are included here. This is not a step by step, but rather an overview of the various tricks and techniques that you can pick and choose from as you build your forest. The Base Any style of tree you plan to build will need to stand upright on its own, so you’ll need a good base. A very effective base material is heavy plywood. It’s strong and sturdy and adds some weight to the bottom of the tree. At minimum, you need a cutout of a circle large enough to support the tree. If your tree will be made with lumber, you can attach this base directly to the bottom of the tree with screws. Another method is to attach a length of PVC or galvanized steel pipe to the base. The vertical length of pipe is a useful way to hold your tree upright.

For either material, there are appropriate pipe fittings with a flat side that can be screwed into the plywood and a space to insert the pipe. Using the same methods, you can also use larger cuts of plywood as the base for several trees. Just cut an irregular or semi-circular shape that’s almost the size of the full sheet of plywood. On top of that, you could add a few trees, a rock, bushes or whatever to create a little forest scene. Another method of building a base for a tree is with lumber boards. 2x4s are best, but 2x2s will work for smaller trees. Cut small pieces and attach them directly to the tree, forming a cross or X shape. The four extensions will keep your tree from tipping in any direction. A T shape will work as well if you want a flat face on the downstage side of the tree, which is nice for cutout trees, but keep in mind the risk that creates. The tree could fall forward on the stage unless the backside extension is weighed down with a sandbag. Boards can also be used as supports, instead of base material.

With this method, the boards are attached at the midpoint of the tree or higher and extend angled behind the tree to the floor like a brace. Keep in mind that this sort of construction may also require you to secure it to the stage floor in some way, either by sandbag or screwing into the stage. Cutouts Lots of theatres use cutouts for scenery, and cutout trees are easy to make and can be very visually stunning. Creating the cutout is as simple as outlining the profile of the tree, cutting the shape out with a jigsaw or utility knife, and applying paint. It’s then attached to a length of lumber, either 2x4 or 2x2, which serves as the vertical support that is secured to the base. If using steel pipe for vertical support as described above, the cutout may be secured with wire or metal straps. There are lots of materials that can be used for cutouts, but cardboard, plywood and foam board are used most often. Cardboard is cheap and lightweight. When painted, cardboard can provide a surprisingly effective representation for such a simple and inexpensive building material.

The drawback of using cardboard is that it can be difficult to cut with precision and some cardboard sheets may have ridges or heavy print that doesn’t disappear even after a coat of paint. My favorite building material is foam board, the kind sold in large sheets in the insulation department at home improvement stores. It’s lightweight, which makes scene changes a breeze. It’s also sturdy and takes paint very well. It also cuts extremely easily with a jigsaw if you don’t mind the big mess it makes. A downside of foam board is that it can be subject to nicks and breaking. Plywood is most often used because it’s the strongest of the materials and most people are familiar with it. It can be cut with a jigsaw and also takes paint well. For making trees, a lighter weight ply is suggested, since heavier grades are more difficult to keep standing upright on stage. Three Dimensional Trees If a cutout isn’t for you, then you’re probably aiming for a tree with real dimension. There are several ways to do this as well. For small and thin trees, all it takes is a few boards. Start with a good strong 2x6 or 2x4 attached to the base.

Attach more boards with angled cuts as the tree rises and branches out, forming a basic tree shape. The boards should get smaller and thinner as you go, moving from 2x4 to 2x2 to 1x1. Don’t worry so much about the smallest branches. Those can be done later when you get into the texturing phase. For bigger trees, you’re going to need to build a proper frame. Using 2x4s, build out a semi-circular frame that’s as tall as you need the tree to be. This is your tree trunk. Wrap chicken wire around the frame to spread the gaps and secure it with staples. This will also give your tree frame a more natural shape. Branches can be added to the trunk as described above with smaller trees. Canopy Your tree canopy will vary based on the type of tree you build and the time of year. A deciduous tree in winter will be nothing but branches, so building out your canopy means simply adding the smaller branches and perhaps a stubborn leaf or two that won’t fall off. I’ve seen a lot of stages using twigs and small branches from real trees to great effect here, but you can also make them from your scrap texture material.

Simply twist into a long thin branch shape, tie off with some twine, and attach. This is where burlap and paper are especially effective as it’s difficult to make muslin hold its shape. For full, leafy canopies, there are also several methods. My favorite is camouflage netting, the kind hunters use to hide from their prey. It provides an illusion that’s just as effective onstage as it is on the hunting fields. The downside is the huge upfront expense, unless you can find it cheaply at an army surplus store, garage sale or the like. Tissue paper in a variety of dark and light greens — or browns and reds and oranges if you’re going for an autumn look — can also be used here. Wrinkle it up and staple it on here and there until your canopy is full of color. If you want to get really detailed and realistic, you can always go with leafy foliage from the craft or floral store, but that option may be more pricy in the long run than the camo netting as it tends to fall apart over the years. Paint and Texture Whether you’re working with a cutout or a tree with realistic dimensions, you’ll want to apply paint and maybe texture.

Burlap is my favorite tree texture material, as it has a rough and natural feel to it. Muslin works well, too. The cheapest texture material is butcher paper, which can create a great effect for very little cost. Wrap the texture material around the tree, but not flat. Mimic the rough texture of trees by wrapping the material unevenly. Muslin can be applied with a mixture of glue and water. Any of these materials can be applied with staples. I’ve always preferred staples. They’re quick and not as messy, but a little water, glue and muslin can be useful when trying to achieve certain textures. Plus, it tends to hold up better if you intend to keep your trees for future use. While you’re adding texture, keep in mind the little details you want to add to the trunk of the tree. Does it need roots or knots or maybe some creeping vines? You’ll want to add these before you paint. Knots can be made out of the scraps from your texture material. Simply twist it up or ball it up into a funky, knotty shape and pop it on with a staple. Add a creeping vine or two by stapling on some rope.

Once your paint is applied, the knots and vines will have your tree looking incredibly authentic. You will want to paint your tree with at least a base coat of the primary color of your tree. But you can add texture with paint, too. Or, if you are using nothing but a cutout and paint, you can texturize your tree with paint alone. Simply dry brush in darker wood grain, then do some light highlights with brighter color. So the next time you’re overwhelmed with set design and feel you can’t see the forest for the trees, remember, there are lots of options to help you create a fabulous illusion onstage. In the Spotlight How a cardboard box is made How a cardboard box is made Posted on 18 Sep 2014 by Tim Brown Packaging technologists love to talk about their products, but they are even happier to discuss the substrates that go into making boxes, tape, polythene and stretch film. Cardboard boxes are of course one of the core products of the packaging industry. But it’s easy to forget that the cardboard boxes you use on a regular basis were once a not-so-humble tree. So what is the process is for turning trees in to corrugated cardboard? Well the wait is over!

Kite Packaging have grilled its technologists to tell us exactly what the process is for cleaning the raw materials and processing them to make the cardboard boxes you buy every day for your business. Because why not? You can add these facts to the general knowledge part of your brain, reserved for pub quizzes and showing off. First, the basics A cardboard box is basically made up of a flute (made up of recycled paper), sandwiched between two liners. It is now very common for these liners to also be made up of a considerable proportion of recycled content, sourced from old cardboard or other sources of second hand paper. However for top quality boxes virgin Kraft is still used. In actual fact though, it doesn’t really matter whether the paper is recycled or not, ultimately it always started out as virgin paper which is made from trees that have been pulped. The trees When manufacturing boxes we talk about two different types of liners, this is the material that lies on top and beneath the fluting and creates a corrugated board. Typically, cardboard boxes have a test paper inner liner, and a Kraft paper outer. This is because Kraft is better quality than test, and has a smoother finish so that it can be easily printed on.

Kraft also has the benefit of being more resistant to water penetration which is an added benefit of using it for the outer face. To get this smooth finish Kraft paper needs to be made from softwood trees that typically have long fibres, such as Pine, Spruce and Fir trees. The majority of European paper is made using trees from sustainable forests owned by SCA (Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget -English: Swedish Cellulose Company) who plant two trees for every one cut down. Long fibres are also better in tension which is why Kraft paper is often described as having a high tear and burst resistance. The look of Kraft paper can differ depending on the type of tree it has come from for example Kraft from Scandinavian Spruce, Pine and Silver Birch is dark brown in colour, however Russian variants of the same tree type appear a more varied brown with dark patches. In Brazil, Eucalyptus and Spruce are used and the Kraft they produce is light brown, whereas Chinese trees have a yellowish hue due to the high straw content in their Kraft. Test paper liners are typically made of hardwood trees that have short fibres, or recycled paper which is why it is cheaper and has a more abrasive quality.

Hardwood includes Oak, Sycamore, Birch and Chestnut and again is sourced predominantly from sustainable SCA forests. Kraft and Test paper is also used to create the fluted paper in between liners which finally create a strong board. A brief guide to cardboard boxes by Kite Packaging. Pulping To create the paper a long process is involved to ensure the wood chips that are pulped are clean and suitable for purpose. To start, the trees are cut and lumbered to create tonnes of logs which go through a machine to be debarked and chipped. These chips are then put through one of two processes – mechanical pulping or chemical pulping. Mechanical pulping involves grinding, to reduce wood to individual cellulose fibres by forcing the debarked logs against a revolving stone to make a pulp. The stone is sprayed with water to remove fibres from the pulp stone however results in little removal of lignin (a non-fibrous constituent of wood) that binds fibres together and reduces paper quality, however mechanical pulping is low cost and generates a higher throughput. Chemical pulping involves ‘cooking’ wood chips to reduce the raw material in to individual cellulose fibres.

There are two types of chemical cooking, sulphite and sulphate, and both results in better separation and reduction of lignin to produce better quality paper. The more popular of the two processes is sulphate, which involves using alkaline solutions to digest wood and adding sodium sulphate to increase the strength of the pulp – this is the process where Kraft comes from as it is the Swedish word for ‘strength.’ Out of both of these processes the Kraft is either used there and then and as mentioned before is dark brown in colour, or bleached during the pulping process to produce a white Kraft. Nowadays however most of the paper products produced for boxes in particular are made from recycled waste. These come in various forms including: Chip – Chip liners are manufactured from recycled fibre and are usually not sized and of a lower quality, they are restricted to centre liners in double wall board and inner liners.

Semi-Chemical Flute – Manufactured from hardwood with the inclusion of up to 35% of waste and other paper fibre Waste Based Flute Mediums – 100% waste based materials, chemically reinforced with starch Fluting Fluted cardboard is the wavy piece of board sandwiched between the liners and gives a box its strength and protection from knocks and impact damage. To create the fluted effect rolls of paper are fed into a corrugated roller machine, this process has been around since the 18th century and was originally used to add ruffles to shirts and hats! Most recently R Flute was introduced; this is an alternative to B flute board, with the performance the same but the thickness reduced to reduce supply chain costs and save space for users. R Flute is also referred to as M or S flute and includes benefits such as a 30% improvement in print quality, 30% more cases on a pallet and approximately 30% less CO2 gases emitted due to truck space savings.

Of course these flutes only describe single wall boxes – when you see a box that says ‘BC Flute’ or ‘AB Flute’ this is when a double wall carton has been specified, the first letter is the fluting of the top layer of board and the second letter is the bottom layer. Production Now that we have established the key elements that go into creating a corrugated carton all that needs to be done is to stick them all together! After the paper has gone through a corrugator, in which hot steam is sprayed on the paper to allow it to be pressed, another roller glues one side of the flute. The two liners are then adhered to the board by the machine; the cardboard is then cut each side with a circular saw to give the board straight sides. The corrugator machine then cuts the board as many as nine times, depending on the size of the box; this is determined by the FEFCO guide.

The FEFCO (European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers) guide is the bible of corrugated cartons, and outlines every style you could imagine – with several categories including 01 categories for commercial rolls and sheets, 02 for slotted-type boxes using one piece of glued board, 03 for telescope style boxes consisting of more than one piece (usually a bottom and lid design), 04 for folder type boxes similar to book wrap mailers and 05, 06, 07, 08 and 09 which consist of more complicated styles. The FEFCO guide is pretty much every box style you could possibly wish for; all that needs to be bespoke to you is the measurements and if extra flaps need adding – of course at Kite our packaging technologists are fully familiar with the guide and can pick out a few styles that they think will work effectively for you. Once the boards have been cut the corrugator separates the boards in to layers and stacks them in to pack quantities ready to be fed in to the trimmer.

The trimmer’s job is to precisely cut the more ‘fiddly’ aspects of the board design such as handles and flaps; it has sharp and rubber blades to allow for the lines that need to be scored not cut. An older process for this which is still used for smaller runs is by using a die-cutter where the design is laid out on a large ‘stamp’ and cut out of the board. A bending machine then folds the boxes along the scored lines, and glue or stitches are applied to the places which will come together to form the box. Glue is the most common adhesive to use for boxes, and is much more hygienic which is important for industries such as food, stitching can also be used as can staples but these are more costly options and mostly only used for heavy duty boxes that need a tougher adhesive. Once the adhesion has been applied another machine then folds the sections to secure them together and the flat boxes are piled up to be sent out to customers and distributors like us! Finally, the offcuts of paper is recycled and used to produce more boxes and other paper products, many corrugators now produce boxes in the most eco-friendly way possible to ensure that their processes are carbon-neutral.

A simple product, a complex process. Check out the infographic below that details a box’s production lifecycle. Wood You Believe We Get So Much From Trees? are amazing! They provide beauty, shade, oxygen, clean air and water, fruit, nuts and wood products such as paper, furniture and housing. These benefits are well known. But did you know that literally thousands of products are made from trees? Many are surprising! From the medicine L-Dopa for treating Parkinson's Disease, to film in your camera, forest products are all around us. to make lumber and plywood, there are leftover chips, bark sawdust. The chips and sawdust are made into wood pulp for paper and other products. Not too long ago, those leftovers would have been burned as waste. Bark is used for landscaping, and to generate electricity for paper and lumber mills. Modern forest products operations are very efficient at using every part of a tree. Nothing is wasted. is made of tiny fibers (cellulose) and the natural glue that holds them together (lignin). When wood is turned into pulp for paper, heat and chemicals dissolve the lignin and release the cellulose fibers.

Byproducts of this process are used in asphalt, paint, chewing gum, detergents and turpentine. is used for paper and much, much more. It is a principle part of melamine dinnerware, toilet seats, tool handles and cellophane. It is also used to produce helmets, toothbrushes and electrical outlets. Other refined cellulose products include rayon fabric, and nitrocellulose which is used to make nail polish, solid rocket fuel and industrial explosives. are used for many different things, ranging from cleaning compounds, deodorants and hair spray, to artificial vanilla flavoring, medicines and cosmetics. Torula yeast, produced from wood sugars separated in the pulping process, is a high-protein product used in baby foods, cereals, imitation bacon, pet foods and baked goods. (chemicals from trees) are so much a part of our civilization that we take them for granted. But they wouldn't exist without wood and wood products. Trees are truly a miracle resource! Below are just a few of the thousands of products we get from trees. dye The Benefits of Paper Recycling By Larry West Updated April 10, 2016. Paper recycling has been around for a long time.

Actually, when you think about it, paper has been a recycled product from the very beginning. For the first 1,800 years or so that paper existed, it was always made from discarded materials. What Are the Most Significant Benefits of Paper Recycling? Recycling paper conserves natural resources, saves energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions , and keeps landfill space free for other types of trash that can't be recycled. Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 380 gallons of oil, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,000 kilowatts of energy-enough to power the average U.S. home for six months-and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one metric ton of carbon equivalent (MTCE). Who Invented Paper? A Chinese official named Ts'ai Lun was the first person to make what we would consider paper. In 105 AD, at Lei-Yang, China, Ts'ai Lun stirred together a combination of rags, used fishing nets, hemp and grass to make the first real paper the world had ever seen.

Before Ts'ai Lun invented paper, people wrote on papyrus, a natural reed used by ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans to create the paper-like material from which paper derives its name. Those first sheets of paper Ts'ai Lun made were pretty rough, but over the next few centuries as papermaking spread throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East , the process improved and so did the quality of the paper it produced. When Did Paper Recycling Begin? Papermaking and producing paper from recycled materials came to the United States simultaneously in 1690. William Rittenhouse learned to make paper in Germany and founded America's first paper mill on Monoshone Creek near Germantown, which is now Philadelphia. Rittenhouse made his paper from discarded rags of cotton and linen. It wasn't until the 1800s that people in the United States started making paper from trees and wood fiber. On April 28, 1800, an English papermaker named Matthias Koops was granted the first patent for paper recycling-English patent no. 2392, titled Extracting Ink from Paper and Converting such Paper into Pulp.

In his patent application, Koops described his process as, "An invention made by me of extracting printing and writing ink from printed and written paper, and converting the paper from which the ink is extracted into pulp, and making thereof paper fit for writing, printing, and other purposes." In 1801, Koops opened a mill in England that was the first in the world to produce paper from material other than cotton and linen rags-specifically from recycled paper. Two years later, the Koops mill declared bankruptcy and closed, but Koops' patented paper-recycling process was later used by paper mills all over the world. Municipal paper recycling started in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1874, as part of the nation's first curbside recycling program . And in 1896, the first recycling center opened in New York City. From those early efforts, paper recycling has continued to grow until, today, more paper is recycled (if measured by weight) than all of the glass, plastic and aluminum combined. How Much Paper Is Recycled Every Year?

In 2014, 65.4 percent of the paper used in the United States was recovered for recycling, for a total of 51 million tons. That's a 90 percent increase in the recovery rate since 1990, according to the American Forest & Paper Association. Approximately 80 percent of U.S. paper mills use some recovered paper fiber to produce new paper and paperboard products. How Many Times Can the Same Paper Be Recycled? Paper recycling does have limits. Every time paper is recycled, the fiber becomes shorter, weaker and more brittle. In general, paper can be recycled up to seven times before it must be discarded. Early Human Evolution: Early Human Culture the occupation of new environmental zones Tool Making Some chimpanzee communities are known to use stone and wood as hammers to crack nuts and as crude ineffective weapons in hunting small animals, including monkeys. However, they rarely shape their tools in a systematic way to increase efficiency. The most sophisticated chimpanzee tools are small, slender tree branches from which they strip off the leaves. These twigs are then used as probes for some of their favorite foods--termites and ants.

More rarely, chimpanzees have been observed using sticks as short thrusting spears to hunt gallagos in holes and crevices of trees where they sleep during the day time. It is likely that the australopithecines were at least this sophisticated in their simple tool use. Oldowan tradition core tool (chopper) The first unquestionable stone tools were evidently made and used by early transitional humans and possibly Australopithecus garhi in East Africa about 2.5 million years ago. While the earliest sites with these tools are from the Gona River Region of Ethiopia, simple tools of this kind were first discovered by Mary and Louis Leakey associated with Homo habilis at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. Hence, they were named Oldowan tools after that location. These early toolmakers were selective in choosing particular rock materials for their artifacts. They usually chose hard water-worn creek cobbles made out of volcanic rock. There were two main categories of tools in the Oldowan tradition. There were stone cobbles with several flakes knocked off usually at one end by heavy glancing percussion blows from another rock used as a hammer. This produced a jagged, chopping or cleaver-like implement that fit easily in the hand.

These core tools most likely functioned as multipurpose hammering, chopping, and digging implements. Efficient use of this percussion flaking technique requires a strong precision grip. Humans are the only living primates that have this anatomical trait. Probably the most important tools in the Oldowan tradition were sharp-edged stone flakes produced in the process of making the core tools. These simple flake tools were used without further modification as knives. They would have been essential for butchering large animals, because human teeth and fingers are totally inadequate for cutting through thick skins and slicing off pieces of meat. Evidence of their use in this manner can be seen in cut marks that still are visible on bones. Some paleoanthropologists have suggested that the core tools were, in fact, only sources for the flake tools and that the cores had little other use. A Handy Bunch: Tools, Thumbs Helped Us Thrive --audio recording of an NPR interview with anthropologists Erin Williams and Dennis Sandgathe concerning the relationship between stone tool making and the evolution of the human hand. This link takes you to an external website. To return here, you must click the "back" button on your browser program.

(length = 7 mins, 46 secs) In addition to stone tools, Homo habilis probably made simple implements out of wood and other highly perishable materials that have not survived. In the 1940's, Raymond Dart suggested that australopithecines and early humans also used the hard body parts of animals as clubs, daggers, and other sorts of weapons. Dart proposed an entire tool making tradition which he named osteodontokeratic , based on the presumed use of bones (osteo), teeth (donto), and horns (keratic). This idea has been rejected by most paleoanthropologists today since there is a lack of evidence for the systematic shaping or even use of these materials for weapons or other types of tools at this early time. In addition, it is unlikely that the earliest humans were aggressive hunters. They most likely were primarily vegetarians who occasionally ate meat that was mostly scavenged from the leftovers of kills abandoned by lions, leopards, and other large predators. At times, they also may have hunted monkeys and other small game much as chimpanzees do today. Homo habilis made and used stone tools in the Oldowan tradition for nearly a million years but with gradual improvements over time.

The early Homo erectus also used what could be described as advanced or evolved Oldowan tool making techniques. By 1.8 million years ago, the skills of some Homo erectus had increased to the point that they were making more sophisticated stone implements with sharper and straighter edges. Their tool kits were sufficiently advanced by 1.5 million years ago to consider them to be a new tool making tradition now referred to as Acheulian . It was named after the Saint Acheul site in southwest France where these kinds of tools had been discovered in the 19th century. However, the Acheulian tool making tradition was first developed in East Africa. Perhaps, the most important of the Acheulian tools were hand axes. They are rock cores or very large flakes that have been systematically worked by percussion flaking to an elongated oval shape with one pointed end and sharp edges on the sides. Since they were shaped on both faces, they are also referred to as biface tools. In profile, hand axes usually had a relatively symmetrical teardrop or broad leaf shape.

Referring to these artifacts as hand axes may be misleading since we do not know for sure whether they were primarily axes in a modern sense or even if they were held in the hand. Based on tool edge wear patterns and the brittle fracturing lithic materials that were used to make them, it is likely that hand axes were multipurpose implements used for light chopping of wood, digging up roots and bulbs, butchering animals, and cracking nuts and small bones. In a sense, they were the Swiss Army knives of their times. They were reusable portable tools intended to be carried from place to place rather than made each time they were needed. Acheulian bifaces (hand axes)--the earliest known bilaterally symmetrical tools Some of the Acheulian tools were shaped by additional percussion flaking to relatively standardized forms. For instance, the surfaces of late Acheulian hand axes often had many relatively small flake scars, suggesting that these tools were not completely made with heavy hammerstones. Late Homo erectus or their immediate successors must have begun using softer hammers for greater control in the final shaping process. Pieces of hard wood, antler, or bone would have functioned well for this purpose.

Percussion Flaking Techniques: hard hammer (left) and soft hammer (right) While hand axes are the most diagnostic of Acheulian tools, they usually make up only a small percentage of the artifacts found at Homo erectus sites. In fact, these early humans made a relatively wide variety of stone tools that were used for processing various plant and animal materials. Their tool kits included choppers, cleavers, and hammers as well as flakes used as knives and scrapers. It is quite likely that Homo erectus also made many implements out of more perishable materials such as wood, bark, and even grass, which can be easily twisted together to make string and rope. The Acheulian tradition of tool making apparently began in East and South Africa by 1.5 million years ago. It spread into Israel and probably other parts of Southwest Asia by 1.4 million years ago. However, not all early Homo erectus leaving Africa had Acheulian tools. Apparently, some only had the older Oldowan tradition. Acheulian tool making reached Europe by at least 500,000 years ago and possibly as early as 900,000 years ago.

Until recently, the lack of hand axes at Zhoukoudian and other East Asian Homo erectus sites suggested that the Acheulian tradition did not reach that far. It was thought likely that the same functions that hand axes performed in the west were being performed in the Far East by other kinds of tools, perhaps made of bamboo. However, 24 sites in southern China have now been found to contain Acheulian tools dating back about 800,000 years. There remains controversy as to whether they include true hand axes. Throughout most of the Homo erectus geographic range, there is clear evidence of progressive improvement in tool making over time. The late Homo erectus had more complex mental templates guiding them in the manufacture of their artifacts. In addition, the reliance on tools increased as the implements became more useful. By half a million years ago, major Homo erectus habitation sites commonly had tens of thousands of discarded stone tools. New Subsistence Patterns Anthropologists use the term subsistence pattern, or subsistence base, to refer to sources of food and the way it is obtained. A clear measure of success in human evolution has been the progressive development of new food getting techniques and the inclusion of new food sources.

These measures have made it possible for humanity to increase in numbers from a few thousand australopithecines in Africa three million years ago to perhaps hundreds of thousands of Homo erectus by a half million years ago. This trend of expanding and diversifying subsistence patterns making it possible for population growth continues to the present. In fact, it accelerated dramatically two centuries ago and is largely responsible for our burgeoning world population of seven billion people today. Our modern hybridization and genetic modification of food crops and farm animals is just the latest human attempt to solve this recurring problem. Based on the analysis of tooth wear patterns and food refuse evidence, it is likely that australopithecines and early transitional humans were primarily wild plant food collectors and occasional scavengers of meat and eggs. By the time of Homo erectus, small game hunting and large animal carcass scavenging were apparently becoming much more common. The evidence of this change in subsistence pattern can be seen especially at late Homo erectus sites such as Zhoukoudian. Literally tens of thousands of fragmentary food refuse bones were found there. They came from pigs, sheep, rhinoceros, buffalo, and especially deer.

In addition, there were large numbers of bones from small animals including birds, turtles, rabbits, rodents, and fish as well as the shells of oysters, limpets, and mussels. Some of these bones ended up in the cave at Zhoukoudian as a result of large carnivorous animals rather than humans, but there is sufficient evidence to suggest that by a half million years ago, some Homo erectus were exploiting virtually every animal in their environment for food. They undoubtedly were harvesting vast amounts of wild plant foods as well. It would be a mistake to assume that Homo erectus had become an efficient specialized big game hunter. That development did not occur until more advanced forms of humans had evolved, several hundred thousand years later. Occupation of New Environmental Zones Homo erectus was the first species in our line of evolution to expand their range beyond tropical and subtropical environments into temperate climatic zones of the Old World where they encountered relatively cold winters. This occurred by at least a half million years ago in Asia and evidently a few hundred thousand years earlier in Southern Europe. It was made possible mainly by the success of new inventions and new subsistence strategies. The most important change may have been increased meat consumption as a result of hunting and more successful scavenging.

The greatest difficulty living in temperate areas was probably not the cold weather but obtaining something to eat during the winter when fresh plant foods are scarce. It is in that season that meat would have been the most important calorie source. The ability to use fire for cooking and heating may also have been significant in the successful colonization of colder regions. However, the first convincing evidence of regular fire use for these purposes does not come until 780,000-400,000 years ago, when Homo erectus were evolving into Homo heidelbergensis . The earliest suggestive evidence of fire being associated with humans was found at two sites in Kenya dating to 1.5 million years ago. In both cases, soil sediments appear to have been exposed to high temperatures. However, it is not necessary to assume that early humans were responsible. The burned soil could have resulted naturally from lightning started wild fires that are common in the grasslands of East Africa even today. Similar questionable evidence has been found in South Africa dating to about 1,000,000 years ago. There is no convincing evidence of human control of fire at this early time.

A 790,000 year old site in Israel has more credible evidence, though there does not seem to have been any cooking or repeated fire creation. The first reasonably good evidence of cooking is in the form of burned bones and fire altered stones at the Chinese site of Zhoukoudian dating sometime between 780,000 and 400,000 years ago. All of these sites in Africa and Asia with uncertain fire use indications presumably would have been occupied by Homo erectus. We have no evidence as to how Homo erectus might have obtained fire or even if they had the ability to create it at will. Implications The cultural developments of Homo erectus essentially began a new phase of our evolution--one in which natural selection was altered by cultural inventions. This has been referred to as biocultural evolution. Culture can affect the direction of human evolution by creating non-biological solutions to environmental challenges. This potentially reduces the need to evolve genetic responses to the challenges. Normally, when animals move into new environmental zones, natural selection, operating on random mutations, causes evolution. In other words, the population's gene pool is altered as a result of adapting to a new environment.

When late Homo erectus moved into temperate environments, nature should have selected for biological adaptations that were more suited to cooler climates. Such things as increased amounts of insulating body fat and insulating hair covering most of the body would be expected. Homo erectus evidently achieved much of the same adaptation by occupying caves, using fires, and becoming more capable at obtaining meat. By using their intelligence and accumulated knowledge, they remained essentially tropical animals despite the fact that they were no longer living only in the tropics. However, natural selection continued to select for increased brain size and presumably intelligence. This pattern of culture altering natural selection accelerated dramatically with the evolution of modern humans. Today, most of us live in cities and towns that are essentially unnatural environments and the rate of culture change has accelerated dramatically. We have occupied most environmental zones on land, and yet we are still essentially tropical animals physically. As a result, we perish rapidly if our cultural technology is taken away from us in environments in which the temperature drops to freezing. Becoming Human: Part 2 --Nova episode on the biological and cultural evolution of Homo erectus. To return here, you must click the "back" button on your browser program.

(length = 51 mins 27 secs) tree facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about tree COPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group, Inc. Tree A tree is a woody perennial plant that has a single trunk arising from the ground (typically without branches near the base) and that usually grows to 20 feet (6 meters) or more in height. Branches and twigs grow from the trunk of a tree to form its characteristic leafy crown. Trees are the dominant plants in the world's forests, providing critical habitats for the other species that live there. Trees also provide many products that are important to humans, such as fruits, nuts, timber, and medicine. Trees may be classified into two major groups: deciduous and evergreen (conifer). Deciduous trees shed their broad leaves at the end of the growing season—typically each fall. Examples of deciduous trees are maples, oaks, and elms. Evergreen or coniferous trees typically have needle-shaped leaves that remain for several years before being replaced. Pines, firs, and spruces are examples of evergreens.

Structure of a tree trunk Bark is the protective external covering of the stems (roots, trunk, and branches) of trees. The waterproof outer layer is known as cork. Composed of dead cells, cork can be as thick as several inches or more and serves to protect the internal living tissues from insects, animals, fungi, fire, and dehydration (the loss of water). Underneath the cork is a layer of living tissue called the phloem (pronounced FLOW-em). Phloem cells are elongated cells that transport plant nutrients, such as the carbohydrates made during photosynthesis, from the leaves to all other parts of the plant. When young, all trees have smooth bark. As trees mature, the outer surface of their bark begins to change in appearance, varying greatly among different species. For example, the bark of a mature American beech is distinctively grey and smooth while the bark of a mature sugar maple is rough and scaly, with deep fissures (long narrow cracks). Beneath the layers of bark is the cambium layer, a living sheath or covering of cells. On its outside face, the cambium produces phloem cells.

On its inside face, it produces xylem (pronounced ZEYE-lem) cells. These thick-walled cells carry water and mineral nutrients from the roots to the farthest branches. The broad layer of xylem tissue is known as the sapwood. Finally, the heartwood is in the center of the tree. As a tree ages and increases in diameter, dead xylem cells are used to store waste products, such as resin and other compounds. These waste-filled xylem cells form the heartwood. Typically darker than the sapwood, the heartwood is very stiff and serves to strengthen the tree. Words to Know Bark: Protective external covering of the stems (roots, trunk, and branches) of trees and other woody plants. Cambium: Plant tissue that produces phloem and xylem cells. Cork: Waterproof outer layer of bark composed of dead cells. Growth ring: Layer of wood produced in a single growing season. Heartwood: Dead central portion of wood in a tree. Perennial: Any plant that lives, grows, flowers, and produces seeds for three or more consecutive years. Phloem: Plant tissue consisting of elongated cells that transport carbohydrates and other nutrients.

Photosynthesis: Process by which light energy is captured from the Sun by pigment molecules in plants and algae and converted to food. Sapwood: Newly formed, outer layer of wood between the heartwood and bark that contains the living elements of the wood. Xylem: Plant tissue consisting of thick-walled cells that transport water and mineral nutrients. Tree growth The periodic formation of layers of xylem cells results in the diameter growth of trees. New sapwood is created during each growing season, but within two to three years these cells become part of the heartwood. In most trees growing in a climate with definite seasons, the cambium produces wide, thin-walled cells in the spring, narrow thick-walled cells in the summer, and few or no cells in the autumn and winter. This seasonal cell production results in the formation of annual growth rings. The bristle-cone pine is the world's longest-lived tree species. One specimen of this species has about 5,000 growth rings, indicating it is at least 5,000 years old. Within a given growth ring, the large cells of springwood and the small cells of summerwood are often readily seen with the naked eye.

Light, temperature, soil moisture, and other environmental factors affect the growth of trees, and therefore the width of their growth rings. Human use of trees Humans use trees as a source of food, building materials, and paper. Almond, coconut, cherry, prune, peach, pear, and many other tree species are grown in orchards for their fruits and nuts. The wood of many trees is a valuable construction material because it is relatively inexpensive, easy to cut, and very strong relative to its weight. Many species of pine and other conifers are important sources of softwoods, while deciduous trees are important sources of hardwoods. Chemicals in the bark of specific trees are used for medicinal or commercial purposes. Quinine, found in the bark of the South American cinchona tree, has been used for many years to treat malaria. More recently, anticancer chemicals have been discovered in the bark of the Pacific yew. Tannic acid, extracted from the bark of North American oak, hemlock, and chestnut trees, is used in tanning (the process of turning animal hides into leather). The bark of certain trees is itself used to create products.

The light, spongy outer bark of the European cork oak is used for bottle stoppers and in life rafts, insulation, and flooring. The bark of certain conifers, such as Douglas-fir and redwood, is used as a mulch in landscaping. [See also Forestry; Forests; Rain forest ] Cite this article The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable © The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. tree a tree is sometimes taken as the type of height and strength. In poetic use, the word may refer to the cross on which Christ was crucified; the word may also be used for the gallows. From Middle English, the word has also been used for a genealogical table or family tree, in which the original ancestor is seen as the root, and the various lines of descent as the branches. The word is recorded from Old English (in form trēow, trēo), and comes from a Germanic variant of an Indo-European root shared by Greek doru ‘wood, spear’, drus ‘oak’.

as a tree falls, so shall it lie proverbial saying; mid 16th century, meaning that one should not change from one's long established practices and customs because of approaching death, although contextual use suggests the meaning that one should die and be buried where one has lived. The original allusion is biblical, to Ecclesiastes 11:3, ‘If the tree fall toward the South, or toward the North, in the place where the tree falleth, there let it lie.’ tree-hugger a (derogatory) term for an environmental campaigner, used in reference to the practice of embracing a tree in an attempt to prevent it from being felled. the tree is known by its fruit proverbial saying, early 16th century, meaning that a person is judged by what they do and produce; originally with biblical allusion to Matthew 12:33, ‘The tree is known by his fruit.’ tree of knowledge in the Bible , the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ ( Genesis 2:9) in the Garden of Eden , the fruit of which was forbidden to Adam and Eve, but which they ate as a result of the serpent's temptation of Eve.

tree of life in the Bible, a tree in the Garden of Eden whose fruit imparts eternal life; in Genesis 3:24, God judges that disobedient man must be expelled from Eden ‘lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever’. The phrase tree of life is also used for an imaginary branching, tree-like structure representing the evolutionary divergence of all living creatures; in the Kabbalah, it is a diagram in the form of a tree bearing spheres, each of which represents a sephira. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press tree, perennial woody plant with a single main stem (the trunk, or bole) from which branches and twigs extend to form a characteristic crown of foliage. In general, a tree differs from a shrub in that it has a single trunk, it reaches a greater height at maturity, it branches at a greater distance from the ground, and it increases in size by producing new branches and expanding in girth while a shrub often produces new shoots from ground level. Trees fall into three major divisions: angiosperms , gymnosperms, and pteridophytes.

Angiosperms are the most common type, where seeds carried in various fruits are the agents of reproduction. Trees and shrubs may be deciduous, with broad leaves that are shed at the end of the growing season, or evergreen (see conifer ), with needlelike or scalelike leaves that are shed at intervals of between 2 and 10 years, thus maintaining green foliage at all seasons. Trees are identified both by the characteristic color and shape of the leaf and by their overall appearance, e.g., the degree and angle of branching, the shape of the crown, and the texture of the bark. Their age can be determined from a count of the annual rings , which represent the diameter growth of a tree each year. Besides their enormous importance in providing oxygen and moisture for the atmosphere and removing harmful carbon dioxide, trees are an important source of food, of wood , and of numerous products (e.g., resins, rubber, quinine, turpentine, and cellulose for the manufacture of paper and various synthetic materials) derived from their wood, bark, leaves, and fruits. See H. Johnson, The International Book of Trees (1973) and The World of Trees (2010); L. Line and A.

Sutton, Audubon Society Book of Trees (1981); A. C. Barefoot and F. W. Hankins, Identification of Modern Tertiary Woods (1982). Cite this article © A Dictionary of Computing 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. tree 1. Most commonly, short for rooted tree, i.e. a finite set of one or more nodes such that firstly there is a single designated node called the root and secondly the remaining nodes are partitioned into n≥0 disjoint sets, T1, T2,…, Tn, where each of these sets is itself a tree. The sets T1, T2,…, Tn are called subtrees of the root. If the order of these subtrees is significant, the tree is called an ordered tree, otherwise it is sometimes called an unordered tree. A tree corresponds to a graph with the root node matching a vertex connected by (directed) arcs to the vertices, which match the root nodes of each of its subtrees.

An alternative definition of a (directed) tree can thus be given in terms from graph theory: a tree is a directed acyclic graph such that firstly there is a unique vertex, which no arcs enter, called the root, secondly every other vertex has exactly one arc entering it, and thirdly there is a unique path from the root to any vertex. The diagram shows different representations of a tree. 2. Any connected acyclic graph. 3. Any data structure representing a tree (def. 1 or 2). For example, a rooted tree can be represented as a pointer to the representation of the root node. A representation of a node would contain pointers to the subtrees of the node as well as the data associated with the node itself. Because the number of subtrees of a node may vary, it is common practice to use a binary-tree representation . The terminology associated with trees is either of a botanic nature, as with forest , leaf , root, or is genealogical, as with ancestor , descendant , child , parent , sibling . See also binary tree . Cite this article Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary COPYRIGHT 1986 Gale 655.

Trees Birnam wood apparently comes to Dunsinane, fulfilling a prophecy misinterpreted by Macbeth. [Br. Drama: Shakespeare Macbeth ] Bo-tree tree of perfect knowledge under which Gautama attained enlightenment and so became the Buddha . [ Buddhism : Benét, 124] Charter Oak ancient white oak where the Connecticut charter was secreted in 1687 to avoid its seizure by the royal governor. [Am. Hist.: NCE, 515] Chestnuts, The tree apartment, home of Owl. [Br. Lit.: A. A. Milne Winnie-the-Pooh ] Druids conducted their rites in oak groves and venerated the oak and the mistletoe. [Celtic Relig.: Benét, 289] Ents treelike creatures who shelter and defend the friends of Frodo. [Br. Lit.: J. R. R. Tolkien Lord of the Rings ] laurel tree sacred to Apollo; a wreath of laurel, or bay, protected the wearer from thunderstorms. [Roman Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 81] oak considered more likely to be struck by lightning, sacred to the god of thunder and venerated by the Druids.

[Br. Legend: Brewer Dictionary, 652] upas juice contains a poison used for tipping arrows; its vapor was believed capable of killing all who came within miles. [Eur. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 926] yew symbol of immortality; hence, planted in churchyards and near Druid temples. [Br. Legend: Brewer Dictionary, 967] Ygdrasil the great ash tree that supported the universe, having sprung from the body of the giant Ymir. [Norse Myth.: Benét, 111] Cite this article The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English © The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. tree / trē/ • n. 1. a woody perennial plant, typically having a single stem or trunk growing to a considerable height and bearing lateral branches at some distance from the ground. Compare with shrub1 . ∎ (in general use) any bush, shrub, or herbaceous plant with a tall erect stem, e.g., a banana plant. 2. a wooden structure or part of a structure. ∎ archaic or poetic/lit.

the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. ∎ archaic a gallows or gibbet. 3. a thing that has a branching structure resembling that of a tree. ∎ (also tree diagram) a diagram with a structure of branching connecting lines, representing different processes and relationships. • v. (trees , treed , tree·ing ) [tr.] force (a hunted animal) to take refuge in a tree. ∎ inf. force (someone) into a difficult situation. PHRASES: out of one's tree inf. completely stupid; insane. up a tree inf. in a difficult situation without escape; cornered. DERIVATIVES: COPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc. Trees Trees are plants with an erect perennial stem at least 4 meters (13 feet) tall, a diameter measured at breast height (1.3 meters or 4.5 feet) of at least 7.5 centimeters (3 inches), and a distinct crown of leaves or leafy branches.

This definition is widely used by foresters and forest ecologists to divide woody plants into trees, shrubs (smaller plants, often with clustered stems), and vines (plants not self-supporting and usually without a distinct crown). However, plant species are not constrained to fit definitions, thus plants of the same species may grow as trees in some areas and as shrubs in others, especially at the edge of the species' range where growing conditions are harsh. Thus lodgepole pine, valued by Native Americans for its tall, straight "lodge poles," becomes a sprawling shrub near timberline in the Rocky Mountains and on sandy beach dunes of the Pacific Coast. Trees are usually woody; that is, their stems are composed largely of densely packed, elongated, thick-walled cells (secondary wood) produced by a cylindrical growing center, the vascular cambium, that surrounds the stem underneath the bark. Typically the secondary cambium adds new wood throughout the life of the tree, gradually increasing the trunk diameter as the crown grows larger and taller. Notable exceptions occur in tree ferns, cycads, palms, and a few other plants that reach tree dimensions while producing little or no secondary wood.

In these plants neither trunk diameter nor crown size increases much with age once the single apex of large compound leaves reaches mature size. However, mechanical support by the stem is often aided by an encircling band of tightly packed roots (e.g., tree ferns) or persistent leaf bases (e.g., cycads and palms). Trees are regularly associated with certain plant groups such as the oak (oak, beech, chestnut) and pine (pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, etc.) families; however, most families of vascular plants contain some tree species. Residents of temperate climates are often surprised to find that tomatoes, violets, shrubby sumacs, and even grasses have close tropical relatives that are trees. Today's diminutive club mosses, spike mosses, and quillworts (order Lycopodiales) and horsetails (order Equisetales) are the remaining relatives of huge scale-trees (Lepidodendrales) and giant horsetails (Calamitales) that dominated swampy forests in the Carboniferous (coal-forming) period of Earth 's history three hundred million years ago. Trees are the giants of the plant world.

Among the tallest ever measured was a Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii ) in Washington that measured 117 meters (385 feet) tall. California claims the tallest living tree, a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens ) 112.6 meters tall, but competing for this distinction are trees of Eucalyptus in Australia , which are perhaps a few meters taller. In total weight or biomass , probably no other species has ever produced larger trees than the Big Tree redwoods (Sequoiadendron giganteum ) of the California Sierra Nevada Mountains. These colossal giants (to 88 meters) maintain their basal diameter of 5 to 10 meters with little taper to the base of their crown over 40 meters high. Big Tree redwoods are also among the oldest known trees, reaching ages of more than three thousand years. However, the oldest trees in North America and perhaps in the world are quite modest in size (10×.6 meters). These belong to a species called bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata ).

The oldest bristlecone pines (more than forty-six hundred years) grow in dry rocky soils near timberline in southern California where the harsh growing season is very short and annual growth in trunk diameter is often less than 0.2 millimeters. Age estimates of bristlecone pines are obtained by counting annual growth rings in studies collectively termed dendrochronology. The science of dendrochronology uses tree-ring information to reconstruct long records of climatic history and to date prehistoric wooden structures. Trees and Forest Types Trees greatly modify the habitat in which they live, by their shade and by their litter of fallen leaves. Typically light-loving tree species occupy the highest section of the forest, the overstory or canopy, with shade-tolerant species below. Species inhabiting these forest layers differ according to geographic and topographic location and associated climate and soils. Forest composition may also differ with age, and to some degree, by chance, that is, which species managed to get its seeds to the area first or survived the longest. Despite these causes of forest differences, it is possible to recognize common associations of particular plant species with particular habitats.

For example, ecologists and foresters usefully refer to Oak-Hickory forests as tending to occur on dry upland areas in the east central United States , with Beech-Maple forests tending to occur on more moist north-facing slopes. Many such forest communities are recognized across the country and are often named for their two most common overstory trees. Perhaps the greatest contrast between forest types in temperate regions is between deciduous broad-leaved and evergreen coniferous forests. In deciduous forests light penetrating to the forest floor in early spring supports a diverse array of spring wildflowers and ferns whereas the perennially dark floor of a dense coniferous forest supports many fewer species. Tree Uses It is hard to overestimate the importance of trees in their many uses for lumber, landscaping, shade, ornamental plantings, and windbreaks. In all of these uses diversity among trees is important. Wood types differ in strength, weight, hardness, color, figure, and other characteristics. Even taste can be important where cooking utensils or food storage is the use. Usually fast-growing trees such as cottonwood produce light, soft wood relative to that produced by slow-growing trees such as oaks and hickories.

Conifers (often called softwoods) are preferred for construction lumber where ease of cutting, carrying, and nailing is important. The heavier, stronger, tougher wood of flowering trees (hardwoods) is preferred for railroad ties, strong crates, hardwood floors, tool handles, and sports equipment. Because of their attractive color and grain, hardwoods are also favored for fine furniture, cabinetry, and wall panels. All species and all sizes of trees are used for pulp and wood flakes for paper products and synthetic lumber. Tree Diversity To meet the need for diverse wood products, naturally diverse forests must be maintained. More than 600 species of native trees occur in North America north of Mexico, but much greater diversity occurs in tropical forests. A single hectare (2.5 acres) of Amazon forest may contain more than 200 different species whereas the most diverse U.S. forests contain about 20 species per hectare. In addition to variety in wood products, tree diversity aids forests in resisting diseases and pests and promotes wildlife diversity through the variety of foods, dens, and perching and nesting sites they maintain.

Tropical rain forests' tree canopies support an array of epiphytic mosses, ferns, and flowering plants and hundreds of insect and larger animal species that scientists are just beginning to explore. Tree Identification Tree identification is necessary for forest and tree management and a rewarding hobby enjoyed by many nonprofessionals. Books aiding identification and describing trees, tree uses, and tree care are available for nearly all areas, ranging in coverage from local regions to entire countries and continents. Leaf size, shape, and arrangement on the stem are often sufficient to identify a tree, but twigs, bark, fruits, cones, and sometimes flowers may be required. Winter identification of deciduous trees by twigs and bark presents a special challenge, but one that can be mastered by the dedicated student. see also Chestnut Blight; Coniferous Forests; Conifers; Deciduous Forests; Dendrochronology; Dutch Elm Disease; Forester; Forestry; Gymnosperms; Palms; Rain Forest Canopy; Rain Forests; Record-Holding Plants; Sequoia; Tree Architecture; Wood Anatomy; Wood Products. Donald R.

Farrar The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology © The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. tree perennial plant having a woody stem and of considerable height and size; piece of wood (as in axle t., cross t., swingle t., saddle t., boot t., and treenail) OE.; pedigree XIII. OE. trēo(w) = OS. trio, treo (MDu. -tere), ON. tré, Goth. triu :- Gmc. *trewam, f. zero-grade of IE. *deru- *doru- *dru-, repr. by Skr. dāru, dru- tree. Gr. dóru, pl. doûra wood, spear, Lith. dervà pinewood. OIr. daur, W. derwen oak. Hence tre(e)nail cylindrical pin of hard wood used in fastening timbers together. XIII. Cite this article Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes © Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes 2007, originally published by Oxford University Press 2007.

tree •absentee, addressee, adoptee, agree, allottee, amputee, appellee, appointee, appraisee, après-ski, assignee, attendee, bailee, bain-marie, Bangui , bargee, bawbee, be, Bea, bee, bootee, bouquet garni, bourgeoisie, Brie, BSc, buckshee, Capri , cc, chimpanzee, cohabitee, conferee, consignee, consultee, Cree , debauchee, decree, dedicatee, Dee, degree, deportee, dernier cri, detainee, devisee, devotee, divorcee, draftee, dree, Dundee, dungaree, eau-de-vie, emcee, employee, endorsee, en famille, ennui, enrollee, escapee, esprit, evacuee, examinee, expellee, fee, fiddle-de-dee, flea, flee, fleur-de-lis, foresee, franchisee, free, fusee (US fuzee), Gardaí, garnishee, gee, ghee, glee, goatee, grandee, Grand Prix,

 grantee, Guarani, guarantee, he, indictee, inductee, internee, interviewee, invitee, jamboree, Jaycee, jeu d'esprit, key, knee, Lea, lee, legatee, Leigh, lessee, Ley, licensee, loanee, lychee, manatee, Manichee, maquis, Marie, marquee, me, Midi, mortgagee, MSc, nominee, obligee, Otomi, parolee, Parsee, parti pris, patentee, Pawnee, payee, pea, pee, permittee, plc, plea, pledgee, pollee, presentee, promisee, quay, ratatouille, referee, refugee, releasee, repartee, retiree, returnee, rupee, scot-free, scree, sea, secondee, see, settee, Shanxi, Shawnee, shchi, she, shea, si, sirree, ski, spree, standee, suttee, tant pis, tea, tee, tee-hee, Tennessee , testee, the, thee, three, thuggee, Tiree, Torquay, trainee, Tralee, transf

eree, tree, Trincomalee, trustee, tutee, twee, Twi, undersea, vestee, vis-à-vis, wagon-lit, Waikiki, warrantee, we, wee, whee, whoopee, ye, yippee, Zuider Zee Cite this article

Question: Articles described as "Treen" are made from which material?
Answer: Wood