Trees

Police initially arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with the felling.

Hadrian's Wall Damaged by Sycamore Gap Tree Felling, Inspection Confirms

Cut down by a chainsaw, the beloved tree fell atop the 1,900-year-old Roman wall in September

Seemingly still waters wind through colorful canopies displaying warm autumn hues on a hazy September morning.

Fall Into Autumn With These 15 Foliage Photos

These highlights from the Smithsonian Photo Contest celebrate the season

Researchers studied tree rings to determine that a single earthquake along two fault zones may have occured near Seattle around 1,100 years ago.

A Massive, Two-Fault Earthquake May Have Struck the Pacific Northwest 1,100 Years Ago

The region needs to be prepared for the possibility of more intense quakes than previously thought, a new study of tree rings finds

The beloved tree was one of the most photographed in the United Kingdom.

England's Beloved Sycamore Gap Tree Has Been Chopped Down

Authorities arrested a 16-year-old boy on Thursday in connection with the felling

The map's predictions for the 2023 leaf-peeping season

See When Brilliant Fall Foliage Will Peak With This Interactive Map

The tool's county-by-county predictions will help you plan the best leaf-peeping trips

A pod of ancient Nacional cacao offers hope for reforesting Ecuador’s Pacific coast, which by some estimates has lost 98 percent of its original forest cover over the past century.

The Quest to Save the World’s Most Coveted Chocolate

For these ambitious scientists in the rainforests of Ecuador, helping the environment has never tasted so sweet

An aerial image of the banyan tree taken on August 10, 2023

Will Maui's Beloved 150-Year-Old Banyan Tree Survive the Scorching Wildfires?

Amidst the devastation of Lahaina, a coastal town in Maui, the tree is burned but still standing

“Only among the hills with hare and kestrel will you observe what once this land was like before we made it fat for human use.” — “The Colony” by John Hewitt

These Surfers Want to Restore Temperate Rainforests to Ireland

In the rainy mountains along the country’s west coast, a movement has begun to bring back an ecosystem that has been gone for centuries

Researchers standing next to the tree at Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon National Nature Reserve look small by comparison.

See the New Tallest Tree in Asia, a 335-Foot Cypress

Easily taller than the Statue of Liberty, the behemoth is likely the second-tallest known tree in the world

Sassafras leaves begin to grow. Both 19th-century Ohio farmer Thomas Mikesell and current Ohio State University ecologist Kellen Calinger-Yoak recorded important details about the plant.

What a 19th-Century Farmer’s Forgotten Notes Reveal About Growing Seasons

The documents provide evidence of climate change's effect on hardwood trees in Ohio

This ailing oak tree, seen being trimmed in winter 2023, was removed from Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo due to safety concerns.

Chicago Cuts Down Oak Tree Older Than the City Itself

At an estimated 250-300 years old, the ailing tree needed to be removed for safety reasons

Live oaks in Beaufort, South Carolina, photographed using an old-fashioned wet-plate process

The Live Oak Tree Has Withstood the Ravages of History

Majestic and sturdy, the icon of the American South has offered protection time and again

Ponderosa pines at Yosemite National Park

California's 'Zombie Forests' Are Cheating Death—but Maybe Not for Long

A fifth of conifer forests in the state’s Sierra Nevada mountains are stranded in unsuitably warm conditions

Living Carbon's modified trees on the left next to unmodified trees on the right.

Genetically Modified Trees Are Taking Root to Capture Carbon

A start-up created the plants to help combat the climate crisis, but they have so far only been tested in a lab setting

A reconstruction of a painted fresco depicting the Battle of Kadesh between the Egyptian Empire and the Hittite Empire.

Severe Drought May Have Contributed to the Decline of the Hittites

The empire abruptly vanished around 1200 B.C.E., and ancient tree rings suggest climate played a role

Dead aspen trees, shrunken by drought, wither near Grant Lake in California last October.

California Lost 36 Million Trees to Drought Last Year

The die-off is expected to continue despite this winter’s rain storms

A female (left) and male (right) golden-shouldered parrot

Australia’s Most Endangered Parrot Faces an Unusual Threat: Trees

Native vegetation blocks the birds’ ability to see approaching predators

Archaeologists studied the tree ring growth patterns of 100 timbers.

Rare 16th-Century Ship Unearthed in England

Quarry workers discovered the vessel 1,000 feet from the nearest coastline

This cross section of a sequoia in Yosemite National Park in California has markers identifying the dates of tree rings.

The Science Behind the Oldest Trees on Earth

How experts have determined that bristlecone pines, sequoias and baobabs have stood for thousands of years

With one vast root system, Pando weighs more than 6,600 tons and contains approximately 47,000 genetically identical stems (or branches).

The World's Largest Tree Is Ready for Its Close-Up

Friends of Pando, a nonprofit, is in the process of creating the largest image ever recorded of this single aspen clone in Utah

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