Forests cover up a third of the globe. This renewable resource and the lifeline of the human species is made up by 45 000 distinct speciest of trees, most of which are deciduous. In comparison our indigenous forests have only 25-30 different species of trees. The exact amount of species depends on the definition of a tree and a bush.
On this site, you’ll find information on finnish tree species:
- Names in english, finnish and latin. For some species also their german, french and swedish names.
- The spread of a tree species and the growing conditions
- The characteristics of the wood that can be harvested from the tree
- The usage of the wood in woodcraftsmanship.
The species are designated as coniferous or deciduous trees.
You’ll find the most common finnish trees that are used in woodcraftsmanship.
Trees have special characteristics that make them unique among plants. Here are some examples:
- The giant redwood tree is the largest plant in the world. They can grow a hundred meters tall. The thickest specimen have a diameter of over 10 metres. If you consider the volume of a tree like this, you could fit a couple of houses in it.
- Giant redwood trees are also one of the oldest plantlife in the world. It can reach the age of 4000 years. It has thus begun its growth when people started to build the pyramids in Egypt. The oldest tree on earth is a pine tree growing in Nevada, Pinus longaeva. The oldest tree ever found was 5100 years old.
- You can make conclusions about the environment of the past years by examining the annual rings of a tree. For example if the year was good fror growth, the ring is larger
