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What do trees and shrubs look like?

Trees are the most magnificent plants in our environment. They usually have a single, thick, bark‑covered trunk, which at a certain height starts to branch out, forming boughs. These in turn divide into thinner and thinner branches. Boughs and branches form a tree crown. Roots, which are usually not visible on the surface, hold the entire plant in the ground.

The trees differ in leaf structure. On this basis they are divided into deciduous and coniferous. The former usually have wide and flat leaves. They can have various shapes: similar to the heart as in a lime tree, ovoid as in a beech tree, or composed of small leaves as in a chestnut tree. The leaves of the conifers are thin and elongated. They are called needles or acerate leaves.

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Schemat przedstawiający budowę wybranych pospolitych gatunków drzew liścianych deciduous trees: birch-tree, linden, beech, oak. po prawej stronie schematycznej budowy każdego z drzew znajduje się powiększenie budowy liści, kwiatów i owoców.

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Schemat przedstawiający fotografie trees green: pine, spruce, fir, larch, z wyszczególnieniem ich liści, owoców i kwiatów.

Shrubs differ from trees in that they are lower and do not have a clearly visible trunk. Forsythia is a common shrub in our environment. What is distinguishable about them is that they bloom early in the spring, before they even form leaves. Another common shrub is lilac. Some coniferous plants, such as yews and junipers, are also shrubs.

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Dwie fotografie prezentują krzew lilaka, nazywanego bzem. Na pierwszej widoczne drobne gałęzie krzewu z kwitnącymi fioletowymi kwiatostanami lilaka oraz zielonymi liśćmi. Na drugiej fotografii widoczne z bliska dwa fioletowe kwiatostany bzu.

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Fotografia prezentuje liczne krzewy kwitnącej na żółto forsycji. Kwiaty forsycji zebrane na długich pędach. Niebieskie niebo.

What a forest is?

Trees can grow individually, in groups (e.g. avenues of trees in parks, clusters of trees in fields), or together with shrubs and herbaceous plants they can form very large clusters called forestsforestforests. Forests where only deciduous trees grow are called deciduous forests. Only coniferous trees grow in coniferous forests, also called pine forests. Mixed forests are the ones in which both coniferous and deciduous trees grow.

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Fotografia przedstawia widoczny las iglasty z licznymi rosnącymi gęsto, smukłymi świerkami o trójkątnej koronie drzewa. Przed drzewami po prawej stronie fragment łąki pokrywającej pagórek. Kwiaty na łące kwitną na żółto.

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Fotografia przedstawia las liściasty. Korony drzew są wysokie. Las przejrzysty i rozświetlony. Drzewa o pniach średniej grubości.

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Fotografia przedstawia las mieszany z drzewami iglastymi i liściastymi. Las gęsty, mało przejrzysty. Między drzewami w tle widać porośnięte drzewami zielone wzgórza.

Herbaceous plants

Unlike trees and shrubs, plants that do not have woody stems are herbaceous. Some of them, like trees and shrubs, are perennial. These include, among others, common dandelion, rabbitfoot clover and horsetail. We already know that there are also biennials, i.e. a plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. These include, among others, pansy, chrysanthemum and wood forget‑me‑not. Annual plants include chamomile and cornflower common to cereal crop groups. Among the crops, annual crops includes all cereals, rapeseed and sunflower.

The herbaceous plants can grow in clusters called meadowsmeadowmeadows. There are no trees or shrubs in the meadows. They are made up mainly of grasses and colourful plants such as clover. Meadows are the habitat of numerous insects, birds and mammals. Sometimes some forest animals, such as roe deer, also look for food there. Natural meadows are rare in Poland. Most of them were created by felling forests and are kept by grazing animals, mowing and removing young trees.

Summary

• Plants growing in the immediate vicinity of the human can be divided into trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

• Trees can be divided into deciduous and coniferous trees.

• There are three basic types of forests: deciduous, coniferous and mixed.

• Herbaceous plants are divided into annual plants, biennial plants and perennial plants.

Keywords

meadow, trees, shrubs, meadow plants

Glossary