The tree growth habit

Overview
The tree growth habit is an evolutionary adaptation found in different groups of plants: by growing taller, trees are able to compete better for sunlight.[14] Trees tend to be tall and long-lived,[15] some reaching several thousand years old.[16] Several trees are among th

e oldest organisms now living.[17] Trees have modified structures such as thicker stems composed of specialised cells that add structural strength and durability, allowing them to grow taller than many other plants and to spread out their foliage. They differ from shrubs, which have a similar growth form, by usually growing larger and having a single main stem;[5] but there is no consist

ent distinction between a tree and a shrub,[18] made more confusing by the fact that trees may be reduced in size under harsher environmental conditions such as on mountains and subarctic areas. The tree form has evolved separately in unrelated classes of plants in response to similar environmental challenges, making it a classic example of parallel evolution. With an estimated 60,000-

100,000 species, the number of trees worldwide might total twenty-five per cent of all living plant species.[19][20] The greatest number of these grow in tropical regions and many of these areas have not yet been fully surveyed by botanists, making tree diversity and ranges poorly known.[21]