SHAPE
Trees can be identified by the shape of their silhouette.
Trees come in a variety of forms based on their branching patterns. There are three main forms:
Excurrent: the main trunk goes the entire height of the tree, with branches forming patterns; eg. Evergreens.
Decurrant: The main trunk continues up about halfway, then splits into more than one main branch; eg. fruit trees.
Columnar: The main trunk continues the full height of the tree, with the branches forming only at the top; eg. Palm Trees.
Excurrent: the main trunk goes the entire height of the tree, with branches forming patterns; eg. Evergreens.
Decurrant: The main trunk continues up about halfway, then splits into more than one main branch; eg. fruit trees.
Columnar: The main trunk continues the full height of the tree, with the branches forming only at the top; eg. Palm Trees.
The arrangement and position of the branches on a tree give the tree its shape. There three positions of branches can be pointing upward from the trunk, pointing straight out from the truck, or pointing downward from the trunk.
Some main branching patterns are:
Some main branching patterns are: