Webelos - Arrow of Light Elective Adventure: Into The Woods

1. Identify two different groups of trees and the parts of a tree.

Groups of Trees

In the area that I live in, there are two main groups of trees.  We have deciduous (trees that lose all their leaves for part of the year), and Evergreen (trees that do not lose all their leaves at the same time). During the fall months the leaves on the deciduous tree all change color and eventually fall to the ground resulting in the tree being bare until springtime when the new leafs bud. Under the evergreen tree in our yard, you can collect brown, dried out pine needles, at all times of the year even though the tree is constantly green.

Deciduous Trees

Here are some of the deciduous trees around my neighborhood

• Maple
• Oak
• Aspen
• Plum
• Apple
• Peach
• Box Elder

Evergreen Trees

Here are some of the evergreen trees around my neighborhood

• Blue Spruce
• Weeping Cedar
• Douglas Fir
• Juniper

Parts of a Tree

For the most part, there are six parts that make up a tree

• Roots - This is the part of the tree that is underground. Their job is to keep the tree from tipping over, and mainly to collect water and nutrients from the soil.
• Trunk - This part provides the shape of the tree and supports the crown. The trunk also acts and a distributor of water, sugar, and nutrients between the roots and the leaves
• Branches - Working along side the trunk, the branches help the flow of water, sugar, and nutrients. They also provide the support for the leaves making up the crown.
• Leaves - When they are green, leaves are converting energy from the sun into food (sugar). This process is called photosynthesis.
• Crown - Many times you can identify a tree just by looking at the shape of its crown. making up the top of the tree with leaves and branches, the crown provides shade for the roots and works very hard during the process of photosynthesis.