Get Growing Green Activity Pack The Trunk

Algae, lichens and moss often form green or grey, powdery or mossy, crusty growths on the stems, branches and trunks of trees and shrubs. While this can worry gardeners, these growths are harmless, although may occasionally indicate a lack of vigour in the affected plant.

Burls are identifiable by their appearance: a large, knobby growth on a tree trunk or branch, developed as a protective response to tree disease, and covered in bark. They're not inherently harmful to the tree, but they are thought to reduce a tree's vigor - although not as much as a rampant disease would.

The main-stem is called trunk. The trunk gives out many branches at certain height. The branches carry leaves, flowers and fruits. Examples: Mango, banyan, acacia, coconut, poplar, willow, etc.

The trunk facilitates the movement of water and minerals up from the roots in the soil to the branches, stems and eventually to the leaves. The trunk also facilitates the movement of the sugar down from the leaves, stems and branches to the roots.

A: The branches sprouting from the tree base are called trunk suckers or basal suckers and are best removed so they don't form a bushlike structure around the tree. Suckers are common on some tree types such as apple, crabapple, tree lilacs and lindens, including basswood, which is likely the tree in your photo.

In botany, the trunk (or bole) is the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, which is an important feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the trunk to the top, depending on the species. The trunk is the most important part of the tree for timber production.

Sigillaria is a type of tree that has the leaves growing directly from the trunk rather than branches - it is found in fossils and is closer to clubmosses than modern green trees.

Algae, moss and lichens are the three main types of green growth that can appear on tree branches and trunks. All look similar at first glance but have a few subtle distinctions.