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Trees & forests31 Trees & forests →

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Trees & forests: tree portraits and forest types

Beech (Fagus sylvatica) in full leaf

The Wood Guide · Trees & forests

The Wood Guide · section

Trees & forests

Where the wood comes from: the trees of our region, the forest types of the world and what good forest management is.

  • 31 guides
  • 3 topics
  • Written in our workshop in Lebbeke
Start here

The core guides of this section

Ten broadleaf trees and their woodBotanically, the wood of every broadleaf tree is hardwood. In the garden, that means nothing at all — and every year that…Read the guide → The OakRead the guide → The pine treeEvergreen, resinous and surprisingly tough. From the Siberian tundra to the Mediterranean coast, pines have adapted everywhere…Read the guide → The spruce treeMajestic conifers that dominate the northern forests of Europe, Asia and North America — and one species supplies the spruce…Read the guide →

Tree portraits 22 guides

Ten broadleaf trees and their woodBotanically, the wood of every broadleaf tree is hardwood. In the garden, that means nothing at all — and every year that… The Oak The Birch The Alder The maple The chestnut tree The Linden Tree Plane tree The Willow The pine treeEvergreen, resinous and surprisingly tough. From the Siberian tundra to the Mediterranean coast, pines have adapted everywhere… The Scots pineEurope's most widespread pine, from the Kempen heathland deep into Siberia. Tough on poor, sandy soil — and the tree that pine… The black pineA pine from the mountains of southern Europe, best known in the Low Countries from the coastal dunes. Dark, sturdy and… The western white pineA tall pine from western North America, with light, even-textured wood — and a species hit hard by an introduced fungus. The Canary Island pineNative only to the Canary Islands. A pine with thick bark that simply sprouts again after a forest fire. The Korean pineFrom the mixed forests of north-east Asia. The pine behind a large share of the pine nuts in the shops. The Siberian dwarf pineA pine that would rather creep than climb. In the coldest parts of Asia it bends down under the snow — and that is how it… The spruce treeMajestic conifers that dominate the northern forests of Europe, Asia and North America — and one species supplies the spruce… The Norway spruceThe classic Christmas tree, and at the same time the tree behind Europe's most widely used construction timber: spruce, or… The blue spruceFrom the Rocky Mountains, and in Europe the best-known blue conifer of front and back gardens. Lovely to look at, painful to… The Serbian spruceNative only to a small mountain area along the Drina. In parks everywhere it is recognisable by its slender, columnar shape. The Oriental spruceFrom the mountain forests of the Caucasus and north-east Turkey. A dark, elegant spruce with the shortest needles in its genus. The Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)
About this section

Trees & forests

Every piece of wood was once a tree. This section has portraits of the trees you come across in our woods and parks — oak, beech, pine, spruce, lime and dozens more — and the forests they grow in, from Belgium to the tropics.

From knowledge to garden

Ready to choose? Here is what we make from it.

Picnic tables Teak
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The other sections

Wood species99 guides → Understanding wood17 guides → Care & finishing28 guides → Choosing & buying16 guides → Build it yourself51 guides →

Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Beech (Fagus sylvatica) in full leaf — Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 3.0 · Planed Douglas fir boards with clearly visible growth rings — Philipp Zinger, CC BY-SA 3.0 · End grain of an oak trunk showing growth rings, heartwood and sapwood — Friedrich Böhringer, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT · Wooden table and benches on a patio among potted plants — Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hand with hammer and chisel carving letters into a wooden plank — Frédérique Voisin-Demery, CC BY 2.0