Trees & forests: tree portraits and forest types
The trees of our region and the forests of the world: from oak and beech to pine and spruce, and what good forest management is. The Wood Guide · Trees & forests. Where the wood comes from: the trees of our region, the forest types of the world and what good forest management is.
The Wood Guide · Trees & forests
The Wood Guide · sectionTrees & 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 from our warehouse in Lebbeke
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 birchGraceful, fast-growing and unmistakably white. That colour is no coincidence but an adaptation that saves the tree's life in…
The Alder
The maple
The sweet chestnut treeAn impressive crown, plenty of shade and every autumn a harvest of glossy chestnuts. But watch which chestnut tree you are…
The Linden Tree
The plane treeA striking presence in streets and parks, with a mottled trunk no other tree can copy. And a trick that makes it superbly…
The willowCharacteristic drooping branches, unstoppable vigour and a love of water. And a substance in its bark that changed medicine.
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)
Forests 7 guides
What is a forest?
Types of Forests: A World of Diversity
The Invisible Power of Forests: More than Just Trees
Forests in Belgium: A Detailed Overview
Forest types in the Netherlands: A Diversity of Green Treasures
Forests in GermanyFairy-tale forests, yes — but above all the country where the word sustainability was coined in 1713, and where scientific…
Forests in France: A Treasure of Natural Riches
From forest to plank 2 guides
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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.
The other sections
Wood species100 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