Tree



Trees are structures of wood and leaf blocks, created when a map chunk is generated or grown from a planted sapling. They are found in most biomes, and abound in forest-related biomes. Tree growth was added to Alpha in 0.0.14a and Creative in 0.28_01.

Structure
Their natural height varies widely, from a minimum of 5 blocks (4 wood and 1 leaf) up to 16 blocks (13 wood and 3 leaf). Rain forest biomes favor larger trees.

The tree canopy is composed of leaf blocks, and grows 1–3 blocks higher than the highest wood block. The canopy may begin as low as 1 block from the ground (for a tree with a 4-block trunk) up to 6 blocks from the ground (for the tallest trees). Tree canopies appear to be generated from roughly spherical clusters of leaves about 5–7 blocks across, centered on sections of trunk or branches. Leaves must be supported by adjacent trunk or leaf blocks, or will wither and disappear.

Any tree with a trunk height of at least 4 has a chance to grow branches (wood blocks connected horizontally, vertically or diagonally to the trunk or other branches). A single tree may have between one and six branches, and each branch may have between one and six wood blocks. This provides a maximum of 43 wood blocks per tree, though this is very unlikely to happen naturally since most branches are about 3 blocks long. Branches support a much larger canopy than a tree with a single trunk.

Sapling growth


Trees can be grown from saplings, which occasionally fall from leaf blocks when they are destroyed or decayed. Some players harvest wood from high-efficiency tree farms.

The sapling must be planted on a dirt or grass block. The block must have at least 6 blocks of space above it, and a light level of 9 in the block above the sapling. A sapling will uproot with light level 8 or less directly above it unless it has an unobscured zenith, glass permitted) After a random period of time, a sapling will instantly grow into a tree. A sapling grows only once; the tree itself will not grow any further. Bone Meal can be used to grow saplings instantly if space allows for randomly generated tree shape.

Types/Biomes
With the Beta 1.2 update different tree biomes were added.

So far tree biomes include regular trees, birch trees, and pine/conifer trees. Birch and pine trees are fairly uncommon compared to regular trees. Birch trees stand out due to their white colored bark, and pine trees have blue tinted leaves that grow in usually more than one row on a tree. Pines also seem to grow mainly, if not always, in snow biomes. Both tree types behave in the same way regular trees do, with saplings and wood blocks, and leaves except different tree type wood blocks cannot be stacked together. More tree biomes may be added in the future.

It is possible for a tree to be generated with different colored leaves due to biomes intersecting over the tree.

Uses
Tree harvesting is an essential first step for any player in Survival mode. The wooden blocks can be harvested for wood, without requiring tools (although an axe quickens harvesting). Each wood block can be crafted into wooden planks and sticks, used for crafting tools.

Wood can also be turned into charcoal, an equivalent of coal.

When leaves are harvested, or decay naturally, there is a chance they will drop a sapling which can be planted to grow a new tree. Destroying leaves does not require a tool; a sword destroys leaves negligibly faster, but this quickly degrades the sword.

Trivia

 * Since the 1.2 update, trees in pre-1.2 levels will have leaves of different colors and even pine needles.
 * Big trees have a higher chance of appearing in the rain forest biome.
 * Big trees are also referred to as 'Great Trees'.
 * You can grow a tree on top of a tree by placing dirt on the top of a tree and planting a sapling.
 * If a sapling is planted on a block directly above or adjacent to lava, the resulting tree will immediately catch on fire.
 * Possibly due to an error, when Beta 1.2 came out trees that had already been created were re-created often with the same shape but more than one type of leaves, often all three.
 * Trees will only grow if they are planted on a chunk of the map that is loaded into memory. If you plant saplings and then explore another more distant area of your world for a few Minecraft days, they will still be saplings when you return.
 * Before beta, trees could destroy glass if their growth would occupy the same space.

Gallery
Baum (Aufbau)