Tree

Trees are structures that consist of log and leaf blocks. There are six species of tree – oak, spruce, birch, jungle, acacia and dark oak.

Structure
The trees found in Minecraft

Trees vary widely in height, from a bare minimum of 1 block of logs for bush trees, ranging up to a maximum of 30 blocks for giant jungle trees.

Tree canopies are composed of leaf blocks, and grow 1 block higher than the highest log block (except for that of the giant oak tree, whose leaves grow 3 blocks higher). The canopy may begin from the ground and go up to 6 blocks from the ground. Tree canopies are generated from roughly spherical clusters of leaves about 5–7 blocks across, centered on sections of trunk or branches. Leaves must be supported by an adjacent trunk (or leaf blocks connected to the trunk), otherwise they will disappear.

Giant oak, dark oak and giant jungle trees grow branches (logs connected horizontally, vertically or diagonally to the trunk or other branches). Most of the time, a single tree will have between one and six branches, and each branch will have between one and six logs. Acacia tree branches do not cover their branches in this way. Small oak, jungle, birch, and spruce trees (both small and large) lack branches.

Growth and characteristics


Trees are created when a map chunk is generated, and can also be grown by planting tree saplings.

Tree saplings have a $1/20$ chance ($1/40$ if they are jungle saplings) of dropping from leaf blocks when they decay or are destroyed. There are six species of saplings, corresponding to the six main trees: oak, birch, spruce, jungle, acacia and dark oak.



The sapling must be planted on a dirt, coarse dirt, podzol or grass block, and must have a light level of at least 8 in the sapling block. A sapling will uproot with light level 7 or less in the sapling block itself unless it has a view of the sky that is fully unobstructed (except by glass or other transparent materials). The sapling must also have at least 6 blocks of space above it; the amount of required space varies between the different species of trees. If there is a ceiling above a sapling, this will limit the maximum height of the tree that can grow from that sapling. However, do note that dirt blocks and logs may not prohibit tree growth, and in some cases may be replaced as a sapling makes an attempt to grow through them.

If multiple saplings are planted next to each other, each one will grow as long as the leaves from the other grown saplings do not block too much of the sunlight. Artificial light (torches, etc.) can still be used to grow them if this happens.

All trees in the active chunk radius around the player make attempts to grow at random intervals. For any given tree this can work out to about 3 growth attempts per minute. When a tree attempts to grow, it first checks that it has enough light, then randomly chooses which variant of that species of tree to become; for example, an oak sapling will choose to grow as either a small or large oak tree.

Once a tree has passed a light check and chosen a size to attempt, it checks if there is enough space for its chosen size. If it encounters an obstruction during this check, it fails to grow and must wait for the next pass before it can attempt to grow again. This means that a tree in an open field with enough light will grow relatively quickly, but a tree in a cramped tree farm that stunts its size may make several attempts before finally growing.

Bone meal, when on a sapling, has a chance of forcing it to grow, so long as all of the normal checks (light, space, dirt, etc.) have passed. It does not guarantee a tree will grow, but forces an attempt to grow.

All saplings will grow normally in the Nether and in the End, although they must be planted in dirt transported from the Overworld and provided with sufficient light and space. Leaf blocks in the Nether have the same color as if they were placed in a desert biome. In the End, they are a dull bluish-green, as in the mountains biome.

In order to grow a 2×2 tree (be it spruce, jungle or dark oak), four saplings must be placed adjacent to each other in a square. For growth to succeed, there may be no blocks adjacent (even diagonally) to the north-western sapling (which is considered the center of the tree) up to the final height of the tree. Which sapling the Bone Meal is used on is irrelevant. The largest jungle and spruce trees reach 31 blocks. Dark oak trees are typically 6-8 blocks. Some materials block the growth of the large trees.

Leaves and logs removed from a tree will not grow back over time.

Oak tree
Oak trees are unique in that they have the smallest space requirements, and along with dark oak trees can drop an apple when their leaf block is destroyed.

They come in several variants with widely different properties:
 * 1) Small oak trees are the most commonly encountered.
 * 2) Large oak trees are more uncommon, and have a distinct look and different growth requirements. They often have "branches", outgrowths of logs on the sides of the trunk, or even freestanding and surrounded by leaves. They require 4–14 blocks of open space directly above the sapling to grow (air or leaves only) but can otherwise be completely enclosed on all sides.
 * 3) * A large tree form (the balloon oak tree; see below) exists with a single leaf block layer above the minimal 4-block trunk, allowing a tree to rarely grow in a vertical space with a height of only 5, but otherwise the maximum trunk height is 2 less than the vertical space, making the practical minimum height 6.
 * 4) * A large tree can be forced to be grown if a "brace" of non-solid blocks (e.g. glass, or half-slabs) is placed around where the trunk will be, one block off the ground.
 * 5) * A rare variant colloquially known as a "balloon" oak, which are large trees generated with the smallest size possible, may be grown. They consist of tall trunks and leaves that formed a spherical shape, similar to a balloon. They will grow even if there is a block obstructing them; they simply grow around that block. They usually contain 4 blocks of logs, but some may contain more.
 * 6) In swamp biomes, naturally occurring oak trees tend to grow in the water. Unlike oak trees in other biomes, which typically have a slightly conical or pointed canopy, all swamp trees have round, flat topped canopies. Also unlike other oak trees, these have a much wider range in foliage. They tend to be covered in vines that trail down to the ground.

Oak trees require a 1×1 column of unobstructed space at least 4 blocks above the sapling to grow (5 blocks including the sapling itself). Oak trees are unique in that they can still grow when the base and trunk is enclosed on all sides. Their growth will not be hindered by logs, leaves, dirt and saplings.

Spruce tree
Spruce trees, also known as pine trees, grow from spruce saplings and have growth patterns and requirements very similar to birch trees, though they look very different. They are mainly found in the taiga biome, but they may also generate in mountains, snowy taiga, and giant tree taiga biomes. Spruce logs have the same texture as oak logs, but it is a darker shade of brown; its leaves are more dense, with a darker and blueish tone.

There are several different forms of these trees that may grow from any spruce saplings:
 * 1) A regular variant with a height similar to oak trees.
 * 2) * The leaves tend to grow in discrete rows rather than the more spherical arrangement of oaks and birch trees
 * 3) A fairly tall variant of spruce trees that generate in a matchstick style, with only a few leaves at the very top.
 * 4) A short variant in which the leaves are arranged in a roughly octahedral shape, similar to a lollipop.
 * 5) A large 2×2 variant that generates in the giant tree taiga biome and can be grown from spruce saplings arranged in a 2×2 square, with or without bone meal. They are commonly called "redwoods" or "mega spruce trees".
 * 6) * These spruce trees have few leaves, concentrated at the top. Mega spruce trees with leaves only at the top can be found in every type of Giant Tree Taiga except for the Giant Spruce Taiga, which has trees that have a lot of leaves on them.
 * 7) * The northwest block of the top layer of the 2×2 mega spruce tree trunk is always taller than the other three blocks.

In an amplified taiga or giant tree taiga, some of the spruce trees will generate with snow on them, just like in the other cold biomes.

When mega spruce trees grow, they will convert any grass blocks that are nearby to podzol.

Like birch trees, they do not grow branches. When height-constrained, the trunk height maximum is two less than the roof. Headroom of 9 blocks will limit the tree to trunk height of 7, which enables harvesting from ground level.

1×1 spruce trees require a 5×5 column of unobstructed space at least 7 blocks above the sapling to grow (8 blocks including the sapling itself). No horizontal clearance is needed at the base of the tree and 1 level above (a sapling planted in a hole 2 blocks deep will still grow).

2×2 spruce trees require a 5×5 column of unobstructed space at least 14 blocks above the saplings to grow (15 blocks including the saplings themselves). This column is centered on the northwestern sapling. A 3×3 area is required at the base of the tree (the level of the saplings).

Birch tree
"Birch trees differ from their woody cousins like oak and pine by only coming in one shape. While oak trees occasionally sprout branches and grow to huge sizes, birch tends to grow to a more predictable size, just five to seven blocks tall. This makes it especially suitable for indoor gardens. Each tree has fifty to sixty leaf blocks that you'll need shears to collect if, for some reason, you want to collect a lot of leaves."

- Duncan Geere

Birch trees look fairly similar to small oak trees in terms of height, and are most commonly found in birch forest biomes.

There are two types of birch trees: a shorter tree that can be grown by the player with birch saplings; and a taller, more rare tree which only generate in tall birch forest biomes, and cannot be grown from saplings. Birch trees grown from saplings grow to be 5 to 7 blocks tall, while birch trees in the tall birch forest biome can be 10 blocks or even taller.

Birch trees require a 3×3 column of unobstructed space at least 6 blocks above the sapling to grow (7 blocks including the sapling itself). Additionally, birch trees require 5×5 layers without obstruction for the top 3 layers of its final height. No horizontal clearance is needed at the base of the tree (a sapling planted in a hole 1 block deep will still grow).


 * Birch leaf distribution

Birch trees will always grow around 50 to 60 leaves. The leaf distributions are shown visually to the right, each table cell representing one 'slice' of the tree viewed from above. The transparent leaves represent areas where leaves may grow, but do not always. The growth pattern, in detail, is as follows:
 * The topmost row is one above the height of the tree, and always has exactly 5 leaves: one above the log and four orthogonally adjacent to it, forming a + shape.
 * 5 leaves
 * The second row is the top of the trunk, and also has 4 leaves adjacent to it. Diagonal to the log will be a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 additional leaf blocks.
 * 5 - 7 leaves
 * The third row has the log in the middle, surrounded orthogonally and diagonally by leaf blocks. Those 8 leaf blocks are also surrounded orthogonally, for an additional 12 leaf blocks. One can think of this as a 5×5 space where every block has leaves except the four corners. These corners are randomly filled with between 0 and 4 leaves, though having all four filled is very rare.
 * 20 - 24 leaves
 * The fourth row generates with the same rules as the third, and thus has a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 24 leaf blocks.
 * 20 - 24 leaves
 * The fifth and sixth (bottom) rows contain no leaves, only the log in the center. If the tree is 6 or 7 blocks tall, the additional 1 or 2 rows at the bottom will also be just a log.
 * No leaves

Small oak and 1x1 jungle trees also have this arrangement of leaves.

Jungle tree
Jungle trees are exclusive to the jungle biome. Jungle tree leaves drop jungle tree saplings, which appear tall and skinny like the jungle tree itself. When planted in grass or dirt they grow into a jungle tree with a 1×1 trunk, but you can place them in a 2×2 formation and they will grow into a jungle tree with a 2×2 trunk that are found naturally in the jungle biome.

1×1 jungle trees require a 3×3 column of unobstructed space at least 5 blocks above the sapling to grow (6 blocks including the sapling itself). Additionally, 1×1 jungle trees require 5×5 layers without obstruction for the top 3 layers of its final height. No horizontal clearance is needed at the base of the tree (a sapling planted in a hole 1 block deep will still grow).

2×2 jungle trees require a 5×5 column of unobstructed space at least 11 blocks above the saplings to grow (12 blocks including the saplings themselves). This column is centered on the northwestern sapling. A 3×3 area is required at the base of the tree (the level of the saplings). They can grow up to 32 blocks high.



There are also much smaller, bush-type variants, which only have 1–2 logs and a few leaves. They are typically 1–3 layers tall and heavily cover the floor of jungle biomes. In the Java and Legacy Console editions, they consist of oak leaves and a jungle log, while in the Bedrock Edition, they consist of jungle leaves and a jungle log.

Jungle tree saplings only drop from jungle tree leaves 2.5% ($1/40$) of the time; half that of other leaf types, making it more common to find only one or even no saplings from a grown tree.

Acacia tree
Acacia trees are only found in the savanna biome. Acacia trees are around 8 blocks tall and feature unique diagonal trunks, and may occasionally have multiple canopies. The way the tree forms is unique. Some have many straight logs and a curve at the top, some at the bottom, and some curve from bottom to top. Typically, the canopy consists of just two layers of leaves, sometimes three. The acacia leaves share their texture with oak leaves, although they have their own name in creative mode. Their color, however, varies on what biome you are in. You can grow the following three acacia trees:

Acacia trees require a 3×3 column of unobstructed space at least 7 blocks above the sapling (8 blocks including the sapling itself). Additionally, acacia trees require 5×5 layers without obstruction for the top 3 layers of its final height. No horizontal clearance is needed at the base of the tree (a sapling planted in a hole 1 block deep will still grow).
 * 1) The common acacia tree, which has a diagonal trunk and a single canopy.
 * 2) The multi-canopy acacia, where the trunk forks around the middle of the plant and each end ends in a canopy.
 * 3) Another form of multiple canopy acacia tree, which has the straight trunk and a lower canopy, then the trunk grows out of the smaller canopy and has a second higher canopy. These trees are much taller than the common acacia tree.

Dark oak tree
Dark oak trees are found only in the dark forest biome. They have thick, 2×2 trunks, and will generate dirt blocks under their trunk if generated on a steep cliff. Dark oak trees nearly always generate with irregular logs connected to the trunk - these represent large branches. Growing these trees requires four dark oak saplings arranged in a 2×2 grid; they will not grow if planted individually. Dark oak trees grow at a much faster rate than most other trees.

Dark oak trees require a 3×3 column of unobstructed space at least 7 blocks above the sapling to grow (8 blocks including the sapling itself). This column is centered on the northwestern sapling. Additionally, dark oak trees require 5×5 layers without obstruction for the top 3 layers of its final height. No horizontal clearance is needed at the base of the tree (saplings planted in a 2×2 hole 1 block deep will still grow).

Chorus trees
While only loosely defined as a tree, these are structures generated on the outermost End islands. Instead of logs and leaves, they are instead comprised of chorus plant trunk blocks and flowers on the tip. They do not drop their own block but instead chorus fruit.

Variant trees
In Bedrock Edition and Legacy Console Edition, trees can generate as one of two variants of the normal tree. Both of these generate naturally and can be grown out of normal saplings.

Dying trees
These trees have the standard growth pattern of any other tree, however all exposed logs are covered with vines. They can generate as dark oak, jungle, spruce, or small oak trees.

Fallen trees
These trees consist of a single upright log, or stump, which can generate covered with vines and/or mushrooms of either color. 2-6 block long logs lying on their side are often found 1-2 blocks from the stump, occasionally with mushrooms on top. The trees can be composed of oak, spruce, birch, or jungle logs.

Foliage colors
Depending on where the tree generates, the color of the leaves may differ. For example if an oak tree is in a colder biome, such as a taiga or mountains biome, it will have an blue-green hue. However, if it is in a dry biome, such as a desert or savanna, it will have a mustard yellow hue. Birch and spruce leaves do not follow these rules, and as such will always be the same color regardless of biome.

Trivia

 * Floating trees may appear when small above-ground ponds generate in a forested area. This happens since the tree is generated when the chunk loads first, before the pond appears underneath. This leaves the tree floating above the lake.
 * If the pond is comprised of lava, the tree will almost certainly catch on fire, potentially spreading to other trees and starting a forest fire.
 * Large jungle trees and dark oak trees generate with dirt under them if they generate partly or wholly over air or water blocks.
 * If planted by the player, 1x1 jungle trees do not generate with vines, while 2x2 jungle trees do.
 * Though there are many different kinds of Birch tree in the real world, Notch and the original design team hail from Sweden and other parts of Europe, so the Birch in-game is likely based upon the Betula Pendula, commonly known as the Silver Birch. This Birch is common across the more temperate regions of Europe and Asia, matching the temperate biomes the Birch can be found in in Minecraft. The large dark knots on the in-game Birch are also very similar to the Brown 'Warts' commonly found on the Silver Birch, which has led to it also being nicknamed the 'Warty Birch' by Arborists.