Fun Facts

  • The state tree of New Jersey is the Northern red oak Fagaceae Quercus rubra

  • Trees keep our air supply fresh by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.

  • Trees can induce rainfall by cooling the land and transpiring water into the sky from their leaves. An acre of maple trees can put as much as 20,000 gallons of water into the air each day.

  • The most massive living thing on earth is the Giant Sequoia in the Redwood Forest of California. It stands nearly 30 stories tall and 82.3 feet in circumference. Its weight is estimated at 2,756 tons.

  • In one year, an acre of trees can absorb as much carbon as is produced by a car driven up to 8700 miles.

  • Trees provide shade and shelter, reducing yearly heating and cooling costs by 2.1 billion dollars.

  • Trees are the longest living organisms on earth.

  • Trees receive an estimated 90% of their nutrition from the atmosphere and only 10% from the soil.

  • Trees grow from the top, not from the bottom as is commonly believed. A branch's location on a tree will only move up the trunk a few inches in 1,000 years.

  • The world's oldest trees are 4,600 year old Bristlecone pines in the USA

  • There are about 20,000 tree species in the world. The United States has one of the largest tree treasuries second only to India.

  • The largest area of forest in the tropics remains the Amazon Basin, amounting to 81.5 million acres.

  • Arbor Day was first observed in Nebraska in 1872. That state is now home to one of the world's largest forests planted by people - over 200,000 acres of trees.

  • Trees lower air temperature by evaporating water in their leaves.

  • A mature birch tree can produce up to 1 million seeds per year.