This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated.
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Trees are multi-tile plants that can be found aboveground on all but the most arid or mountainous of maps, and below ground in the caverns. The types of trees that grow in a given location depend on that location's biome, as different species prefer different conditions. For example, tropical areas often have palm trees, while colder areas feature pines. Underground trees such as nether-caps are an exception, as they will grow anywhere underground. The species of a tree in turn determines its properties, including its structure, the color and density of its wood and what kind of growths it produces. Note also that "trees" in Dwarf Fortress also covers things that are not actually trees, such as cacti, large herbaceous plants (e.g. bananas), and large mushrooms (underground trees).
Trees are used as a source of wood, an essential resource in the game, irreplaceable (or hard to replace) for some applications. Thus, the amount of local trees greatly affects fortress development, as without a ready source of wood, the player will be forced to rely on trade to get it. Tree growth density on the embark site is determined by its biome, so it is displayed with the rest of the biome properties (temperature, etc.) on the "Choose Fortress Location" screen at embark.
Structure[edit]
Animation of all z-levels of an
apricot tree. ASCII mode.
Trees consist of several types of tiles - roots, trunk sections, thick branches, branches, and twigs, that may be covered in a number of "growths" (leaves, needles, flowers, fruit, cones, etc.), depending on species and season. A single tree is a structure that can span multiple tiles of each type in both horizontal and vertical directions. For example, a typical deciduous tree will have a single tile-wide trunk at ground level supporting a multiple-level crown of intertwined trunk sections, branches and twigs covered with leaves. Not all species follow the same scheme, though - palms have a high, naked trunk that doesn't branch and just a tuft of leaves on top of it, and some species can have trunks that are thicker than a single tile at ground level. Trees also have an underground system of roots, but there is only one kind of root tile and the extent of the root system can vary with species.
Graphically, vertical 1×1 trunk sections resemble wooden columns O
. The thicker trunks (2×2 and 3×3) are represented by rounded double-line structures. Above the first ground level the trunk may branch out, producing horizontal trunk sections that resemble wooden walls ║
. These can peter out into thick branches │
or end directly with branches ¼
. The branches can extend further out, ending with twigs ;
. A vertical trunk end, if not covered with a branch, is represented by a pointed cap ⌂
.
Root tiles (¼
) overlap a number of underground tiles below each tree. They can be designated for digging, but because they usually use the same brown colour as the mining designation rectangle, the designation is not evident (the only exceptions are trees with white roots). Some trees can have multiple tiles of roots, others just the one (such as palm trees).
The dug-away roots of a tree can spawn twigs and fruits of the tree around them, if there is space and grass/cave moss there. This means you can, in principle, access fruit trees from below the tree, without putting a dwarf in danger or walling off the tree. There are exceptions to the description above - Desert saguaroes don't have any leafy branches or twigs, just a trunk and thick branches. Nor do mushroom cap trees that grow in the caverns underground have branches - instead, they have a cap consisting of ramps that can be walked upon.
Trees can be climbed in both fortress and adventurer mode. In densely wooded areas, the overlapping tree crowns can form a continuous canopy that can be traversed by walking, climbing and/or jumping. Both thick and regular branches provide a floor-like support for walking - twigs are too frail to support the weight of a dwarf, but they can be climbed through and jumped over. All kinds of trunk tiles, except trunk tips, are treated as solid barriers that can be climbed through and jumped over like twigs.
On ground level, tree trunks are obstacles that prevent channeling, or the creation of walls and other constructions on their tiles. This is problematic for caravan wagons, which require a path at least three tiles wide, in order to access your fortress; on heavily forested maps it may be necessary to check depot access (D) every once in a while, as trees continue to grow, to make sure wagons can get through, and chop down (d-t) the impeding forest if they can't. Later on this can actually become a blessing, as if there is only one or a few pathways to the fortress, it makes it easier to route incoming caravans down certain pre-selected well-defended pathways, instead of allowing them to choose their own way across the map, where they may fall foul of ambushers or worse. It also makes building above-ground constructions more challenging, as any trees in the way must be chopped down first.
A tree's branches and leaves will result in the tiles below them being considered "inside", leading to the formation of miasma if corpse and body parts decay while under them. It is therefore advisable to ensure no trees grow in the immediate vicinity of your corpse stockpiles.
- Heights of a tree (ASCII mode)
1 level below ground: roots in a red sand wall on the side of a hill
1 level above ground, trunk, branches and twigs
3 levels above ground, includes some Open Space
7 levels above ground, only Open Space
Growths[edit]
Growths are the things that grow on a tree, i.e: they are not an essential part of the tree's structure and can be shed or picked without destroying the tree. This includes leaves, needles, flowers, fruit, seed pods, catkins, cones, etc. Each tree species has at least one type of growth, the most common one, unsurprisingly, being leaves.
The leaves of deciduous trees change color in the autumn, fall before the winter and grow back in the spring. Fallen leaves will color the tiles beneath their trees, turning the forest floor into a colorful patchwork.
Trees of fruit-producing species usually grow flowers in spring and fruit later in the year. Flowers will fall in a cloud during the transition from flowers to fruit; the cloud is shown falling, and examining the ground after that will show "<tree> flowers" in addition to other tile contents. Both flowers and fruit appear and fall at set times through the year, so it is possible that a young tree that has never flowered will give fruit.
Fruit can be picked from trees in Adventure mode. Fortress mode harvesting is done with a stepladder (as long as the fruit-bearing tree is within a plant gathering zone) or by collecting fallen fruits. Fruit can be brewed at a still. Cutting down a tree with fruit causes the fruit to vanish[Verify].
If a tree is set on fire in fortress mode and is described as 'dead' when examined, it will eventually rejuvenate itself and come back to life after a few years, starting from the trunk and leading out into the branches if left alone.
Chopping down trees[edit]
Main article: Woodcutting
Trees can be cut down by dwarves to produce wood. It is enough to designate only one trunk tile for cutting to chop down the whole tree it belongs to - any trunk tile will do, even those that are above ground, or even a single tile of a multi-tile trunk. As a result, it's impossible to "prune" trees by chopping down only parts of them.
Once a woodcutter is done with the first tile, the tree instantly converts to a number of free-floating logs that fall to the ground in a direction away from the cutter. Cutting a tree from a trunk section above ground level may result in the woodcutter losing their footing and crashing to the ground (similar to having a tile deconstructed under their feet).
If you dug the tile below the trunk before cutting the tree, it will leave a hole to the surface, potentially allowing dangerous creatures to path into your underground fort. Avoid digging directly below one z-level in wooded areas before clearing out the trees, and make sure to check for open floor spaces ·
on the surface afterwards. If holes are present, construct floor tiles over the holes, which will prevent creatures from moving below. Constructing a wall below the open floor will work as well. Unexplained underground logs can alert you to the presence of these "guest entrances". Moving a building preview all around the surface (kennels are good for their size) and inspecting any non-ramp or tree invalid tiles can sweep large areas.
If you had smoothed the wall below the trunk and then cut down the tree, it will leave an open floor above the smoothed wall, unlike constructed walls (see this diagram for a visual illustration). If there is an open space adjacent to the smoothed wall, creatures can diagonally move below the adjacent space (by swimming, flying, or climbing) from the open floor above. Such occurrences should be uncommon, as it requires the tile below the tree to be made of stone (so it can be smoothed), and occur mainly in mountain biomes and areas affected by erosion.
Objects and tiles in trees[edit]
Some trees have been found to have objects or tiles contained within the branches - cutting down these trees can be hazardous to your dwarves. You can check all the z-levels of every tree you wish to cut, or just take the risk and experience occasional fun!
Products[edit]
One of the variations between the different tree species is in the weight and color of their wood. Weight is often a minor concern but when using wood to create objects that will be moved, such as bins or buckets, choosing lighter wood is an advantage as it will be hauled faster. Heavier wood will make wooden weapons and siege engine projectiles more effective, while lighter wooden shields reduce penalties to speed while blocking just as well as heavier shields.
Nonetheless, all types of wood have the same (low) value (beyond the preferences of individual dwarves), although the color of the wood may matter for aesthetic purposes.
Various kinds of tree produce fruit. In dwarf fortress mode, they can be gathered with a stepladder in a designated plant gathering zone, and elves will also bring fruit to trade. Fruit can be eaten, producing seeds. The following trees produce usable fruit in vanilla: apple, apricot, avocado, banana, bayberry, bitter orange, carambola, cashew, cherry, citron, coconut palm, coffee, custard-apple, date palm, desert lime, durian, finger lime, guava, kumquat, lime, lychee, mango, olive, orange, papaya, paradise nut, peach, pear, persimmon, plum, pomegranate, pomelo, rambutan, round lime, saguaro, and sand pear. Not all of these can be brewed; see alcohol for a list of brewable fruit.
Instead of fruit, some trees will produce nuts, which are actually seeds - since tree seeds currently can't be planted, feel free to allow cooking of these. The nut-producing trees in vanilla are: almond, candlenut, chestnut, hazel, macadamia, oak, pecan, and walnut.
Growing trees[edit]
Trees grow from saplings, which start growing randomly on non-occupied tiles of a suitable biome; thus chopping down a forest may create a clearing, but within a couple of years a new forest will have grown. Saplings will not grow to maturity if their tile contains an item or building (including stockpile designations), though removing the item may cause the tree to spontaneously grow up. Saplings will block the construction of farm plots unless there is also a dusting or pile of mud beneath them.
Saplings can be killed by heavy foot traffic and removed by building a road on them, but not by flooding — they can survive submergence for extended periods of time and will still grow to maturity once the water level drops to 4/7[Verify] or lower. Dead saplings will remain for some seasons, and then disappear, more quickly if heavy traffic tramples them away. Many underground trees are called "young <tree>" instead of sapling, but the concept is the same. Paved roads and (even unbuilt) farm plots periodically purge all terrain features below them, preventing trees (or shrubs) from growing in unwanted areas. Trees cannot grow on stairs or ramps, making it possible to keep trees out of your plumbing by using up stairs instead of digging (this does not reveal the tile above). Above-ground trees will only grow in areas where there is sufficient soil one z-level beneath them (currently observed to be at least one unmined tile within a two-tile radius); underground trees not only ignore this restriction for dry subterranean soil but will also grow on muddy subterranean stone.
Trees cannot be specifically "planted" as of yet; even if a map is stripped of all trees, new saplings will regrow, randomly and in their own time. (Sadly, the elves do not seem to comprehend this.) It is possible to farm trees by walling off or engineering a patch of soil and locking it away so your dwarves don't trample all over it, but it will take a long time for the farm to yield results. After you expose the caverns, subterranean flora (including trees) will begin to grow on any exposed, previously-bare soil within your fortress; this can be annoying when a copse of blood thorns suddenly appears in your sand collection area, but allows you to easily mine out large subterranean tree farms full of colorful subterranean trees.
If a sapling grows into a tree, it can block off narrow areas, such as one-tile-long hallways in a muddy cavern layer. This can cause dwarves to take longer alternate routes to perform their jobs, or entrap them entirely.
One can grow additional tree branches by digging away parts of tree roots and replacing them with grass or cave moss. Afterwards, when the tree grows, it may spread (fruit-bearing) branches there.
Growth rate & wood yield[edit]
From the time a sapling appears, it takes about three and a half months for a tree to grow. Trees make a growth check once every year, and then grow randomly - it's possible for a tree to reach eight z-levels of height in a decade, not have gone past five in three, or avoid growing branches at all initially.
Most tree raws currently specify exactly the same canopies. They'll yield more wood overall with sparser cutting, though the breakeven point is unknown presently. Each "tree trunk" tile will yield exactly one log, while light branches, twigs and (brown) heavy branches will give nothing. The size of aboveground trees at embark depends heavily on unknown factors beyond age and species; possibly temperature, latitude or biome?[Verify]
For wood, branching trees with nonbranching trunks (Papayas, Ginkgos, Saguaros, Pines, Cedars, Fungiwoods, Alders, and Birches) should be cut down preferentially, as their branches will obscure saplings and their trunks grow slower. They will not yield any more wood past reaching their maximum trunk height (4-9 depending on species). Vice-versa, Glumprong trees are near-ideal for forestry, as they're all trunk, though their max height is limited to 8.
Palm trees don't obscure other ones with their canopies, so should be cut when wood is needed, or when they reach their maximum height of 9.
Aboveground trees[edit]
Most of them bear fruits and nuts, which can be harvested for food and drinks.
Notes:
- 1 This is the value for a stack of 5 units, which is the number rendered from a single fruit.
- 2 Anything that can be cooked is edible afterwards.
- 3 These trees do not produce wood when cut.
- 4 These trees' only edible raw product is seed, which dwarves will not currently eat raw despite the tag.
Underground trees[edit]
These are the trees that can grow in subterranean caverns. None of them produce growths.
Map Tile
|
Graphic (Trunk)
|
Name
|
Deciduous
|
Biome
|
Align
|
Tiles
|
Wood Density (g/cm³)
|
Drink
|
Drink Value1
|
Eat
|
Cook2
|
Growths
|
♣
|
|
Fungiwood
|
No
|
Subterranean Water
(Layers 1-2)
|
|
|
All
|
O ⌂ trunk
¼ branches
; twigs
|
0.600
|
None
|
—
|
No
|
No
|
None
|
♠
|
|
Tower-cap
|
No
|
Subterranean Water
(Layers 1-2)
|
|
|
All
|
O trunk
O ║ ▲ ∙ cap
|
0.600
|
None
|
—
|
No
|
No
|
None
|
♠
|
|
Black-cap
|
No
|
Subterranean Water
(Layers 2-3)
|
|
|
All
|
O trunk
O ║ ▲ ∙ cap
|
0.650
|
None
|
—
|
No
|
No
|
None
|
♠
|
|
Goblin-cap
|
No
|
Subterranean Water
(Layers 2-3)
|
|
|
All
|
O trunk
O ║ ▲ ∙ cap
|
0.600
|
None
|
—
|
No
|
No
|
None
|
♣
|
|
Spore tree
|
No
|
Subterranean Water
(Layers 2-3)
|
|
|
All
|
O ═ ⌂ trunk
─ thick branches
¼ branches
; twigs
|
0.600
|
None
|
—
|
No
|
No
|
None
|
│
|
|
Tunnel tube
|
No
|
Subterranean Water
(Layers 2-3)
|
|
|
All
|
O ═ ⌂ trunk
|
0.500
|
None
|
—
|
No
|
No
|
None
|
╡
|
|
Blood thorn
|
No
|
Subterranean Water
Subterranean Chasm
(Layer 3)
|
|
|
All
|
O ═ ⌂ trunk
─ thick branches
¼ branches
; twigs
|
1.250
|
None
|
—
|
No
|
No
|
None
|
♠
|
|
Nether-cap
|
No
|
Subterranean Water
(Layer 3)
|
|
|
All
|
O trunk
O ║ ▲ ∙ cap
|
0.550
|
None
|
—
|
No
|
No
|
None
|
- Trees grow through bridges. Bug:7872
- Cutting down trees will leave a hole in the floor if the layer below has been mined (which has the potential for lots of fun, especially considering invaders). Bug:8469
- Trees not yielding wood will not be generated. Bug:10581
- Some underground trees will only give one log. Bug:7313
- It is possible for animals to be stuck up in trees at the moment of embarking. This will cause them to starve to death after a while as they have no means of getting down, so the player should check higher z-levels above the wagon once the playing area is generated, and immediately cut down any trees animals are stuck in.