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23a:Tree
| This article is about an older version of DF. |
Trees can be found on almost any area. Depending whether trees are scarce or dense, they can be a great renewable source of wood. The density of growth is determined by the biome, and those are visible on the pre-embark screen. Density does not change - there are no climate shifts during game play.
There are many different varieties that grow in various different types of biomes. Tower-caps are trees (giant mushrooms, actually) that grow only underground, and are the only ones that do, and then only under special circumstances. All trees are effectively identical, equal in usefulness and value.*
- (* Note that preferences can alter a dwarf's perception of the value of items made from a type of wood that they prefer.)
Different types of trees have their own symbol, such as ♣, ♠, ╞ or ⌠. Some share the same symbol, but since the only difference is for preferences, this is not a significant problem. (See table, below, for tree/symbol pairs.) For most purposes, a tree is a tree.
Deciduous trees will change colour to red or yellow in autumn ( ♣, ♠ ), and lose their leaves in winter ( ╞ ). This does not affect their usefulness - they may be cut down in any season, and produce the same end result.
Trees are currently not a source of food or other material, so it is not possible to harvest maple syrup, nuts, etc.
Harvesting / Removing the barrier
Trees are a type of map tile that form a solid barrier, like stone or ore. Trees (but not saplings) will block movement and prevent placement of various buildings.
They must be designated for removal from the designations menu chop trees, which will instruct dwarves with the wood cutting labor enabled to grab an battle axe and begin chopping down the tree. Once cut down, they become one wood log, which is movable and can be hauled by enabling the wood hauling labor on any dwarf and designating a wood stockpile.
Trees will not be destroyed by magma or fire (nor will water damage them in any way). Saplings are similarly immune to water, but magma will obviously burn them up quite rapidly. Ballista arrows can destroy trees, but catapult stones will not.
Tree growth
Trees grow from saplings, which start growing randomly on tiles of a suitable biome. Outdoor saplings can be killed by heavy traffic. Dead saplings will remain for some seasons, and then disappear - or heavy traffic will trample them away. To grow from a sapling to a tree takes 3 years. Trees do not need to be (and can't be) "planted" - even if a map is stripped of all trees, new saplings will regrow, randomly and in their own time.
Saplings will not grow on a tile with items on it (such as stone, food, etc). Saplings will not grow where a road has been laid down.
Elven Diplomats
Elven diplomats eventually come to talk about the "tree situation" in your fort. The very first visit will merely complain (if you have cut down any trees, otherwise they will congratulate you for leaving the forests alone), and on all subsequent visits the diplomat will want to set a limit to the number of trees butchered harvested to feed fuel your earth blighting death machines industry. This quota is based on your noble's level of influence (high office quality, high happiness, and high rank of nobility all increase the number of trees you will be allowed to cut down), so it doesn't matter how many trees you actually cut down.
In adventurer mode, trees gain names near elven settlements. It is unclear what effect this has on gameplay, if any at all.
List of Trees
Above-ground trees marked as "Wet" will only grow within 2 tiles of a River or Murky Pool, while those marked as "Dry" will only grow when there is no water within range.
| Tree Name | Tile | Biome / Habitat | Alignment | Deciduous | Density (g/cm3) | "Likes them for their..." |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acacia | ♣
|
Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forest Tropical Grassland Tropical Savanna Tropical Shrubland |
All (Dry) | No | thorns | |
| Cedar | ↨
|
Temperate Conifer Forest Tropical Conifer Forest |
All (Dry) | No | majesty | |
| Kapok | Γ
|
Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forest | All (Dry) | No | buttresses | |
| Mahogany | ♠
|
Any Tropical Forest | All (Dry) | No | loose inflorescences | |
| Mangrove | ♣
|
Mangrove Swamp | All (Wet) | No | roots | |
| Maple | ♣
|
Temperate Broadleaf Forest Temperate Grassland Temperate Savanna Temperate Shrubland |
All (Dry) | Yes | autumn coloration | |
| Oak | ♠
|
Any Temperate Broadleaf | All (Dry) | Yes | acorns autumn coloration | |
| Pine | ↑
|
Taiga Temperate Conifer Forest Tropical Conifer Forest |
All (Dry) | No | cones needles | |
| Saguaro | ╞
|
Any Desert | All (Dry) | No | amazing arms | |
| Tower-cap | ♣
|
*Subterranean SPECIAL* | All | No | great size | |
| Willow | ⌠
|
Any Temperate Any Tropical Forest Tropical Grassland Tropical Savanna Tropical Shrubland Tropical Freshwater Swamp Tropical Saltwater Swamp Tropical Freshwater Marsh Tropical Saltwater Marsh |
All (Wet) | No | sad appearance fluffy catkins |
Trees by Biome
Trees in italic are found only near rivers and swamps:
- Temperate swamps and marshes - Oak, Willow
- Tropical swamps and marshes - Willow
- Mangrove swamps - Mangrove
- Taiga - Pine
- Temperate coniferous forest - Cedar, Pine, Willow
- Temperate broadleaf forest - Maple, Oak, Willow
- Tropical coniferous forest - Cedar, Mahogany, Pine, Willow
- Tropical dry broadleaf forest - Acacia, Mahogany, Willow
- Tropical moist broadleaf forest - Kapok, Mahogany, Willow
- Temperate plains - Maple, Oak, Willow
- Tropical plains - Acacia, Willow
- Deserts - Saguaro
For the greatest variety of trees, embark in a tropical coniferous forest if possible.
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