Trees

For a humorous rendition of this page, see Trees/Humor.

Trees are a type of plant. They can either be native to the Biome or planted by the player in a growing zone. They are vulnerable to fire and leave behind burnt trees when burnt. Cutting them down yields wood, a resource to craft weapons, make furniture, feed the wood-fired generator, and more. While in real life Cacti and Bamboo technically aren't trees, in RimWorld they are included in this category.

Teak, Cecropia, Palm and Bamboo are native to Tropical biomes.
Oak and Poplar are native to temperate biomes.
Cacti and Poplar are native to Arid biomes (only Cacti in Extreme Desert). Cacti are unique in that they have a fertility sensitivity of 0% and minimum fertility of 5%.
Birch and Pine are native to colder biomes (barring Ice Sheet and Sea Ice).
Cocoa is not native to any biome.

Ecosystem

Trees are natural food sources for Dendrovores like Alphabeavers and Thrumbos.

Farming

This image shows how forbidding floor placement stops incorrect placing of trees. Form a similar pattern in a growing zone and marvel at the sudden lack of stupidity in your colonists.

Trees that are native to your colony's biome may be planted once tree sowing has been researched by growers with a Plants skill of 6+. However, growing Cocoa trees requires further research and may be planted by growers with a Plants skill of 8+. Trees are different from other crops in that they require at least a one tile distance from other crops as well as each other, including wild trees. Farmers will automatically cut wild trees for this. Native trees are immune to blight, but cocoa trees are not.

Trees may not be grown under roofs. This means that trees may not be grown in completely closed greenhouses. They may only be grown in greenhouses with roofs open in a grid pattern, that leak a lot of temperature-controlled air.

Colonist have a very annoying habit of planting trees in very inefficient patterns, drastically reducing yield unnecessarily. However, there is a way to stop this without constant micromanagement (see image). Other methods include:

Forbiding building (see image)
Make a pattern of 1 tile grow zones, which all can be selected with doubleclick and easily managed
Build a roof with 1 tile holes on top of several columns
Pave walkways, which makes designating 1 tile grow zones easier and helps with filth/walk speed

Temperature

If the ambient temperature drops below freezing, trees will cease to grow until they return to their comfortable range again (including Pine trees that are native to cold biomes). Some trees will instantaneously shed all of their leaves at -2°C, while sturdier specimens will hold out until -10°C. This range differs from tree to individual tree. If the temperature remains at a comfortable level for at least a day, their leaves will magically reappear.

Harvest

At 40% growth, it is possible to obtain 50% of their yield. Cacti can be cut at 20%. Note that the Growth Time in the below table assumes 24hr growth. Trees don't grow between 19h and 6h. Note that environmental factors such as temperature and light levels further negatively influence growth speed.

Cover

Trees can be used for cover in combat. Most trees provide 25% cover, except:

Burned trees only provide 20% cover
Saguaro cactuses provide 35% cover

Comparison table

Tree	Grow Days	Real Grow Days	Harvest Yield	Wood per Day*
Oak tree	30	55.38	46	0.87
Cypress tree	35	60.55	43	0.71
Maple tree	25	43.25	25	0.58
Acacia tree	15	26	22	0.85
Drago tree	15	27.69	25	0.96
Saguaro cactus	5	9.23	15	1.74
Poplar tree	15.05	27.78	27	1.15
Pine tree	20	36.92	27	0.78
Birch tree	20	36.92	27	0.78
Teak tree	32.5	60	60	0.96
Palm tree	14	24.22	18	0.74
Bamboo tree	12	20.76	13	0.63
Cecropia tree	14	25.85	18	0.74
Willow tree	13	24	27	0.76

*Wood per Day is calculated as Harvest Yield divided by Real Grow Days.

Version History

0.10.785 - No longer sowable.

Plants

Domesticated plants: Cocoa tree • Corn plant • Cotton plant • Devilstrand mushroom • Haygrass • Healroot • Hop plant • Potato plant • Psychoid plant • Rice plant • Smokeleaf plant • Strawberry plant • Tinctoria • Fibercorn • Gauranlen pod • Nutrifungus • Toxipotato plant
Decorative plants: Dandelions • Daylily • Rose • Bonsai tree
Wild plants: Agarilux • Agave • Alocasia • Ambrosia bush • Astragalus • Berry bush • Brambles • Bryolux • Bush • Chokevine • Clivia • Giant rafflesia • Glowstool • Grass • Low shrubs • Moss • Pincushion cactus • Tall grass • Wild healroot • Anima grass • Gauranlen moss
Trees: Bamboo tree • Birch tree • Cecropia tree • Cypress tree • Drago tree • Maple tree • Oak tree • Palm tree • Pine tree • Poplar tree • Saguaro cactus • Teak tree • Willow tree • Timbershroom • Gray pine tree • Pebble cactus • Rat palm tree • Witchwood tree
Special: Anima tree • Gauranlen tree • Polux tree • Harbinger tree
Tree stumps: Burned stump • Chopped stump (Gauranlen , Anima , Polux , Harbinger ) • Smashed stump (Gauranlen , Anima , Polux , Harbinger )