Explore the amazing world of trees with World Wide Wood
Celebrate the wonders and importance of trees with World Wide Wood, a Google Arts & Culture project dedicated to these incredible organisms. World Wide Wood features contributions from more than 100 partners in 36 countries, including natural history museums, intergovernmental organizations, conservation initiatives and research centers. Here are some highlights from the project.
Guided tree deep dives
Four digital guides are ready to take you on an adventure based on your tree-related interests:
- For the woodland explorers: Learn about trees all around the world, like resilient California redwoods.
- For the historians: Discover how trees like Buddha's fig tree and the Fairy Tree have shaped art, history and culture.
- For the botanical scientists at heart: Head over to an introduction to plant taxonomy, and get up close to historical digitized specimens.
- For the forest activists: Explore stories raising awareness about the crucial role trees play in our lives and the urgent threats they face.
The Botanic Atlas
An interactive Botanic Atlas, with help from Gemini
The Botanic Atlas is an interactive tool meant to help everyone learn more about plant life around the world. You can browse a map, search for your favorite plant or simply look around until you stumble upon something that interests you.
To create the Botanic Atlas, we worked with the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, CRIA in Brazil and Cambridge University Herbarium to collect and digitize nearly 450,000 plant specimens from more than 30,000 species. This collection is a goldmine, but finding specific information to call out from half a million specimens can be tough. Gemini helped organize this massive dataset much faster than would otherwise be possible and pulls out details for you as you explore, like where certain species are found or what makes them unique, without you needing to know exactly what you’re looking for.
Cool tress from around the world
From largest organism to a living social network
In total, World Wide Wood features more than 400 tree-related stories to explore. Learn about the Pando Tree in central Utah, which is the largest, densest organism on Earth, or about the growing evidence that trees communicate through a complex underground web. Discover the Moon Trees grown from seeds that went to outer space, and celebrations like the European Tree of the Year contest.
Whether you’re curious about the plants in your region or simply someone who loves nature, this project invites you to see trees through a lens of connection and curiosity. Travel the World Wide Wood at goo.gle/worldwidewood on Google Arts & Culture.
