Look up branch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The branches and leaves of a tree.

A branch (UK: /ˈbrɑːntʃ/ or UK: /ˈbræntʃ/, US: /ˈbræntʃ/) or tree branch (sometimes referred to in botany as a ramus) is a woody structural member connected to but not part of the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs.^[1] A branch can also be a small creek. While branches can be nearly horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, the majority of trees have upwardly diagonal branches.

The term "twig" often refers to a terminus, while "bough" refers only to branches coming directly from the trunk.

[edit] branches

[edit] Images

Branch tied up with a piece of bast.	Twigs on a tree in Karawanken of Austria.	The boughs of trees in Konary, Poland.	Twisted branches in Emirgan Park, Istanbul.
Tree branches in Tenerife, Spain.	The branch of a bristlecone pine in the Snake Range of Nevada.	A branch of orange eye.	The branch of a sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima) in Porto, Portugal.
A nectarine spray.	The branch of a Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum).	A branch of devil's claw (Acacia greggii) in Las Vegas.	A branch of red acacia (Acacia seyal) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
A branch of whitethorn acacia (Acacia constricta) in Las Vegas.	A cherry branch in Paris.	A branch of porcupine tomato (Solanum pyracanthum) in Krefeld, Germany.	A branch of lodgepole pine in North Dakota.
A willow bough in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania.	Turkish pine branches in Athens.	A banyan branch in Calcutta, India.	The boughs of a floss silk tree in Rosario, Argentina.

[edit] See also

• Root
• Trunk (botany)
• Twig
• Plant stem
• Runner
• Shoot
• Sucker
• Wand
• Switch (rod)
• Staff (stick)

[edit] References