Tree

Trees are common flora in the, grown by burying saplings, fruit, or Bells. Some types of trees can bear fruit, while others are just used for decoration. Depending on the season and the time of day, certain insects may be found resting against the trunk of a tree or hiding inside the treetop.

The quantity of trees planted in a town will affect its environment rating, and as such they are used to determine perfect town status. With the exception of perfect fruit trees in, fully grown trees do not die until they are chopped down by the player, leaving behind a stump. A stump needs to be dug up to fully remove the tree, and otherwise mostly serves as decoration. Villagers will also sometimes sit on the stump.

In, chopping trees serves as a way to gather different types of wood, which can be used as crafting supplies. Another feature introduced in this game is the ability to dig up trees with the use of energy points. Digging up a tree places it in the player's pockets, allowing it to be moved around and planted in another spot instead of having to chop it down and plant a new sapling.

Saplings
Saplings are baby trees available for purchase at Tom Nook's stores and the Garden Shop. Not all trees grow successfully, due to poor soil quality and placement. If the player plants a tree where a different tree was cut down then it will have a much higher chance of growth. If the player stands on a tree sapling at exactly 6 AM, the tree will grow around the player and knock them out, as though they had been bitten by a Tarantula or Scorpion.

Cedar tree
Cedar trees are evergreen trees. During December, particularly around Toy Day, and during the Bright Nights in, Cedar trees are decorated with bright lights. Cedar trees will only grow in the top two acres of the village, reflecting the fact that their real-life counterparts are found more frequently in the Northern Hemisphere, being adapted to colder temperatures. In however, cedar trees will grow on any acre on every platform, and regardless of which hemisphere is chosen, cedar trees will be decorated with lights from December 15 to January 6, of which shaking will produce an ornament for DIY projects.

Hardwood tree
Hardwood trees are generic trees, resembling fruit trees but bear nothing. Their appearance differs seasonally, turning golden brown in the fall, being snow-laden in the winter, and bearing cherry blossoms during the Cherry Blossom Festival in April. In, they will bear Leaf Eggs during the Bunny Day season.

Fruit tree


Fruit trees resemble hardwood trees but bear fruit, three at a time. During the Acorn Festival they also bear acorns. There are 5 different varieties of fruit trees (13 in ), one for each type of fruit. The player can receive non-native fruits in letters from Mom, or from other villagers, after which they can then be grown into a fruit-bearing tree. A counterpart sister fruit trees can also be found by going on a Mystery Island Tour.

Palm tree
Palm trees bear coconuts (or alternatively bananas in ), which are special types of fruit; however, they only produce two instead of the usual three fruits. Some beetles, such as the Goliath Beetle, will appear only on palm trees as well. In, coconuts can be obtained from the island, and in and , coconuts will wash up on the shore about once a week. In, palm trees can be found on Tortimer Island, and in on Mystery Islands.

Palm trees can be grown by burying a coconut near the beach, on the grass within ten spaces of the shore. However, in and, palm trees are grown only in the sand. However in, should one use the Island Designer Construction Permit to place down a sand tile, a palm tree can be placed near grass.

In, giving Wendell a coconut to eat will prompt him to give the player a unique design.

Money tree


Money trees are a rare variety of tree that bears money as its fruit. They can be grown by burying Bells in the ground with a golden shovel. In and, the player can grow a money tree by burying Bells in the daily glowing spot instead. To maximize potential return and minimize expected loss, the ideal amount to bury is 30,000 Bells.

Golden tree
Golden trees appear only in, where golden shovels can be shaken from it. They are grown by planting a shovel in a glowing spot that appears once a day in the village.

Dead tree
These appear only in. When a perfect fruit tree is shaken 4 to 7 times, it dies and becomes a dead tree, which serves no use to the player and should be cut down. When a perfect fruit tree dies, it produces a rotten fruit in addition to two perfect fruit. However, in, fertilizer can revive dead trees.

Bamboo tree


Bamboo tree debuted in, where the bamboo shoots could be purchased in the Garden Shop. Fully grown bamboo stalks can spread on their own. In, s are a source of crafting materials. During spring, they will produce that is used in seasonal recipes. s can be found on the Mystery Island Tour or received from Daisy Mae.

Shaking trees
While all trees may be shaken by the player, only cedar and non fruit-bearing trees have a chance of containing hidden items. Each day a certain amount of 100 Bell bags, beehives (or wasp nests), and furniture leaves will be scattered among the town's trees. This number varies according to the total number of trees in the town as well as the iteration of Animal Crossing being played. The table below lists the item maximums according to game title.

Shaking trees may give more than 100 Bells, depending on the player's luck for that day.

Materials
In, the following items are obtained from either shaking or chopping a tree.

Tree stumps
All games in the allow the player to chop down trees, producing a stump. These stumps do not count as trees (or weeds) when determining perfect town status. introduced two insect species only found on stumps (Violin Beetle and Longhorn Beetle), and introduced the ability for players to use stumps as chairs, and special tree stump designs next to which mushrooms may appear. In, the Rosalia Batesi Beetle was added as another bug found on tree stumps, and the existing Jewel Beetle now appear on tree stumps instead of appearing on the front of trees.

Special stump designs
There are twelve stump designs in. Six of these are exclusive to cedar trees, while the remainder are exclusive to fruit, bell and oak trees. Special stump designs are created by delivering the final blow to a tree with any axe. A silver axe guarantees a special design, while a gold axe produces one only occasionally. A regular axe hardly ever produces one. Because only the final blow (of three) is the one that determines whether the stump will feature a special design, the first two swings can be made using a regular or gold axe to reduce wear on a silver axe.

The oak, bell and fruit tree designs are, as follows; a heart design, a butterfly, a citrus pattern, a ginkgo leaf (the one that Crazy Redd uses as his logo), a cross (X) and a Triforce from The Legend of Zelda series. The cedar tree designs are a star, a cat, a flower similar to the one used to represent the Pikmin series, the leaf Tom Nook uses as a logo and the one furniture is turned into when in the players pockets, a music note and a four-leaf clover.

Trivia

 * Plants resembling 's hardwood trees appear throughout the landscape of 2002's Camp Hyrule, an annual online virtual summer camp that was sponsored and moderated by Nintendo of America.