What Are the Most Natural Artificial Trees Made From?

Many artificial trees look very realistic.

The origins of the artificial tree lie in Germany during the 19th century. The first artificial trees had wooden pyramid shapes and green-dyed goose feathers for foliage. Artificial tree technology evolved throughout the years to enable the manufacture of very realistic trees.

Tree Trunks

Many natural artificial trees have trunks sculpted by skilled artists out of natural wood. Replications Unlimited is a company that uses polyurethane elastomeric to form realistic bark for artificial trees called Flex Bark.

Silk Foliage

Silk is fiber protein cultivated from the larvae of silkworms. Through various methods of weaving silk fiber transforms into material. The leaves on some natural artificial trees have silk-based materials.

Polyethylene Trees

Polyethylene is a plastic containing elements of carbon and hydrogen. A polyethylene tree has branches molded from plastic made from replica tree branches from an actual live tree. An artificial tree has polyethylene injected into the branch and needle molds forming a realistic three-dimensional effect.

References

• Artificial Plants and Trees: The History of the Artificial Christmas Tree
• Commercial Silk: Artificial Trees
• Replications Unlimited: Artificial Tree Bark
• Silk Road: History of Silk

Resources

• Christmas Trees Galore: Christmas Tree Materials: PVC vs. PE