木 Mù

Leaves are not depicted in 木, only trunk, branches and roots. This is especially evident in the Oracle script, where the vertical stroke represents the tree's trunk, the upper strokes represent branches and the bottom strokes are roots. 木 also means "wood" and is a radical component in many Chinese words for things that are made of wood.

Many of the ancient pines or cypress trees in China's Central Plain can only be seen in parks or temples. They are there to remind people of the concept of the tree, an ancient image of free nature. 九顶松 (Jiŭ Dǐng Sōng) or "Nine-tip Pine", a 1,400 year old cypress, can be found beside the 四门塔 (Sì Mén Tǎ) or Four Gates Pagoda, the oldest preserved Buddhist pagoda in the country.

木 is a radical in many Chinese words; 林 (forest) 松, ( the pine tree ), 板(plank), and 棒(stick) are a few examples.