Can Trees Be Male or Female?

Planting too many male trees can make allergies worse.

Some areas banned female trees and planting only male trees increases the allergies of people susceptible to pollen. Pheelings media/Shutterstock

Q: A coworker said that her allergies were acting up because there were so many male trees blooming. I didn’t think there were male and female trees. I don’t remember what I learned in botany class. Are there male and female trees?

A: There are some tree species with separate male and female plants, but most trees have both male and female parts in every flower. I am not going to repeat your botany class, but here are some simple terms you need to know. Angiosperm plants are the large flowering plants, and gymnosperm plants are the large plants with cones.