As all intelligent life on Eleath is high in their branches (if you haven't already read The Ground And The Trees you should probably go and have a look at it as an introduction to the whole world, then come back here) trees are central to all aspects of Eleathean Life: they underpin, literally, every settlement and culture.
This being the case it is important to understand that there are distinctive species of tree to occupy different climate zones and ecological niches, each having different uses and properties - perhaps broad spreading branches ideal for large houses in temperate zones to strong but flexible wood for creation of bows… The needs, and the interest in exploring them, are endless.
Familiar Species - Lore and Practicality
The trees of Eleath are undoubtedly unique, but they are referred to here by Earth tree species names such as oak, ash, palm, willow, etc… This is not to imply that an Eleathean oak is identical to a specific Earth oak species - all Eleathean trees are far larger than their Earth counterparts for one thing, thanks to Eleath’s lower gravity and thicker atmosphere. Rather the English name is assumed to be the translation of the tree’s species (which may in any case have different names in the different languages of Eleath) and to have similar properties to the named species in form and function: oaks will be large, gnarled and long-lived with strong timber and oak-leaf shaped leaves; willows will be faster growing and softer; yews will be smaller and slow growing with poisonous berries but wood excellent for the manufacture of longbows; and so on.
This convention gives us a body of lore, both practical and mythical, to draw on as we explore Eleath. This should give fuel for description and creative ideas to both DM and players. With around 73,000 species of tree on Earth there’s plenty of fuel to fire the imagination!
Uniquely Eleathean
Sometimes it may be desirable to describe a uniquely Eleathean species (such as the Ironwood which can grow with their lower trunks in lava) or to change aspects of an Earth tree (no Earth palm could survive the long Eleathean winters, even in the tropics). Both processes can happily become part of Eleathean canon, enriching the world - the use of Earth trees is intended as a jumping off point with a rich body of inspiration, rather than as a straitjacket.
Notes on some specific tree groups and species are linked below.