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Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center
TreeForm
  • See Also
    • FullForm
    • MatrixForm
    • LeafCount
    • ExpressionTree
    • TreePlot
    • TreeGraph
    • ExpressionGraph
    • Graph
  • Related Guides
    • Expression Structure
    • Expressions
    • Tree Visualization
    • Graph Visualization
    • Trees
  • Workflows
    • Find the Underlying Tree Structure of an Expression
  • Tech Notes
    • Expressions as Trees
    • See Also
      • FullForm
      • MatrixForm
      • LeafCount
      • ExpressionTree
      • TreePlot
      • TreeGraph
      • ExpressionGraph
      • Graph
    • Related Guides
      • Expression Structure
      • Expressions
      • Tree Visualization
      • Graph Visualization
      • Trees
    • Workflows
      • Find the Underlying Tree Structure of an Expression
    • Tech Notes
      • Expressions as Trees

TreeForm[expr]

displays expr as a tree with different levels at different depths.

TreeForm[expr,n]

displays expr as a tree only down to level n.

Details and Options
Details and Options Details and Options
Examples  
Basic Examples  
Scope  
Options  
AspectRatio  
DirectedEdges  
EdgeRenderingFunction  
Show More Show More
LayerSizeFunction  
PlotRangePadding  
PlotStyle  
VertexLabeling  
VertexRenderingFunction  
VertexCoordinateRules  
Applications  
Properties & Relations  
Possible Issues  
Neat Examples  
See Also
Tech Notes
Related Guides
Related Workflows
Related Links
History
Cite this Page
BUILT-IN SYMBOL
  • See Also
    • FullForm
    • MatrixForm
    • LeafCount
    • ExpressionTree
    • TreePlot
    • TreeGraph
    • ExpressionGraph
    • Graph
  • Related Guides
    • Expression Structure
    • Expressions
    • Tree Visualization
    • Graph Visualization
    • Trees
  • Workflows
    • Find the Underlying Tree Structure of an Expression
  • Tech Notes
    • Expressions as Trees
    • See Also
      • FullForm
      • MatrixForm
      • LeafCount
      • ExpressionTree
      • TreePlot
      • TreeGraph
      • ExpressionGraph
      • Graph
    • Related Guides
      • Expression Structure
      • Expressions
      • Tree Visualization
      • Graph Visualization
      • Trees
    • Workflows
      • Find the Underlying Tree Structure of an Expression
    • Tech Notes
      • Expressions as Trees

TreeForm

TreeForm[expr]

displays expr as a tree with different levels at different depths.

TreeForm[expr,n]

displays expr as a tree only down to level n.

Details and Options

  • With a notebook front end, TreeForm displays as a graphical tree in StandardForm and TraditionalForm.
  • TreeForm takes the same options as TreePlot.
  • VertexLabeling->Automatic does not display expression fragments at each node, but still gives subtree expressions as tooltips.
  • VertexLabeling->False does not give expression fragments or tooltips.
  • The typeset form of TreeForm[expr] is interpreted the same as expr when used in input. »
  • When an input evaluates to TreeForm[expr], TreeForm does not appear in the output. »
  • List of all options

    • AlignmentPointCenterthe default point in the graphic to align with
      AspectRatio Automaticratio of height to width
      AxesFalsewhether to draw axes
      AxesLabelNoneaxes labels
      AxesOriginAutomaticwhere axes should cross
      AxesStyle{}style specifications for the axes
      BackgroundNonebackground color for the plot
      BaselinePositionAutomatichow to align with a surrounding text baseline
      BaseStyle{}base style specifications for the graphic
      ContentSelectableAutomaticwhether to allow contents to be selected
      CoordinatesToolOptionsAutomaticdetailed behavior of the coordinates tool
      DataRangeAutomaticthe range of vertex coordinates to generate
      DirectedEdges Falsewhether to interpret Rule as DirectedEdge
      EdgeLabelsNonelabels and placements for edges
      EdgeLabelStyleAutomaticstyle to use for edge labels
      EdgeShapeFunctionAutomaticgenerate graphic shapes for edges
      EdgeStyleAutomaticstyles for edges
      Epilog{}primitives rendered after the main plot
      FormatTypeTraditionalFormthe default format type for text
      FrameFalsewhether to put a frame around the plot
      FrameLabelNoneframe labels
      FrameStyle{}style specifications for the frame
      FrameTicksAutomaticframe ticks
      FrameTicksStyle{}style specifications for frame ticks
      GraphHighlight{}vertices and edges to highlight
      GraphHighlightStyleAutomaticstyle for highlight
      GridLinesNonegrid lines to draw
      GridLinesStyle{}style specifications for grid lines
      ImageMargins0.the margins to leave around the graphic
      ImagePaddingAllwhat extra padding to allow for labels etc.
      ImageSizeAutomaticthe absolute size at which to render the graphic
      LabelStyle{}style specifications for labels
      LayerSizeFunction (1)the height to allow for each layer
      MethodAutomaticdetails of graphics methods to use
      PerformanceGoalAutomaticaspects of performance to try to optimize
      PlotLabelNonean overall label for the plot
      PlotRangeAllrange of values to include
      PlotRangeClippingFalsewhether to clip at the plot range
      PlotRangePadding Automatichow much to pad the range of values
      PlotRegionAutomaticthe final display region to be filled
      PlotStyle Automaticgraphics directives to determine styles
      PlotThemeAutomaticoverall theme for the graph
      PreserveImageOptionsAutomaticwhether to preserve image options when displaying new versions of the same graphic
      Prolog{}primitives rendered before the main plot
      RotateLabelTruewhether to rotate y labels on the frame
      TicksAutomaticaxes ticks
      TicksStyle{}style specifications for axes ticks
      VertexCoordinatesAutomaticcoordinates for vertices
      VertexLabelsNonelabels and placements for vertices
      VertexLabelStyleAutomaticstyle to use for vertex labels
      VertexShapeAutomaticgraphic shape for vertices
      VertexShapeFunctionAutomaticgenerate graphic shapes for vertices
      VertexSizeAutomaticsize of vertices
      VertexStyleAutomaticstyles for vertices

Examples

open all close all

Basic Examples  (3)

A symbolic expression formatted as a tree:

Show the tree form for the first two levels in the expression:

A graphics expression formatted as a tree:

Scope  (9)

A formatted symbolic expression with mathematical constants:

A formatted expression with symbolic, exact and inexact values:

A nested list:

An expression containing subscripted variables:

A formatted expression with a special superscript and OverBar:

A graphic object:

A Series expression:

An expression containing Hold:

Limit the levels shown:

Options  (14)

AspectRatio  (2)

By default a suitable aspect ratio is calculated for good visual appearance:

Change the aspect ratio:

DirectedEdges  (1)

Show directed edges:

EdgeRenderingFunction  (2)

Draw edges using blue arrows set back by 30%:

Draw vertices only:

LayerSizeFunction  (1)

Draw a tree with the first level of height 1, the second level 2, etc.:

PlotRangePadding  (1)

Use different PlotRangePadding around the drawing:

PlotStyle  (3)

Specify an overall style for the drawing:

PlotStyle can be combined with VertexRenderingFunction, which has higher priority:

PlotStyle can be combined with EdgeRenderingFunction, which has higher priority:

VertexLabeling  (1)

Display subtree expressions as tooltips:

VertexRenderingFunction  (2)

Show no vertices:

Render vertices using a predefined graphic:

VertexCoordinateRules  (1)

Explicitly specify all vertex coordinates:

Applications  (1)

Visualize the Wolfram Axiom for Boolean algebra as a tree:

Properties & Relations  (6)

FullForm gives a linear expression similar to TreeForm:

OutputForm of TreeForm gives a textual display of the expression:

Use TreePlot to plot a tree graph:

Use GraphPlot or GraphPlot3D for general undirected graphs:

Use LayeredGraphPlot for hierarchical-style drawing of directed graphs:

The typeset form of TreeForm[expr] is interpreted the same as expr when used in input:

Copy the output and paste it into an input cell. The is interpreted as x2:

When an input evaluates to TreeForm[expr], TreeForm does not appear in the output:

Out is assigned the value x2, not TreeForm[x^2]:

Possible Issues  (2)

Compound heads are not laid out as trees:

Even when an output omits TreeForm from the top level, it is not stripped from subexpressions:

The output does not have TreeForm in it:

However, the variable e does have TreeForm in it, which may affect subsequent evaluations:

The product is not evaluated due to the intervening TreeForm:

Assign variables first and then apply TreeForm to the result to maintain computability:

Neat Examples  (2)

A complete binary tree:

A complete ternary tree:

A symmetric tree:

An asymmetric tree:

See Also

FullForm  MatrixForm  LeafCount  ExpressionTree  TreePlot  TreeGraph  ExpressionGraph  Graph

Function Repository: SameExpressionShapeQ

Tech Notes

    ▪
  • Expressions as Trees

Related Guides

    ▪
  • Expression Structure
  • ▪
  • Expressions
  • ▪
  • Tree Visualization
  • ▪
  • Graph Visualization
  • ▪
  • Trees

Related Workflows

    Related Workflows
    ▪
  • Find the Underlying Tree Structure of an Expression

Related Links

  • An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language : Expressions and Their Structure

History

Introduced in 1988 (1.0) | Updated in 2007 (6.0)

Wolfram Research (1988), TreeForm, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TreeForm.html (updated 2007).

Text

Wolfram Research (1988), TreeForm, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TreeForm.html (updated 2007).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 1988. "TreeForm." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2007. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TreeForm.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (1988). TreeForm. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TreeForm.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_treeform, author="Wolfram Research", title="{TreeForm}", year="2007", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TreeForm.html}", note=[Accessed: 01-December-2025]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_treeform, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={TreeForm}, year={2007}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TreeForm.html}, note=[Accessed: 01-December-2025]}

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