thumbnail|Nineteenth century carved walnut treen snuff box
Treen (literally "of a tree") is a generic name for small handmade functional household objects made of wood. Treen is distinct from furniture, such as chairs, and cabinetry, as well as clocks and cupboards. Before the late 17th century, when silver, pewter, and ceramics were introduced for tableware, most small household items, boxes and tableware were carved from wood. Today, treen is highly collectable for its patina and tactile appeal.
Anything from wooden plates and bowls, snuff boxes and needle cases, spoons and stay busks to shoehorns and chopping boards can be classed as treen. The selection of wood species was important, and close-grained hardwoods such as box, beech and sycamore were particularly favoured, with occasional use of exotics, such as lignum vitae for mallet heads.
Wooden objects have survived relatively less well than those of metal or stone, and their study by archaeologists and historians has been somewhat neglected until recently. Their functional and undecorated forms have, however, been highly regarded by designers and collectors. Burls were rare in Europe because the old-growth forests where they are commonly found had largely been logged out of existence. Burl treen was found in Europe occasionally, particularly in objects intended for celebration or the upper class, but was not in wide-scale use.