Umbrella trees could grow on cliffsides.
Umbrella trees were a species of tree found on the primitive planet Balnab, a stellar remenant in its emerging stages of organic development. They played host to troops of the native hesten, non-sentient primates. The trees consisted of multiple white branch like trunks holding up between one and four flat, purple circular layers. In those trees with four layers, the second layer was the widest and the top layer the smallest. Several protrusions emerged from the top most layer. Some umbrella trees grew out of or on top of cliff faces, while others grew on flat ground.
During the Clone Wars in 20 BBY, the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 landed a BTL-B Y-wing starfighter/bomber amongst a patch of umbrella trees growing around hot springs and huge spherical plants on Balnab. A hesten watched them dismount from within the shade of one of a nearby umbrella tree's layers, before bounding away to join a second hesten eating on top of a separate umbrella tree.
R2-D2 and C-3PO encountered hesten in an umbrella tree.
The droids and hesten then attempted to flee when blaster fire from a group of local raiders hit the tree, but the raiders successfully captured the droids. After later escaping from the raiders, the two droids ran out of power, and stopped in the shade of a small umbrella tree with only one layer, where they powered down. A Weequay pirate ship later landed nearby, blowing up large clouds of dust, but not moving the nearby umbrella trees at all. The Weequay pirates the removed the droids from beneath the umbrella tree and left Balnab.
Pat Presley created concept art of umbrella trees.
Umbrella trees first appeared in "Nomad Droids," the sixth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television show's third season, which aired on October 14, 2011. The trees were first named in the 2017 reference book Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia.
Concept artist Pat Presley created multiple pieces of concept art including umbrella trees for the episode including a "Balnab Ext" environment design sheet showing the different types of Balnab vegetation to scale and another design sheet for the Balnab crash site inhabited by the raiders.
- Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia