An electronic device detects an input via an input device. In response to detecting the input, the device monitors the input using a gesture recognition tree having a plurality of nodes. Each respective node of the gesture recognition tree corresponds to a respective gesture recognizer or a respective component gesture recognizer, and one or more nodes include one or more parameters that describe the input. Monitoring the input using the gesture recognition tree includes: processing the input using a first node of the plurality of nodes, including determining a value of a first parameter of the one or more parameters; conveying the first parameter from the first node to a second node of the plurality of nodes; and processing the input using the second node, including determining, based on the first parameter, whether the input satisfies a gesture recognition requirement defined by the second node.