Ten Amazing Facts About Trees
Yes, it’s true that we’re a tree removal company. Sometimes they simply need to be taken away, especially when they become old and sick and are in danger of falling on homes or power lines. Sometimes their roots invade drain pipes and septic tanks and even interfere with the foundation of a home. But we find these ancient, beautiful, necessary denizens of our planet utterly amazing. They not only add beauty but give off the oxygen that we need to live. The provide timber, fruit and pharmaceuticals. A shady tree planted next to a home keeps that part of the house cool during the hottest months and cuts down on energy bills. A beautiful jacaranda in the yard always adds to curb appeal and may even add to the property’s resale value.
Australian Arboriculture
Australian trees are among the most beautiful in the world. Granted, some of them, like our animals, are somewhat odd. Consider the gouty stem tree, also known as the baobab whose bottle-shaped trunks can be so enormous that at least one of them was used as a lockup. Consider also our ghost gums and varnish gums and snow gums and red gums and manna gums. Don’t forget the silky oak, which isn’t an oak at all but is prized for its bottlebrush flowers and weird seed pods.
Here 10 Amazing facts about the tree:
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They Will Outlive You
A tree that only lives a normal human lifespan is not considered very long-lived. Unless a person counts sea anemones, which are now said to be immortal, conifers are the oldest living beings on the planet. A bristlecone pine named Methuselah is said to be at least 5000 years old. It’s not in Australia but at a location in California that rangers are wisely keeping secret, human nature being what it is.
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They Can Grow to 476 Feet Tall
The tallest, such as the Douglas fir, can grow to over 400 feet high. They don’t get taller than 476 feet because, according to scientists, the tree simply can’t pump water up to the highest leaves after that. Others that grow really tall are:
- Sequoia
- Mountain ash
- Redwood
- Yellow Meranti
- Sugar pine
- Ponderosa Pine
Two of ours make the top ten when it comes to height. They are:
- The “White Knight” Manna gum
- A southern blue gum
- The “Centurion” mountain ash
- The “King Stringy” brown top stringbark
- An alpine ash
All of them are found in Tasmania, though there’s a really tall shining gum found in Victoria.
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Some are Male, Some are Female, Some are Both
Sometimes, it’s important for a gardener or homeowner to know whether a tree is male or female or both. If the plant has both sexes, it’s monoecious. If it has only one sex, it’s dioecious. Most gingko trees seen in yards or parks are male. The female produces fruit that has a terrible smell even though it’s edible. In some areas, female gingkoes are just banned.
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Evergreens do Shed Their Leaves
Evergreens don’t hold on to their leaves forever. They do shed them, but they don’t shed them all at once the way a deciduous tree does. Over time, they lose old leaves or needles, which are then replaced by new leaves. They also lose a portion of their leaves in the cooler months.
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They Provide Everything
They are responsible for over 5000 products, much of which is food and food additives. Travel on water would probably not be possible without timber or hollowed out trunks.
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Chlorophyll is Just One Pigment in a Leaf
Chlorophyll is a pigment that makes most leaves green. When the weather starts to cool down, the chlorophyll degrades to reveal pigments that give leaves their golden or red fall color.
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They Don’t Heal Themselves
Unlike animals and humans who are injured, a tree doesn’t heal wood that’s been damaged by growing new cells to replace it. It simply compartmentalizes the injured area off.
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Branches Aren’t Really Attached to the Tree
Tree surgeons know that branches are bound to the tree by a structure called the collar. When a branch needs to be pruned, it is pruned down to the collar and not to the trunk of the tree.
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Bark is Dead
Bark resembles nails, hair and the very top layer of human skin in that it’s made of dead cells. It also serves the same purpose, which is to protect what’s beneath it. If the diameter of the tree expands, the bark might crack or split. Bark is one of the most interesting and beautiful aspects of a tree and goes a long way to help identify it.
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About Roots
Though people like to think that the roots of a tree are as big as its crown, that’s not always true. Most roots only penetrate about a foot into the soil, but what is true is that they can extend over twice the width of the tree. Roots don’t have chlorophyll, which they don’t need being underground, don’t have a central pith and are mostly non-woody. Though folks worry about tree roots growing and invading their pipes during the winter, non-woody roots grow whenever the ground’s not frozen.
The Wrap Up
These are just a few reasons why our professional tree removers love trees. If only they could talk, especially the old ones! We encourage planting them, and when the time comes, we’ll take them away in safety.