Post by dnrcincinnati on Apr 24, 2009 11:40:37 GMT -5
Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air, produce oxygen and help fight global warming. They are home to birds, squirrels, monkeys and other critters, and many kinds produce food, wood and other resources that we use every day. Planting trees around your house can add value and even lower your energy bills! As Arbor Day and Earth Day approach, let's take a moment to learn some lesser-known tree tidbits.
Flower Pollination and Fertilization 1. The secret life of trees
True story: Some trees do have genders. Species that have either male or female flowers are called dioecious. In dioecious trees, the male flowers produce the pollen that fertilizes the female flowers, causing them to bear fruit. Things get complicated in monoecious trees and bisexual trees. Monoecious varieties like sugar maple and red oak have both male and female flowers on the same tree. Bisexual trees have what are known as “perfect” flowers, meaning the flowers have both male and female parts.
2. Oldest living tree on Earth
Bristlecone pine, move over: There's a new old tree in town. According to National Geographic, an ancient Norway spruce (Picea abies) sprouted in Sweden's Dalarna province at the end of the last ice age, 9,550 years ago. Though the visible portion of the tree is not as old, parts of the root system were radiocarbon dated to determine its age. Scientists say the Norway spruce's ability to clone itself contributed to the specimen's long lifespan: When one stem dies, another grows from the rootstock.
3. Teeny-tiny tree
The dwarf willow (Salix herbacea), also called least willow or snowbed willow, receives the award for tiniest tree species. This native of the frozen north makes its home on the harsh terrain of Arctic and sub-Arctic tundra and rocky moorland. At just 1 to 6 centimeters high, it's a tree only an insect would climb. Dwarf willows are dioecious, and you can tell if you're looking at a male or female tree by the color of the catkins: Male catkins are yellow, while female catkins are red or yellowish-brown.
Baobab Tree4. Big Baobabs
Baobab trees, native to Africa and Australia, are among the most ancient trees on Earth. Though they are usually about as tall as maple trees, the trunks are sometimes as thick as 9 meters (30 feet), and the branches spread out to form masses of foliage up to 150 feet around. Some baobab trees are so big that their hollowed-out trunks have been used for shops, bus shelters and even prisons. One baobab in Zimbabwe is so big it can shelter as many as 40 people in its trunk, according to South Africa's Kruger National Park.
5. Sausage grows on trees
The sausage tree (Kigelia africana) of sub-Saharan Africa is named for its gray, sausage-shaped fruits that can grow to more than 1 foot long and weigh up to 10 pounds. The large, deep red flowers of the sausage tree don't smell pleasant to people but attract the dwarf epauletted bats (Micropteropus pusillus) that pollinate them, along with insects and birds. Though the "sausages" cannot be eaten, they are burned or ground and used to treat various skin ailments.
Common Date Palm6. Palm trees in the snow
Although most of us associate palm trees with tropical beaches, some species of palms are actually very hardy in cold weather. In fact, windmill palm trees (Trachycarpus fortunei) can survive in temperatures that get down to just 5 degrees Fahrenheit! Some other cold-hardy palms at 15 to 18 degrees are true date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) and Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis). Mediterranean fan palms (Chamaerops humilis) and California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera) are both cold hardy at a very chilly 5 to 15 degrees.
7. Money doesn't grow on trees
Unfortunately, money doesn't actually grow on the money tree (Pachira aquatica). Native to the tropical wetlands of Central and South America, the money tree also goes by the names of Malabar chestnut, Guiana chestnut, provision tree, or saba nut. It is a very popular ornamental plant in East Asia, associated with good fortune and wealth, and often found in offices. Easy to care for, money trees are often used as beginner bonsai plants. But even if your money tree is well cared for, no amount of fertilizer will cause it to start sprouting currency.
8. Tea from a tree
The essential oil of the tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) is naturally antifungal and antibiotic, and can safely be used topically to treat minor cuts, burns, acne, athlete's foot, mild fungal nail infections and more, according to WebMD. Native to stream banks and swampy areas of Australia, the tea tree belongs to the myrtle family (Myrtacae), which also includes eucalyptus and guava. Some say tea trees are so named because the leaves were historically used as a substitute for tea. Others say the name comes from streams and lakes that turn the color of tea from the tannins of tea tree leaves that fall into them.
Sugar Maple9. Sweet tree
Sugar maple trees, native to the hardwood forests of North America, are tapped for their sap, which is used to make maple syrup and maple sugar. It takes about 10 gallons of sap to make one quart of syrup, which is about how much one mature tree can produce during the four- to six-week sugaring season (February through April, depending on the weather). Though sugar maples are probably best known for the sweet treats they produce, the wood of the sugar maple is also prized for making furniture, floors, bowling pins and baseball bats; the trees are also very popular as street and garden trees.
Apples10. Yes, they're related
Apple trees are actually part of the rose family (Rosaceae), which includes 3,000 to 4,000 species such as roses, blackberries, raspberries, pears, almonds and many others. The apple itself is a type of fruit called a pome, or a type of fruit characterized by seeds encased in an endocarp which is covered by the mesocarp (flesh) and the exocarp (skin). Though they're cultivated all over the world today, apple trees likely came from Central Asia where their wild relatives can still be found.
