RJG2
Masterpiece
From one of my favorite YouTube channels...
Trees are so weird
- Thread starter RJG2
- Start date
Glaucus
Omono
I saw this video also pop up in my YT. I have always realized that trees are mostly dead tissue, because they even teach you that in a high school biology textbook. But for some reason, I have never seen anyone else explain it like that.
I have a member that I made this point on this site once, in some discussion, and while I wrote that down I was thinking 'wait, I have never seen anyone else say that before'.
There's more things weird about plants in general.
I have a member that I made this point on this site once, in some discussion, and while I wrote that down I was thinking 'wait, I have never seen anyone else say that before'.
There's more things weird about plants in general.
fredman
Masterpiece
Fascinating video for sure.
They might speak of it being "dead"...but i'm sure a tree would beg to differ....and I think the tree has a valid point, that I agree with.
While the hard and soft wood aren't functional in the sap transferring, it is still filled with liquid....that makes it "alive" and serving its purpose.
When a tree is cut down, the wood is still wet.
That to me is alive...in tree language...
They might speak of it being "dead"...but i'm sure a tree would beg to differ....and I think the tree has a valid point, that I agree with.
While the hard and soft wood aren't functional in the sap transferring, it is still filled with liquid....that makes it "alive" and serving its purpose.
When a tree is cut down, the wood is still wet.
That to me is alive...in tree language...
littletreefarmer
Mame
What even is 'Alive' or 'Dead'? When most things on this planet die on their own, their bodies are not devoid of other life.
I tend to also think that the non-metabolic structures of plants are also not 'dead'. We know that most species, especially deciduous store resources in their vascular structures that they can tap back into (trees have a bank account, not a credit card). Pines store resources in their roots, which this reasoning would also imply are 'dead'. I think the conversation gets a bit deeper than 'alive' and 'dead'. I can still move supposedly 'dead' branch structures with wire to create a new, living design; when a branch is really 'dead' you know it.
It seems the saying "trees are 99% dead" is just popular to say, based on a quick google.
I tend to also think that the non-metabolic structures of plants are also not 'dead'. We know that most species, especially deciduous store resources in their vascular structures that they can tap back into (trees have a bank account, not a credit card). Pines store resources in their roots, which this reasoning would also imply are 'dead'. I think the conversation gets a bit deeper than 'alive' and 'dead'. I can still move supposedly 'dead' branch structures with wire to create a new, living design; when a branch is really 'dead' you know it.
It seems the saying "trees are 99% dead" is just popular to say, based on a quick google.
Last edited:
littletreefarmer
Mame
I think that all the studies implying trees are much more 'alive' and conscious than we once thought are much more interestingly weird.
Last edited:
littletreefarmer
Mame
Here's an article from the American Journal of Botany discussing why we misuse the word 'dead' to describe wood, and why it should almost certainly be considered 'living'.
Maybe it's just our world view that makes us think plants are not living beings.
Maybe it's just our world view that makes us think plants are not living beings.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
agreed. If you look at how in case of wounds the tree actively creates a barrier against decay in the woody tissue, this clearly to me convey the message: These woodcells are actively managed by the tree. As such, the individual cells might be dead (as in, no nucleus, and no active vacuole but still protected by the living part of the tree, and thus seen as part of the living organism?
Compartmentalization of decay in trees - Wikipedia
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
I always thought of it like a coral reef. Living built on old tissues/structure accumulated over years and even millenia…
Glaucus
Omono
The point is that most of the cells lost their water, nucleus, biological activity, etc. They don't divide, aren't repaired. Just like nail, hair and skin in humans. It is as if we were 98% hair.
You can't take a human hair cell and create a new stem cell from it, and create more living human tissue. Same with tree bark cells.
But you can do this with many of the other cells that are still alive.
With humans, it is thin layer on the outside. With corals, it usually is a thick layer underneath. But with trees it is both a significant layer outside, and the underneath is actually inside, as trees are somewhat of a cilinder in shape.
You can't take a human hair cell and create a new stem cell from it, and create more living human tissue. Same with tree bark cells.
But you can do this with many of the other cells that are still alive.
With humans, it is thin layer on the outside. With corals, it usually is a thick layer underneath. But with trees it is both a significant layer outside, and the underneath is actually inside, as trees are somewhat of a cilinder in shape.
littletreefarmer
Mame
What does this even mean?
Im pretty sure all my cells are alive haha.I guess I get what you mean.. I'm still going to say a living tree is alive, same as all other organisms, I guess. Deadwood is dead, living parts are alive.
RJG2
Masterpiece
I need a T-shirt that says "I'm dead on the inside... AND outside" with a picture of a tree.
Glaucus
Omono
What does this even mean?
I guess I get what you mean.. I'm still going to say a living tree is alive, same as all other organisms, I guess. Deadwood is dead, living parts are alive.
It means that the top layer of your skin, your nails, your hair, are made up of dead cells. Your skin grows outward, until those cells die, and then they eventually shed, Just like bark on a tree.
fredman
Masterpiece
I think "dead" is a relative term in this case....Everything inside of the cambium is still alive as long as it has "moisture" (for lack of a better word). That "moisture" makes it perform its function....eg. the resin, hard and soft wood keeps it upright and flexible. That moisture can be seen, felt and even smelt.
That to me is life.
Only when that is gone is the tree dead....theoretically spoken....
That to me is life.
Only when that is gone is the tree dead....theoretically spoken....
It's Kev
Omono
popped up on mine too, suppose then i'll have to give it a look
Attmos
Chumono
Accurate or not, I think it's a common understanding that these parts support the entirety of a tree. A hollow tree seems to me like a fragile tree.
A living part, or just a functional part, tall trees probly wouldn't remain tall without it.
In my opinion, it has nothing to do with "our world view".
Attmos
Chumono
whoops
Kodama
Shohin
Orion_metalhead
Masterpiece
Dead wood will still hold and transport moisture via capilary action, so calling the heartwood of the tree "alive" when it's cells are not growing or engaging in cellular processes or division is a bit misleading.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
just a digital preview or does this actually exist?
Kodama
Shohin
It is just a preview...for now.
