TREE OF THE FAMILY

November 19, 2020 | TREES

APPLE HARVEST!

November 6, 2019 | TREES

Around the 21th of October, halfway the meteorological autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, most fruit on the trees have been harvested, as, depending on the weather, early night frost might set in. Depicted here is the hand of my grandson, who has picked a few apples of my apple tree!

This was actually a dream come true. For fun I had planted my first ever fruit tree on new year’s day of 2019, which appeared to be a pear tree, and two apple trees that same week. For early winter the temperature was still very mild, the sun was shining happily, and the weather forcast didn’t predict snow nor freezing temperatures, so I could actually do it.

While planting them, I envisioned my grandson harvesting fruit from these trees, probably within a few years when the trees would have grown tall. I was secretly hoping though that the trees would at least produce a few small fruits next summer, and with lots of luck this summer, but I actually didn’t expect that to happen, as the trees were still young. (I’ll place a picture of them just planted, later in this article). I felt regret, and thought of this Chinese proverb which states:

      “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago,

       the second best time to plant a tree is NOW!”

I felt so stupid, why didn’t I plant these trees way earlier? Well I have a few explanations for that, but anyhow, this was the situation.
And for whatever reason, one of the trees must have felt my wish, or was able to magically produce a few glossy big appels which grew increadibly red and sweet!

People mentioned they looked like Snow-white’s apples, indeed I thought this myself, but there’s no poison in these (except for the seeds which are toxic and aren’t edible), as my yard is fully organic and dynamically grown, with a bit of natural compost. (no pesticides nor artificial fertilizer). Also I figured, in a paradise like situation on our planet, Adam and Eve would certainly have picked them too.

Anyhow, as this website is still a work in progress, I would love to mention that if there’ll be a society founded to establish a hectare grid on Earth, I would love the foundation to host a database of original* native fruittrees, nut trees, berry bushes and evergreen trees, for all 4 climate zones! (*original, no cultivars).

People who would want to settle on kindomains can go to such a database, in order to get information on how to propagate and grow trees succesfully. Oh and yeah, probably herbs, vegetables and flowers too.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have this being established by the common people? These could be individuals and/or organisations which have practical experience and knowledge about everything involved. And it can be approached from different diciplines too. Such as contributions from artists, photographers, writers, etcetera.

I know, it’s a bit ambitious and I can’t do this all by myself (lol), but I’m putting the wish here, just in case there would be more people out there who also might want such a thing to happen!

© 2019 | Margreet Wilschut
www.margreetotto.net

CONIFERS 1 – INTRODUCTION

August 6, 2019 | TREES

CONIFERS 2 – FUNCTION AND PURPOSE

August 5, 2019 | TREES

CONIFERS 3 – LEAF AND FOLIAGE

August 4, 2019 | TREES

Part 3. The leaves of Conifers can be either shaped ‘wide and flat’, in the sense of a sheet of paper (with a broad or wide surface), or oblong (which in size can be either small or long). The latter can be compared with the shape of a young blade of grass, seen as an oblong object. We can call these leaves also short or long leaves depending on the treespecies.

Thus the short & long leaves of Conifers have an average in diameter of 0.04 inches to 0.11 inches (1 mm to 3 mm). The length of this type of foliage varies from approximately 0.6 inches to 6 inches (1½ cm to 15 cm). On that scale, and for the purpose of this article, the variety in lengths can be differentiated as ‘short’, ‘medium’ or ‘long’. The longleaf version is shown on the picture with this article. (Picture: Ringing Cedars Russia). This is the end of a branch of the Siberian Pine. In Latin this Conifer is named ‘Pinus Siberica’.

The ‘sheet type’ leaves with a wide surface are seen with most Cypress Conifers. But with all varieties of Conifer leaves, we could give them the common name of either ‘Conifer leaf’ or just ‘leaf’. The latter is also used for deciduous trees. The mutual differences of the leaf shapes of Conifers however, are specified separately in this article for each Conifer type.

Phyto green
All varieties of the oblong leaves, either small or long foliage, form the green coverage of the branches and sometimes trunk, which in a sense you could also view as the ‘coating’ or ‘the fur’ of the tree. The description of this leaf type with ‘needle’ is in fact not entirely correct. The leaf of the Conifer is ‘phyto’, so from plant matter. Phyto stems from the Greek words ‘phyein’ (to bring forth, make grow, that which has grown) and ‘phut(ón)’ (derived from plant matter).

Photosynthesis
But first lets have a litte bit of insight of what makes the ‘phyto’ plant material. As most of us know, this is due to the chlorophyll in the leaf, which forms the green color. This substance absorbs sunlight (as microscopically small solar cells), and is therefore an energy supplier for the process of photosynthesis. In this, carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, and water from the soil and air, serve as a supply stream for conversion to oxygen, carbohydrates (sugar) and other phytonutrients for the tree itself and the environment. Due to this process, oxygen is released to the atmosphere, together with other etherical components such as the fragrant resin odor.

Conifer leaf
Most leaves of small & longleaf pines and cedars have a bit of a woody, firm hay-like texture, but the long leaves for example are more flexible as they can slightly bend.

Conifers with wide or broad fanning leaves, are seen with all Cypress species in the Cypress family. These are usually soft in texture and very bendable. Both types of leaves are Conifer leaves.

Translation
In Dutch language, we often use the word ‘small’ for oblong, and it is also pronounced the same, but written with one ‘l’ less: ‘smal’. But the meaning of the word is slightly different. Most often we use the word to describe an object or shape which is thin and tall or oblong, but has a small width. Hence the object isn’t wide or broad. A young blade of grass or a straw would be a good example for this. But if we would describe an object as being ‘small’ compared to the opposit ‘big’, we would use the word ‘little’, which is ‘klein’ in Dutch. It was quite a puzzle to come up with a good description for all the different leaves, in the slightly altered way of categorizing them, that is.

Small-leaf and Long-leaf
Another language thing, in some cases we write word combinations together in one word. Let’s say if in Dutch language we would want to describe a Pine leaf as a ‘small leaf’ that would be possible. It would then alter in ‘smalleaf’, hence also with on ‘l’ less! In English it could supposedly be written with or without a hyphen in between, such as small-leaf or just small leaf. And the same is for long-leaf, long leaf or longleaf.

So you might sometimes find different wordcombinations in these articles, for it is just a personal preference, although many different terminologies are used nowadays when it comes to determination. Noted aside, when translating articles from Dutch to English, these are absolutely factors to consider.

Best of both
Please take into account that Dutch people often learn a 2nd language at school, and the higher educated a third or fourth, as we are a very small country, being surrounded by larger countries, all with completely different foreign languages (English, German, Belgium, French). However, in most cases one loses the skill of writing and speaking these languages in adulthood when they are not practised in daily life.

But nowadays due to the internet, it seems languages are more fusing together than before. In the Netherlands especially, English is most heard on tv and internet and in music. It is the 2nd language for many, but not all Dutch people speak or write English, and many just a little bit. And when it comes to writing articles, one has to continuously look up new words in the dictionary, both for spelling and meaning, the latter especially when an unknown professional jargon is being explored. It makes it even more confusing when similar sounding words in two different languages, can have a different meaning, sometimes even opposite!

Foliage
It is also possible to use the word small-foliage for small-leaf. In a sense, foliage is the indication of all leaves together (of one particular tree, shrub, bush or plant). The foliage of Conifers with oblong leaves grow either individually attached to the brances, as with Spruce and Fir trees, or in clusters as with the longleaf Pines, such as the Siberian Pine, or the small leaves such as from the centuries old Libanon Cedars. The foliage of the latter grow clusterd in star shapes. For all varieties of oblong Pine leaves, there are several types of clusters, namely pairs of two, three or five.

Cluster leaves
According to information on the internet, a cluster of two Pine leaves belongs to the red Pine group, a cluster of three Pine leaves to the yellow Pine group, and a cluster of five leaves belong to the white Pine group. It is not known to the author why the colors are given to the different varieties. These do not seem to be derived from the colours of the bark or wood, is it then just for the purpose of categorical classification?

Good ornamental
The long-leaves of the white Pine group grow on the branches in bundles of five. This results visually in an elongated mass, which, partly due to their length and weight, caused by their dense growth together, are draped slightly bent in an arc from the branch. To express it into a somewhat more poetic description: it creates a ‘good ornamental’ for the tree, an overall impression of an elegantly lush, richly endowed green foliage.

One more language thing, in Dutch the word for ‘leaf’ is ‘blad’. And another Dutch word for ‘blad’ is ‘loof”, which is ‘foliage’. But ‘loof’ has a double interpretation as it can also stand for ‘praise’, in the sense of admiration and respect, or to applaud something. The Dutch verb says: ‘Ik loof, wij loven’ (I praise, we praise). Therefore, we could say: ‘Loof het Loof’, which would then say ‘Praise the Foliage’. You can’t make this stuff up really. Anyway, just for fun!

Size, structure and texture
The structure and texture of the Conifer leaf can vary per family and species. Some small-leaves are only 0.6 inches short (1.5 cm), with a thickness of 0.07 inches (2 mm), firm and round or square-like in structure (can be rolled through fingers), are sharply pointed and grow from woody projections on the branch, which gives it a ‘rough’ look and feel once the leaves have fallen off. (Spruce).

Other leaves are medium sized (4 inches) or long (6 inches), sometimes more flexible, softer and flattened, can therefore not be rolled between the fingers, with a rounding at the end of the leaves which grow from a smooth bark (Fir). The taller leaves grow also from smooth bark (Pine).

From the type of leaf, the cone shape and the manner of growth of the cones on the branches, and the type of bark, one usually recognizes the family to which the Conifer belongs.

But this requires an extensive study (because there are around 600+ species) which is not the aim of this range of articles. The goal is truly a first introduction, oriëntation and valuation, and has no official educational character. If one wants to derive some decision-making from this, research for yourself and preserve the good!

Wide leaf (wide & flat sheet shape)
Conifers from the Cypress family have wide broadly spread leaves. The Cypress ‘Thuja’, for example, has a flat fanning leaf with large notches. It grows the length of the entire branch, and is thick and soft, is bendable and has a flexible texture. It distinguishes this Conifer from all other Conifers with oblong leaves (either small or long), but also from most deciduous trees, which usually have the sheet or blade type of leaves, such as Oak, Birch, Ash, Fruit- and Nut trees. In general, the size and texture of the leaves of deciduous trees, differ from those of the Conifer trees, both the oblong varieties and the wide sheet type versions.

Conifer foliage
To distinguish even further, since the Cypresses belong to the Conifers taxonomically, we can also describe its Conifer foliage more specific, e.g. as ‘Thuja leaf’ or ‘Thuja foliage’. Foliage would probably sound as a better description for the soft and elegant appearance of this type of leaf. But, ‘foliage’ can be used for all leaf types, both for the leaves of deciduous and coniferous trees, for the latter also including the small-leaf and long-leaf versions.

Therefore, one should call it according to ones own preferences, and often to name the tree is in most cases probably the best, or referring back to its Latin name. On the other hand, it would be preferable if there would be one international determination for all Conifers, instead of so many different names in different languages.

Summarizing
All Conifer families consist of cone-bearing trees, and have specific Conifer leaves. Most families in the order of Conifers have small- and long leaves or -foliage such as the Pine, Cedar and Fir and Spruce. Some other Conifers from the Cypress family have wide Conifer leaves or -foliage.

© 2019 | Margreet Wilschut
www.margreetotto.net

For the next or previous part in these series:
CONIFERS 1 – INTRODUCTION
CONIFERS 2 – FUNCTION AND PURPOSE
CONIFERS 3 – LEAF AND FOLIAGE
Next part:
CONIFERS 4 – CONES AND STROBILI
CONIFERS 5 – FAMILIES
CONIFERS 6 – GROWING
CONIFERS 7 – GERMINATION SEEDS

CONIFERS 4 – CONES AND STROBILI

August 3, 2019 | TREES

Part 4. The word Conifer comes from the Latin word ‘Coniferae’ which means ‘Cone-bearers’. This is derived from ‘Conus’ and from ‘Ferre’ or ‘Bher’ which means ‘Carrying’. More specified: ‘Bher’ includes the meaning of fruit- or children ‘bearing’ as with a pregnancy. (Picture – Ringing Cedars Russia).

In Mathematics a ‘Conus’ is described as:

‘A geometrically elongated shape with a circle as the ground surface, ending in a point. Between the two ends of the cone is the curved mantle on the outside, and inside the central vertical axis.’

The growth, size and position of the cones differs per Conifer species. The cones are on the branches with the end pointing upwards or sideways, or hanging on them. Conifer therefore belongs in the taxonomic classification to the Order of ‘Coniferales’, being the ‘conic-bearers’.

The eight important taxonomic grades are:

Life, Domain, Empire, Tribe, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.

As a descriptive plant name (which also applies to trees), the Latin designation is included as a taxonomic standard as ‘Coniferae’. Conifers are wind bloomers. They belong to the ‘Seed Plants’ class (Spermaphyta), in the ‘Naked Seed’ category (Clade ‘Gymnospermae’).

The Cones
Conifers can be monoecious or dioecious. This relates to the propagation mechanism of the trees, which is represented in the cones. The cones accommodate the reproductive organs in two mutually different cones, the ‘male’ cone also called ‘pollen cone’, and the ‘female’ cone which is also described as ‘ovulation cone’ in the initial stages of cone formation at the tree.

The seed principles are predominantly present in the female cones, in which, after pollination by the wind through the pollen, which originate from the male cone, they further develop into germinating seeds. It usually takes one to two decades after planting a young tree before the cones begin to form.

TWO CATEGORIES OF CONES
There are two different categories of cones that vary in size. The first category is the Conifers cones with an average length of around 4 inches. These have a woody structure. The second category of cones has the shape and size of a berry, which also on this much smaller scale, contains a kind of cone structure, the envelope which consists of the berryflesh, with one opening at the bottom.

We refer to this type of cone as ‘Strobili’, in the singular ‘Strobulus’, although this term does not only apply to the cone-shaped berries of certain Conifer species, but to a wide variety of plant groups. In the following, the two cone types with regard to Conifers are described as: ‘Conifers Cones’ and ‘Conifers Strobili’.

CONIFERS CONES
The cones of Conifers such as the Pine, Cedar and Cypress are on average 4 inches (10 cm) long. The cones look different for each tree type, although the function is the same. On top of that, one tree can grow two differently looking cones. While other Conifers only grow one type cone. This has to do with their different reproductive systems. For instance, both sexes grow on the pine tree, namely the dark brown colored female cone and the light brown to yellow colored male cone.

Monoecious
The Pine is therefore ‘monoecious’, meaning that husband and wife live in the same house, so they live together. In this case in one tree. Hence a monoecious tree has both male and female cones. However, the wind ensures that the pollen produced by one tree can even be spread hundreds of miles through the air, through cross-pollination, and can land in the female cones of the same Conifer species much further away. So it can be!

Dioecious
There are also Conifers that are ‘dioecious’, in which case husband and wife each live in their own house, or in their own tree. In such a case, there is a ‘male tree’ and a ‘female tree’, and there are therefore two houses. Husband and wife then probably have a living apart together relationship. Dioecious Conifers therefore contain either only the male cones or only the female cones. Some shrub-like Conifers belong to this category.

The seed principle
Both with the dioecious Conifers (male and female living together in one house or one tree) and with the ‘single’ monoecious Conifers (male and female both having their own house or two trees), the seed principle is only formed in female cones.

These dark brown female cones really have the shape of the specific geometric cone. It consists of woody scales that partially overlap each other spirally. Underneath each scale is an ‘ovulation’ sperm principle, being the unfertilized egg, the ‘Endosperm mother cell’. This seed principle in the female cone, which is also called ‘seed bud’ (because it looks like a flower bud in a certain sense), has yet to emerge, and is uncovered. That is why Conifers in taxonomy are among the ‘nudes’ (Clade ‘Gymnospermae’).

The ovulation cones
In the early stages of the growth of these female cones, the cones are still small and soft, while already showing the geometric structure. They look like small egg shapes that grow on the branches, with a direction of growth proportional to the branch. In this early form, the cone is called an ‘ovulation cone’.

After reaching this stage, it will grow into an adult cone in two years. When the cone and internal ovule principles are fully grown, the cone focuses more away from the branch with the point facing outwards, and over time the cone opens its brown scales. The seed buds under the scales are now ready to be fertilized.

The pollen cones
The male cones grow at the end of the branches. These cones are elongated or cylindrical in shape, yellow in color and have a softer spongy structure with small bulges. In these ‘pollen cones’, the pollen is formed, also called the ‘sperm’ pollen. Both cone sexes of a monoecious tree – where husband and wife live together – are on the branches, however the pollen cones are located at the end of the branches and the female cones along the entire length of the branch. It is logical that the pollen cones grow at the end of a branch.

For example, the male cones have the farthest range in the open air to be scooped by the wind, so that the pollen formed in the spring can optimally be disposed of. These are then blown into the air by gusts of wind, and due to an aerodynamic design build on the pollen, they can float tens to hundreds of miles through the air before they land in the open scales of the female cones, of trees nearby or much further away.

Development
When a female cone, being the ovulation cone, collects the pollen, the egg present in the ovule principle is fertilized. After fertilization it grows into germinable pine seed under the scales of the female cones. This seed develops slowly in a few years, and forms a dark brown skin which later hardens into a skin around the seed. Over time, the fertilized cone releases from the branch and falls to the ground to germinate.

Spread
For example, squirrels and certain birds also distribute the cones and thus the seeds. The squirrels by storing them underground as winter supplies, which are sometimes not used and then germinate into a tree plant. In addition, there are also clever people who harvest the seeds for consumption or to grow into saplings. In this way, the cross-pollination and reproduction take place at Conifers. Conifers are therefore wind bloomers, and do not need bees or other insects for fertilization.

Consumption
The mature seeds, when they are suitable for human consumption, must first be removed from the cones or shaken, to subsequently peel each unique seed. These pale yellow colored pine seeds or pine nuts are extremely nutritious and do well as an addition to culinary dishes. An edible oil can also be pressed out that is extremely nutritious.

CONIFERS STROBILI
In some shrub-like Conifers, the cones have the shape and size of a berry, and the shell consists of flesh around a seed bud (the egg) that is also uncovered in this type of Conifers, because the end of the berry has an opening. In that case it is no longer called ‘Cone’, but ‘Strobilus’.

The word ‘Strobilus’ is a descriptive term for the various manifestations of ‘cones’ or ‘cone-like structures’. Moreover, the Strobilus does not only occur in certain Conifer species, but in a wide variety of other plant groups. The word comes from the ancient Greek ‘Strobilos’ which means ‘Whirlwind’. It refers to the rotating shape of the plant part that houses the reproductive organs.

Formation
Just like all types of cones, the strobilus has a nice geometric structure that is formed around a central, vertical axis. This axis originated from the stem, and is provided with spiral or cross-implanted structures. These carry the spore boxes (sporangia) that carry seed buds or (partial) fruits. The spores are formed in the spore boxes. Leaves that carry spore boxes are called ‘Sporophylls’, with stems one speaks of ‘Sporangiophores’.

Examples of Conifers with Strobili are the Juniper with the black / blue cone-shaped berries (Food-bearing for the Big Thrush), and the Taxus with the red also cone-shaped berries (Food-bearing for thrushes and other birds). Both Juniper and Taxus have several trunks as large shrubs and are only about 10 meters high.

Exotic
There are also the Podocarpaceae, an exotic Conifer family from the southern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere, however, the mutual species differ considerably in appearance and size. There is no clarity about the taxonomic classification, and it has been subject to change over the decades. That is why we will not go into it further here. Also for this type of Conifers, the pollination for the formation of germinable seed always takes place via the wind.

© 2019 | Margreet Wilschut
www.margreetotto.net

*******

Click on the link for the next or previous part:
CONIFERS 1 – INTRODUCTION
CONIFERS 2 – FUNCTION AND PURPOSE
CONIFERS 3 – LEAF AND FOLIAGE
CONIFERS 4 – CONES AND STROBILI
Next part:
CONIFERS 5 – FAMILIES
CONIFERS 6 – GROWING
CONIFERS 7 – GERMINATION SEEDS