THE TREE - Trees and Men

A Tree Is A Living Thing

by N. T. MIROV

FROM THE SEED that in the autumn falls to the ground and is covered with leaves and soil, a tree is born. The seed is a thing to marvel at.

Pick up a pine nut; crack it open. The rich kernel, called endosperm, is packed with starch, fat, and proteins. Inside the kernel is cradled the ivory rod that is an embryo pine, a baby tree. On one end of the miniature Mem is a tuft of pale leaves; the tapering opposite end of the rod will develop into a root.

Cut open a mellow acorn. In it the baby tree does not rest inside rich, nutritional tissue. The starch and fat and proteins are packed in the two seed leaves of the embryo, which are plump and round like the two halves of a peanut. The whole acorn inside
the shell is an embryo.

Following the links in these articles to learn more about the wonder of the beginning growth of trees from seeds:

• How a tree seed is awakened in the spring
• Growth of a tree seedling
  • Importance of the cambium growing region in trees
• What causes tree rings?
• How does water travel up the trunk of a tree?
• What are trees made of?
  • What is the most common material in a tree?
• About 10 percent of the wood mass of a tree is found underground in the form of roots

THE TREE COMES OF AGE. Our tree gradually becomes taller and broader, and in the course of time it reaches maturity. The complicated mechanism functions with the precision of a machine, and its many vital processes are well coordinated. Some of the processes, such as respiration or digestion of fats, are strikingly similar in both olants and animals. Others, as mineral nutrition, are found only in the plants.

• Photosynthesis in trees
• Respiration in trees
• How trees use and produce oxygen
• How the respiration process harms a tree during a drought

• Famous Logan Elm In Southern Ohio

List of all pages in this section

• Cellulose is the most important component of trees
  • What are some uses of cellulose
• Famous Logan Elm In Southern Ohio
• Growth of a tree seedling
  • Importance of the cambium growing region in trees
• How a tree seed is awakened in the spring
  • Growth of the tree embryo
• How does water travel up the trunk of a tree
• How the respiration process harms a tree during a drought
• How tree rings are formed
• How trees use and produce oxygen
• Photosynthesis in trees
• Respiration in trees
• The roots of trees
• What are trees made of
  • Lignin - The glue that holds trees together
    • Lignin Decomposition and Production Ecology of Wood
      • Part 1. Lignin Biosynthesis, Structure and Degradation
      • Part 2. Production Ecology of Wood

See also:
Some Trees Are Famous by CHARLES E. RANDALL
Trees Remembered and Remembering by G. HARRIS COLLINGWOOD
Questions and Answers About Trees by W. W. BERGOFFEN

Trees And Homes - Every Tree for Its Use
Trees For The Country Home by W. H. LARRIMER
City Trees, IRVING C. ROOT by CHARLES C. ROBINSON
Shade Trees for the Northeast by ALMA M. WATERMAN, R. U. SWINGLE, CLAYTON S. MOSES
Shade Trees for the Southeast by RALPH M. LINDGREN, R. P. TRUE, E. RICHARD TOOLE
Shade Trees for the Plains by ERNEST WRIGHT, T. W. BRETZ
Shade Trees for the Rockies by LAKE S. GILL
Shade Trees for California by W. W. WAGENER
Shade Trees for the North Pacific Area by T. W. CHILDS
Pointers on Planting Trees by T. E. MAKI
Keeping Shade Trees Healthy by CURTIS MAY
Protecting Shade Trees From Insects by R. A. ST. GEORGE