A World of Majestic Trees

May 16th is Love a Tree Day.

We couldn't do without trees, and we certainly take them for granted, so let's celebrate this wonderful day by going up to any tree - not a bush, plant or thicket - and give it a big hug.

Do you know which species is the tallest, widest and oldest? If not, you soon will. I have come across so many lovely, some weird, some spindly - but they are all worthy of our love. So, put away your axes and chainsaws, from now on they are unwelcome.

And, by the way, all 3 polls have the correct answer fully explained, a few modules below each in turn - - so, don't be disheartened after voting!

Think: tree. - Mr. Miyagi, The Karate Kid

This lens was created on 8 May 2012

A Silly Celebration for a lesser known holiday - not silly to me!

Nature's lungs

My love of trees started when I was just a boy. Like many young boys, a tree was there to be climbed and investigated, and I did just that. From carving names to whittling sticks and making catapults, we did it all.

Later on, it was building tree-houses with old scraps of lumber that gave us hours of pleasure. Or swinging from a majestic branch on a homemade swing.

Now it is nature photography that consumes my interest, so whether it's the tree itself, the millions of tiny creatures that live within it, the fungii, mosses or canker growths, or the subtle and delicate leaves, they all have me in awe.

I LOVE TREES EVERYDAY, NOT JUST ON 16TH MAY.

Hugged for Centuries

Image credit: By OSU Special Collections Archives

"Its arms have withered and fallen, but its mighty heart is still strong , and the sap still flows in its trunk."

The answer to the oldest tree is here...

"A tree is a wonderful living organism which gives shelter, food,

warmth and protection to all living things. It even gives shade to

those who wield an axe to cut it down"

~ Buddha

Did you get the oldest individual tree question above correct?

A bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva)

The photo of the bristlecone pine above shows both live and dead parts, and streaked grain colors on the broad trunk. This pine is located along the Methuselah Trail, Schulman Grove of bristlecones, White Mountains, in California.

Image credit Wikipedia

Old Tjikko - Norway Spruce

Old Tjikko appeared in a stunted shrub formation for thousands of years, because of the harsh environment in which it lives. As the weather started to warm up in the last century, the tree began to sprout into a normal tree formation. Leif Kullman was the man who discovered the tree,and he is in n o doubt that this spurt of growth is because of global warming. He named the tree "Old Tjikko" after his dog.

The visible part of the tree looks young, but it is the root system that is extremely old. When one trunk dies, another will soon grow up in its place.

Pando - Quaking Aspen

Some experts say that the organism is nearer a million years old, however, as there are no rings to count for precision, this has to be a shot in the dark.

Images of Old Tjikko and Pando from Wikipedia

Aspen Trees Near Mcclure Pass

Gunnison National Forest, Colorado, USA

Buy at Art.com

Axel Erlandson (1884-1964), a Swedish American bean farmer had an extraordinary hobby of shaping trees. He pruned the trees, grafted and layered them into various shapes and called them "Circus Trees".

For this example of arborsculpture, named the "Basket Tree", six sycamore trees were planted in a circle, then Erlandson grafted and wove them together as they grew, so creating the diamond patterns.

This form of tree sculpture soon became an attraction, and it wasn't long before Erlandson contacted Robert Ripley of "Ripley's Believe it or Not! to request a listing in the magazine. Visits increased, putting the Tree Circus firmly on the tourist map.

In 1985, the trees were moved to Gilroy Gardens in California.

More about the pioneers of arborsculpture.

Photo credit: jpeepz, Flickr

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone,

but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars."

~ Martin Luther

Forest of Beech Trees, c.1903

Gustav Klimt

Buy at Art.com

Tannenwald (Pine Forest), 1902

Gustav Klimt

Buy at Art.com

The Tree of Life, Stoclet Frieze, c.1909

Gustav Klimt

Buy at Art.com

I have photographed this particular tree so many times, and in all seasons. But there is something virginal about this winter scene, or for that matter, almost any photographic subject covered in a white pristine veil of ice or snow.

Photo by Rob Hemphill

Photo: © 2011 Rob Hemphill

There is something so wonderful when nature offers it's array of fall colors, some greens, some reds, some yellows and some browns. Once you've set your eyes on an afforested mountain view at this time of year, you'll never forget it.

This photo was taken in the Blue Ridge mountains of western North Carolina.

This little saying came from Ronald Reagan when he was California Governor.

A Koala Bear Hugs a Tree

While Her Baby Clings to Her Back

Buy at Art.com

'Up a gum tree' has a number of meanings. The one used most often is 'in great difficulties'. Some of the other meanings that come to mind are 'with great speed' and 'in a state of contentment'.

Origin

The original phrase was 'like a possum up a gum tree'. This alluded to possums escaping up trees having been chased by hounds. So, perhaps the possum could be said to be in difficulty as it couldn't escape, OR relaxing contentedly because the hounds weren't able to catch it. Whichever way you look at the situation, the creature would have probably shown its turn of speed, as it rushed up the tree in the first place.

The gum tree is also known as the Eucalyptus in Australia, and the Black Gum in North America.

The saying 'up a gum tree' is normally thought to be Australian. Eric Partridge, a noted etymologists states it like this, "that may be so, it certainly sounds Australian, but the earliest citation of it in print I can find is from the USA, in a 1829 edition of American Speech is...

"Dere's possum up de gum tree."

Dreaming Tree Red

Buy at Art.com

The purpose of bonsai is all about contemplation for the viewer, provided by the grower, who has excercised his effort and ingenuity in the production. It was never intended for anything other than pleasure, it is of no food value, neither is it used for medicinal purposes.

Waiting for a hug

I couldn't resist taking this photo in a good friend's garden - it makes one smile.

The answer to the tallest tree is here...

Photo: © 2010 Rob Hemphill

On a visit to Washington D.C., while walking through the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, we came across this amazing piece of art. It's a tree made entirely from stainless steel, weighing in at a hefty 16,000 pounds (8 tons, US).

The location provides a peaceful, outdoor setting for exhibiting several pieces of contemporary sculpture from the Museum's collection. The Sculpture Garden balances art and nature within an urban setting, only half a mile from the US Capitol.

It's hard not to Love this Tree!

Roxy Paine is an American sculptor who created Graft as part of a series of "Dendroids" - tree-like sculptures - some of which also appear in the following locations:

• New York - On the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Seattle - in the Olympic Sculpture Park
• Fort Worth, Texas - outside the Museum of Modern Art

Read more about "Graft" here...

The tallest tree on Earth

Photo credit: Humpalumpa, Flickr

Measuring trees has often been unreliable, but since laser rangefinders have been around, more accurate readings have been achieved. In the past, results of tree heights had frequently been over estimated due to inaccurate readings. Saying that, there are several gigantic trees in redwood forests, many of which are in the tallest range.

Common names of Sequoia sempervirens include Coast Redwood, California Redwood, and Giant Redwood. As an evergreen tree, this species can live between 1200 and 1800 years or even more.

General Sherman stands at a height of 83.8 metres (275 ft), and a diameter of 7.7 metres (25 ft). The estimated net weight of this magnificent specimen is 2,100 tons. Unfortunately, these redwoods are very valuable as lumber, and that's why so many have been destroyed by loggers, from these ancient forests.

What used to be the tallest tree species

Historic records show that the Mountain Ash or Blue Gum species in Australia (1872) was said to have been in the region of 350-500ft tall - but remember what I said about old forms of measurement earlier! Read more here...

Composite of the World's Tallest Tree

This photo was taken in the Blue Ridge mountains in the eastern part of North Carolina.

Four Trees, 1917

Egon Schiele

Buy at Art.com

Mulberry Tree, c.1889

Vincent Van Gogh

Buy at Art.com

My wide tree at home!

A misty morning in Ireland - no really wide trees here!

The answer to the widest tree is here...

African Baobab Tree

Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

Buy at Art.com

Baobabs (Andansonia Grandidieri )

Morondova, Southern Madagascar

Buy at Art.com

...for better health and wellbeing!

Believe it or not, tree hugging after all, does have some scientific validity. Yes, touching trees can make you healthier, and you don't have to touch the tree to get the effect, just be in its vicinity.

In this recently published book, Blinded by Science, Matthew Silverstone conducted numerous scientific tests on how trees improve various health issues, such as mental illness, depression, headaches, concentration levels and reaction times, as well as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Blinded by Science

Countless studies have shown that children show significant psychological and physiological effects in terms of their health and well-being when they interact with plants. They demonstrate that children function better cognitively and emotionally in green environments and have more creative play in green areas.

Quote and image from Planetsave

Read more at the Blinded by Science website.

Yes, this is ONE tree!

When I first saw this tree, I thought it was a forest of trees, but no, this 250 year old Great Banyan is just one tree, and it's located in Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah in India.

In terms of width, the canopy occupies an area of around 14,500 square metres (4 acres or 1.5 hectares), with a circumference of about 1 kilometre.

Little is known about the history of the tree. In 1884 and 1886, two large cyclones damaged it, by breaking off a few of its main branches which exposed the tree to a hard fungus attack.

The main trunk of the tree became diseased, and was excised in 1925, to allow the existing growth to remain healthy. The tree continues to spread, and today it has over 3,300 aerial roots which reach down to the ground.

Both images by Biswarup Ganguly (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

This extraordinary tree, called The Tree of Tule is growing in church grounds in a small village in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is renowned for having the stoutest trunk of any tree in the world, with a circumference of 119 ft (36.2 m). This gives it a diameter of around 38.1 ft (11.62 m). In 1982, the trunk diameter was 37.5 ft, so it has grown considerably since then.

The age of the tree is not known, but estimates have been put at anything between 1,200 and 3,000 years. The Giant Sequoia comes in next in size with a 29.5 ft (8.98 m) diameter trunk.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Oak Tree, Sunset City, California, 1932

Buy at Art.com

Brighten up your computer desktop with this wallpaper, available from

www.fabuloussavers.com

Just think how much wildlife there would be in a tree like this. If you were a bug, wouldn't you want a home like this?