Jul 28 2008
Bark if You Love Trees
Okay, I admit it, when it comes to nature I am a leftist tree-hugger. Or at least a tree photographer. At one time in my life I considered doing a series of photos of solitary trees. I considered titling it, “green personalities.”
No, trees don’t have personalities. I’m not that far out in left field. But if you bother to look at a number of trees, one at a time, you can see that the form of each will tell us something about both its nature and nurture.
A tree’s nature? Of course. The bark of a New Mexican pinyon pine, as in the photo above, is distinctly different from the long-needle pine tree I have in my backyard here in Florida. They are both quite scale-y (?), but the color and size of those scales differ. Look at the bark of any two species of trees and you will see that they predictably differ. Just as the hide of animals differs, whether it be the armadillo’s and the opossum’s or the canine’s and the human’s. Likewise, the skin of trees differ quite dramatically. If you bother to look.
A tree’s nurture? Sure. Examine the form a tree takes and you just might find traces of history of the sun and rain and wind, etc., it has been exposed to over the years. I’m not an expert on all things arboreal, but each tree I have hugged, at least with my eyes, is as distinct as a snowflake. How interesting!
