Ronald Lanner's Tree World
 An ancient Great Basin bristlecone pine in California's White Mountains.Photo by David Lanner |
The Bristlecone Book: A Natural History of the World's Oldest Trees"A very few Great Basin bristlecones have green seed cones that appear to be turning purple, and yellow pollen cones with reddish tips. And one 2,500 to 3,000 year-old Great Basin bristlecone in the Schulman Grove has been found to produce white pollen from its red pollen cones." "A common suggestion is that the presence of living bark strips enables old bristlecones to persist by maintaining a balance of water-procuring roots and water-consuming foliage. In other words, sectored architecture slows death by allowing a tree to linger until the last vestige finally gives up the ghost." "And what of those favored few trees that escape their adversaries and persist for millennia? What finally becomes of them? Can they live forever, and if not, what finally kills them?" CONTENTS Preface Chapter 1: Three Cousins Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine Foxtail Pine Origins Chapter 2: What Pines Are Made Of Buds Shoots Needles Seed Cones Pollen Cones Seeds Roots Wood Cambium Earlywood, Latewood, and the Annual Ring Spiral Grain Resin Bark Chapter 3: Living A Long Life The Seedling: Securing a Foothold The Sapling: Reaching for the Sky Maturity: Attaining the Evolutionary Goal Old Age: A Time of Retreat Chapter 4: Shapes and Forms Sectored Architecture Bark Strips Leaning Trunks Twisted Stems Multiple Trunks Colorful Sapwood Asymmetrical Crowns Chapter 5: Threats Global Warming Forest Fires Bark Beetles White Pine Blister Rust Chapter 6: Age and Longevity The Oldest Living -- and Dead -- Bristlecone Pines The Secret of Long Life The Oldest Living Thing? Bibliography Glossary Index ------------------------------------------------------ The Bristlecone Book: A Natural History of the World's Oldest Trees. 2007. Mountain Press Publ. Co. 128 pages. 6X9 in. Paper. $12.00 ISBN 978-0-87842-538-9 ------------------------------------------------------- |
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