Talking Trees

A Blog by John Halkett

Tag: deciduous

Silver birch forest … the paleness of silver birch trunks is an adaptation helping trees that lack the shade of dense foliage to keep trunks cool.

Silver birch and shamanistic pee-drinking stories

March 4, 2021 /

The tree can also be found in several more temperate regions of Australia.

Silver birch (Betula pendula), is native to Europe and parts of Asia, though southern Europe, it is found only at higher altitudes. Its range extends into Siberia, China, and southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. It has been introduced into North America, where it is known as the European white birch. The tree can also be found in several more temperate regions of Australia. In 1988 the Finish people voted silver birch as their national tree.

Silver birch is a medium-sized deciduous… Read more “Silver birch and shamanistic pee-drinking stories”

Siberian larch – boreal forest.
Siberian larch – a dominant species in the vast boreal forests.

When it’s cold the tough get going

July 4, 2020 /

The realm of the Siberian larch.

The largest forested region on the planet is the boreal coniferous tract, which accounts for about a third of the Earth’s total forest cover and dwarfs tropical rainforests. Boreal forests blanket a swathe around the Arctic Circle, across Alaska and into northern Canada. They cover about eight million square kilometres of Siberia alone, where they are known as the taiga. Vast amounts of carbon are lock up there, with so much biomass that worldwide levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen fluctuate markedly in time with northern seasons. This is the realm of … Read more “When it’s cold the tough get going”

El-Alamein Memorial Fountain and plane trees.
Quintessentially King Cross ... El-Alamein Memorial Fountain, London plane trees, and police vehicles.

Famous London plane trees disappearing from Sydney streets

April 3, 2020 /

Living in Sydney’s inner-city suburb of King’s Cross as I do the dominant tree in the neighbourhood is the deciduous London plane tree. With large maple-like leaves and towering height the London plane is a tree of pump and circumstance. The branches begin high up the trunk so that mature trees have a lofty, architectural quality, giving plenty of shade without restricting the view at street level.

Planted throughout London in the nineteenth century to complement the cities imposing squares and thoroughfares, the plane tree was the ideal symbol for the capital of a growing empire.… Read more “Famous London plane trees disappearing from Sydney streets”

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