The admirable adaptability of trees

Trees also have skin. It is called bark Trees contain much liquid inside, as we do in our bodies A break in the tree bark is as uncomfortable as a wound is for humans Trees shed large amounts of skin cells In Central Europe there are no old growth natural forests where trees can boast a great age Generally in Europe trees are aged around two and three hundred years

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THANK heavens, no synthetic cosmetic industry has become obsessed with keeping trees looking youthful as they are with humans.

But we learn in The Hidden Life of Trees that these earth beings do get 'old' but age gracefully. No Botox, no facials, no makeup. This week we continue from chapter 11 titled Trees aging gracefully which points out that trees also shed their skin cells and that in large trees the 'flakes,' can be seen scattered around the tree roots. A research that captures old age of trees, the book reveals, was conducted by Dr. Zoe Lindo of McGill University of Montreal, studying the Sitka spruce which had done earth time for at least 500 years. One of the discoveries made were large quantities of moss on the branches. Blue green coloured algae, which capture nitrogen from the air and process it as natural fertilizer down the tree trunks, live in this moss.