HAVE EVER EATEN A TREE?
Where everyone is starving, survival experts find food; often people are simply unaware of the rich abundance of food sources around them. To survive where others fail, you must constantly observe and learn, be willing to try new things and get rid of food prejudices.
In the article, I showed how easy it is to extract food from the rich natural resources, if you have knowledge of the local flora and fauna and show a little observation. If you don't resist any edible food that comes your way, you will find more food than you can actually eat.
One of the products featured in this article are needles (pines that grow in xUSSR are just as good), which are very rich in vitamin C, which is necessary to maintain high viability of the organism in the wild. The use of pine needles or tea tincture from needles is an excellent preventive and curative remedy for scurvy, which can be caused by a lack of vitamin C in the diet. However, thousands of people died from scurvy, literally surrounded by a pine forest. This illustrates the fact that knowledge and the ability to apply it is the most important key to survival.
Next, we will talk about another nutrient part of Eastern White Pine, which is quite easy to extract in large quantities, and so on. provide yourself and your comrades with a substantial supply of food for long time. Let's talk about the inner core.
You would probably think that the inner bark of pine trees can be quite well adapted for food, regardless of the real need for it. However, damaging these beautiful trees is strongly discouraged unless you are in an extreme survival situation.
HOW TO IDENTIFY ORIENTAL WHITE PINE
The Eastern White Pine is the tallest tree in eastern North America, growing up to 70 meters tall and 2.5 meters wide at the base. These huge old trees can live up to 500 years, although many of the giants have been cut down for lumber in years past. Trees half a meter thick and about 30 meters high are now quite common in many places.
Eastern White Pine grows in the northeastern regions of North America. If you live elsewhere, don't despair; in many other types of trees, the bark is also edible and the basic principles of collection and preparation do not change.
Eastern White Pine has needles in bunches of 5, about 7 to 12 cm long. The bark and buds are very resinous, this sticky substance can be used in a variety of ways, including making glue.
The bark of young trees is thin, gray-greenish in color, it simply peels off. The larger the tree grows, the thicker and rougher the bark becomes, taking on a reddish-brown hue.
Native Americans ate bark
The inner bark of pines and other trees was integral part nutritional diet of Native Americans (Indians). Early explorers of North America found entire acres bare at the base of trees, the bark of which was used for food by the locals.
Easily available in large quantities throughout the code, well conserved and highly nutritious, tree bark has been (absolutely authentic and documented) an essential part of the food chain for at least one known tribe, the Adirondack. The very name "Adirondacks", a tribe in the mountains of upstate New York, means "bark eaters" in the language (a hostile group of Indian tribes), who constantly fought with the Adirondacks and derogatoryly called them "bark eaters".
BARK PREPARATION
In the picture, you can see that the pine cut consists of many layers. The rough outer layer and main body of the tree is used as wood and is not edible (living) material. The edible part of the bark is the so-called. the "inner bark" or "phloem" carries nutrients from the needles and roots through the entire tree.
1 - Outer cork layer.
2 - Inner bark, "phloem", bast layer. The bast layer serves as a conductor of juices that nourish the tree.
3 - Cambium - thin layer living cells located between bark and wood. Only from the cambium does the formation of new cells and the annual growth of the tree in thickness take place. "Cambium" - from the Latin "exchange" (nutrients).4 - Sapwood - a layer of living wood located around the core.
5 - Core.
To collect edible bark for food, you will need a freshly cut tree. As soon as the tree is cut down or felled to the ground, the countdown begins; if you wait many days, then the bark will be almost impossible to separate from the rest. However, on a fresh tree, the bark is very easily removed in large slippery sheets.
Just cut a strip through all the layers of bark until you feel the wood. Then, using the edge of a tool (such as a tomahawk), separate the bark from the rest of the tree. You now have a leaf that has the outer and inner white bark of the tree. This is a slippery and sticky procedure, so be careful and have fun!
The larger the tree, the thicker the inner and outer bark. At the base of such a large tree as in the picture, the inner bark is a good half a centimeter thick, which is more than forty kilograms of bark from a tree.
The most delicious and edible parts of the inner bark are those that are closest to the tough woody part of the tree and, accordingly, are farthest from the outer bark. Such pieces of bark are almost sweet in taste. Those parts of the inner layer that are closest to the main outer cortex have a viscous, "rubber" property.
For this reason, I like to cut a sheet of inner bark in half and remove the less suitable areas. In this drawing, I'm using a sharp knife to separate the tastiest portions of the inner crust from the rest of the coarser portion that remains attached to the outer layer of bark.
COOKING THE BARK FOR FOOD
Raw white pine bark is too fibrous. You can chew it until your jaw hurts and the bark turns into a large spherical mass. However, if you fry the bark to a crisp, it becomes like chips and acquires a pleasant taste.
Some writers claim that it is possible to cut pine bark into strips and boil them like spaghetti until they are soft. I spent several hours on this preparation, but did not achieve a good result. Apparently, writers never got off their chairs to try out their methods in practice.
In this picture you can see how I prepare the inner bark over using several methods. The first, and my favorite, is roasting the bark in olive oil until golden in a cast iron skillet. It's very similar to cooking bacon slices. Of course, you can use any other oil you have on hand.
This is how ready-to-eat chips made from fresh bark look like. True, I got a little carried away while taking photos, so the chips turned out a little dark.
I can easily eat a decent handful of these crunchy chips as a snack and they make a great addition to any wilderness survival meal. Relying on taste, one can reliably determine the sugar and starch content of this food, but perhaps the bast layer contains much more nutrients, since it is a conductor of juices that nourish the entire tree.
Another great way preparation of the bark (especially as a blank for long-term storage) - dry firing. Here you can see that I have placed a flat stone on top of the hearth. Such a device can be used instead of a frying pan. Once the bark is golden brown, it can be ground into flour and used as an admixture for main flour or as a thickener for soup.
The most delicious way to prepare the bark that I have tried is to chop it as thinly as possible before roasting it at the stake. Then the bark turns out to be especially crispy, although it requires a lot of effort to cook.
FOOD FROM WOOD
The Adirondacks knew what they were getting into when they harvested the inner bark of the Eastern White Pine as a valuable food resource. Easily accessible in in large numbers, tasty and nutritious, the inner bark of a pine tree may well save your life in an emergency.
Turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo) is a large bird from the order of galliformes, the pheasant family, and the genus of turkeys. The name of the male is turkey, the name of the chicks is turkey poults.
Turkey (turkey) - description and characteristics. What does a turkey and a turkey look like?
Turkeys have a streamlined body with long, powerful legs that enable them to run at speeds up to 50 km/h. A small head with a strong medium-sized beak is movably attached to a rather long neck. A characteristic feature of turkeys is the partial or complete absence of feathers on the head and neck. The rest of the body is covered with large flight feathers, tail feathers, as well as small covering feathers. In total there are about 6000 pieces. The turkey weighs 11 - 13 kg, and the weight of the female turkey does not exceed 5.5 - 6 kg. The small wings of a turkey allow birds to fly up to 150 m. The size of a turkey is, of course, larger than that of a turkey: the length of the male is 100-110 cm, the length of the female is 85 cm.
In the wild, the life expectancy of birds does not exceed 3 years; in captivity, some individuals live up to 12 years.
The ability to correctly determine the sex of poultry is a skill that every livestock breeder needs.
You can determine the sex of daily turkey poults by the length of the feathers. The wings of males have even feathers of the same length along the edges. The method is relevant only for the first few days after birth, as the chicks grow, the feathers even out in both sexes.
Obvious external sex differences in turkeys appear at the age of 2 months. Males are larger and have more weight than females. The head of the turkey is not feathered; the head of the turkey is covered with a light fluff.
The nasal process of males is quite large and elastic, with age this feature becomes more pronounced. The fleshy, warty growths of males often grow far beyond the sternum. Before mating, the nasal growths of males are filled with blood and become larger, the tail feathers stand upright and open like a fan. With the tops of its wings, the turkey outlines the ground in a circle, while making bubbling sounds.
The chest of males has a thick, coarse plumage, there are always tassels between the goiter and the sternum. In females, feathers are rarer and softer. The presence of sharp spurs indicates that the individual belongs to the male sex; in females, as a rule, spurs are absent.
The comb of a turkey is small and faded; turkeys are distinguished by a more pronounced, shiny comb of a bright, saturated color.
As the bird grows, the tail of males becomes more magnificent than that of females, and is distinguished by even, dense plumage.
Turkey on the left, Turkey on the right
At the age of 5 months, an unmistakable sign of gender is a special gland on the neck, characteristic only for males. When probing, it feels like a small, dense wart.
American farmers use a non-standard, but excellent method for determining the sex of a turkey, based on a visual study of the amount and shape of bird droppings. Turkey droppings are similar to chicken: plentiful and lie down in a slide. The litter of the male is quite dense and there are not so many of them.
Behavioral analysis is relevant in determining the sex of a grown turkey: females are more social, gather in groups and, surprisingly, much more aggressive than males. Turkeys keep to themselves and behave calmly.
Types of turkeys and turkeys (turkeys)
The appearance of a turkey depends on the species. IN wild nature two species live:
- Common turkey;
- Eyed turkey.
Common wild turkey - male
Common turkey - description and appearance
The neck of the turkey is covered with pimples and has the ability to swell, and the wrinkled scalp, which, like the neck, is bluish in color, forms a kind of red outgrowth. He is like a trunk hanging over the beak of a turkey. In turkeys, leathery folds are less pronounced and do not swell, and instead of a proboscis, they are owners of a leathery horn in the beak area. Unfeathered areas of the skin have a dull red tint. The feather cover of male turkeys is black, with a barely noticeable green or bronze tint, and a characteristic “beard” of thin long feathers grows on the chest. In the tail, light and dark fringing is usually clearly visible. The female turkey has a lighter color.
Ocellated turkey - description and appearance
Male and female eyed turkeys wear the same "decorations" and the unfeathered areas of the body are blue. The "warts" that cover the neck are bright yellow and look a bit like grains of corn. In birds of both sexes, a small "horn" grows above the nose. The color of the feathers on the chest and back varies, giving the impression of scales with a metallic tint, and the tail fan is rippled with a silvery sheen.
From an ordinary turkey, many domestic subspecies were bred by selection, among which the most famous breeds are:
- cambridge bronze broad-breasted turkey;
- black Spanish (Black Norfolk) turkey;
- white dutch turkey;
- Moscow white turkey;
- bourbon red turkey, etc.
Where does the turkey (turkey) live?
This bird is native to North America. Turkeys and turkeys were brought to the Old World by Spanish sailors in the 16th century. The natural habitat of wild species of turkeys is not only lowland and mountain forests, but also swamps. The distribution range of the eyed turkey extends from southern Mexico to Central America. The common species is distributed in both Mexico and Canada. Turkeys live in small flocks, rarely exceeding 20 individuals. They are active during daylight hours, climbing trees to spend the night at dusk.
What do turkeys (turkeys) eat? What to feed turkeys?
The diet of turkeys and turkeys includes mainly plant foods: cereals (wheat, oats, barley, corn, bran, bone meal), nuts, acorns, pine seeds, bush berries, rhizomes, green onions, carrots, garlic, herbal flour, clover . It is the main food for turkeys. As a protein supplement, they eagerly consume small lizards, frogs, mice, worms, as well as various insects (beetles, caterpillars, insect pupae). Birds swallow food whole, without chewing.
Turkey - breeding
The nesting period, which begins in mid-spring, is preceded by mating games between turkeys and turkeys, often ending in violent fights between males. To attract the female, the turkey makes loud bubbling and gurgling sounds. In addition, he effectively throws his head back and lowers his wings low.
In the nest, equipped in a hidden dry place, the turkey lays up to 15 eggs, which she incubates and guards.
Turkey poults can leave the nest 2 days after hatching, and after 2 weeks the young offspring easily flies up to spend the night on tree branches.
Wild turkey is a rarity in zoos.
- To digest food, turkeys specifically swallow small pebbles.
- The digestive system of turkeys is so strong that even metal can be digested.
- The turkey could have adorned the coat of arms of the United States, but it was replaced by the current symbol - the bald eagle.
- In England, the turkey was known under the name "Turkish bird" because it was brought to the United Kingdom from Turkey.
Most of us have seen these poultry more than once, but hardly thought about their biological classification. We believe that knowing more about these creatures will be more interesting than continuing to perceive them as a normal part of our lives. So, the topic of our article is Domestic bird from the order of chickens.
Since this detachment has many dozens of species, and it would be inappropriate for us to consider each, we will get acquainted with the features of only those that we have to meet in our latitudes and in households. Let's dwell on a few of the most common poultry.
General description of the squad
The order of galliformes is numerous. It consists of several families, which, in turn, combine more than two hundred species. Chicken representatives are:
- Guinea fowl.
- Pheasants.
- Turkeys.
- Bigfoot (otherwise - weed chickens).
- Tree chickens.
- Black grouse.
As well as other species living all over the Earth, in a variety of natural conditions.
Representatives of these species are not very large or small in size. from the chicken order, almost all of medium size.
The appearance of birds was formed depending on the habitat (more specifically, the surface of the earth and the totality of natural conditions on it). Since they are the prey of many predators, the color is often intended to mask the bird. They are distinguished by a small head, a dense body structure, a short neck, a small but strong beak. It is the main tool for obtaining food. It is seeds and vegetation.
Thanks to their wide and short wings, chickens can take off quickly, but noisily, in high tension. The legs of the representatives of the entire order of chickens are very strong.
These species are afraid of people and animals that hunt them. These birds breed successfully.
Galliformes cannot fly long distances. Only quail is an exception to the rule, being capable of a longer flight. But they have adapted to move well on the surface.
They are characterized by a bright variety of feather colors. Females are smaller and more attractive than males. True, the latter characteristic is not inherent in all species. For example, male peacocks are more elaborately feathered, as are domestic roosters.
Galliformes are found on almost all continents. Next, we consider separately the species from the family of the chick order. We saw almost every bird, but knew very little about it.
More about the turkey family
The Americans domesticated the turkey. In Europe, she ended up at the beginning of the 16th century thanks to sailors. A distinctive feature of the turkey is its large size. The male is always larger than the female. The turkey is sometimes misclassified as separate view, However, it is not. An adult turkey can weigh 30 kg, females weigh less (5-10 kg).
There are turkeys living in the wild (North and Central America).
The turkey attracts females with a bright beard, a skin process above the beak, and earrings on the sides. The head is covered with red outgrowths (warts).
Turkeys come in several colors: white, gray with tints, black with white stains. When a turkey leks, its fan-shaped tail unfurls, its wings drop and drag along the ground. He himself makes a loud "cooing".
Features of peacocks
This bird is distinguished by plumage: it fascinates everyone with its fabulous beauty. Most often, peacocks are found in India and Sri Lanka. There is a crested peacock bird, Indochinese green peacocks, etc.
The plumage can be green, white, blue and sand-red shades. Peacocks are very agile, moving quickly through tropical forests. They have long been tamed and kept as decoration in zoos and yards.
Tail feathers are especially beautiful. They decorate the interior and costumes. The tail of a peacock in loose form can reach 1.5-2 meters. The head of a peacock is decorated with a bright crest - just like a crown. Peacock feathers with a characteristic pattern in the form of an "eye".
About pheasants
The pheasant is a poultry from the order of chickens, related to the cross-country. They quickly run away from danger and hide in the bushes. Pheasants are bright and have a long tail.
The female is less attractive, and her tail is shorter, has a dull brown spotted color. Feet of a pheasant with spurs. An adult weighs up to two kilograms. The pheasant lives in the reeds near the rivers, in the bushes near the forests. Males often fight among themselves because of females.
domestic guinea fowl
Most often, guinea fowl are found in Africa. Both the female and the male have the same coloration. These birds are domesticated but can also be found in the wild. Guinea fowls have a gray speckled color.
They are distinguished by their short legs and tail. African guinea fowl are very famous. In size they reach the size of chickens. The domestic guinea fowl has a dark gray plumage with white and black spots. In case of danger, these birds run away or hide in trees.
bigfoot family
Bigfoot are found in Australia and the Philippines. They do not incubate eggs, but bury them in the soil, where they warm up under sunlight and warmth. These birds live in tropical forests. They can fly up and sit on trees.
Bigfoots are larger birds that look a bit like turkeys. They got their name because of their large and strong legs with powerful claws.
There are several types of Bolshenogov: artisanal turkey, eye chicken, maleo, jungle chicken, etc.
Quail Features
This species is the smallest migrant chicken squad. Its weight can reach only 150 g. It can be recognized by its spotted brown back. The neck and chest of quails are red, and the female is also motley.
This bird species is found in Africa, Asia, Europe. It can live in mountainous and flat conditions. Wintering spends in the southern countries. Quail offspring incubate for 17 days. They feed on buds, seeds, and insects. To get food, the quail willingly and regularly rummages in the ground. Due to the harmful influence of man on nature, the number of quails has sharply decreased. Now it is rare to hunt these birds.
Domestic quail can talk, uttering a kind of singing. Quail eggs are famous for their special properties. For this purpose, birds are bred in cages in large populations. The noise in the room with cages is extremely strong - with their cry, quails fill the space almost all the time, except at night when they sleep.
conclusions
We have finished considering species in the article that can be generally called chicken-like. More specifically, we focused on those that include poultry from the chicken order. The conclusions about it as a whole are as follows: these are mainly individuals of medium size, with powerful legs, flying only over short distances. The only exception is the noisy and prolific quail.
You can meet chickens all over the Earth, except for Antarctica, of course. They perfectly adapt to various conditions and at the same time are prolific. Together, these factors give a greater survivability to the squad.
Excellent peacocks, modestly feathered weed hens, pheasants, common hens - these are just a small part of the hen species that we met. You can see firsthand how different nature made them. A person uses chickens not only as a domestic meat bird, but also as a decoration for a personal plot. Often in zoos you can see how a luxurious bird calmly walks on the lawn. A peacock or a pheasant will please the eye of every visitor.
Turkey meat is tender, juicy and tasty. This is an extremely healthy dietary meat. Turkey meat is sold fresh and frozen. Adults can reach a weight of up to 35 kilograms, but they eat the meat of young turkeys under the age of 16 weeks, while the carcass weight reaches 10 kilograms.
Turkey thigh and drumstick are classified as red meat. The protein myoglobin, which contains oxygen in muscle tissues, is responsible for the color of the meat. The more myoglobin, the darker the meat. The amount of this protein depends on the load on the muscles, which is why the meat of the thigh and lower leg is red, since there is more load on the muscles. Turkey breast and wings are classified as white meat.
Turkey meat contains a very small amount of fat, in addition, it has little cholesterol, only 74 milligrams per 100 grams of meat. Turkey meat contains the amino acids necessary for our body, which provide the body with energy. Phosphorus, the source of which is turkey meat, is necessary for the normal development of bones and teeth.
In modern poultry farming, the production of turkey meat ranks second after broiler chickens. The United States is the world leader in turkey production. On average, each resident of the United States consumes 7 kilograms of turkey meat per year.
Turkey flavor
White turkey meat (breast, wings) has a delicate, slightly sweet taste, but slightly dry, as it contains almost no fat. Red meat (thigh, drumstick) is also delicate in taste, but less dry.
The combination of turkey with other products
Turkey meat goes well with vegetables, cereals, pasta. Turkey goes well with mushrooms and liver.
The use of turkey in cooking
Sausages, sausages, dumplings are made from turkey meat. Cutlets, fillings for pies are made from turkey meat. In the UK, a turkey is stuffed with chestnuts, mushrooms, redcurrant and gooseberry jelly. In Italy, turkey is stuffed with oranges.
Features of cooking turkey
Turkey meat can be fried, stewed, boiled, baked, steamed.
Turkey storage
Fresh turkey should be refrigerated (not frozen) and cooked within 2 days. If within two days the turkey has not been used for cooking, then it must be frozen. Keep in mind that a home-frozen turkey can go bad faster than one that has been frozen by a turkey meat manufacturer.
The shelf life of a turkey frozen by the manufacturer is 1 year, subject to storage conditions. Thawing and re-freezing is not allowed.
Traditional role in dishes
Main course of turkey meat, base for broths
Permissible Substitutions
Turkey meat can be replaced with the meat of another bird: chicken, goose, duck, pheasant, even an ostrich. Note that ostrich meat is also low in cholesterol.
The history of the origin of the turkey
The turkey came to us from North America. As early as the beginning of the first millennium AD, the Indians began to domesticate these large birds with beautiful iridescent plumage. These birds began to play a big role in the daily life and economy of the Indian tribes; the tender meat of these birds was their favorite dish. Aliens who arrived from Europe dubbed these birds turkeys. Turkey meat has also become a favorite dish of the settlers and a traditional Thanksgiving dish.
Several of these birds were brought to Europe, and by the beginning of the 16th century, turkeys were already grown in France, Italy, and England.
Influence on the human body, beneficial substances
Turkey meat is very low in cholesterol, only 74 mg per 100 grams. Due to the low content of insoluble fats, turkey meat is easily absorbed by the body, and turkey meat proteins are absorbed by 95%. Therefore, turkey meat gives a quick feeling of fullness.
Turkey meat, although low in calories, is very nutritious. Turkey meat holds the record for iron content: 2.24 grams per 100 grams of meat, and iron from turkey meat is very easily absorbed. In addition, this meat contains selenium, magnesium, potassium, vitamins: PP, B6, B12, B2. B, and phosphorus - the same as in fish.
Interesting Turkey Facts
The record weight of a baked turkey is 39.09 kilograms. This dish was prepared on December 12, 1989.
How many turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving?
Nearly one turkey for every person in the United States is raised each year for Thanksgiving.
Part I. Trees with a peculiar structure
1. Variety of barrels
The tree trunk is usually cylindrical; it connects the crown to the roots in the soil. Such a trunk, long or short, thick or thin, is usually covered with bark, and sometimes branches extend from it here and there. However, in the Kunstkamera of bizarre trees, there is no place for trunks with these familiar properties. Look here:
1. Some trees are devoid of bark, others are trying their best to get rid of the bark that they have.
2. Some trunks are not smooth cylinders, but look like bundles of organ pipes, while others resemble a bunch of logs placed vertically.
3. Some trees have dozens of competing trunks.
4. Some trunks are hollow inside, and their outer layers of wood are pierced with holes the size of a fist. Definitely for better ventilation!
5. There is a tree that, when the bark is out of season, pours it down the trunk like pancake dough, and at the foot of the tree a kind of large puddle forms, sometimes reaching three meters in diameter.
6. Usually tree bark available in brown, gray or black. However, in the forests of the Earth you can find many curious exceptions to this rule.
7. Some trees don't have branches. Their leaves grow directly on the trunk. Most often, the trunks of such trees are in several girths, and therefore they are called "thick-bodied".
Here are some details about these originals.
tree strippers
On the west coast of the United States, ragged eucalyptus trees (mostly imported from Australia) have long been a common sight. They constantly throw off pieces of bark from themselves, as if they are uncomfortable in it, like a schoolboy throwing off his jacket, chasing a soccer ball.
Another Australian immigrant, the cajuput tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia), exposes rags of its bark to all four winds, but is unable to shed it itself. Many of his relatives were nicknamed "paper bark" by the Australians for this slovenly habit. Related myrtle trees, including guava (Psidium guajava) and some species of Eugenia, as well as "mourning myrtle" (Lagerstroemia subcostata, a non-myrtle family), colubrina (Colubrina), plane tree (Platanus occidentalis) and dozens of other trees they shed the bark in separate pieces, often exposing wood of surprisingly beautiful colors. In Zambia, two very different trees (Albizzia tanganyicensis and Commiphora marlothii) shed their bark in wide transparent strips.
All these "strippers" seem to want to undress at all costs. But if they hoped new layer bark will never grow again, the vast majority of them were bitterly disappointed.
Some trees lose their bark against their will - cork oak (Querqus suber), kenaf (Hibiscus), which gives a particularly strong fiber, and baobab (Adansonia digitata). For utilitarian reasons, people often completely peel off the trunks of the baobab, cutting off the hard bark and removing the inner bast layer in wide layers, from which an extremely strong fiber is obtained. "It is not uncommon for relatively young trees to be treated in this way, but their bark appears to have certain regenerative properties, as does the bark of the cork oak," writes J. Dolziel.
There are many trees that do not have permanent bark at all. An example is Bombax ellipticum, which is widespread in southern Florida. True, its trunk is covered with green skin, but there is no bark on it.
Trees - organ pipes
Trees of some families living in tropical rain forests have trunks that look like organ pipes, and so far no one has been able to explain the reason for this feature. Reports from botanists who have explored tropical forests in many areas of the Old World suggest that such corrugated tree trunks are a fairly common occurrence. Attention is drawn to the fact that in tropical rainforests, in addition, buttresses (plank-like roots) are often observed. Perhaps such corrugation is rudimentary buttresses?
The Tahitian chestnut (Inocarpus edulis), commonly referred to as "mape" in the South Sea islands, develops massive roots in New Guinea and the Polynesian islands, but not in Malaya. But everywhere the corrugation of its trunk is so strong that it takes on the resemblance to a giant bunch of vines.
In Guyana and in Southern Venezuela, this corrugation of tree trunks reaches an extremely fantastic form in two different families. Aspidosperma trees grow in this area (of the kutrov family), in which the trunk is “almost half divided into many unequal board-like parts, sometimes no thicker than two or three centimeters.” L. Hohenkerk says that the yaruru, or “oar tree” (A. excelsum), which grows everywhere in the forests of British Guiana, has a fifteen-meter deep corrugated trunk, “as if composed of vertical boards, fanned out around a common center. Local residents make oars and handles for agricultural implements from their rib part, and the core of large specimens is used as millstones.
J. Lindley and T. Moore report that the trunk of such a tree consists of "solid long blades, which the Indians use as finished boards."
Bundle Trees
Why not all trees are satisfied with a single trunk is difficult to understand - after all, as a rule, one trunk is enough to support all the leaves, flowers and fruits of a tree. However, some trees have dozens of trunks, just as many cornstalks grow from one nest. A typical example is Barringtonia spicata in the forests of Malaya. In Central Africa, the small caramba tree (Sesamothamnus lugardii) has several trunks, all growing from the same broad base. All of them are belly like baobabs. Their red-green bark is peeling with thin chips, and the branches are dotted with thick short spines. Fragrant white flowers with a long tube appear when the leaves fall.
Old yews (Taxus baccata) in England tend to develop multiple trunks. The age of such trees cannot be determined due to the fact that new trunks completely grow together with old ones and it is impossible to count annual rings.
Ernest Wilson, in China, Home of Gardens, mentions that the beech (Fagus engleriana) in this country "always has many trunks."
Ventilated columns
Adina trees growing in Malaya are most appropriately called "loopholes". E. Korner describes them like this:
“Large forest trees, whose trunks are covered with deep furrows, turning into oblong holes or crevices, so that the trunk takes on a resemblance to a wicker or trunk of a strangler ficus.
We mention these trees, which are not found anywhere in large numbers, because of the peculiarity of their trunks ... How they develop is not yet clear. The trunk of a young plant is soon covered with vertical furrows. As the tree grows, the furrows deepen. When the core of old trees disappears and the trunk becomes hollow, it is something like a narrow wooden tower or a cylindrical shell with loopholes. G. Ridley describes a very curious large tree in Tapah - with a hollow openwork trunk about 25 m high and so wide that one or two people could easily fit inside. The holes were small - a fist had just passed through them.
Meraga (A. rubescens), a tree with a flat crown, reaching a height of 30 m, grows in the lowlands of Malaya. F. Foxworthy reports about him: "Extremely peculiar structure of the stem with a large number of holes, giving the impression of delicacy." Ridley adds: “From 40 to 60 cm across, remarkable for fairly deep perforations of various sizes; yellow heartwood; solid wood, excellent construction material, but due to the many recesses in the trunk, it can be difficult to get good logs. But they are reported not to rot in the ground until 20-30 years.”
Some trees in Guiana and northern Brazil have the same perforated trunks. "Mosquito tree" is a translation of the Indian name "kaparanauba", which is a small tree growing in the marshes of the Amazon Valley (Aspidosperma aqaaticum), "because the damp niches in its butt serve as a shelter for mosquitoes". Two other species, A. nitidum and A. kuhlmannii, are distinguished by the same perforated trunks (the second is also called the "mosquito tree").
sagging bark
The Australian smooth-barked apple tree (Angophora lanceolata) is not really an apple tree at all and does not bear edible fruit, but its bark is indeed smooth and even slippery enough that it does not seem to be easy to hold in place. Most Australian reference books do not mention the peculiarity of this tree, but G. Oakman describes it this way: “The base of the tree expands from time to time and spreads along the ground, creating a very unusual effect - it seems as if the trunk has softened and a donkey.”
In a letter, G. Oakman adds: “These trees grow mainly in the vicinity of Sydney on the sandstones of Hawkesbury, where you can see several hundred trees with an expanded base ... usually in thickets and on stone placers ... A. Ianceolata, by the way, - a magnificent tree and ranks among the most picturesque plants in Sydney: its giant columnar trunk begins to branch at a height of more than 12 meters, and the branches, as a rule, bend in the most bizarre way, enhancing the overall impression. Individual specimens sometimes begin to bloom violently, and then the entire crown is covered with pale yellow flowers.
A similar phenomenon is observed, moreover, in the Argentine ombu, whose base seems to be filled with concrete, and in the Colorado poplar (Populus deltoides), which looks like it has gout.
On the trunk of another North American tree, the false Lawson cypress (Chamaecyparts lawsoniana), the bark, aging, sometimes takes the form of melted and then solidified granite.
Bark of unexpected shades
Most of us think that tree bark is only brown, gray, or black, with slight variations in hue. However, the beautiful paper birch (Betula papyriera) with chalky bark grows almost everywhere in the temperate zone of North America, and it is not surprising that other trees have white bark.
In Australia, flooded eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus grandis), so called because they often grow in dry riverbeds and do not suffer from periodic exposure to water during the rainy season, are a striking example of this. their trunks - beautiful clean white color- effectively stand out against the background of green thickets.
Of particular interest is the white-barked Chinese pine (Pinus bungeana). Botanist F. Meyer photographed in Yantai "the most magnificent specimen", which he had never seen before. The circumference of the trunk at a height of 1.8 m above the ground was 4.8 m; Meyer determined the age of this tree at 1500-1600 years, although the Chinese assured him that it was much older. “I have not yet seen a tree that could match the serene majesty of this pine,” Meyer wrote in 1907. This tree, in addition, is often called “lace pine”. Usually it branches from the base and has a spherical crown.
Of course, the possible colors of the bark are not limited to this. A. Enuin reports that the bark of the African dwarf iron tree (Lophira alata) is bright orange, but quickly turns brown when exposed to sunlight. The same author says that Cordia millenii in Nigeria has a light bark which, "being scaly, often gives the impression that the tree glows at night." Acacia seyal in Central Africa has a thin green bark dusted with a creamy yellow or reddish-red powder. The tree sheds it annually in rectangular strips.
thick stem plants
In the first stages of the evolution of flowering plants, we find tropical trees. To an inhabitant of the temperate zone who has never been to the tropics and knows nothing about the flora there, this may seem implausible. Nevertheless, Corner has collected enough evidence, tracing the development of modern plant forms back to the thick-stemmed stage, at which the original tree was characterized by insignificant size, a massive stem, an abundance of sap, soft or spongy wood, a complete (or almost complete) absence of branches, and therefore nodes from which lateral shoots could appear; perhaps it only once in its life blossomed and bore fruit, and then died. IN modern world many relics have been preserved that directly go back to this original tree that existed many millions of years ago - the cycad, the tree fern (cyathea), etc.
A curious example of this type of stem can be seen in the forests of the Ivory Coast and Nigeria is the aku tree, which is also called the forest melon tree (Cussonia bancoensis). Despite its gigantic size (it reaches 30 m in height and 3 m in girth), the trunk of this tree is soft, porous, and usually devoid of branches. This is a living relic of immemorial antiquity.
