WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:03.040 Oh hey, this is asmology's episode, and what somologies are. 2 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.839 They are safe for kids, they're g rated. We cut 3 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:08.599 them down so they're much shorter, nobody swears in them. 4 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:11.599 If you want the full length adult version with more 5 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:14.080 details and more swearing, that is linked right in the 6 00:00:14.119 --> 00:00:17.039 show notes. But for your carpool, for your classroom, here 7 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:18.760 you go, smologies, let's have it. 8 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:19.920 Are you ready? Okay? 9 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:24.280 This episode will make you so pumped about trees. You're 10 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:27.039 gonna be bummed about having skin and blood. 11 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:28.399 You'rearing me so jealous of. 12 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:31.719 Bark and sap, and you'll have new scrabble words and 13 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:34.920 you'll start questioning if you should just string a hammock 14 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.920 up in the backyard and live outside like a big 15 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:42.159 ape squirrel. Okay, the trees, you're ready for trees? Okay, 16 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:46.280 So dendro comes from the old Greek meaning tree. And 17 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:48.399 if you're like that, why does that remind me of 18 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:51.439 brain stuff? Well, that's because the dendrite is a part 19 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:53.600 of a nerve cell that looks a lot like a tree. 20 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:55.280 So dendra. There you go. Trees. 21 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:58.240 So you've got trees in the brain. You're gonna have 22 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:00.799 trees on the brain after this I'll tell you that much. 23 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:05.640 You're going to be pining for more arborist facts. Oka, 24 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:10.480 So the term dendrologist is a little funky. So technically 25 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:14.159 it's anyone who studies trees, which this human being I 26 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:17.200 interviewed has done. I have never met anyone with such 27 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:21.719 a raw zeal or deep knowledge for and of trees. 28 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:23.200 You will love him. 29 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:27.319 So we talked for literally two hours, which was very 30 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:31.799 difficult to cut down. No tree pun intended about so 31 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:35.480 many burning curiosities. Do trees feel pain? How do they 32 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:38.079 talk to each other? Does he have a favorite tree? 33 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:41.599 So I'm going to go out on a lamb and say, is. 34 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:42.519 The great episode? 35 00:01:42.599 --> 00:01:47.000 So stick around for some really wonderful tree facts. 36 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:48.319 Well, yeah, lumber up. 37 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:50.480 I swear to God that's gonna be the last tree pun. 38 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:54.079 Please trust me. For a person who is somewhat in 39 00:01:54.120 --> 00:02:24.919 denial about being a dendrologist, Casey Clapp, muggy. 40 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:18.080 Cheese, I've never done anything like this. 41 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:20.639 Yay, that's gonna be great. So this is your mic, 42 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:22.240 Like you're okay? 43 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:26.800 So I have a question, Yes, go ahead, arborist versus dendrologists? 44 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:28.520 Yes, what's the difference? 45 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:33.120 So an arborist specifically focuses on trees in the urban area, 46 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:34.639 but most of the time and Arbius is the one 47 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:36.840 who manages a tree in the urban area. So if 48 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:39.400 they're going to cut a tree, remove a tree, plant trees, 49 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:41.400 they're the ones usually have something to do with it. 50 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:45.599 But then a dendrologist is usually someone that's more on 51 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:47.639 the research side of the world, and they're like, Okay, 52 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:51.080 we're gonna study this plant it's characteristics, or this tree 53 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:53.960 more specifically, it's characteristics and where it fits in with 54 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:55.520 the rest of all the other trees in the world. 55 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:59.159 So dendrologists basically work on the back end of things, 56 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:03.080 classifying and all the different trees into certain organizational standards. 57 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:06.439 So can you call if you study and you love trees, 58 00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:08.800 can you call yourself a dendrologist? 59 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:11.159 Yeah, I would say, I would say, so, do you 60 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:12.080 have a favorite tree? 61 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:14.439 I do, yeah, but it changes pretty constantly. 62 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:15.479 What is it now? 63 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:17.800 Right now, it would be the coast redwood, which is 64 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:18.719 so stereotypical. 65 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:22.159 I know, why is that stereotypical? It's a majestic tree. 66 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:26.599 I completely concur But people have generally said, like they 67 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:27.919 come up with the first thing that comes to them 68 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:30.800 so a lot of times when I ask people, they're like, oh, willows. 69 00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:34.240 I'm like cool. Eighty percent people say willows or something. Really, 70 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:36.520 it's really strange no one thinks about until you ask 71 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:37.400 them the question. 72 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:39.759 Do you know what your favorite tree is? I was like, 73 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:40.680 do I have a favorite? 74 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:43.199 Yes? I do. It's an oak. I have a favorite tree. 75 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:46.520 I guess we all do. But coastal redwoods Casey's favorite. 76 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:49.439 They grow from southern Oregon, just down the central coast 77 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:51.680 of California all the way down to about Santa Cruz. 78 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.840 And they grow in this fog belt right near the 79 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:58.360 shore because that fog helps get moisture to the top 80 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:02.599 of these like three hundred fifty foot giant trees. And 81 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:05.360 if you're needing to imagine a silhouette of one, you're like, 82 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:08.159 what do they look like? You know the logo for Stanford, Okay, 83 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:11.840 Well that there is the image of El Palo Alto, 84 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:16.720 one particularly famous local coastal redwood tree. It's also the 85 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:22.279 unofficial mascot of Stanford. It's dubbed very creatively the tree. 86 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:26.319 I love it anyway. Coastal Redwood's Casey's favorite tree. 87 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:29.920 They're just they're just the bomber trees. They are rot resistant, 88 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:34.319 so almost no funguses affect them. They are insect resistant, 89 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:36.800 so insects don't get into them, they don't eat the foliage, 90 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:39.040 they don't get into the bark. Their bark is like 91 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:43.600 literally feet thick, and it's fire resistant, so nothing can 92 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:46.560 penetrate it. Fire doesn't burn it. Sometimes fire will actually 93 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:49.279 hollow out the inside of the tree belave the bark alone. 94 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:52.639 But then the trees actually survive because they can sprout 95 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:55.560 from any place that still has functionality down to the roots. 96 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:58.800 So not only are they also the tallest trees in 97 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:00.720 the world, some of the longest lived, some of the 98 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:03.680 biggest in terms of volume. Then on top of that, 99 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:07.680 they basically can outlive anything. They don't have any more predators, 100 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:10.040 and they can sprout. Most conifers can't do that. If 101 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:12.319 you cut them down at the base, they're done. They're ended, 102 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:14.759 really on it. For a redwood, you cut it down 103 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:16.759 at the base and the roots just shoot up all 104 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:18.920 these new sprouts and you're like, oh, the tree still lives, 105 00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:19.360 this is great. 106 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:21.120 The roots are like, I don't care, I'm going I'm 107 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:22.279 gonna go ahead exactly. 108 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:24.879 Yeah, So they're just there are the world's just most 109 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:27.319 bomber trees, and if you haven't been there, you should go. 110 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:30.439 They're just there's nothing like in the world. 111 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:34.040 Quick anatomy lesson of trees. Oh okay, what are we 112 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:34.480 dealing with? 113 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:37.040 And also true or false? The root system is. 114 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:40.439 Like kind of as big as the actual branches. 115 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.279 And cannon mightiocrely both. 116 00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:44.839 Okay, okay, so give me an anatomy. 117 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:45.959 Yeah, sort of both, okay, So real quick, there are 118 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:49.439 four main organs of a tree. First off, what is 119 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:52.519 a tree. A tree, by some definitions is literally like 120 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:54.560 this one guy on a book I have, He describes 121 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:56.920 it as a bush with a stick up the middle. 122 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:59.920 So that's what we will define as a tree. The 123 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.600 things that you know of as a tree are a tree. 124 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:05.920 But then there's things like say Joshua tree that's technically 125 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:08.199 a yucka. It doesn't put on annual rings the same 126 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:10.439 way the redwood or an oak wood. Then there is 127 00:06:10.439 --> 00:06:13.079 banana trees. Banana trees are actually just cells. There's no 128 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:14.920 woodiness to them. You can go over and knock them 129 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:17.720 over if you really want, really not necessarily it's probably 130 00:06:17.720 --> 00:06:21.040 not that easy, but they're just big, big cells. Basically 131 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:25.600 just large herbs, just like a hosta or anything else. Yeah. Yeah, 132 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:28.199 so there's no actual woody parts in them. So what 133 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:29.800 we still call them trees. So if we have a 134 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:31.800 tree and we say, okay, it's gonna woody thing, let's 135 00:06:31.800 --> 00:06:33.920 just use the Oregon white oak for example. Okay, so 136 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:36.439 the Oregon white oak one usually has a single stem, 137 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:39.199 comes out, has this big, nice, beautiful globe like crown. 138 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:42.360 So there's four main organs. You have the roots, you 139 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:44.560 have the stem and the branches. Then you have the 140 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:46.920 flowering parts, and you have the leaves. Those are the 141 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:49.879 four things that you would call organs in a tree, 142 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:53.560 just for simplicity's sake. Four main organs. Okay, so the 143 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:55.879 roots of a tree generally, at least in the Pacific 144 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:58.800 Northwest and in are more temperate regions, this is gonna 145 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:01.560 blow so many mines. They're only in the top two 146 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:04.600 to three feet of soil. What that's it. That's it, 147 00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:07.480 even even the big guys. Yeah. So if you ever 148 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:08.800 are looking at a tree, you go out in to 149 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:10.600 the woods and you see a tree that's toppled over 150 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:12.879 and it's picked up its entire root ball. If you 151 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:14.959 measure from the top of that down to the very 152 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.800 lowest route. You're not going to get past four feet anywhere. 153 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:18.279 Crazy. 154 00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:20.879 I always thought they went way down and go out. 155 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:25.839 They go out. But basically you have imagine a wine glass. 156 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:28.560 Or a like an umbrella that has a base. 157 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:31.279 Exactly an umbrella is sitting on a platter. Would be 158 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:33.560 the best way to imagine it. And so that's why 159 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.279 roots are so important. People like, oh, that's it's not that, 160 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:38.319 you know, they go down. You're like, no, no, no, no, 161 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:40.839 it doesn't. People think it's that mirror image, and it's 162 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:41.399 definitely not. 163 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:43.279 Oh yeah, because I feel like you do see that 164 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:44.480 kind of like mirror image. 165 00:07:44.600 --> 00:07:46.519 Oh yeah, Oh my god, I had no idea. 166 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:48.040 Okay, So that's the anatomy of a tree. 167 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:50.480 Really, well, there's one extra step. So this is the 168 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:54.120 next most important thing. Trees are compartmentalizers, so if you 169 00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:56.279 cut off one of their branches, they will just close 170 00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:58.480 it off and keep moving, just like a compartments in 171 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:00.560 a ship. All you have to do is off and 172 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:03.079 then everything else can go on as normal. So they 173 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:05.680 have these two main things. You have cambium layer, which 174 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:08.399 is the vascular system of the tree just below the bark, 175 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:11.519 just outside the wood. That's where the trees grow and 176 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:13.680 put on their new rings. That is where they send 177 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:16.480 nutrients and water from the ground up, and that's called 178 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:19.120 the xylum. That's a good word. If you play scrabble, 179 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:20.040 it's x y. 180 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:21.040 L E M. 181 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:23.240 You can fit that in on a triple word score 182 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:25.360 with that X. Man, you're killing it. You're really doing well. 183 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:28.680 Okay, buckle up because this parts can get a little technical, 184 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:32.000 but you're gonna learn a few new scrabble words as promised, 185 00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:37.279 and or names for your organic children. Cambium, flow them, 186 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:41.360 photosynth and xylum of course, which is Greek for wood. 187 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:43.919 And yes, that is where the word xylophone comes from. 188 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:47.840 So Scrabble jeopardy your prep for anything. Okay, back to xylum. 189 00:08:47.879 --> 00:08:49.960 It takes all the nutrients and water up to all 190 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.279 the leaves. The leaves they are doing the photosynthesis, so 191 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:56.759 they're creating the energy from the sun. They start pulling 192 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:00.159 all of their nutrients, are all their photosynthate is some 193 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:02.759 people call it basically sugars, and they pull those down 194 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:05.000 and that goes to the floam, which is the pipes 195 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:08.279 that go down and that's basically it. Oh tree roots 196 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:10.799 pull things up through the stem and then puts things 197 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:13.000 out to the leaves. The leaves are the factory. They 198 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:15.039 create all the food. Then they put that down and 199 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:16.960 distribute it out to the rest of the tree. 200 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:20.879 Ooh, are you ready for a hot tree scandal? Okay, 201 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:24.120 Sometimes a tree breaks up with its own limbs. 202 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:24.960 Is this drama. 203 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:27.519 Many times, if there is competition, it actually cuts it 204 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:29.639 off itself. If they are growing to limb out directly 205 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:32.360 to another tree, they get shaded out. They're like, Eah, 206 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:34.480 this's too much energy I'm putting in and not getting 207 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:36.919 enough back. So they just cut it off. The trees 208 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:40.320 no longer feed. It literally close the compartment off to 209 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:43.120 that branch. That branch slowly dies, slowly dies, and then 210 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:45.000 as soon as it falls off, maybe a crow lands 211 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:47.440 on it and it's so decayed, just topples to the ground. 212 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:50.600 Then the tree then seals over that wound. Trees don't heal. 213 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:53.840 They seal. They specifically close it up and then continue 214 00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:55.440 to grow like nothing ever happened. 215 00:09:55.559 --> 00:09:57.480 It's like ghosting your own arm. 216 00:09:57.519 --> 00:09:59.960 Exactly like nothing ever happened, because everything else is going 217 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:02.799 on around the tree itself, and the wood is actually 218 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:06.039 basically a inert it's just a physical structure holding the 219 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:06.559 tree up. 220 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:11.279 Okay, remember the cambium layer from earlier. So as we recorded, 221 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:14.559 we were both drinking tea rated from my hotel Mini bar, 222 00:10:14.679 --> 00:10:18.320 and Casey had a visual metaphor for the cambium layer, 223 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:20.440 which really helped. He said, if you're looking at a 224 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:23.759 full coffee cup, the coffee inside would be the wood, 225 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:28.200 the mug would be the cambium layer, and the outside 226 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:29.960 of the mug would be the bark. Do that makes sense? 227 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:31.279 So the cambium layer. 228 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:34.840 Is like super important in terms of keeping a tree alive. 229 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:38.759 Talk to me a little bit about how trees talk 230 00:10:38.840 --> 00:10:40.480 to each other, because I feel like there was some 231 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:44.279 some researcher something came out recently about how trees can 232 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:46.159 talk to each other through their roots, and everyone was. 233 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:50.120 Like, wa, So how do the roots communicate? Do they 234 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:52.720 share nutrients? Do they talk to each other? What's happening 235 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:53.559 under the surface. 236 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:55.960 Oh, this is so fascinating. So the book you're talking 237 00:10:55.960 --> 00:10:58.480 about is called The Hidden Life of Trees. 238 00:10:58.639 --> 00:10:59.919 Okay, I think, all right. 239 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:03.480 I look this up and one author, the German Peter 240 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:08.960 horn Been I don't know, describes that trees feed each 241 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:11.720 other other sugars through their roots when one is sick 242 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:15.320 or dying, and they communicate to each other using chemical 243 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:20.320 and electrical cues in response to stimulus, not unlike how 244 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:23.600 humans use vocal cues to say, hey, fools, there are 245 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:24.519 donuts in the breakroom. 246 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:28.519 So it's really comes down to when we communicate as people. 247 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:31.840 I say something to you, there's no physical connection between us. 248 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:34.279 I just say something and you hear and then you 249 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:37.240 act on it. A tree, everything is a stimulus that 250 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:39.679 comes from something. So all the roots, if it's the 251 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:43.000 same species, their roots can graft together. What Yeah, it's 252 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:45.600 kind of mind blowing, But what's going on underneath the 253 00:11:45.639 --> 00:11:48.000 soil sort of the hidden life of plants is they 254 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:50.279 graft themselves together. So if you have really really thin 255 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:52.799 bark on those root hairs and those root hairs touch 256 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:55.279 each other, and then the cambium layer sort of connects 257 00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:57.840 and you can get an entire forest of all these 258 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:01.639 trees connected, which is fast. But then there's a sub 259 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:05.159 layer on that which is mushrooms. Okay, my celium. This 260 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.519 is the new thing that really like blew up, Like 261 00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:09.840 Radio Lab did a whole thing on it, and everyone's like, ah, 262 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:13.080 mushrooms what trees. So basically what they do is all 263 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:17.519 these fungus have this mutualistic relationships called symbiosis. And what 264 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:20.879 they do is a fungus has root hairs or myceelium 265 00:12:20.919 --> 00:12:24.000 that's microscopic, much smaller than the root hairs of a tree. 266 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:26.440 So if you are a tree growing in a place 267 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:29.440 like let's say southern Oregon, then you have a much 268 00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:32.200 drier condition. Tree roots are a certain size, maybe like 269 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:34.440 the size of your finger for this instance, and so 270 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:36.399 you're like, oh, man, I can only reach into a 271 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:39.039 certain size crack where this water is. And the water 272 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:42.080 is held up within these smaller pores in the soil. 273 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:45.200 So if the trees can't physically get their roots into 274 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:48.519 grab it, then it's basically not available. So this fungus 275 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:52.120 ends up getting this mutualistic relationship. The tree gives the 276 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:55.279 fungus sugars that it produces up in the canopy, so 277 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:57.879 the fungus gets some food. And then the fungus, if 278 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:01.000 our fingers are the size of root hairs, then our hair, 279 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:03.679 our actual physical hair is something on the size of 280 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:05.600 the fungus. So the fungus can be like, oh, yeah, 281 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:06.840 I can go in and grab that water, and so 282 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:09.840 the fungus goes in and basically creates like a whole 283 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:13.960 second level of roots for this tree. And the way 284 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:15.759 you can tell if a tree needs water, this is great. 285 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:17.960 It's kind of like a straw where on the very 286 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:23.039 tippy top you have evaporation. Evapo transpiration, evapotransporration is just 287 00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:25.759 literally the process of water going from the ground through 288 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:27.960 a plant or a tree out to the air. Okay, 289 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:31.159 so what they do it grab some water, do some photosynthesis, 290 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:33.440 or do whatever they do, and then some water escapes. 291 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:36.799 So when that water is released into the atmosphere, just 292 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:39.679 like you're drinking out of a straw, one molecule pulls on, 293 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:41.320 the next, pulls on the next, pulls on the next, 294 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:44.399 using capillary action all the way down the tubes of 295 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:47.039 the tree to the soil into the roots, and then 296 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:49.360 all of a sudden, that root is pulling up another 297 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:52.559 little molecule of water and you can have full cycle. 298 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:56.320 So as soon as the trees have this pressure deficit 299 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.679 where it's sucking more water into the air than it 300 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:01.639 has in the ground, the fungus will then be like, 301 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:04.480 oh wow, there's a pressure deficit, and water just osmosis 302 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:05.600 over to that area. 303 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:07.200 I have more questions, but I hope you're not. 304 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:08.080 Are you late for anything? 305 00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:09.399 No? I literally have nothing else. 306 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:12.919 Okay, good because people have questions. Hello, people have questions. 307 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:15.600 I guess this is so exciting. 308 00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:15.879 I know. 309 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:18.679 Okay, wait, you could do this all night. All right. 310 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:20.919 So when this episode first aired in twenty eighteen, we 311 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:23.200 did not have a single sponsor yet. We just had 312 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:26.440 wonderful folks at patreon dot com slash ologies who have 313 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:28.639 kept this show afloat since day one. But now that 314 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:30.840 we do have some ads, we can donate to a 315 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:33.879 cause of the ologist choosing. And this week I don't 316 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:36.399 know who Casey chose because I forgot to ask him, 317 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:38.879 and I texted him a few hours ago, but he 318 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:41.080 has not gone back to me because he's probably wearing 319 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:43.480 a parka in a forest. And I'm going to update 320 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:45.000 the link in the show notes as soon as I know, 321 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:47.960 but I'm sure it will be cool and leafy and deserving. 322 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:50.720 So money going to a charity TVA thanks to the 323 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:55.519 following sponsors. Okay, let's bark up his tree with some question. 324 00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:59.600 Beth Frausto wants to know do trees feel pain when 325 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:00.320 we trim them. 326 00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:03.799 Oh, they do, but not in a strict sense. So 327 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:07.279 the pain isn't so much that they are like ow, 328 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:09.879 they're more because they're compartmentalizers. So all that does is 329 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:13.600 create a reaction that says, ooh, I need to protect myself. 330 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:15.600 Something may get in. Either it's gonna get an insect 331 00:15:15.639 --> 00:15:17.200 that is gonna come in, or it's gonna be a 332 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:19.799 fungus or both, or a multitude of other things. So 333 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:22.120 as soon as you prune a tree, it will get 334 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:24.559 a wound. It's not that the tree is feeling hurt, 335 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:27.200 but the tree will then respond to that. So they'll 336 00:15:27.240 --> 00:15:30.840 respond immediately, especially by the next year, and they will 337 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:32.879 just put on new wood to cover over it. So 338 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:35.360 it just puts in these three walls of chemical protection, 339 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:37.799 then grows a fourth wall of wood over the top 340 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:39.039 to seal over that wound. 341 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:40.919 And this never happens exactly. 342 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:43.120 It's like it never happened. So anytime you cut a 343 00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:45.799 tree and then it just starts pushing out sap a, 344 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:48.000 it's kind of like bleeding, especially if you cut it 345 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:50.200 during the growing season, where it's just pushing out as 346 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:53.080 much energy and sugars as it can to its leaves 347 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.559 to grow. Big and strong. You cut that off, all 348 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:57.759 of a sudden, there's a bunch of pressure inside the tree, 349 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:00.559 literally pushing all this sap out. But that sap is 350 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:03.559 also covering over that wound and making it an impenetrable 351 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:05.919 place for all these other insects and things to get in. 352 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:08.159 So it's actually literally sealing itself, right. 353 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:11.200 It's like a varnished kind of yeah, exactly, delicious varnish. 354 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:12.720 That actually leads me to my next question. 355 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:14.840 Dustin Mills wants to know how many different kind of 356 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:17.679 trees can you get syrup from the tree? 357 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:19.799 Oh, so it does. It hurts it just like anything else. 358 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:21.679 But it kind of hurts it in the same way 359 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:23.519 that if you give blood, you're hurting yourself. 360 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:24.039 Okay. 361 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:27.559 So they have plenty of stored nutrients and stored sugars 362 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:29.639 and all these things. So you can get syrup from 363 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:32.879 almost any kind of tree. It just depends on if 364 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:37.240 it's delicious or if it's so so diluted to where 365 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:39.240 it just takes way too much effort to actually get it. 366 00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:41.320 So there's a tree called a sweet gum for all 367 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:46.399 you nerds. That is liquid ambersyrisa FLUA wonderful, wonderful tree 368 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:49.320 what they do is you used to tap them. That's 369 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:51.120 why they call it sweet gum, because they would tap 370 00:16:51.159 --> 00:16:53.080 them in the south and then they would collect all 371 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:55.159 of the tree sap. You boil it down to get 372 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.159 all the water out, and you get this sugar. Some 373 00:16:57.240 --> 00:16:59.440 taste really good. Some have other chemicals in it that 374 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:02.159 make them less tasty. People have used them on birch 375 00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:04.839 trees and on other different maple's all bunch of different 376 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:07.079 species of maple. But the reason we use sugar maple 377 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:09.920 right now is just because it has the highest concentration 378 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:13.279 of sugar per amount of sap. This still takes hours 379 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:15.519 and hours to boil it off to create the actual thing, 380 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:18.240 of which there's no recipe. Every bit you get they're 381 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:21.000 just looking at They're like, eh, looks done. Really yeah, 382 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:23.519 there's no actual like boil it for ten minutes. It's 383 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:26.480 boil it until it looks right. That's it. 384 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:27.359 So analog. 385 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:30.000 So side note confession, little fyi. 386 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:31.279 I always thought. 387 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:33.400 That maple syrup just kind of dripped out of trees 388 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:36.000 as is, like you could just wander in the forest 389 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:37.759 with a pocket full of waffles and just get a 390 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:41.119 little smear here or there. But the sap actually comes 391 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:44.000 out clear, kind of like water, and it takes forty 392 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:47.039 gallons of it to boil down and make one gallon 393 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:50.240 of maple syrup, which seems like a lot of tree tears, 394 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:52.720 but they tap a bunch of them. They get just 395 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:55.319 a little bit from everyone, So don't be too sad. 396 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:59.400 You can continue to brunch unencumbered by guilt. Rodka Bikaria 397 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:02.160 has a question, why do some trees lose their leaves 398 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:03.440 in the winter and others don't? 399 00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:06.640 Aha, I love this question. So this comes down to 400 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:10.160 a specific, basically strategy. So if you think of trees 401 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:13.400