hundred feet (30 m]
or
more.
Roots can extend
far below the surface,
as
well.
In
its search for life-giving water, a wild
fig in the Echo Caves in South Africa has grown
roots
a record
four
hundred
feet (122 m) deep-
deeper than a football field is
long.
Strong Roots
Chapter 2
GROWING
UP IN
THE
FOREST
MANY ANIMALS LIVE
IN
FAMILIES,
just like you. But what about trees?
How do mother trees know where
their children are? How do trees share
food with their aunts, uncles, and
grandparents? And what are their
secrets for living to a grand old age?
Chapter 2
GROWING
UP IN
THE
FOREST
MANY ANIMALS LIVE
IN
FAMILIES,
just like you. But what about trees?
How do mother trees know where
their children are? How do trees share
food with their aunts, uncles, and
grandparents? And what are their
secrets for living to a grand old age?
Most trees like to live
in
families, and in each family there are–of course–children!
That's why trees work to grow strong–so they can have babies. You can see this
for yourself when they're
in
bloom.
Pine trees release so much pollen,
it can look like a cloud of dust.
share the same "house," so
to speak. With some trees,
such as the willow, trees are
either male or female—the
male trees produce pollen and
don't grow blossoms, and the
female trees grow blossoms
and don't produce pollen—
but this is the exception.
After the female blossoms are
successfully pollinated, seeds
develop, By fall the seeds
of beech and oak trees are
mature, and they drop to the
ground,
where many hungry
animals are waiting for these
delicious treats. Wild boars
IN
THE
SPRING
IT
CAN
BE
dusty under trees, and you
may find your shoes covered with a layer of tiny,
yellowy-green particles. That's male pollen—
tiny grains that want to land on female blossoms.
Pollen grains are carried by the
wind,
so they can't
really seek out blossoms
themselves.
When
they meet
a female blossom, it's by accident. That's why
a
tree
must produce
a
huge amount of
pollen,
so
that
a
few
grains will reach their
goal.
With most trees, the female blossoms are on
the same tree that produces the male pollen, They
in particular adore beechnuts and acorns because
they're full of fat
and oil
that help
them
build up
a
thick
layer of fat of their own. This way the animals carry
their winter food supply under their
skin,
and they
can go for
a
few days without finding anything to eat.
*
Tree parents aren't too happy about
all
this because,
after all, their children are supposed to grow from
these
seeds,
That's why
some
trees,
such
as
beeches,
decide among themselves when they will bloom.
Some years their branches have no seeds, and many
wild boars don't survive the winter. But every three
to five years, all the beech trees bloom like crazy at
the
same
time.
There are lots of
beech