04/10/2023
Yeah, nothing like some tree knowledge on a Sunday morning! This is some basic info all arborists should know.
-The "outer bark" protects the tree from extreme temps, insects and fungi. Bark can vary from tree-to-tree. For example, bark on Birch trees is very thin, while the bark of Douglas fir's may be a foot thick!
-The phloem (the inner bark to some) transports carbohydrates, produced by photosynthesis and hydrolysis of reserve compounds, to sink tissues from growth, respiration and storage.
-The cambium cell layer is the growing part of the trunk. It annually produces new bark and new wood in response to hormones that pass down through the phloem with food from the leaves. These hormones, called "auxins", stimulate growth in cells. Auxins are produced by leaf buds at the ends of branches as soon as they start growing in spring.
-Sapwood, outer, living layers of the secondary wood of trees, which engage in transport of water and minerals to the crown of the tree. These cells contain more water and lack the deposits of darkly stained chemical substances commonly found in heartwood.
-Xylem is the plant's vascular tissue that conveys water and dissolved minerals from roots to the rest of the plant and also provides physical support. It also consists of a variety of specialized water-conducting cells known as treachery elements.
-Heartwood (dead) is the central wood of trees. It is mechanically strong, resistant to decay, and less easily penetrated by wood-preservative chemicals than other type of wood.
