Wierdo trees

[Yoav]

Here is my submission for the WIERDO TREE competition.

It is a 70m old growth Eucalyptus obliqua stringybark in southern Tasmania, Australia, perhaps 300 years old. I've been regularly climbing its mates nearby. This is the advanced end stages of the buttressing process...the Eucs are the masters of resprout and regeneration, despite being rotted out from the core. As far as we can tell, the buttresses, or "ridges" keep getting fatter (reaction wood?) with age, while the "valleys," or "invaginations" (hehe) rot through, sometimes completely and forming a gap into the hollow tree..... Perhaps the buttresses add the strength as "legs" which can flex a bit in the wind, as compared to a simple cylinder?

Any ideas on this growth pattern?

 

[Yoav]

Looking at it from up slope.

 

[Yoav]

And a different tree, one of the study trees. I think these cracks are a similar process, less advanced. The wierdo tree had mechanically buckled on one leg, which will give way soon....

 

[Yoav]

Looking up at that second tree, you can see how the whole tree, still sturdy, is buckling evenly onto all of the limbs and bulging a little midway.

 

[Yoav]

Visual Tree Lust

A map generated of that second slightly less Wierdo tree. You can see the bulge about 20 metres up.

I suppose this is a good time to plug my web site, if you are into these slightly risque photos of luscious Eucalyptus.

www.geog.utas.edu.au/yoav

 

[Yoav]

Re: Visual Tree Lust

You can see how significan tthose bulges are when you look at the tree from below.

 

[Yoav]

Another common feature is branch collars, before and after the dead branch stub has fallen out....this photo is before. The dead branch acts as a canopy habitat until it falls out, afterwards a small hollow exists as an infection vector.....

 

[Yoav]

How do I go back to being a "Tree Scout?" That sounds much more exciting than being a "Junior Member."

 

[rhodiestoredwood]

Wow! Looks like fun and worthwhile work. Cool site.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Well done!

I wondered how you would map those trees.

Keep 'em coming!

Tom

 

[Stumper]

Very interesting!