#trees
Questions about “trees”.
9 articles
Is the ginkgo really a “living fossil”?
Every autumn, ginkgo trees turn city streets gold. This familiar tree hides a story stretching back to the age of dinosaurs, and a world-class discovery made in Japan.
What is the largest seed in the world?
Sailors on the Indian Ocean once believed a strange floating fruit grew on trees at the bottom of the sea. Its true origin was a plant on a faraway island.
What is the biggest tree in the world?
A tree nearly as tall as a 40-story building stands quietly in a California forest. But change how you measure “big,” and the champion changes too.
What is the oldest tree in the world?
One tree has stood on the same mountain slope since before the pyramids were built. Yet change how you count, and there’s always someone older.
Why do autumn leaves turn red and yellow?
All summer the hills are a single shade of green; then autumn paints them red and gold. Both colors “turn,” but what happens backstage is entirely different.
Are all Somei-yoshino cherry trees really clones?
Every spring, the cherry trees in a given area burst into bloom all at once. Behind that remarkable timing lies a secret dating back to the Edo period.
Why does metal feel colder than wood?
On a winter morning, playground bars feel icy but the wooden bench doesn’t. Yet a thermometer says they’re the same temperature. So what is your hand feeling?
Why do pine cones open and close?
A pine cone brought home seems to clench shut on rainy days and spread open again on sunny ones. What’s more, it does this even though the cone is “dead.”
Is a baobab’s trunk full of water?
A massive, stubby trunk topped with branches that look like roots. What exactly is packed inside the bulk of a baobab standing on the savanna?