05 december 2009

Todays flower - Tree trunk

Have you been out in nature and looked at tree trunk?
They are almost like flowers if you stop and just look close.
Today I will show you some.
Do you know from what tree it is let me know.

I start with a curved one for PhotoHunt





Birch - Betula
The chaga mushroom is an adaptogen that grows on white birch trees, extracting the birch constituents and is used to treat cancer.
Birch bark can be soaked until moist in water, and then formed.
In northern latitudes birch is considered to be the most important allergenic tree pollen, with an estimated 15-20% of hay fever sufferers sensitive to birch pollen grains.


Oak
Within its native range Q. robur is valued for its importance to insects and other wildlife. Numerous insects live on the leaves, buds, and in the acorns. The acorns form a valuable food resource for several small mammals and some birds, notably Eurasian Jays Garrulus glandarius. Jays were overwhelmingly the primary propagators of oaks before humans began planting them commercially, because of their habit of taking acorns from the umbra of its parent tree and burying it undamaged elsewhere. Mammals, notably squirrels who tend to hoard acorns and other nuts most often leave them too abused to grow in the action of moving or storing them.

A specimen of notable longevity is one in Stelmužė, Lithuania which is believed to be approximately 1,500 years old, possibly making it the oldest oak in Europe; another specimen can be found in Kvilleken, Sweden, it is over 1,000 years old and 14 meters around.



My favorite - it really did shine!


Todays Flower 69