qolelis on 7/11/2017 at 12:50
I have many fond memories of trees from growing up, like that one elm tree (which is now long gone (in the name of progress)) that my father once took me to and taught me about its uses; that grove of maple trees, outside my grandparents' Summer house, that I used to climb to its very top afterwhich I made a whistle out of one of its leaves, larger than my hand, until everyone thought I was a bird (its seeds (together with the whole capsule) also provided some good fun among us kids for its ability to spin like a helicopter when dropped or its use as an extra nose); the oak tree, because it was great for climbing; the juniper tree (or is it a bush?), because butter knives made out of its wood were the best butter knives; the birch for its bark, because firestarter; the beech, even a whole land of them, because stupid crush; and so on... Not much of that is left now, though, so I'll simply say any tree that is still standing, forming a forest or woodland for me to walk in.
st.patrick on 7/11/2017 at 19:05
#1 is European mountain beech, the kind that's been growing for over a hundred years, stands over 30 meters tall and has that silvery-grey bark with tones of pink in it that reminds me of the mallorn trees from LOTR.
#2 is probably common oak that's been planted some 300 to 500 years ago to reinforce lake dams. Not too tall but huge in volume.
#3 is European yew, again, centuries old, knotty and sort of showing its age.
Vasquez on 7/11/2017 at 20:33
I like all trees, but if I must name one species, it's the rowan. Delicate yet strong with sweet-scented blossoms and bright red berries, it's just beautiful :) In the old days Finns considered it sacred, it was especially women's tree and the symbol of the goddess Rauni.
Renzatic on 8/11/2017 at 01:28
My favorite tree is the mighty oak, for its gnarly grace, and extra savoir faire.
Oh, and it's kinda rad that we all know someone who owns a forest.
Tocky on 8/11/2017 at 03:43
The red oak. It makes a wonderful fire and it's wood is not only easily split but the smoke makes bacon delightful. That isn't the reason I like it though. All through my childhood I lay under a huge red oak at the end of the drive waiting for my dad to come in from work. I created complex war games with the man shaped leaves while I waited. The battles were epic. When he drove in I ran to him and he tossed me high in the air and hugged me and no matter how my day had gone it was all alright with the world then.
I own a hundred acre wood. No Pooh though.
Renzatic on 8/11/2017 at 03:50
When I was a kid, I had the Climbing Tree, which I believe was an old oak, and the Bush Hut, which was a giant thick bramble of random plants covered in kudzu I carved tunnels and rooms into with hedge clippers. Mix all that with a Lazer Tag guns (which were 15 different types of damn awesome), and much fun was had for years on end.
And yeah, a hundred acre wood is nice and all, but it's not a forest. Henke owns a forest. I bet he LARPs Skyrim in it.
Tocky on 8/11/2017 at 04:22
When I was a young teen we would climb the trees around a pond near my house and bend the tops till we could reach the next tree top to cross around the pond using only the tops. We called it tippy topping for some stupid reason. We did it till one of my friends broke the top out of a sweet gum which mostly lined the bank. He fell thirty feet or better breaking limbs on the way down. He landed on his shoulders and the back of his head. No information would stick in his head for about ten minutes after. He kept asking what had happened. I told him twenty times. Being idiots we didn't insist he see a doctor. Not that he would go. He didn't die. Other than being an asshole he is alright to this day.
heywood on 9/11/2017 at 00:13
For me it's probably the quaking aspen. I like the slender straight trunks covered with white, paper-like bark with black spots, and the leaves turn bright shades of yellow and red in the autumn making a pretty contrast with the trunks. I also like the look and sound of the leaves "quaking" (rustling) in a gentle breeze. The flowers are kind of interesting too.
I'm not a fan of oaks. My home is surrounded by tall oaks. Their ugly catkins make a mess of everything in the spring, their canopies block the sunlight during the summer, they drop yards of acorns for me to pick up in the autumn, and they often wait until after the snow comes to drop their leaves.
heywood on 9/11/2017 at 14:14
Unfortunately, the North American species of chestnut (Castanea dentata) is all but gone due to the introduction of a fungus from Asia a century ago. These trees used to be widely used in landscaping, but I haven't held a burry chestnut fruit in my hand since I was a young kid. I am reminded of them every December when hearing (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Christmas_Song) "The Christmas Song".
Another great decorative tree under threat is the Elm, which used to line so many city streets.
