But the most astonishing thing about trees is how social they are. The trees in a forest care for each other, sometimes even going so far as to nourish the stump of a felled tree for centuries after it was cut down by feeding it sugars and other nutrients, and so keeping it alive. Only some stumps are thus nourished. Perhaps they are the parents of the trees that make up the forest of today. A tree’s most important means of staying connected to other trees is a “wood wide web” of soil fungi that connects vegetation in an intimate network that allows the sharing of an enormous amount of information and goods. Scientific research aimed at understanding the astonishing abilities of this partnership between fungi and plant has only just begun.
~ Peter Wohlleben
(The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate ~ Discoveries from a Secret World)
At the end of our drive is a stump … a felled tree encroaching on our driveway … after a few years, a fir seed landed on the stump and sprouted. Seven years later, the fir is taller than me and doing very well! The old stump is still visible, entwined in the roots of the new tree! Your post reminded me of this small miracle!
Saplings do manage to sprout in some pretty interesting places. Your fir found a nice fertile place to take root ~ makes me think of the circle of life, how nature constantly recycles…
Yes! Lots of examples in nature. In humans too when you see traits pop up in later generations!
I love that book! The life of trees is indeed a secret world for us.
I love the book, too! When I was little I imagined that the trees in the woods around us had personalities and now as an adult it was fun learning about how they quietly care for each other and stay connected…