OEDILF

Alburnum, or sapwood, lies between the inner bark and the hard wood (also known as duramen).

"Quickbeam" is an old English name for the rowan, a striking tree with bright orange berries.

(If you don't understand line 5, ask your grandfather.)

Wood-boring beetles, which enter through bark, often hasten the decline of oak trees already suffering from fungal and other diseases.

(ay-bye-EH-tik)

(beh-LEM, reh-SEE-fee) The almendron (Bertholletia excelsa) is the lofty Brazil-nut tree.

The tree grips the earth with its toes,
And it burdens its arms when it snows.
It is windy and dark,
Unforgiving and stark
At the edge of the world where it froze.

(ay-LAN-thus, ee-LAN-thus) Planted widely in the U.S. in the 19th century as an exotic ornamental tree, the most common species, Ailanthus altissima, is brittle and fragile (yet hardy), smelly, and invasive. It appears to reproduce by merely existing, and keeping it in check requires constant vigilance. Damned Victorians and their penchant for the romantic.

Candlewood includes several trees or shrubs whose wood is resinous and can be burned for light. In Colonial times, candlewood kindling and splinters were used in place of the more expensive and valuable dipped candles.

(uh-KAY-shee-uh, uh-KAY-shuh MELL-lan-noe-ZYE-lonn)

The UK term pavement is equivalent to the US sidewalk. This limerick was communicated to me as I walked over the uneven surface of a pavement by the side of a tree at the edge of a busy road in north London.

The conessi (kon-ES-ee) is a tropical tree found in India and other parts of Asia, also called the ivory tree because of its white wood. In the past its bark was used in the treatment of dysentery, but it has yielded to more modern remedies (I guess).

The cola nut (or kola nut) is the seed of one of the many trees of the genus Cola. Cola extract is rich in caffeine, and it is believed that many people who enjoy cola beverages do so, at least in part, because of the mild stimulant action of this substance. The original Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola contained a small amount of cocaine as well, but that was removed early in the twentieth century. Decaffeinated colas are now available and sell well, even without caffeine, so perhaps it is the unusual taste that attracts "cola nuts."

The courbaril (KOOR-buh-ruhl) is a West Indian locust tree noted for its large white or purplish flowers and very hard, tough wood.

(kor-tih-SIH-fuh-ruhs)

(DEE-uh-dahr)

The dhak is a beautiful tree with bright red flowers that, when processed, yield a yellow dye. It has many other common names that are more attractive than bastard teak.

Coffee trees (in their many varieties) produce beans which must be washed, hulled, dried, roasted, and ground before being brewed. Since this takes up both time and space, don't try this at home. While the speaker, being fictional, seems to be able to do all this in his room, this might not work in reality!

You start by collecting the wood,
Twigs of various kinds that look good.
Late summer is best
To proceed on this quest,
When young buds have been formed, understood?

Cut a bud from your scion-wood prize,
In the mother tree, notch the same size,
Insert bud, and then wrap,
To ensure there's no gap,
And secure with some rubber-band ties.

Assuming sap's still on the rise,
The buds will knit tight and, surprise,
The following June
The buds will balloon —
New shoots will then gladden your eyes.

One warning: a grafted tree grows
At differing rates, so who knows
The ultimate form
Of the tree from the norm.
The result? Asymmetrical pose.


Before budding, read up on techniques and materials. The writer has found that, in place of traditional raffia or rubber band ties, a clear stretchy laboratory plastic film, such as Parafilm®M, cut in narrow strips, provides a good firm seal. Removal of the bud wrap takes place in late fall, once the buds are united with the stock tree. In the spring, prune away any twig above the new graft, so that rising sap stimulates the burgeoning bud.

Springtime often reveals the ravages of winter in an interesting fashion. The height of midwinter snow may well be evident, with fresh leaves and sprouts growing beneath the former snowline (height of snow) and nothing but dry dead branches above. See also die back.

See also die-back.

In Greek the word for "tree" is déndron. Dendrology is the study of trees. The prefix dendro- is also part of words for something that is branching, like dendron or dendrite.

James Arnold (1781–1868) was not only a successful whaling merchant, but was also an avid horticulturist, developing hundreds of acres of trees, shrubs and other flora in New Bedford, Massachusetts. His $100,000 bequest to Harvard College was used to establish Boston's world famous Arnold Arboretum.

(am-YOOR) While the Amur cork tree is gaining popularity in urban settings, female trees have one serious disadvantage; they produce seed. The black drupes are messy on sidewalks. The fruit is attractive to birds, resulting in seedlings appearing in natural areas where the tree often becomes well established, invasive, and difficult to eradicate. The male selection 'Macho', on the other hand, is recommended as a valuable shade tree for temperate climates.

(DELL-toyd; dell-TOY-deez) A cottonwood tree, for example, with its broad triangular leaves, is botanically named Populus deltoides.

True, only one of the proposed definitions is correct. The black elder (Sambucus nigra) is a shrub or small tree native to Europe, North Africa, and southwest Asia. It bears dark purple berries that are important to the diet of some birds.

(AN-iss) This small evergreen tree of the magnolia family, native to southwest China and Vietnam, has long been grown for its star-shaped anise-scented fruit. Particularly popular in Asian and Indian cuisine, its oil is also used as a substitute for the European aniseed used in commercial drinks. In recent times it has gained importance as the prime industrial source of shikimic acid, used in the preparation of the anti-influenza drug oseltamivir (trade name Tamiflu).

The cone-bearing trees are classified in the plant division Coniferae (once known as the Coniferophyta). This classification includes such well-known softwood lumber trees as the pine, spruce, fir, juniper, cedar and larch. Most bear needles or scales that remain overwinter, and are therefore known as evergreens.

The debate over clearcutting (harvesting by deforestation) continues (2010), but those opposed cite compromised aesthetics as well as environmental degradation.

Diffuse (botany): a term commonly used to describe the widely spreading habit of certain forbs, and of grass and grain panicles.

The blue ash, a tree found mostly in the central and southern U.S., actually does have a bluish tint to its leaves.

Smurfs are small, blue-skinned humanoid creatures that have been popular in cartoons, comic books, and nearly every form of merchandising out there.

(den-DROL-uh-guhs)

The genus Crateva (kray-TEE-vah) is a member of the caper family. One species, Crateva religiosa, has been credited with occult powers and is often planted around temples. It is known by many common names, including sacred garlic-pear and temple plant.

As a stopgap measure dormant twigs of the same species may be grafted in the spring to span the damaged area, allowing essential sap flow.

Eastern spruce is the collective common name for three different species, namely the white spruce (Picea glauca), black spruce (Picea mariana) and red spruce (Picea rubens). Identification may be achieved through close examination of the cones.

Duboisine (doo-BWAHZ-een), also called duboisia, is a chemical derived from the leaves of the Australian corkwood tree of the genus Duboisia. This alkaloid is used as a stimulant by the aboriginal peoples of central Australia, who inhale the smoke of burning leaves during ceremonies such as the male initiation rite. Because the extract of the leaves contains several useful drugs that have atropine-like properties (including dilatation of the pupil), corkwood trees are grown for the pharmaceutical industry.

Alstonia is a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs of the dogbane family, named after Charles Alston (1683–1760). Interestingly, Alston did not like the Linnaean system of classification, in which his name now appears, and attacked the system in an article in 1753.

While the pines and the podocarps are both conifers, the fruiting structures differ significantly. Podocarpus trees are distinguished by their non-conelike appearance, commonly greenish to purple colour, and fleshy or leathery texture. The genus Podocarpus has been assigned to the family Podocarpaceae.

eugh (YOO): an obsolete word for "yew"

diddledees (New England): fallen pine needles

"As ye strive for your ultimate prime,
Do remember this message, sublime:
Like this evergreen tree,
Slow and sure is the key.
Durability wins every time."

In England, the English yew is commonly known as the common yew.

The Japanese apple cultivar 'Mutsu' originated in 1930 at the Aomori Apple Experiment Station, and was named in 1948. In the late 1960s The more descriptive name 'Crispin' was substituted in the west as a marketing ploy. Consequently we now have two names for the one apple.

Armillaria root rot occurs when this parasitic honey mushroom species becomes established on the roots of a host plant. Trees are commonly affected, although the fungus is also found on some herbaceous plants. Fruit and nut trees affected include walnut, peach, cherry and plum.

smarts: (idiomatic, mostly US) intelligence

The complex abiotic condition known as bitter pit, common in some named apples and pears, is evidently a symptom of calcium deficiency. Small sunken pits develop on the skin of the fruit, and dry markings are scattered throughout the flesh which may take on a bitter taste.

Cliftonia monophylla is an evergreen shrub or small tree of the family Cyrillaceae, native to south-eastern North America. The fragrant white or pinkish flowers are attractive to bees.

The genus name Liquidambar refers to the resin (or liquid amber) which was earlier used as a chewing gum, hence another common name of the tree is sweetgum.

Sophora japonica, or nowadays Styphnolobium japonicum, also called the pagoda tree or Chinese scholar tree, is a deciduous tree of Chinese origin with panicles of white flowers typically blooming in summer in the northern hemisphere.

"Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky." ―Khalil Gibran

It was a rookie mistake.

What he meant, of course, was "Banzai!", a shout that translates to "(May you live) ten thousand years!" and which was used as a Japanese battle cry during World War Two. For information on how bonsai trees get that way, may I recommend Paperdragon's bonsai limerick.

(And no, this didn't actually happen.)

Galipot is often rendered, rightly or wrongly, as gallipot, which also has a completely different meaning.

The ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa, grows in mountainous areas of Western US and Canada. It is one of the largest and tallest pine species, with some specimens growing to 70 or 80 meters. One of the identifying characteristics is broad plates of orangey bark, but young trees have blackish-brown bark and were called blackjacks by early loggers.

It is one of several species of pines with similar lumber referred to as western yellow pines.

The term bull pine refers to a particularly large specimen of many of the larger pine species; compare with bullfrog and bull kelp.

glandiferous: bearing nuts or acorns

(Several cursewords, on landing, he utters.)

Despite a plethora of new products, many touted to last a lifetime, keeping eavestroughs unclogged, free-running and cleanable is a major challenge. In many residential areas, nearby trees seem determined to use these moist, dark channels to produce compost and encourage growth of seedlings.

Falls, a major source of disability in folks like Fred and his elderly colleagues, are largely preventable.

Next idea: frame gripes in Norwegian.

Trær som nabo? Nei takk! Er den skjønn? (Trees as neighbours? No thanks! Is it beautiful?)
Nei, det lønner seg ikke med lønn. (No, maples don't pay; Norwegian pun, lønn = maple and lønn = salary)
Jeg ser ikke sola (I can't see the sun; an allusion to the Norwegian version of "cannot see the forest for the trees")
For trærne fra Ola, (For the trees from Ola; Ola Nordmann is the prototypical Norwegian; hence, this thing is Norwegian)
Og plenen blir brun, ikke grønn. (And my lawn becomes brown, not green.)

This poem about Leif the Norway maple can be seen as a companion piece to Giorgio Coniglio's Acer platanoides (Norway maple). The winged fruits of the tree are known as keys, but also as samaras, pollynoses and even whirligigs. The name of the tree genus, as well as the terms acrimony, acridity, and acerbity, derive from the Latin root for 'sharp in taste', or 'bitter'.

The second verse, in Norwegian, as well as its English translation and related notes are by GalFisk.

(AB-lak-wee-AY-shun)

(re: cough) Sorry, officer, I was trying to merge into the figurative lane [displaying poetic license and registration].

arborvitae: any of several evergreen shrubs or small trees often used for landscape purposes

Acrocarpus is a small genus of East Indian timber trees with hard durable wood used especially for tea boxes.

Both carob and mesquite trees have tasty pods. The smoke from burning mesquite wood is also used to flavor smoked or grilled food.

(AR-bor VEET-eye or AR-bur VIE-tee; uh-LAIR-say)

In case you haven't guessed it, Alnus is the genus for alder trees while Taxus is the genus for yew trees.

The Ahuehuete (ach-WEE-wey-tey), "the fattest tree in North America," stands a few miles from Oaxaca (wah-HAH-kah) in southeastern Mexico. It measures 165 feet in girth and is 2000 years old.

Acerose means shaped like a pine needle.

An amentiferous tree is one that bears aments or catkins. Aments and catkins refer to spiky inflorescence (the flowering part of a plant).

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943), a book for young readers by Betty Smith, featured the hardy tree-of-heaven, or ailanthus, which thrives in the poor soil and air common to cities. In 1996, Jonathan Marin wrote a poem comparing ailanthus's weedy growth to unwanted children. Ozone Park is a town in the borough of Queens, New York. The 2003 volume of Environmental Pollution reports E. Gravano's team research of ailanthus as an air pollution detoxifier.

The ailantus is a flowering tree native to the East Indies. The male tree, when it blossoms, smells really bad.

Ambatch is a spongy African tree that is used to build rafts.

(BAU-bab) It has been claimed that baobab pulp can cure diarrhea, dysentery, fever, and Strophanthus poisoning. Other medicinal uses may also exist.

(a-duh-SIDGE-uh-wit): evergreen.

The Aleurites (al-you-RYE-tease) is known in Southeast Asia as the candlenut tree, and also as the varnish tree. Candles are made by stringing nut kernels together.

(ar-BOR-i-cole) Even though the planet has undergone massive deforestation since man's evolution from hunter-gatherer to farmer, there are still areas of dense forest in tropical zones. When trees grow at this density, their tops merge to form what is known as a canopy and many creatures use this as a complete habitat, only rarely venturing to ground level.