•General Sherman, a giant sequoia, is the largest tree (by volume) in the world, standing 275 feet (83.8m) tall with 52,000 cubic feet of wood (1,486.6m).
•Leaves appear green because chlorophyll absorbs red and blue light energy, causing the green energy to bounce off the leaf’s surface. •In one day, one large tree can lift up to 100 gallons of water out of the ground and discharge it into the air. Learn more tree facts. •Methuselah, an estimated 4,765-year-old ancient Bristlecone Pine, is one of the oldest living trees in the world.
Methuselah
•Tree shaded surfaces can be 20–45°F (11–25°C) cooler than surfaces in direct sun, helping homeowners reduce summer cooling costs. •Scientists have found that when attacked by insects, trees can flood their leaves with chemicals called phenolics.
•Once a tree is attacked, it will “signal” to other nearby trees to also start their self-defense, before they are attacked!
•The common English Oak can support hundreds of different species, including 284 species of insect and 324 taxa (species, sub-species, and varieties) of lichens living directly on the tree.
•A single 30-meter-tall mature tree can absorb as much as 50 pounds of carbon dioxide in a year, which over it’s lifetime is approximately the same amount as would be produced by an average car being driven 25,787 miles. The same tree could also produce 5,998.78 pounds of oxygen in a year, which is enough to support at least two people.
I had no idea that trees could live up to 4,765 years old like Methuselah. That pretty much means that it is nearly as old as the earth, if you are going by the Bible timetable. However, I do know that there are some Bristlecone pines in the Great Basin National Park that died after they reached a few hundred years old and are left pretty much frozen in time. Do you know why Methuselah is able to live so long?
I never realized that trees could feel as though they were attacked and signal to other trees. Also, it surprises me that they could even have their own self-defense system. Yet, it is all very intriguing to me and so do you think that you could tell me how exactly a tree could feel attacked and what it would do to defend itself?