Undead Tree Stump Is Being Kept Alive by Neighboring Trees

Gizmondo ^ | 25 july 2019 | George Dvorsky

[DUMBGRUNT]

A tree stump in New Zealand is very much alive, thanks to an interconnected root system that benefits both the stump and its neighboring trees. Scientists say this unusual symbiotic arrangement could change our very conception of what it means to be a tree.

We tend to think of trees as individuals, but the roots of some species fuse together to allow the sharing of resources, such as water, carbon, mineral nutrients, and microorganisms.

Leuzinger and Bader stumbled upon the stump while out for a hike. The woody stub caught their eye because callus tissue could be seen growing over its dead and rotting parts. It was also producing resin, which indicated the presence of living tissue. This prompted a more thorough investigation in which the researchers measured water flowing through the tissues of the stump, and also its rate of respiration, which matched those seen in the surrounding trees.

[DUMBGRUNT]

I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.

[Fiddlstix]

I've always liked that poem

[Blueflag]

Heh. Try to kill a tulip poplar by cutting it down to a stump. Itll grow back, trust me ...

Liriodendron tulipifera

[Rurudyne]

IIRC there’s a stand of Aspen in the North West that is, as a single organism, among the oldest living things on earth.

[DannyTN]

But enough about Hillary.

[Spok]

I thought this was a story about Pelosi.

[SpaceBar]

Quaking aspen groves are known to be amongst the largest single organisms on the planet.

[Fungi]

More than a few mycorrhizal fungi also had a part in keeping it alive.

[Fungi]

“Strange but True: The Largest Organism on Earth Is a Fungus”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-largest-organism-is-fungus/

[dainbramaged]

Here in the Puget Sound region I have seen several Douglas Fir stumps where the bark has grown over the cut completely. It’s usually right next to a living tree, but not always.

[Does so]

Do mushrooms grow other mushrooms?

[Grimmy]

So, the long dreaded Zombie Apocalypse is going to be... trees?

[fruser1]

A similar thing is going on with Hitler’s brain.

When the time comes, Bill and Hillary’s head will be added to the pod.

[dfwgator]

[dp0622]

Why the hell doesn’t the tree just die?

I do not care. I cannot lie.

Maybe that’s because unlike the tree.

There is nobody out there supporting me.

:)

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

That is why a chainsaw is the weapon of choice in the zombie apocalypse

[Fungi]

Yes. Many mushrooms are parasitic on other mushrooms. Hypomyces lactifluorum. Boletus parasiticus parasitizes the earthball Scleroderma citrinum. There are even Penicillium species parasitic on other Penicillium species!

[catnipman]

“IIRC there’s a stand of Aspen in the North West that is, as a single organism, among the oldest living things on earth.”

and the largest ...

[central_va]

I really really, don’t care.

[twister881]

I know quite a few humans who identify as tree stumps.