Let's start someplace

Well, so here I am, finally putting ink to paper (or whatever the electronic equilivances may be) and creating a blog. Next thing you know, this Luddite will be purchasing a cell phone, or worse, a BlackBerry!


Tonight is a Friday night, and I find myself at my very favorite haunt, Stella's Cafe . Earlier this afternoon and evening, I was with 3 of the 'Philosophe 5,' as per usual on a Friday. Our typical venue is 159 Plant Science (the illustrious office shared by 3 of us), but today we ventured to downtown Ithaca, to the newly opened Kilpatrick's Publick House. I am always amazed at the sheer breadth and depth of our conversations, and even more overwhelmed by the color and dynamic that exists after but a few doses of alcohol. Within our secluded booth, we discussed everything from evolutionary theory, the Transformer Cartoons, negotiating faculty positions, to embarassing episodes with erections. I love grad school.

My partner in Crime, a Mr JB (officemate and bestest friend in the world) announced today the launch of his personal blog. While I have been reading the electronic verbiage of others for a good many months, I had never completely crossed over to the point of initiating my own blog. However, in recognizing my sincere interest in reading what was on his mind, as well as the blogs of others on a regular basis, I thought that perhaps my own musings might be of interest to other folk.

So... Here I am.

What is up with "i speak for the trees"? Those reading must think I am some sort of dirty hippy (which fits with Ithaca, NY), or some sort of Druid (which may also fit with the upstate NY locale). But, I think one can speak for arboreal entities without being either of the two. Whenever somebody asks me what I, as a Ph.D. Candidate in Horticulture, DO, I start out by saying that every plant has a story, or two, or 10... or 1000.... And, I see my role as a person who seeks to discover those stories and tell them to the rest of the world. Sometimes, I can accomplish this by steeping myself in archival lore. At other times, some serious labwork might be required, and at others, a bout of field ecology is sufficient to tell a fantastic tale about how a certain tree lives, was discovered, is loved, etc... There are far too few of us Tree Tale Tellers out there, so that translates to a great number of untold stories just WAITING to be told.

So, how about we start with a story... My first (tree-) love was with the ethereal katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum. This is a species found in China and Japan, naturally, and as a planted specimen throughout temperate Europe and North America. I could wax and wane far too much about its beauty and intrigue, but I'll spare you. Regardless,it is a gorgeous plant, as can be seen in this image taken at Cornell Plantations.

Many things have struck me as fantastic about the katsura, but right now I am drawn to the longevity of individuals and the methods by which they survive long periods in isolation. Let me back up a bit. In China, the species has been listed as rare, mostly due to logging and other agricultural activity. As a result, individual trees may be few and far between, which is of particular concern because the species is dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female trees. If they live in isolation, and are incapable of pollinating themselves, well, in a biological sense, they can be SOL. One thing an individual katsura is able to do is survive 1000+ years, going through periods of rapid growth, and then 'cutting back', so to speak, where they drop their large cumbersome branches and resprout from the base. This self-coppicing practice can be advantageous, as large trees with established and expansive root systems, upon 'downsizing' and losing their hungry sinks, can sprout up and more easily supply their new branches with the resources (i.e., water) that they need. This strategy lets them get by in extreme isolation, for decades to even centuries, without sexually reproducing and setting seed (if it is a female), or pollinating another tree (if it is a male). I cannot help but think of Tolkien's Ents, who survived eons without their Entwives. If a katsura could speak (actually, I have conversed with them many a time), they would do so deliberately, with ample pauses, no words wasted, like an Ent. I like that in a tree.

I wonder if people are similar? Not so much in the reproductive thing, but in the way that they go through periods of rapid growth and exploitation of their surroundings, to periods where they conservatively cut their losses and reinvest in themselves?

Someday, I will better interpret the katsura tree's dialect, better able to translate what it tells me. Just like Trekkies can speak Klingon, someday, Cercidiphiles will speak Katsuran...