How Trees Make Babies

Not all trees do it the regular way,

you know – develop seeds, wait

until the bird, insects or wind

pollinate them and then set down

roots when and where they can.

Some are self starters, like oysters

and clams. It’s not so much that

They’re asexual as pretty much self-

contained. Some trees, like poplars

or willows, reproduce their kind by

sending out suckers from their roots.

The tip of each sucker pushes up

through the earth, grows a root of its

own, and in time becomes another

tree. Clumps and forests of birch,

hickory and some chestnut trees

send off sprouts directly from their

roots and can cover several acres

in all directions in less than a hundred

years. If you can find the oldest

oak in the forest, you have found

the mother of them all standing in the

middle of her family watching them

do their best to take over the world.

                                                       Fredrick Zydek