The History Behind the Tree

An important part of childhood is being adventurous, playing outside, getting bruises and cuts and just having fun. Personally I loved being outside and experiencing nature firsthand. One of my favorite things to do was climb trees. I can name countless times when I would come inside with my legs and arms all scrape up from climbing all of the trees in my backyard. I still go in my backyard and see those same trees and I see them growing and remember what they looked like when I was at a certain age and it really surprises me to see how much trees really do change and grow over the years.

This tree that I have been observing at Wooster High School has grown and changed with me so far throughout the years in high school. Even though I never paid it much attention or even really gave it a second thought it was always there and at times I was aware of it. I got to thinking of how much it had grown since I had first seen it, walking to my first football game distracted by everything that was  going on yet still seeing it in the back ground.

Thinking about these times in the past also got me thinking; how do trees grow? I decided to look this up  being that it would probably make sense if I had this on my blog. Longleaf pine is the longest lived of the southern pine species. Throughout most of its range,individual longleaf pines can reach 250 years in age. To reach that point of old age that pine tree must go through stages. (Life Stages) I realized that this tree is in the "Sapling Stage" this stage would be considered like the teen and twenties. When the longleaf reaches about 6 to 10 feet in height, lateral branches begin to emerge and signal the sapling stage. Diameter increases and bark thickens but the tree continues to grow in height. The tree remains in this stage for several years.(Life Stages)

I found the growth of this tree to be quite interesting and alike to those of someone my age. How it says they thicken and continue to grow is a exact replica of what is currently going on in most teenage lives at the moment. It is very interesting to have learned this and to have shared it with my blog followers.


"Life Stages of the Long Leaf Pine." Longleafalliance.org. Web. 7 Dec. 2014. <http://www.longleafalliance.org/longleaf-pine/life-stages/life-stages-of-the-longleaf-pine>.